Ye Do Err

 

Matthew 22:29

 

Jesus answered and said unto them,

Ye do err,

not knowing the scriptures,

nor the power of God.

 

Ye do err,

Not knowing the scriptures,

Your agenda in view

Blocks the true picture.

 

The Sadducees had said

There was no resurrection

And had tried to trap Jesus

With a difficult question.

 

They wanted to prove

What it was they believed

But they were the very ones

That had been deceived.

“Ye do err,” said Jesus,

“Not knowing the scriptures,”

And then proceeded to give them

The true picture.

 

A woman had seven husbands

Seven brothers they were,

Each of the predeceased left her

To the brother after.

 

“Whose wife shall she be?”

The Sadducees asked eagerly,

Hoping to trap the Master

With their perceived mystery.

 

“Ye do err,” said Jesus,

“Not knowing the scriptures,”

No marriage in the resurrection

End of the lecture.

 

My brother’s first wife died,

He is now on his second

But for either in the resurrection

There is no provision.

 

They will have a new name

And it will not be Russell,

There’s no need in the resurrection

For any such tussle.

.

I know the assurance given

Is that we will meet over there

But not as husband and wife,

Only one bridegroom appears.

 

The Church is his bride

And he is Head of his Church,

Consult the Holy Scriptures

And forget the experts.

“Ye do err,” said Jesus,

“Not knowing the scriptures,”

They were blind to the truth

Though they looked on its picture.

 

Pilate had the same problem

When he asked what is truth,

Before him stood Jesus

Its undeniable proof.

 

I am grateful for Lynette,

My adorable wife

But this union will end forever

When I leave this life.

 

I will enjoy all she offers me

For as long as we live

And with God being my helper

Give her what I can give.

 

At my graveside

I hope she will understand

I am no longer hers

But totally in God’s hand.

 

We have discussed together

That death will part us forever,

No husband and wife in eternity

But heaven to treasure.

 

Stewart Russell © December 7, 2021

 

All You Can Do

 

 

They were the best laid plans

But they came to naught

And I was still led to believe

That it was all my fault.

 

If it were only once

That would have been fine

But I sat down and planned again

And I stuck to the line.

 

I carefully planned my work

And diligently worked my plan

Yet the same result as before;

It was as if I were damned.

 

But I refused to give up

And steadfastly held my grip,

I went back to the drawing board

And I refused to be licked.

 

I tried different approaches

And when I was tempted to give up

I determined in my mind

Failure was not my cup.

 

Then it hit me between the eyes

Like a ton of bricks

And I decided there and then

There is no way I could quit.

Quitting was not an option

It struck me like a lightning bolt:

“All you can do is do all you can do”

And this revived my hope.

 

All you can do is do all you can do

You surely can do no more,

Steel yourself each time you fail

And press on like before.

 

Be diligent and be vigilant

And stare your failure in the face

Then do all you can do with all you have

Trusting God’s unlimited grace.

 

When you have done all to stand

Just simply stand!

For all you can do is do all you can do

And put the rest in God’s hand.

 

Stewart Russell © December 4, 2021        

 

Will I?

 

 

Am I going to make it?

Sometimes I doubt,

There are those who make me feel

I could be left out.

 

They point me to scriptures

That appear to point this out

And I must confess after I read

I still sometimes doubt.

 

God is able, they tell me

And plus, we do have a choice,

We could be obedient to Him

Or ignore His voice.

 

The moment we don’t listen

Could spell disaster for us

And the ravenous wolf

Could snatch us from Jesus.

 

Or, maybe I myself

Could take me out of God’s hand,

At any point I could decide

I am finished with His plan.

 

 

Am I going to make it?

Sometimes I doubt,

There are those who make me feel

I could be left out.

 

But it seems strange to me

That after being rescued

One would abandon his rescuer

To go back to that stew.

 

Picture a drowning person

That is pulled to safety

And dives back into the deluge:

That is insanity.

 

From what are we rescued?

That is the question,

And until we can truly answer it

We will have this problem.

 

Sin is the spiritual terror

From which we are saved

And the transformation that occurs

Dictates how we behave.

 

It is the initial choice we make

When we say yes to Christ

And by faith our born-again miracle

Results from his sacrifice.

 

It can happen only once

Just like in our natural birth,

The second birth is from heaven

The first is of the earth.

 

 

Am I going to make it?

Sometimes I doubt,

There are those who make me feel

I could be left out.

 

But having been born,

That is, having been born of the flesh

I am in this world until I die-

That is, when I am laid to rest.

 

Similarly, having been born again

That is, born of the Spirit,

I am a child of God forever

And in heavenly places I sit.

 

Whenever I am in doubt

I remember who my Father is

And since none can snatch me away

I will always be His.

 

It is very hard to be lost

A very good friend once said

And the friend was referring to someone

That was spiritually dead.

 

The Bible shows it is impossible

To foil God’s redemptive plan

And I know most definitively

None can pluck me from His hand.

 

Stewart Russell © October 9, 2020

Will I?

 

 

Am I going to make it?

Sometimes I doubt,

There are those who make me feel

I could be left out.

 

They point me to scriptures

That appear to point this out

And I must confess after I read

I still sometimes doubt.

 

God is able, they tell me

And plus, we do have a choice,

We could be obedient to Him

Or ignore His voice.

 

The moment we don’t listen

Could spell disaster for us

And the ravenous wolf

Could snatch us from Jesus.

 

Or, maybe I myself

Could take me out of God’s hand,

At any point I could decide

I am finished with His plan.

 

 

Am I going to make it?

Sometimes I doubt,

There are those who make me feel

I could be left out.

 

But it seems strange to me

That after being rescued

One would abandon his rescuer

To go back to that stew.

 

Picture a drowning person

That is pulled to safety

And dives back into the deluge:

That is insanity.

  

From what are we rescued?

That is the question,

And until we can truly answer it

We will have this problem.

 

Sin is the spiritual terror

From which we are saved

And the transformation that occurs

Dictates how we behave.

 

 

It is the initial choice we make

When we say yes to Christ

And by faith our born-again miracle

Results from his sacrifice.

 

It can happen only once

Just like in our natural birth,

The second birth is from heaven

The first is of the earth.

 

Am I going to make it?

Sometimes I doubt,

There are those who make me feel

I could be left out.

 

But having been born,

That is, having been born of the flesh

I am in this world until I die-

That is, when I am laid to rest.

 

 

Similarly, having been born again

That is, born of the Spirit,

I am a child of God forever

And in heavenly places I sit.

 

Whenever I am in doubt

I remember who my Father is

And since none can snatch me away

I will always be His.

 

It is very hard to be lost

A very good friend once said

And the friend was referring to someone

That was spiritually dead.

 

The Bible shows it is impossible

To foil God’s redemptive plan

And I know most definitively

None can pluck me from His hand.

 

Stewart Russell © October 9, 2020

 

Loving Shepherd of Thy sheep,

Keep Thy Lamb, in safety keep;

Nothing can Thy power withstand;

None can pluck me from Thy hand.

 

From the hymn:

Loving Shepherd of Thy Sheep

Jane Eliza Leeson  

 

 

Moses’ Rod

 

He was large and in charge

Or, so Pharaoh thought,

But Moses had a rod

That made him quite distraught.

  

There was none like Pharaoh

In the land of Egypt

But a rod blocked his way

And finally, he had to quit.

That rod in God’s hand

Was much too big for Pharaoh

And the Red Sea took his life

When it covered up the road.

The Israelites passed through

But the waters hurried back

And poor Pharaoh and his men

Drowned in the Red Sea trap.

         Stewart Russell © June 2020