What’s Your Greatest Fear?

 

 

 

What is your greatest fear

If in fact you have any?

When I was much younger

I used to have many.

 

However, they are decreasing

As I get nearer my demise,

The fact I am more comfortable with death

Should come as no surprise.

 

Now into my seventh decade,

I don’t have as long to live

And to be quite frank, I must admit,

I don’t have as much to give.

 

Death used to scare me quite a bit,

It was my greatest fear,

However, it no longer is,

As a matter of fact, not even near.

 

Dying is now up there

In fact, it’s in the top three,

Losing my sight does make me shiver-

Yes, not being able to see.

 

 

Alzheimer’s is on the increase,

For me that’s another fear,

To be alive and not even know you are

To me is a humongous scare.

 

What’s your greatest fear, I ask,

What do you fear the most?

Or, are you the super fearless one

And make such your daily boast?

 

I used to fear being left behind

When the Lord from heaven return

But this no longer is a fear for me

For in Christ I am standing firm.

 

Hell holds no terror for me

Because no child of God will go there,

The Bible is clear on those who will

And as his child I need not fear.

 

 

 

There is something that you fear,

It’s the case with everyone,

Maybe it’s where you will spend eternity

For one day you’ll be gone.

 

Death is an end of sorts

But it is not the final end,

There is a death one ought to fear-

It’s the second death, my friend.

 

Two births and one death

Is what the Bible recommends

And not one birth and two deaths

As is the sinner’s trend.

 

You must be born again

To avoid the second death,

This should be your greatest fear

All you that speak in jest.

 

For hell is no fairy tale

Or horror movie as seen on TV,

It is a real place the Bible tells

Of torment and misery.

 

Heaven is real and hell is too,

Of them both, Jesus spoke,

Depart here without being born again

And of heaven there is no hope. 

 

If you know not the Saviour

Hell should be your greatest fear

And there is no other opportunity

After you depart here.

 

 

 

What is your greatest fear?

I ask this final time,

For after the white throne judgment

Hell is next in line.

 

Revelation 20:15

And whoever was not found

Written In the book of life

Was cast into the lake of fire.

 

Stewart Russell © March 20, 2023

What If

 

 

What if I end up in hell

Because I got it wrong,

Numbered among the “never saved”:

Though strong but wrong?

 

What if on my own merit

I listed all I would’ve done

Only to hear the words, “depart from me”

After life’s race I had run?

 

What if given my status

Especially in some church,

I was called a worker of iniquity

And left in the lurch?

 

What if lesser mortals

Made it into heaven

And hell became my reward though

I believed I was forgiven?

 

 

 

What if as a Christian

I did all that was required

But on that great judgment day

I ended up in hell’s fire?

 

What defense have I

In heaven’s court of law

Or on what human legal experience

Could I then draw?

 

Did you not realize

These are all questions?

Have you ever given thought to such

In any form or fashion?

 

Do we have a right

To God’s mercy and grace?

Is there merit in any one of us-

Even a tiny trace?

 

 

 

If your answer is yes

Then you do have a right

But how would such stand up

In light of the Light?

 

Not well, I would imagine,

Given our sin nature

For regarding who by nature we are,

There’s a bigger picture.

 

That picture, my friend,

Is Yahweh:

The one that sees all, knows all

And has the final say.

 

No merit of heaven

But justly deserving hell

And God would still be justified

Even if no warning bell.

 

All of this is to say

We’re all without merit,

Regardless of status or ethnicity

Hell is our exit.

 

A delight in the Law

Is not a delight in the Lord

So, ‘tis only by God’s grace and mercy

And faith in His word.

 

My just dessert, I repeat,

Is a burning hell

And my argument based on the Law

Is a sure death knell.

 

“I never knew you”

Wasn’t said to the saved

But to those who highlighted works

And not morally depraved.

 

Not to the born-again,

Were these dreaded words said

But to the self-righteous Pharisees,

Who were spiritually dead.

 

 

 

What if you keep the law

But do not know the Christ,

You will wake up in hell, I tell you!

Your good will not suffice.

 

The Law cannot save,

It was never meant to

But to point us to the one who can

And that one is Truth.

 

Stewart Russell © August 5, 2025

 

Is God Domesticated?

 

 

Have we converted God

Rather than He converting us?

Have we finally converted Him

Such that in us He trusts?

 

Are we now wagging Him

Like a dog wags its tail

And feel with him in our control

We cannot fail?

 

Oft we pray in this way

As though we are in control

And God has to meet our request;

Why, isn’t this bold?

 

Like domesticated animals

Trained to do our bidding:

The dog, the cat, the horse, the ass;

And I am not kidding.

 

 

 

God is no man’s debtor,

The Bible surely points out,

The fact that everything is His

Leaves no doubt.

 

He spoke into becoming

All that we see and experience,

Without Him was and is nothing

That is in existence.

 

Even our breath is His

From the very first one,

And to the time that is appointed

When the last is gone.

 

So, to the Jewish ethnicity

And to all other peoples

God belongs to no particular nation,

Including Israel.

 

 

 

None can domesticate Him

Or Him monopolize:

No President, no Pope, no Priest;

Or Satan who lies.

 

For it is a blatant lie

That God can be controlled,

Whether by prayer or supplication

Or intercession untold.

 

Whether in church or out

Let there be no doubt

That God is the only sovereignty

And no other has clout.

 

 

 

All power is His

And all kingdoms as well

And nowhere without His jurisdiction;

Not even hell.

 

Read the book of Job

And discover what He saw:

God is the Omnipotent Wise One;

In Him there is no flaw.

 

You’d better be on His side

And do what He requires

For He is no respecter of persons

And does what He desires.

 

Stewart Russell © October 29, 2025

 

Some Don’t Believe

If you don’t believe

There is going to be a hell

Then believe this, my friend,

There’s one the Bible tells.

 

Jesus said more about it

Than he spoke about heaven,

We don’t have to dread it

If we’ve been forgiven.

 

There is a fancy I know

We can argue things away

But believe God’s word

It is here to stay.

 

 

Hell was created;

In the Bible you’ll find this

So it won’t go away

However hard you wish.

 

Interesting enough,

It wasn’t created for man

But for the devil and his angels,

This was the plan.

 

However, all who reject Christ

Will be cast into hell

And it is not a place of comfort

But a place of dread.

 

I have heard it said

Hell is right here right now:

Some manner of retribution

God has avowed.

 

Death will end it

It won’t forever abide,

Perhaps this is the reason

Some commit suicide.

 

There is a hell

That many go through here

But for this type of hell

It is man we must fear.

 

 

 

His selfishness and greed

Is responsible for this

But there is no comparison

If heaven we miss.

 

God’s great salvation

Is the only way of escape,

If you are on the broad way

Hell is your fate.

 

I know some will laugh

And call this baloney

But I say to all naysayers

Hell is a reality.

 

God does not operate

After the fact,

Oh no, my friend,

He’s not a God like that.

 

That god is human

Spelt with a common ’g’,

Certainly not Almighty God

That exists eternally.

 

God is not reactive

As humans tend to be.

The entirety of life’s future

Is God’s history.

 

 

History is different though

From His story,

God’s narrative is man’s redemption

In the Bible that’s what we see.

 

A narrative of hope

But also, one of dread:

Heaven for the spiritually alive;

Hell for the spiritually dead.

 

I will be too busy

Shaking hands with friends

Was what one critic said

Of his destined end.

 

He doesn’t believe

But this doesn’t change the fact

That hell is a real place

And there's no way back.

 

Stewart Russell © March 16, 2024

 

Modern Day Sun

 

 

Was the sun as hot as this

When I was still at work?

Then, it did burn a little

But it sure did not hurt.

 

Today it burns a lot more

And now it surely hurts,

My verdict is it’s definitely hotter

Than when I was at work.

 

I sympathize with all of you

That have to work in this,

To be honest, having retired,

There’s nothing about it I miss.

 

It drains you, upsets you,

And fills you with lethargy,

Today’s sun is hotter

And I must add, definitely!

 

Don’t tell me about my age,

I hear young ones cry out,

Not a bother when I was young

But today? Without a doubt.

 

 

Modern day sun is hotter-

I dare not ride in it,

Earlier up in the year I could

But no more is it a habit.

 

About twice each week

I have need to go into St Michael

And I must admit, my friends,

I really feel for you people.

 

I do not like air-condition

So, I keep my windows down

But I am beginning to think again

Especially when in Bridgetown.

 

So hot, so intensely hot,

You actually breathe hot air,

Yet the vagrants walk around

As if they haven’t a care.

 

Barefoot on tar road

Protected by calloused feet

Must be their preservation

In this intense heat.

 

I hear ’bout global warming,

I must admit, I haven’t a clue

So, I cannot say if it is false

Or if it is actually true.

 

 

Something is responsible

For this disproportionate heat

That happens in July and August

But in June it truly tweaked.

 

If this is any indication

What July and August will be

It would be better to stay at home

Or spend the days at the sea.

 

Heat is really my nemesis,

I do not handle it well

So, “rain, rain come again today,”

For me, that would be swell.

 

Modern day sun is blistering

Like it’s already hell’s fire on earth,

I cannot recall it being as hot

Ever since my birth.

 

If this is any indication

Of what hell is going to be

Then ask Jesus Christ to rescue you;

Thank God, he rescued me.

 

Stewart Russell © July 1, 2023

 

If There Were No God

 

 

If there were no God

I could do what I like,

Except within the law of course,

Which I could change to make wrong right.

 

If there were no God

I could do to you before you do to me,

No golden rule to foster relationship

Or to ruin my selfish spree.

 

If there were no God

So much would be possible,

The sky would be the limit

For the powerful and the horrible.

 

If there were no God

There would be no accountability,

Except for the law of course

Which would be too blind to see.

 

If there were no God

I could be whatever I want to be:

Transgender, no gender,

Just simple, old deluded me.

 

If there were no God

It would be just first to the line,

And whatever was on offer

All could be mine.

 

You see, if there were no God

I could be God

And you could be too, if you wanted,

None would be a fraud.

 

All would be authentic

Within their own right

As long as they could win

The inevitable fight.

 

If there were no God

What a wonderful place this would be!

Like the fairy tales we read

I would forever live happily.

 

If there were no God

There would be nothing unimaginable:

No restraints no constraints,

Nothing would be unreachable.

 

 

If there were no God

Can’t you see what I mean?

Everyone would be a king or queen, may be both,

If that was their dream.

 

If there were no God

There would be no God delusion,

We would be clear about our godhood

Instead of this confusion.

 

Or for that matter, I would be God

And you would be too

And there would be a whole world of Gods

Made up of me and you.

 

Wouldn’t that be great?

Wouldn’t that be fabulous?

No Confucius or no Mohamed

Not even Jesus!

 

All of life would be real,

Not some fairy tale

About some Almighty God creating

The first male and female.

 

 

These legends and myths would be understood

For what they really are

And this world, at least for me,

Would be better by far.

 

But all of this is:

If there were no God,

So please understand the premise

Before you begin to applaud

 

This “If” will not happen

Since God already exists,

It is time you open your eyes

And clear away the mist.

 

For if there were no God

There would be no you, no me,

No sky or earth

Or the deep blue sea.

 

No redemption, no salvation,

No Saviour, no Christ,

Hence, no kinsman redeemer

For our sin-sacrifice.

 

No life right now,

No life to come,

No Loving Father

To send His only begotten Son.

 

 

No Bible, no guide

To guide us into truth,

No questions, no issues,

No evidential proof.

 

No heaven, no hell

No deliverance from evil,

No Lucifer, no Satan,

No adversary, the Devil.

 

No life, no death,

No burial, no grave,

Not one of us alive right now, right here!

Hence, nothing would be real!

 

If there were no God

There would be no accountability

And this for the godless is the issue!

Hopefully, not for you or me!

 

It therefore follows

Naturally and spiritually,

There must be a God

Given all that we see!

 

We will be held accountable

Beyond this earthly law,

It will be God’s divine judgment

In which there is no flaw.

 

Stewart Russell © February, 2022