My Biblical Three Step

 

 

Three steps, my friend,

In maximizing the Word,

All three are extremely critical

And not to be deferred.

 

The order is important

Hence, we must get it right

And not underestimate the Spirit

In bringing insight.

 

Commentaries are good

But only for step 2,

However, heed the Holy Spirit

All the way through.

 

For the life in the Word

Is the Holy Spirit

To bring to our elucidation

All that is in it.

 

Step number 1 is:

We must read the Word:

This is of critical importance,

Don’t be deterred!

 

Don’t rush it through

But make adequate time

To read it over and over again

To fill your mind.

 

Memorize it if you can

To aid in your reading

And practice reading chapters

From beginning to ending.

 

 

 

Observe the key words

And the context as well

And on the critical points there,

Be careful to dwell.

 

There is so much

In just reading the Word,

Don’t be too quick to interpret it

Or to commentators refer.

 

Trust the Holy Spirit

To open up your eyes

And reveal treasures of scripture

In surprise after surprise.

 

Meditate on the Word

And let it interpret itself,

This is especially important

For spiritual health.

 

Interpretation is critical

Arising from understanding:

Reading first then interpretation

To see what it’s demanding.

 

Reading is explicit

Interpretation is the implicit,

Interpretation is clearer and clearer

With each successive visit.

 

Sometimes it is needed

To visit another scripture

To clarify one that appears vague

And give a fuller picture.

 

Thus far, number 1 is read

And number 2 is to interpret

But there is still another to come

So, we’re not finished yet.

 

 

Number 3 is application:

It is necessary to apply

What we understand by the Word

And I will tell you why.

 

It’s our manual for life

Regarding our behaviour

And how best to walk in the steps

Of our beloved Saviour.

 

It is the mirror of liberty

In to which we look

To experience wonderful freedom

From this Holy Book.

 

 

And hear a voice say,

This is the way, walk ye in it

Knowing with the full assurance

It’s the Holy Spirit.

 

Yes, three steps, my friend,

In optimizing the Word:

Reading first; interpretation second

And application third.

 

Stewart Russell © March 17, 2025

 

Trust God’s Word

 

 

There are some who believe

The Bible doesn’t say what it means

And so, they reserve the God-given right

To interpret it how they deem.

 

Interpretation before reading

And the implicit before the explicit,

The denomination before the Holy Word

And tradition before God’s edict.

 

Horribly mistaken is anyone

That speaks for the Holy Scriptures,

God is not dependent on man’s traditions

To paint His divine picture.

 

This He did from the origin:

His Word says in the beginning God,

To my mind this is self-explanatory;

All others I must appall.

 

In six days, says the Word,

God created the entire universe,

And when Adam and Eve first sinned

All creation was cursed.

 

It was a curse because of sin

That fell on man and the earth,

But God provided a way to end it all

Through His Son’s earthly birth.

 

 

 

In a Bethlehem stable he was born

With a manger for his crib,

Artists showed straw for his bed linen

For in paintings this is vivid.

 

“Wrapped in swaddling bands”

Was the message to the shepherds

Who back in those Old Covenant days

Were little better than lepers

 

Frowned upon by most

They were not the best of guests

But being invited to see the new born King,

Oh, this was surely the best.

 

 

So, two beginnings I see,

The first was definitely physical,

The second, and this one is clear to me,

Was to deal with the spiritual.

 

 

 

For as in Adam all die,

In Christ shall all be made alive,

The more abundant life is given to a believer

That in all things he may thrive.

 

Read first then interpret

If interpretation is necessary

And use the strict confines of the Word

To interpret properly.

 

Hermeneutics is the method

That is used to exegete the Word,

Precept upon precept, line upon line

As Prophet Isaiah inferred.

 

Scripture validates scripture;

That’s how God set it up,

He will never conflict with Himself;

No such atheistic luck.

 

Any conflict is perceived

And definitively not real,

Every instance any choose to advance

Will undoubtedly fail.

 

In the Word there is life

And that life is in the Holy Spirit

Who brings to our recall all Jesus said

Just as Jesus did predict.

 

Stewart Russell © December 22, 2024

 

The Word

 

 

“A man is as good as his word”,

You know the popular saying

By people who try to convince others

Of sticking to their word and never denying.

 

“My word is my face,” another ventures

“I have always been true to it,

In all my dealings and transactions

I have always made this my habit.”

 

Keeping one’s word is important,

We all know this so very well

But often when it comes to crunch time

Where to find us, no one can tell.

 

Another could also advance

Talk is so very cheap,

It costs us nothing to spread a word

But an awful lot to keep.

 

And so the world continues to be fooled

By many of the great talkers,

They pontificate and they enunciate

But they have been very poor walkers.

 

 

Even in their written contracts

Marked with their signatures and ours,

They ignore their written word

And render it as though without power.

 

“Isn’t that my signature there?

And isn’t that your signature too?”

“Yes, clearly so my friend,” he says,

But your interpretation is not my view.”

 

And so we have made light of the word

Even by some who will dare tell you

“Do what I say and not what I do,”

When maneuvering between the two.

 

Let it be known to all and sundry

That practice should accompany talk,

For word is just a lot of hot air

If it is not in accordance to one’s walk.

 

This point is as good as any other

To turn our eyes upon Jesus;

What it does mean to look in his face

And to turn from our worldly lust.

 

It means more than just a prayer

Or a calling out to him when in our need,

For whatever he says to us to do

We should be inclined to perform in deed.

 

 

It is far, far more important

What he speaks to me, or you,

Than all the combined prayer sessions

That you and I can do.

 

It took me long to understand

The importance of listening to him

For I was obsess with my own talk

Even though my light was dim.

 

Essential to achieving our goal

When we go to him in prayer

Is to be rooted in his word;

This really is the fundamental layer.

 

For faith comes by hearing

And by heeding God’s Holy Word,

And by taking it beyond just prayer,

It will strengthen and undergird.

 

As Psalm 138 verse 2 declares

God’s word is magnified above His name

It is forever settled in heaven

Psalm 119 verse 89 articulates that claim.  

 

Stewart Russell © November 2015

 

Read the Word!

 

 

I am beginning to appreciate

The Word can speak for itself

Far better than the commentaries

That line across our shelf.

 

We rely on commentators

To expound on the Holy Word

And depending on our preference

We may or may not concur.

 

Some we hold in high esteem

And we say their names in awe

Often forgetting they are human

And therefore, not without flaw.

 

Some are particularly brilliant

And that I must admit

But they are not nearly as bright

As the blessed Holy Spirit.

 

I mean the Spirit in the Word

That came to teach all truth:

The promised alike Jesus Comforter

And Pentecost bears the proof.

 

The Spirit illumines the Word

And fits it to our understanding

In a way that no commentary can

Regardless of name or branding.

 

Interpretation is important

But it must not be the primary goal,

Reading is the principal thing

And quite a lot will unfold.

 

 

It is what the Bible actually says

And not what someone says it says:

It’s best we begin with the explicit

And let the Spirit guide our way.

 

I am having a severe struggle

With positions I once held dear

Ever since I began reading the Word

And putting study in second gear.

 

Often, we are inclined to believe

The Word doesn’t mean what it says

And so, we put our spin on it

And hence, our interpretive ways.

 

 

If the literal literally makes sense

Then that’s good enough for me,

No need for someone’s interpretation

To tell me what I did not see.

 

Now commentaries have their place

Please don’t get me wrong,

But they are not the be all and end all:

No human is that strong.

 

So, read before interpreting:

The explicit before the implicit,

The who, the what, the when, the where

Defines a good investigative habit.

 

Be careful with denominations,

Subject them to the litmus test

Which of course is what the Word says:

This approach is always best.

 

Let Scripture interpret Scripture:

The difficult in light of the simple

And read and read and read again!

Until you solve the puzzle.

 

 

A good concordance is key

It’s more instructive than a commentary,

Trace a word right through the Word

And see what its meaning be.

 

Context always before pretext

Exegesis and never eisegesis,

Don’t let denomination get in the way

And from the Bible never drift.

 

Keep the nature of God in mind

And remember, Jesus is the Word,

The Holy Spirit is the Comforter

So, to these three defer.

 

Stewart Russell © August 18, 2021

Difficult to Swallow

 

 

Occasionally I have a dream,

I find particularly strange,

I am trying to swallow but can’t

Though I strain.

 

My mouth appears full

For whatever reason

And though you may laugh,

This isn’t fun.

 

What is even stranger

Is that I do not think to spit,

This should give some ease

But I do think of it.

 

Fortunately, I would wake

Before I choke,

May I remind you, my friend,

This isn’t a joke.

 

It is like whatever it is

Is just lodged in your throat,

Sometimes it happens in real life

And we should take note.

 

There is the physical form

Similar to my dream

Only that in real life experience

It’s a terrifying scene.

 

 

Help is urgently required

To stop that one from choking

And again, I remind you,

I am not joking.

 

Then there is an argument

That just doesn’t wash

In which the opposer is adamant

That it should be squashed.

 

It is difficult to swallow

It just does not make sense

But when explained to the proposer,

He or she takes offence.

 

I will give you an example

Straight from the Bible

In which words mean the opposite

According to some people.

 

Take the book of Revelation

Where certain words are used

Then examine the interpretation

Which some people choose.

 

Must shortly come to pass

For some means 2000 years hence,

I do not mean to be ridiculous

Do not take offence.

 

For the time is at hand

Means a very long time off,

If I say it has already happened

I know some will scoff.

 

Then there is ‘quickly’

Found seven times in this book,

For your own satisfaction

Go and take a look.

 

 

Some interpret quickly

As how fast it will happen

But the context of each passage

Says when it will be done.

 

Which must shortly be done

Cannot mean how fast,

To make this phrase say such

Is a phenomenal task.

 

It is imminent

Even at the door!

Not two thousand year later

But two thousand before!

 

It is difficult to swallow

It was for me too

But I let the Word speak for itself,

You should do so too.

 

Don’t be too quick to interpret

Before noting what the Bible says,

Must shortly come to pass

Can’t be 2000 years.

 

Stewart Russell © September 10, 2023

 

Prophetic Timing

 

If an event was soon to happen

Could it be two thousand years away?

And if the time of it was at hand

Wouldn’t that mean it is near?

 

What if you were in the audience

That heard such a prophecy

Would you not regard the same

As a matter of urgency?

 

So why do we treat to Bible prophecy

As always in the distant future

When words like at hand and near

Should paint a different picture?

 

This is the challenge I have

With our biblical interpretation,

Particularly as it relates

To the book of Revelation.

 

Now I do not mean to upset you

Or knock what you believe,

But maybe to take another look

At what you always perceived.

 

 

Jesus is speaking to an audience

In Matthew chapter 24

And he says to them,

“When you shall see these things,

Know that it is near, even at the door.”

 

Yet we have read into that

More than a thousand years

And I ask again, how could that be?

If it is at the door, it is near.

 

This must have been the understanding

Of the audience to which he spoke,

And that should be our interpretation

If we are right thinking folk.

   

In the book of Revelation,

In the first chapter and the last,

John was to show to God’s servants

Things that must shortly come to pass.

 

They were to hear these words of prophecy

And be encouraged in their stand,

And the phrase for its imminence was,

“For the time is at hand”.

 

 

So I urge that we be thorough

 When studying Bible prophecy,

The Bible was written to be understood

And not with an air of secrecy.

 

Pay special attention to the timing

Given regarding a prophecy:

Some relate to the end of time

Others were regarded as imminently.

 

Stewart Russell © October 2019

 

 

Muzzle and Muffle

 

 

Muzzle and Muffle

Are two characters we employ

To shut up the Word

And steal our members’ joy.

 

I know this sounds funny

But it is true,

Let me get my thoughts together

And I will show it to you.

 

So, you are a believer

That is a great thing to be

But you were saved under a brand

That’s a denomination ID.

 

You were taught by them

And told what to believe

And you now understand the Word

Based on teachings received.

 

You have walked with them

And also with the Lord

Based on their interpretation

Of the Holy Word.

 

There is nothing wrong here

At least for a time

But you must allow the Holy Spirit

To develop your mind.

 

The time must come

When you must read for yourself

Become more mature

And grow in spiritual health.

 

 

Shake off those two characters:

Muzzle and Muffle,

Read the Holy Word for yourself

And with it grapple.

 

It is a denomination’s nature

To think for you

By muzzling and muffling the Word;

That’s how they were taught too.

 

I belong to a denomination too

And I guess I’ll always be,

I don’t plan to hop from place to place

The light for to see.

 

The right interpretation

Is where every denomination’s at

And on the basis of their interpretation

You agree to their pack.

 

But please remember

As you learn you should grow,

We should not let any denomination

Interrupt this flow.

 

 

It is by diligent study

And the leading of the Holy Spirit

That we can learn the Word too

Today and tomorrow, bit by bit.

 

If your denomination does not say

What the Holy Word says,

From that particular interpretation

It is time to part ways.

 

Our allegiance is to God first

And His Holy Word

When the denomination comes first

That is being absurd.

 

Shake off Muzzle and Muffle

And dig into God’s Word!

First, explicitly and then implicitly

And see where you have erred.

 

Let the Word correct your error

By what it says up front

And the Holy Spirit will enlighten you

What is the right account.

 

There is no need to interpret

What the Bible has explicitly said,

The implicit only comes into play

When there’s more to what’s read.

  

Regarding the implicit

To other scripture passages refer

And stay away from Muzzle and Muffle

Which denominations prefer.

 

Stay with the literal

When the literal makes sense

And please my brother, my sister,

I mean no offense.

 

Stewart Russell © January 29, 2021