Without Merit

 

 

A gift is never dependent

On the recipient of the gift,

It is actually given in spite of

If you catch my drift.

 

It is surely not a reward

Since a reward is achieved

But one cannot achieve a gift

Whatever one believes.

 

It cannot be an award

For such is given on merit

And an award as we all know

Is premised upon habit.

 

Not so a gift, my friend,

It’s definitely not an award

And since it is without merit

It cannot be a reward.

 

 

Without merit it must be,

Just like the grace of God,

It can’t be bought or worked for

Or delivered by a fraud.

 

No worth in the recipient

Other than the whosoever,

Whosoever believes in Christ

Will share in his treasure.

 

By the recipient’s faith

And through God’ grace,

Without merit I must emphasize

Or even the pride of place.

 

It is not the who we are

But rather, the “whose”,

Not even the prudish or the pious

Like a “goody two shoes”.

 

The prerequisite is love

As in “For God so loved”

That He gave the gift of His Son

Who came from above.

 

 

A commendation of love

When we were unlovable

And when we were vile and sinful,

To make us His people.

 

A people for Himself

With whom He now dwells,

No merit in any one of them

Thus, the Bible tells.

 

This we must not forget:

There is no merit in us

But all we tantamount to be

Is found in Christ Jesus.

 

Without merit I repeat,

And none can make a claim

Unless of course the claim we make

Is in Jesus’ name.

 

Without Merit

 

Stewart Russell © January 18, 2025 

 

That Time of Year

 

 

It’s that time of the year

When we spread good cheer

Among the old and the young,

To the weak and the strong.

 

That time of the year

When Christmas draws near,

When with heightened care,

Goodwill does appear.

 

A feeling to draw closer

To the ones that we love

And lift our hearts in thanksgiving

To the One above…

 

That made it all possible

By His Son, the Lord Jesus-

And his name shall be Emmanuel

Meaning God with us.

 

 

That time of the year

When we focus on the gift

From the Father of our Saviour,

To heal sin’s rift.

 

A renewed relationship

Of eternal dimensions,

Compliments of Jehovah Jireh,

Of so great salvation!

 

Yes, there in that manger,

In that animal stall,

Almighty God could do no better

Than to give His all.

 

 

It’s that time of year

When we reflect on such

And come to the gripping realization

That God has given much.

 

Much without measure:

The measure of His love,

Revealed by angels to shepherds

As they sang from above.

 

Glory to God in the Highest

And on earth, peace!

For God so loved that He gave us

A love that will never cease.

 

In our hustle and bustle

To enjoy this yuletide,

May we invite Jesus into our heart

Where he wants to reside.

 

It is that time of year!

I wish it would never go

But in order for it to come again,

It would have to be so.

 

Enjoy to the fullest!

Have a godly day!

Total enjoyment can only be had

If Jesus has his way.

 

Stewart Russell © December 9, 2024

 

Free Is Not Cheap

 

 

This is a call to distinguish

Between free and cheap

And as you read this poem

Take note of what I speak.

 

To move out stock quickly

Stores may put on sales

And the prices are so reduced

That such seldom fails.

 

The items are not cheap

But the prices now reduced,

Patrons rush to buy them up

Having become induced.

 

Cheap relates to value

Or better still, little or none,

There’s little worth in the item

And from it most patrons run.

 

Such is often given away

Since very few want to buy,

Only the poor and destitute

Would dare to give it a try.

 

An item might be expensive

But is given to another,

To that one it becomes a gift

But that’s a different matter.

 

“Cheap things are no good

And good things are not cheap”,

A caution to the buyer

That is looking for a treat.

 

In the long run it is costly

When we buy something cheap,

It seldom gets the job done

And is more “trick than treat”.

 

This is the devil’s brand

And is very easy to acquire,

At first it may appear to work

But in the long term it is fire.

 

Let me however introduce you

To a free but costly gift,

Sounds somewhat contradictory

But in a minute you’ll get my drift.

 

 

The glorious gift of salvation

Does not cost us a single cent,

It is free to the born again believer

And that is God’s intent.

 

However it cost Christ his life

His precious poured out blood,

It is he that purchased our salvation

He is the only one that could.

 

It is free to every sinner

But certainly it is not cheap

For had salvation been a cost to us

That would be infinitely steep.

 

Eternal life is offered to all

That is the value of God’s gift,

That life is hid in Christ His Son

By now you’ve gotten my drift.

 

Why buy bread that is not bread

And wine that is not wine?

Instead accept the offer of the Saviour

To come unto him and dine.

 

Free but certainly not cheap

And of eternal merit,

Guaranteed By God the Father

The Son and Holy Spirit.

 

God gave all He could

The Lord Jesus shed his blood,

Why not accept the priceless offer?

I really think you should.

 

 

For salvation is free not cheap

It cost Almighty God His all,

In Jesus Christ He gave Himself

Won’t you respond to his call?

 

Stewart Russell © August 2018

 

God with Man

 

 

Yonder in cattle stall

Lay a baby most fair,

God with man has come to dwell

Among the cattle there.

 

The shepherds as invited

Kneel before his bed,

A crude manger for his body

And dried hay for his head.

 

The animals low in tandem

Sometimes in unison too,

No harmony could be detected

But they never knew.

 

Wise men would visit later

But for now only shepherds came,

Having been told by the angels

In a glorious refrain.

 

 

Glory to God in the highest

And on earth, peace!

Meanwhile the wise men were noting

A peculiar star in the east.

 

When they finally saw him

The baby Jesus, I mean,

He was then resting in a house

This was not the manger scene.

 

I wonder what it was really like

To have been present at his birth,

What a wonder that must have been!

“God has come to earth.”

 

Today I remind my readers

It can be a dream come true,

For the Holy Spirit has come to dwell

In persons like me and you.

 

 

No, not in a manger stall

But in temples as we are,

So we can be near and dear to him

Just like the wise men that came from afar.

 

What a privilege for the highest

And the lowest of all the earth!

We can be one in Christ Jesus

On account of the “new birth”.

 

To be “born again”, as Jesus said,

In his discourse with Nicodemus,

Today that can be you and me

By simply accepting Jesus.

 

There is room for the simple shepherd

And for kings and wise men too,

God’s great gift was sent to all

And if you are a skeptic, even you.

 

Stewart Russell © September 2019

 

Such Great Salvation

A salvation that is real

A salvation that is true

I have that salvation

Tell me, do you?

A salvation that is free

It is eternal too

One can never earn it

Neither me, nor you

This salvation is a gift

It is God’s gift to man

It was given to him

Via the second Adam

The first Adam failed

But not the second Adam

And so to our account

His success is reckoned

It is imputed to us

On it we have no claim

It is so only because

Jesus was slain

Jesus died our death

So that we could live

There is nothing in exchange

That we can give

Our life was worthless

Until Jesus came in

It is only through him

We are freed from sin

Our sentence was death

Ever since Adam fell

And that meant death

In an eternal hell

But God sent forth

His only Son from above

His was an expression

Of the greatest love

  

We esteemed him not

He was stricken of men

We refused to believe

He was whom God did send

There on Golgotha’s hill

Jesus was crucified

In that “place of a skull”

Jesus suffered and died

He rose from the dead

As he said he would

And effected for us

What no other man could

It is by his spilt blood

We are saved from sin

It is for the “whosoever”

That believes in him

No shedding of blood

No remission of sin

Such great salvation

Only comes through him

He was our blood donor

Ours was not a match

This salvation is ours

With no price attached

Though invaluable it is

There is no cost to us

Such great salvation

Through the blood of Jesus

This is a fairy tale

Some may want to say

But a real hell awaits such

On that coming day

The only means of escape

Is in this great salvation

Any other way you choose

Spells eternal damnation

Stewart Russell © January 2019