Jesus Is

 

Jesus is my Saviour

Jesus is my Lord

Jesus is my Shepherd

And my Living Word

 

Jesus is my Redeemer

And my coming King

He fills my heart with joy

Of Him I daily sing

 

Jesus is my Bread

And the spiritual food I eat

To do his will my purpose

And my everlasting meat

 

Jesus is my Refuge

Such that into him I run

My fortress, shield and buckler

Without him I am undone

 

Jesus is my Deliverer

From the stress of daily cares

Even when it’s dark and dismal

He dispels all my fears

 

 

Jesus is my Way

He is my lighted path

Along which I travel to Glory

And into heaven at last

 

Jesus is my Answer

To the world’s big questions

By his word he speaks to me

And cautions me to listen

 

Jesus is my Solution

To every presented problem

I just place them in his hand

And trust in him to solve them

 

Jesus is my All in All

He is my ever-present hope

By faith I walk each day with him

And in his strength I cope.

 

Stewart Russell © May 2018

 

The Only Wise God

 

 

Can you tell what I am thinking?

I know someone who can,

He even knows my future

And He never reads my palm.

 

Crystal balls are not His thing

And He never ever predicts

He doesn’t even prophesy

Yet He sees all from where he sits.

 

He knows when we are sincere

And whenever we pretend,

He knows what we will decide

And all that we intend.

 

What question he cannot answer?

There is actually none,

He alone can decide

How long each course will run.

 

Time’s clock has been set by Him

From its beginning to its end,

He knows every twist and turn

Every tunnel and every bend.

 

He is the ultimate Ruler

King of kings and Lord of lords,

He is one yet three

As substantiated by the Word

 

There’s much we do not understand

As expressed in His Word,

And often in our brilliance

We deem that Word absurd.

 

He alone orders the wind

And the boundaries of the sea,

No effort or struggle is required

Just a simple “Let it be”.

 

 

He transcends all of creation

It is all contained in Him,

Everything is for His purpose

Not our fancy or our whim.

 

We were created in His image

Though we often tend to forget

And the balance that He initiated

We constantly try to upset.

 

His ways are past finding out

His thoughts are not our thoughts,

He is from everlasting to everlasting

And He cannot be bought.

 

All in the earth are His

There is nothing that He needs,

He has provided it for our sustainment

Not to satisfy our greed.

 

 

He is the Lord God Jehovah

The I AM that I AM,

Revealed in Christ the Saviour

The Shepherd and yet the Lamb.

 

That he died for me is amazing

That he lives in me is comforting,

That he is coming for me is reassuring

That I am in him is enlightening.

 

It is my honour to know Him

It is my privilege to be called His own

His slave I may be but I am free

Free to enjoy true liberty.

 

 

What blessed freedom in Christ!

My Shepherd, Lamb and Sacrifice,

Nothing brought I but one sin-sick soul

Yet he washed me and made me whole.

 

All of Him and none of me

No credit can I take,

No merit in me, no merit at all

God did it all for Jesus’ sake.

 

And now I rest assured in Him

Until my earthly rest shall be,

Anticipating the glorious resurrection

When I shall live eternally.

 

Stewart Russell © April 2019

Once A Wandering Sheep

 

 

Like a sheep I wandered

I couldn’t find the fold,

I was hunted by the enemy

And he tormented my soul.

Unkempt and bedraggled

My own stench offended,

Pretentious and unreal

Into the crowd I blended.

It was mighty horrible

Especially in the night,

In my heart I was mindful

I was losing the fight.

A good face in the the day

Nightmares during the night,

However I twisted or tuned

It didn’t feel right.

I tried all types of pasture

That temporarily satisfied

And that genuine satisfaction

I was constantly denied.

I called out and I screamed,

“Somebody, please help!”

But none seemed to understand

The misery I felt.

It was then I realized

That none like me could help,

They too were in jeopardy

And felt what I also felt.

The tumult about me was loud,

I could hardly hear me think

And with every failure I met

My heart would further sink.

But then I heard a voice

It was not at all loud,

It came right through to me

Above the tumult of the crowd.

  

So soft and unlike the rest

Yet penetrating all my fears,

“Come to me my little sheep.”

It was said with tender care.

This was very strange indeed

From what I was accustomed to

But the owner of that voice said,

“My little sheep, I mean you.”

“Who are you?” I heard me ask,

To which the voice replied,

“I am the Shepherd of the fold

Inviting you to come inside.”

I had been at this point before

But I feared I couldn’t measure up,

Don’t you bother,” he said to me,

“I have taken your bitter cup.”

For sin he did not have

To die a death I could not die,

He gave me a life I could not live

And told me on him to rely.

All of him and nothing of me

Nothing to give in exchange,

But all he asked was all of me

And even that he did arrange.

With such an offer I did accept

And that, after a while, I admit

But I’m no more a wandering sheep

And in heavenly places I sit.

An heir and joint heir

With my heavenly King,

Thank God this sheep

Can lift his voice and sing…

Hallelujah I have found him

My Shepherd my Saviour my Lord,

No longer a wandering sheep

I am kept by his precious Word.

Stewart Russell © January 2019

A Journey to Nowhere

I started to type

Not knowing what to write

Not an idea in my head

Not sure where I’d be led

But write on I did

Anticipating in in my bid

To uncover the lid

And tap into my brain’s grid

All like now still not sure

Regarding what’s in store

But proceeding in hope

Up this unfamiliar slope

Into the fourth verse

No chance to rehearse

But deeply immersed

I continue the course

I don’t know the way

Hence I could take all day

Not sure what to say

Not sure when I stray

Have not done this before

Can’t see an open door

But on I bore

Hoping more and more

I paused at this spot

This was as far as I got

And as you can see

I have not said a lot

How to proceed

I have lost my feed

But the idea to stop

I just can’t heed

A journey to nowhere

The same as now here

And when I arrive

I won’t know I’m there

  

But on I go

Maybe just to and fro

Sometimes high sometimes low

But where, I just don’t know

Why continue you ask

On this tedious task

Why proceed further

Knowing you can’t last

Curiosity drives me

I just hope you can see

It’s like being tied up

And longing to be free

Free from what

That’s the question

Not knowing the answer

That’s my apprehension

I will review 

What I thought you knew

So just for you

I’ll repeat verses one and two

I started to type

Not knowing what to write

Not an idea in my head

Not sure where I’d be lead

But write on I did

Anticipating in my bid

To uncover the lid

And tap into my brain’s grid

Thus far not much success

At the point of couldn’t care less

Going nowhere fast

And still can’t rest

Your life is ordered to rule

So you take me for a fool

Setting out on a journey

Without a guiding tool

No doubt you’re right

Certainly in my case

But check for yourself

You too might be a waste

I hadn’t composed for a while

That’s really not my style

So I was compelled to write

Not knowing what to type

I have written a plenty

I just completed verse twenty

Hopefully all’s not gone

As I complete verse twenty-one

You can count them

If you like

Add the current verse

And twenty-two would be right

Just a little diversion

In the journey to nowhere

Bear with me a little

And I’ll soon take you there

Your life is ordered to rule

So you take me for a fool

Setting out on a journey

Without a guiding tool

No doubt you’re right

Certainly in my case

But check for yourself

You too might be a waste

By now I hope you see

Like me you too are guilty

Like me you started to type

Not sure what to write

But you type on nevertheless

Giving it your very best

Amidst the daily grind

With little periods of rest

From day one you typed

Not sure of what to write

But as you got a little older

Something came into sight

You became aware

You were in the middle of life

With its many diversions

And times of diverse strife

A lot was misunderstood

Each end was another beginning

And the journey kept on going

Sometimes quite head spinning

Though I didn’t know it then

Nowhere was really somewhere

And when I reached that point

I still wasn’t quite there

Acknowledging I was a fool

I accepted life’s guiding tool

Jesus is my shepherd and guide

I am now typing by his rule

He shows me how to type

And tells what to write

By faith I follow His lead

Wholly dependent on His feed

Sometimes there are diversions

And interferences of my own

But His Spirit always assures me

He’ll never leave me alone

At the beginning of this poem

This is not what I intended

But with Jesus ordering the typing

This is where it has ended

Stewart Russell © July 2017