Better All the Way

“A temple is to be built”

I hear some say,

“But the Muslim sacred dome

Is standing in its way.”

 

That dome must be moved

Can’t be there still,

The temple will be there

Believe me it will.

 

It will be the signal

Of Israel’s Messiah’s coming

For which devout Jews

Are currently looking.

 

Sacrifices must restart

So, the temple is a must,

Dispensationalists believe it

And do make a fuss.

 

Israel will be in charge

As nations go up to her,

This will follow the tribulation

To which the Bible refer.

 

Thus, a new temple

And animal sacrifice

Though this in the first place

Did not quite suffice.

 

There’s no temple need

Or for animal sacrifice,

Jesus’ once for all atonement

More than sufficed.

 

 

Why return, I ask,

To the beggarly elements

After the veil in the temple

Was permanently rent?

 

Showcasing for all

A much better way,

Jesus’ once for all sacrifice

Speaks to a better day.

 

A better High Priest

Than any before him,

The only High Priest ever

That can forgive sin.

 

Jesus is our temple

And our sacrifice,

He is also our High Priest

That gave his life.

 

This is borne out

In the book of Hebrews,

Go there I recommend

For a better view.

 

Better than the angels

And of better things,

We are so wonderfully blessed

We’ve a right to sing.

 

A better blessing

And a better hope,

Jesus is a better testament

Please take note.

 

 

A better covenant

Built on better promises,

The heavenly things themselves

With better sacrifices.

 

A better country

With a better resurrection

God providing a better thing

To bring us salvation.

 

Jesus is the mediator

Of this better covenant

That speaks of better things

For the elect remnant.

 

 

Better all the way:

From the Old to the New,

For the Jew and the Gentile:

For me and for you.

 

Better here and now

And still better to come,

Heirs to the kingdom of God

Through Jesus, His Son.

 

 

 

Christ the new temple,

Believers his lively stones,

Built up in Jesus the Christ

As the Spirit tones.

 

Go to Hebrews now

To study the word better

And see how Jesus shines

In this descriptive letter.

 

To God be the glory

And praise to the Son,

Honour to the Holy Spirit:

Three yet one.

 

Stewart Russell © July 12, 2024

 

What's Your Verdict?

  

 

The gold says King of kings,

The frankincense: High Priest second to none,

The myrrh, the death he would die

First advent of God’s Son.

 

Mary, his pregnant mother,

Was told by God’s messenger, Gabriel,

Joseph, in a vision while he slept,

Was informed by another angel.

 

They had to go to Bethlehem

As a Roman census required,

There they settle for accommodation

That was less than they desired.

 

An innkeeper made room in a stable

The animals gave up their trough,

Emmanuel, meaning God is with us,

Had come from heaven aloft.

 

The animals, they stood in awe

Their Creator had come to earth,

And, if only they could speak,

They would tell of Jesus’ birth.

 

 

The angels announced his arrival

The shepherds received their word,

The wise men had travelled from afar

Hence, Herod had also heard.

 

Simeon held Jesus in his arms

Anna’s waiting was vindicated,

The wise men returned another way

While jealous Herod waited.

 

A massacre of Hebrew males

Of just two years and under,

Herod’s attempt to kill the Messiah

And give vent to his livid anger.

 

Your Honour, I have presented,

A case for the birth of Christ,

The foregoing bears clear evidence

And should quite easily suffice.

 

But should you need more proof

Consult his written Word

Which he by the Holy Spirit authored

And by which many have heard.

 

 

I await your verdict, Your Honour,

What I have presented is truth,

I have confidence in your judgment

Given these reliable proofs.

 

And the verdict is, dear people,

Jesus did come to earth

And that is why for thousands of years

We celebrate his birth.

 

He had to be born to have lived

He had to live to have died,

He had to be entombed to have risen

And in his resurrection, I abide.

 

In as much as he died, I died,

In as much as he arose, I am raised,

And because of his Spirit that lives in me,

I cannot help but give him praise.

 

 

And the verdict is, I repeat,

Christ did come to save such as I

And in the light of such evidence

Only a fool would dare deny.

 

Stewart Russell © December 11, 2021

 

My Christmas Gifts to Jesus

I set out on a journey

I knew not where,

Of one thing I was sure, though,

I would know when I got there.

Among the things I carried

Was one parcel of gold,

“Take it along,” I was prompted

For a king that was foretold.

It was a very long journey

But I remained steadfast,

A star, would you believe it?

Was my day and night focus.

After two years of travel

I closed in on my quest,

For the place of his birth, I believed,

A palace would be best.

With me was another traveller

Whom I met on the way,

He had also started on his journey

Exactly two years to the day.

His parcel was frankincense

But not for a king,

He was taking it for a priest

As he was instructed to bring.

There was a third traveller

That had come from afar,

Like us, he had set on this journey

And was also led by a star.

He too had a story to tell

And we listened intently to him

But what he said to us then

Really threw us in a spin.

 

A king, I understood,

Hence the significance of my gold,

Incense for a priest

On that too I was sold.

  

But when he showed us the myrrh

He was making no sense,

Certainly not in the same light

As our gold and incense.

This child that was born a king

Was also a priest,

But one day, as the myrrh indicated,

He would become deceased.

We had a hard time convincing

The king of our search,

It even became worse

When he consulted his experts.

After we left his palace

I understand he became enraged

And sought to kill all male babies

Younger, or two years of age.

As I listened to that traveller

Who gave the baby Jesus gold,

The reason for the first Christmas

Clearly began to unfold.

Those travellers brought gifts

For God’s gift to the world,

The gift of His only Son

That from the beginning is the Word.

God gave to us Himself:

That is what I have discerned,

Hence, the question on our mind should be

What can I give to Him in return?

I can give him gold

Since he is already the King,

And I have a precedent for it

That is what a wise man did bring.

I can give him frankincense

But he is already the High Priest

And myrrh won’t make any sense

Since he is no longer deceased.

O, I know what I would do

From this Christmas and on

For I am very clear in my mind

Just how I should respond.

I would give him my life

Which for me represents my gold,

And my sincerest devotion

Would be the frankincense I hold.

My myrrh would certainly be

My daily dying to sin,

And all of this I assure you

Would be my Christmas gifts to Him.

Stewart Russell © December 2019