On the Threshold

 

 

Standing on the threshold

Of a brand-new year,

Lord, we offer up to you, thanks

In this prayer.

 

It is because of you

That we are not consumed,

Daily we receive of your mercies

And daily we bloom.

 

Many have passed on

During this current year

And we thank you for their mark

Though no longer here.

 

Their legacy remains

Upon which we can draw

But their passing reminds us all

We are but straw.

 

Unstable in the wind

But for your mighty hand

And your constant revelation

Regarding your plan.

 

 

 

The bigger picture

Regarding all the called

And all those that trust in you

As their God.

 

Thank you, Lord

For such assurances

And for imputing to your children

Christ’s righteousness.

 

For ‘tis in you we live,

Move and have our being

And without the Spirit’s guidance

None would be seeing.

 

 

 

Thank you for your care

In this closing year,

And for reminding us in our peril

We need not fear. 

  

 Just as in this year

So, in the one to come,

Teach us Lord to number our days

And not before you run.

 

Thanks for marking

The way we should go

And for the light of your Word

That makes it glow.

 

And as we close out

This remarkable year,

We thank you again dear Father

For your Divine care.

 

Stewart Russell © December 31, 2025

 

 

Shopping List Praying

 

 

Heavenly Father,

Help me reduce my shopping list

And the constant adding of items

I believe I miss.

 

It is growing longer

And daily more bulky

And I am really beginning to feel

I am kind of greedy.

 

It is mostly about the things

That I think I need:

Mostly tangible and material

And bargain deals.

 

For life to be much easier,

For finances to improve

And to help me to get myself

Into a better groove.

 

The car wants changing

It is over three years

And the house needs painting;

It looks so drear.

 

 

Thus continues the list

With intermittent breaks

To think of more needed items

Mostly for my sake.

 

I am not selfish,

I pray for others too

That as God supplies my needs

They will also get through.

 

It’s getting overbearing,

These shopping lists

But for some reason, dear God,

I cannot resist.

 

And then the complaints,

These are numerous too

Such that I am tired and sleepy

When I get through.

 

Nothing is going right

In this country of ours

And almost every waking morn

There are new horrors.

 

Another homicide

Or another road fatality

And my prayer shopping list

Grows exponentially.

 

I am tired of it, Lord,

For it has become a ritual

And that I now seem ungrateful

Is somewhat regrettable.

 

 

Help me to see you

Beyond a shopping list

And to see you as the reason

Why I exist.

 

In you I live and move

And have my being,

Without you there’s nothing

I am capable of achieving.

 

And all that I ask for

You give to me anyway

Meaning I should give thanks

Each and every day.

 

You have promised

To supply my every need

And that you have been doing

In fact, indeed.

 

 

Help me not reduce you

To a shopping list God

But to acknowledge the fact

You are my all in all.

 

So, all praise to you

For your abundance

And let my shopping list pale

In genuine repentance.

 

Stewart Russell © September 1, 2024

 

Beyond the Mere Ritual

 

 

Heavenly Father,

I pray today

That my prayer

Would go beyond mere ritual,

And be not the complaints

Or the grocery list

As usual.

 

Help me,

Heavenly Father,

To appreciate you

Simply just for who you are

And to thank you

For supplying my needs

As you always do.

 

And to do so,

Heavenly Father,

Form a heart of gratitude,

Ascribing to You all glory,

And all honour,

And all praise

In the right attitude.

 

Giving thanks,

Heavenly Father,

For those necessities

I often take for granted:

Like the strength I use,

And the air I breathe

Uninhibited.

 

For the so-much

That is going for me,

Heavenly Father,

Rather than the focus I take

On life’s challenges

And making the same

A huge bother.

 

 

Help me today

And always,

Heavenly Father,

To go beyond the mere ritual,

Praying from the heart,

And that without ceasing,

It will be continual.

 

Help me, Heavenly Father,

To conform to the image of Christ

As I grow and glow,

And that the beauty of Jesus

Will be seen in me

As I live out in my life

Here below.

 

I pray, Heavenly Father,

That…

My walk will match my talk,

My life will match my lip,

My prayer would be mindful

And meaningful

And not just a daily habit.

 

Stewart Russell © February 21, 2022

 

FORGIVEN

 

 

I am a one-word wonder

It is simply FORGIVEN,

A status I do not merit

But suited for this poem.

 

You may say in your mind

That I am a nobody,

No problem I would respond

I most definitely agree.

 

If it were not for Jesus

Where would I be?

I was guilty as charge

But FORGIVEN says I am free.

 

Not perfect but FORGIVEN

Hence, I still slip,

Not perfect but FORGIVEN

Even when I lose my grip.

 

 

FORGIVEN, not on my account

But on the account of Christ

When I accepted his word

And his atoning sacrifice.

 

I was indebted to sin

And growing deeper every day

But I was gripped by his words

When I heard him say…

 

“Father forgive them,”

For that is why he had come

And now that I am FORGIVEN

I am also a son.

 

A nobody but FORGIVEN

I am somebody in Christ,

Nobody may be your opinion

But the latter does suffice.

 

 

I may appear sin-stained

But I am daily being cleansed

In the precious blood of Jesus

My Saviour and friend.

 

You see the outward

And you form a judgment

But you don’t see the moment

When I inwardly repent.

 

God sees my heart

And knows the condition therein

And He says to me

“You are forgiven of your sin.”

 

Heavenly Father, help me I pray

Not to use forgiven as a cloak

Or behave like the unsaved

As though FORGIVEN were a joke.

 

 

Help me, Heavenly Father

To be an example of the believer

While bearing the title FORGIVEN

As a grateful receiver.

 

I am a one-word wonder

Just simply FORGIVEN,

A status I do not merit

But it’s suited for this poem.

 

Stewart Russell © August 2020

 

 

A Spiritual Delusion

 

 

Some of us believe

We can tell God what to do,

We tell Him How we see it

And He must agree with our view.

 

We even quote the Word

And take it out of context

And when there’s no desired outcome

We might even get vex.

 

We go to God with information

That perhaps He doesn’t know

And then we bargain with Him

As to how the matter must go.

 

We remind Him of His Word

And advise that He must keep it

And we call in as our witnesses

His Son and Holy Spirit.

 

Of course we wait on the Lord

To do what we demand of Him

“Your will be done,” we may even say

But the chances of that are slim.

 

It’s our will that really matters

We have already told God so,

By the way that we petition Him

That’s all He needs to know.

 

How the roles have changed

Between the Creator and the creature!

The creature becomes the creator

This is a regular feature.

 

I think we are spiritually deluded

When we approach God like this,

I would advise any believer

From such behavior desist.

 

That’s not praying by faith

Neither praying with assurance,

That is disrespecting God

And he demands our repentance.

 

Take another look if you may

At the model prayer Christ taught,

It starts out by reverencing God

That’s the first essential thought.

 

Thereafter we bring our requests

Bearing in mind He knows what’s best

Then patiently waiting on God

Presents our greatest test.

 

How we delight to nag

And beg and beseech and implore!

Yet we’ve put it in the Lord’s hand

And confess we can do no more.

 

“I have faith,” we often boast,

“That God will come through for me.”

But if the outcome is undesired

We go on an excuse spree.

 

We should have prayed and fasted,

We didn’t pray enough,

Maybe someone had sinned

And remarks of similar stuff.

 

Yet we recognize God as Sovereign

He knows and does what’s best

But when it doesn’t fit our agenda

We cannot let it rest.

 

At the end of our faith is trust

Regardless of the outcome,

Trust in God and in His Spirit

And trust in His beloved Son.

 

A child makes a request of a parent

But that parent has to decide

Considering the overall picture

Whether to grant that request or deny.

 

Similarly it is with our Heavenly Father

We must leave our requests with him

And regardless of the outcome

Remember that unbelief is a sin.

 

Stewart Russell © June 2018

 

This Prayer Is for You

 

 

Something has gone awry

And you are feeling extremely blue,

My brother my sister:

This prayer is for you.

 

You operated in the light

Of what you thought you knew,

Do you not despair

This prayer is for you.

 

No kind of apology is working

They say you are through,

Turn to God, my friend…

This prayer is for you.

You anticipated something

It was clearly in your view,

Suddenly it disappeared…

This prayer is for you.

 

You lost a loved one

There was nothing you could do,

Now you are distraught…

This prayer is for you.

 

Destabilized by COVID-19

Yet to receive your dues,

Do not be dismayed…

This prayer is for you.

Hard-ears disobedient children

Really getting to you,

Parent and teacher:

This prayer is for you.

 

The ship of state in a bad state

And concerned about revenue,

Prime Minister or President:

This prayer is for you.

 

COVID forcing adjustments

And you wish it were through,

Pastor and church leaders:

This prayer is for you.

 

Problems continually mounting

And solutions appear few,

Whoever you are,

This prayer is for you.

You are from a good home

But in with the wrong crew,

Dear misguided one

This prayer is for you.

 

You have done your best

Yet there is so much more to do,

Do not stop trying,

This prayer is for you.

 

For all the not mentioned

But have some challenge in life too,

Do not feel left out

This prayer is for you.

 

Our Gracious Heavenly Father

This day I call out to you on behalf of the above,

Teach them to know your voice

And to sense your love.

 

To understand that you care

And reach out to all be it far or near,

Grant them relief from all that they fear

And convince them, Father, that you are right there.

 

Wherever they are

At home or abroad,

Assure them, Heavenly Father

That on you they can call.

 

Bless them and keep them

In and during their trial

And extricate them from the guilt

Of any previous denial.

 

Any denial of your sufficiency

Right now, or in the past,

Or any feeling they harboured

That you were not quite up to the task.

 

I was urged to pray in this manner

And now that I am through.

I assure you once again

This prayer is for you.

 

Stewart Russell © September 18, 2020

 

To My Wife Lynette

  

Having drunk her soup,

I could not find the door,

We weren't married then

So I dare not ask for more.

 

It was not yet 1981

When I would marry this girl

But all the way back then

My head was in a whirl.

 

Now on her 66th birthday

I would not change a thing,

Not a lot of soup these days

But still much joy she brings.

 

Happy birthday today

To my wonderful wife

And thank you Heavenly Father

For her in my life.

 

Hi Lyn, this one is for you,

Enjoy it to the max!

Happy birthday, my Queen,

It's your day to relax.

Stewart Russell © March 5, 2022