My Best Hour of All

  

 

“I also had my hour;

One far fierce hour and sweet:

There was a shout about my ears

And palms before my feet.”

 

The poet got it right

Regarding that Palm Sunday,

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem

Palms in the way lay.

 

Not only palms as told,

But people’s garments too

And that donkey carrying Jesus

Was also in view.

 

 

 

From parody to prominence

From a scourge to a song:

The wonderful shouts in adoration

As King Jesus rode along.

 

No horse as of a king

Or horse drawn carriage

But a scourge and derided donkey:

A parody of marriage.

 

O what elevation,

The donkey enjoyed that day

When the creator of all donkeys

Travelled the Calvary way!

 

 

 

For these adoring Jews

Would soon change the tune

And the Redeemer of the human race

Would be interred in a tomb.

 

 

 

But not before crucifixion:

A slow and horrendous death,

Sentenced for your sins and mine

Bringing eternal rest.

 

It was the donkey’s hour

Shared with the King of kings

As they journeyed into Jerusalem

And heard the people sing.

 

Temporary though it was,

None can take it away:

There were palms beneath its feet;

Shouts about its ears.

 

 

 

G. K. Chesterton got it right

Hence, his poem I quote

About the donkey’s greatest hour

That he also wrote.

 

Gone down in History

A donkey without a name

But featured that first Palm Sunday

And when the Saviour came.

 

The journey to Bethlehem

Bearing an unborn child,

Whose mother and father later on

Would have to hide.

 

No doubt another donkey,

To Egypt took them

When King Herod’s crazy decree

Caused a dire problem.

 

 

 

But the best hour of all

Was in the Master’s control

When she carried the King of kings

Walking fearless and bold.

 

“For I also had my hour;

One far fierce hour and sweet:

There was a shout about my ears

And palms before my feet.”

 

Stewart Russell © March 29, 2026

 

King Herod

 

 

I was that king

At the time of his birth,

Some said that this was the time

When God came to earth.

 

Emmanuel, they said,

Meaning God with us

And they said that the baby’s name

Was Jesus.

 

 Magi came inquiring

Where he may be found

But as far as I knew at the time

One king was around.

 

This was yours truly,

Herod the Great,

The king I suppose the people

Loved to hate.

 

I was ruthless and evil

And had my own way,

You would remember the massacre

I caused in that day.

 

All the male babies

I had decreed to die,

All of them two years and under,

Dare any defy!

 

 

 

I had fooled the magi,

At least, I thought so

But my expectation of their return

Was a no-show.

 

Worship whom?

A nondescript baby?

Me?  The great and mighty Herod?

Are you crazy?

 

Do not blame me

For what I did that day,

Charge those magi from the east

Who went another way.

 

Be in my shoes,

What would you have done?

Just quietly abdicate the throne

And cowardly run?

 

 

 

Well, not me, Herod,

Unless it was Caesar,

The Roman god-like Emperor

Who had so ordered.

 

Get the order right!

It was him and then me,

And besides, no one in the palace

Knew about this baby.

 

I tried to slay him

But I must admit I failed,

All my soldiers failed miserably

In this sordid detail.

 

 

 

One piece of information

That Herod did not give

Was that an angel had told Joseph

He no longer lived.

 

So, Herod met his demise

Like all earthly kings

However, Jesus is alive forever

And salvation brings.

 

Stewart Russell © December 16, 2025

 

A Magi

 

 

Perhaps you had heard

There were three of us

But whether there were more or not

Is not my focus.

 

Maybe you thought

We started out together

But again, neither is this my focus

So, no need to bother.

 

I just want to share

The incredible experience I had

And let me tell you from the outset,

I am eternally glad.

 

Please understand upfront

That I was not a Jew

And thus, the more wonderful to me,

And perhaps also you.

 

 

 

I studied the constellations

With their countless stars

And I was able to tell their distance

Whether near of far.

 

They often told of events

Particularly in the future

And because of the Almighty God

I got the picture.

 

I was not an afterthought

But I was always included

And just like the shepherds earlier

I was not excluded.

 

 

 

I followed that star

That mysteriously moved

Straight to over King Herod’s place

To give him news.

 

News of a new born king

He did not even know

But to whom that star had pointed

And also showed. 

 

I left King Herod’s palace

Of course, none the wiser

But I found the star still waiting

To be my guider.

 

It guided me to a house

In which was a young child

And by whom, I felt the strong urge

To kneel beside.

 

 

 

I presented him a gift

And it was of myrrh

With which he would be anointed

When his death occurred.

 

To me that was strange

For he was just a toddler,

Why should death at this early stage

Be a bother?

 

There were two more gifts

That I can recall,

There were gold and frankincense;

Yes, that was all.

 

There was a great presence

There in that room,

And it was of a heavenly invitation

And not of doom.

 

 

 

What an experience

And what great salvation

To be in the same room as the one

To bring redemption!

 

Not only for the Jew

But for the Gentile as well

And what great news other magi and I

Had to tell!

 

Some call us wise men

And some call us kings

But I can tell, seeing the Christ child

Meant everything.

 

Stewart Russell © December 16, 2025

 

Away From Me

 

 

Get away from me

You vile being

Bringer of evil and gloom,

For me there’s hope

For you there is none

Your days are numbered,

You are doomed.

 

An opportunity you had

In heaven

But overcome with pride,

“I will raise my throne

On par with God.”

But down

You were cast

And heaven denied.

 

In the Garden of Eden

You tried again

And deceived Mrs. Adam,

But God

Set you up

And crushed your head

As he revealed  

In redemption’s plan.

 

Not long after

Things got bad

As bad as things could be,

There was a flood

And mankind was drowned

But Noah was saved

And his family.

 

You are as persistent

As a mosquito

Or the flies we often see,

But with

Submission to God

In James we’re told

Resist you

And you will flee.

 

That is the key

In dealing with you

Whenever temptation you bring,

Get thee behind me

You destroyer of life

I will live

For Christ

And of Him I will sing.

 

You wanted King Herod

To kill the Christ Child

But nothing takes God by surprise,

Your plan was thwarted

And you were denied

For sure

The wise men

Were really wise.

 

I will not indulge you

In conversation

Whenever you come to me,

I have better things

With my life to do

So away with you

And that I mean

You evil adversary.

 

With Jesus on the cross

And then in the grave

Perhaps you thought you had won,

But the stone

Was rolled away

From before the tomb

And triumphantly

Rose God’s Son

 

One final thing

I will mention here

And it has to do with the end,

You’ll go to hell

With your demon crew

And I will be

With Jesus

My Savior and friend.

 

Stewart Russell © October 2017

 

Worship Christ the Lord

 

 

The shepherds heard the news

As they plied their trade,

Watching sheep was their job

They did both night and day.

 

Tidings of great joy

The angels said to them

And this the shepherds understood

Was in the town of Bethlehem.

 

 

They didn’t worship the angels

When they saw them appear

But as the Bible shows us clearly,

They were sore afraid.

 

The Bible does not say

They worshipped the baby Jesus

But we can assume that this occurred

Without unnecessary fuss.

 

The angel had said to them

“Which is Christ, the Lord,”

This in referencing the baby Jesus,

Who came to be the Saviour.

 

 

The wisemen saw a star

That was unlike any other,

Unlike the others it was slowly moving

And they decided to follow.

 

They didn’t worship the star

But merely followed its trail,

And the fact it led to Herod’s palace

Says it’s not a fairy tale.

 

Their worship was reserved

For the baby Jesus

And having left the palace they discovered

Herod they could not trust.

 

 

His worship was a setup

The baby Jesus to destroy

But rather than return to Herod

Another way they employed.

 

All of this is to say to us

Christmas need not be pagan,

Surely it isn’t so for the born again

Who worship Christ, God’s Son.

 

For he is Christ the Lord

Just as the angel said

And rather than worship Christmas

Worship Christ instead.

 

Use the opportunity, I plead,

To follow the shepherds’ lead

And spread this Gospel message

With like fervour and zeal.

 

 

 

For unto us was born that day

A Saviour, Christ the Lord,

And to God, the Son and Holy Spirit,

Worship we should accord.

 

And not to another:

We should worship the Lord God only

And Him only

Should we serve.

 

Stewart Russell © December 17, 2024

 

Wisemen Seek

 

 

The shepherds were nigh,

The wisemen afar,

While the former knew the way

The latter followed a star.

 

How they came together

Only God knows

But they met at Herod’s palace,

The Bible shows.

 

They sought Jesus

Is what Herod was told

And he wanted to see him too:

A liar quite bold.

 

Journeying for two years

Having seen the sign,

This Jesus had to be palace-born

Is what they opined.

 

But he wasn’t there

And Herod couldn’t help,

Though his cunning expression

Showed how he felt.

 

 

“Search diligently for him

And when you find this king

Come and bring me word again

That I may worship him.”

 

Wisemen seek Jesus

And for the right reason,

Being aware that Jesus is the reason

For this season.

 

Take Christ out

And mas is all you’ve got

And though many are still deluded,

Without him is naught.

 

Hence, wisemen seek,

Seek to know the Christ

Who gave himself on Mt Calvary

As an atoning sacrifice.

 

 

Paying our debt,

The price of man’s sin

And inviting the whosoever-will

To come to him.

 

The wisest decision

That anyone can make

When in true repentance we say,

“Jesus, my heart take.”

 

He is a wiseman

That seeks the Saviour,

Just like those wisemen of old

Who found his favour.

 

Today if you hear him

Harden not your heart

But let this Christmas season

Be your initial start.

 

 

Wise men seek Christ

And wise women too,

Your star may be this truth today

That brings him into view.

 

Stewart Russell © December 9, 2024

 

What Ultimately Matters

 

Rejoice not because the spirits

Are subjected unto you,

Let it be known my brother and sister

This is nothing you can do.

 

What ultimately matters

Is where your name is written,

It ultimately matters to you and me

That it is written in heaven.

 

They had only just returned

From the mission of great success

And they were over their heads

Re their phenomenal success.

 

What a report they shared

Obviously reveling in the flesh

But the Lord Christ revealed to them

It was less than second best.

 

 

Rejoice not because the spirits

Are subjected unto you,

Let it be known my brother and sister

This is nothing we can do.

 

All honour is the Lord’s

And all glory belongs to him

And to attempt to share in his glory

Is accounted to us as sin.

 

You’d recall foolish King Herod

Who thought he was a god

And because he accepted such glory

His was a terrible fall.

 

His life was ended that day

And like so many that followed

In the dust of their so-called empire

They too were swallowed.

 

Napoleon the great and Hitler

But before these two, the Jews

That crucified the Lord Jesus Christ;

All came to their just due.

 

It behooves us therefore

To regard the words of the Christ,

For a born-again child of the Saviour

Is to acknowledge his sacrifice.

 

It matters not what we achieve

Or who is subjected to us,

What matters at the end of our sojourn

Is that we belong to Jesus.

 

 

Rejoice not because the spirits

Are subjected unto you,

Let it be known my brother and sister

This is nothing we can do.

 

What ultimately matters

Is where our name is written,

It ultimately matters to both you and me

That it is written in heaven.

 

Stewart Russell © September 29, 2024

 

A People Out of Focus

 

It was at first the tabernacle

But that was only a tent,

Since the Jews were on the go

This made a lot of sense.

 

The centre of the assembly

But not the centre-spot,

The Jews clearly understood then

That Yahweh held that spot.

 

On occasions though,

When showing a tendency to forget,

They were forcefully reminded

And their focus was reset.

 

 

It was a temporal setup

On the promised land journey

But in the fulness of time

There would be a stationary utility.

 

I speak of the temple

Which was David’s idea

But was built in Solomon’s time;

God had the final say.

 

With the temple came the city

Jerusalem was its name,

And under the reign of Solomon

Its riches were acclaimed.

 

There was great peace too

The result of God’s wisdom

That he gave to King Solomon

To rule in that kingdom.

The temple, the centre-piece,

Soon became the centre-spot

And at times they hardly recognized

That Yahweh definitely was not.

 

There were many hard lessons

The Israelites had to learn

But the lessons were short lived

Since they were quite stubborn.

 

Fast forward to the future

Where we come to the Jews,

Just like in old Testament time

The temple was oft abused.

 

 

In the time of Eli

And even afterwards, Samuel,

For many of the people

It became like an idol.

 

They could live as they like

And all would be well,

Once they looked to the temple

Their troubles would be quelled.

 

Like the ark of the covenant

Back in King David’s time,

Once it was in their possession

All would be fine.

 

A misguided focus

Which they paid for greatly,

Such abeyance and worship

Is deserving of Yahweh only.

 

The Jews were proud of the temple

Which housed Almighty God,

It was made a splendid attraction

By King Herod before its fall.

 

 

Such was prophesied by Jesus

And within forty years occurred,

About the year AD 70

Is with what most scholars concur.

 

This was a hard knock to take

Certainly, for the Jews,

This in any time era

Would have been world news.

 

That was not its purpose

But the Jewish charm had gone

And with it the Old Covenant

Since the New was born.

 

They had seen the temple

But could not see the Christ,

Rather than worship the Creator

They worshipped a device.

 

Hence, it had to be removed

Their eyes were out of focus,

With the temple out of the way

They would now see Jesus.

 

And that’s what happened

Three thousand in one fell swoop

And shortly thereafter

Two thousand more in the loop.

 

 

To the Jews first, remember?

And then thereafter the Gentiles,

All like today both are coming in

As the Word reaches the defiled.

 

These are the times of the Gentiles,

And these are the times of the Jews,

Of every nation under heaven

They are receiving the wonderful news.

 

The wonderful news of salvation

That Jesus is come to save,

To deliver from kings and presidents

Down to the common slave.

 

No need to be out of focus

And be trapped in traditions of old,

But step out in the genuine liberty

That your eyes can now behold.

 

Don’t replace the ancient temple

With modern edifices today

But let the Holy Spirit be your life

And in your heart hold sway.

 

Pray not only for Jerusalem

But pray for all other cities too,

From the four corners the Father is calling

Just as he called to me and you.

 

Stewart Russell © June 2020