Purchased and Delivered

 

 

Jesus didn’t just die to purchase it

But he lives to deliver it,

That is, the believer’s salvation,

Is God’s eternal edict.

 

This brings us to God’s will

And identifying with the same,

It’s he that does the Father’s will

By believing on Jesus’ name.

 

“Jesus died for our sins”

The same is a solid, biblical truth

But there is more that’s being done,

Let me supply the biblical proof.

 

If Jesus had only died

He would still be interred today,

Hence, he’d be no different from all

That have gone death’s way.

 

By his blood we are saved

Though by his life we are made alive,

And in that he lives, we live in him,

And by his life we shall survive.

 

Purchased and delivered

To every born-again believer,

Of God’s wonderful, glorious salvation,

There are numberless receivers.

 

As of the sands on the seashore

And as numberless as the stars,

God’s kingdom is forever and ever

And none other comes on par.

 

Signed in the Saviour’s blood,

Stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit,

Now, not a chance of being lost

According to God’s Holy Writ.

 

 

Thus, I serve a risen Saviour,

The evidence is in my heart

Where also lives the Blessed Trinity

Who’s been there from the start.

 

Yes, Jesus purchased my salvation

And he ever lives to deliver it,

And, as its Author and Finisher,

The way he leads is well lit.

 

Jesus didn’t just die to purchase it

But he lives to deliver it,

Such that, in this is my confidence

That he will not allow me to quit.

 

Stewart Russell © March 19, 2023

 

Hearing from God

 

 

Do people hear from God

The way that they say?

Does the Holy Spirit speak

Whenever they pray?

 

“I was deep in prayer

And the Spirit said to me

This is the word for Sunday,

So let it be.”

 

From time to time

Pastors make this claim

Perhaps to reinforce the fact

It’s in Jesus’ name.

 

 

To get the buy-in

From their audience,

Perhaps they use the Holy Spirit

As an advertisement.

 

For sure we will listen

And we will also heed

Once the Holy Spirit ratifies it,

Oh yes, indeed!

 

So, they hear from God

And we hear from them,

That kind of going between

Spells out a problem.

 

There is one Spirit

The Bible makes it clear

Who witnesses to the believer

For the believer to hear.

 

The word one brings

Should be a confirmation

For of two or more witnesses

We have a conviction.

 

 

We hear from God

Through His revelation,

And God speaks to the believer

Via illumination.

 

The word of the Spirit

Is God’s Holy Word

And that is the instrument

To which we must refer.

 

Any urges we feel

Let us put in context,

They must not be dogmas

To suit our pretext.

 

God speaks in His Word

And through His Word

And to live by His Holy Word

Is to honour His Word.

 

Only today I learnt

Of a prophecy

Which seems to me ludicrous

And full of lunacy.

 

God told this preacher

When he will die

And the exact day and year

He also supplied.

 

 

The grand old age

Of a hundred and twenty

Before being whisked away

From his body.

 

It’d be mind-blowing

If it were true

But I have some serious doubts

And I suspect you too.

 

He was prophesying

Regarding 2025,

The year according to him

When we come alive.

 

 

Twenty twenty-six

Will be the big fix

And thirty years afterwards

He’ll be gone in 2056.

 

This, according to him

He heard from God,

Thus, another thirty-two years

Before death calls.

 

Use your brain,

Do not jettison it,

And I urge you my friend,

Make it a habit.

 

Listen to God

As He speaks by His Word

And ignore big-up prophets

Who are clearly absurd.

 

And if you feel led

To perform a task,

As long as it is God’s will,

You don’t need to ask.

 

 

 

Try not to get buy-in

By claiming the Spirit

But speak the Word of God;

Just do it!

 

Stewart Russell © December 20, 2024

 

What Does Good Friday Mean?

 

 

What does Good Friday mean

To a Jew, a Gentile, a Christian?

Well, it may mean different things

Each having his own explanation.

 

To a Jew it mightn’t mean a lot

That Jew not believing in Christ Jesus,

To a Gentile, not being a Jew in any case,

He might consider it just a fuss.

 

To a Christian, as in born again,

It should really hit the spot

Seeing he has been redeemed from the curse

And the kingdom is his lot.

 

To none of the above, I dare say,

It might mean absolutely nothing

Other than another day off from work

To make merry and have a fling.

 

That is of course, until #1,2 and 4

Come into contact with Jesus Christ

Having believed by faith the message

Of the Saviour’s atoning sacrifice.

 

 

 

What does Good Friday mean,

Not to any of the above, but to you?

Is it just another day in the calendar year

You can relax with nothing to do?

 

Or is it that day when we go to church

To mourn the loss of a loved one,

That loved one being Jesus the Christ

Having more than 2000 years gone?

 

Do you dress in black or white

Certainly not green or yellow or red,

For after all, such brightly coloured attire

Is disrespecting of the dead?

 

Good Friday is a day to rejoice

And to give God thanks and praise,

For the fact that Jesus rose from the dead

And is no longer in the grave.

 

 

The setting sun rolled into dawn

From seeming defeat to total victory

And for everyone that believes in Jesus,

There is life eternally.

 

Good Friday, as it is justly called,

Is a good day for the born again,

Whether he be a Jew, a Gentile or a Christian

He is now redeemed in Jesus’ name.

 

 

Does it mean nothing to you

That Jesus died, was buried and rose again

So that you and I might be saved

In his wonderful name?

 

Stewart Russell © March 28, 2024

 

A Prayer for Barbados

In these days of economic woes

In these times of downturns and recessions,

We call on You, Almighty God

In the midst our serious situation.

For God, You are our only hope

Even as we try to ride out these times,

Fill our hearts with trust in your leadership

And rid unbelief and doubt from our minds.

Bring us back to our moral moorings

And faith in your proven wisdom,

Help us to walk in your Son’s example

And all unrighteous passions shun.

May we be models for our youth

Which are worthy of emulation,

May they follow us as we follow Christ

And so give you praise and adoration.

Teach us to number our days

And direct our hearts to your wisdom,

To recognize that this life is transient

But yours is an eternal kingdom.

Teach us Lord to set our affections

On things that are high and godly

So that we may rise above selfish greed

And reach up to things that are heavenly.

Give our leaders a sense of direction

May they reach out to you for solutions

To our present and disturbing dilemmas

And seek your way out for our Nation.

Given our current gun violence

And the terror that grips our communities,

We pray Almighty God for your mercy

And peace to bring us a sense of nationality.

That we may become our brother’s keeper

And share in one another’s joys and pain

So that this country, Barbados, under God,

Can become an international beacon again.

  

We ask these mercies in Jesus’ name,

Giving you the Father praise and glory

As we walk in the dictates of the Holy Spirit

In the oneness of the blessed Trinity.

Amen

Stewart Russell © October 2018