Too Late

 

 

Build a what?

An ark?

What is that?

Between my knowledge base

And this ark-thing was a huge gap.

 

But not for long,

I was given specific instructions

Which I followed to a “T”

And that without question.

 

Finally, it was completed

Down to the very last nail,

Pitched within and without

It was now ready to sail.

 

Two by two

The animals came,

Their variety of sounds

Making a cacophonous refrain.

 

Their homing devices

Set to destination, the ark,

Ordered by an unseen power

Before the imminent dark.

 

And I in awe

At this turn of events,

Meanwhile they that should know better

Refusing to repent.

 

 

Mocking and laughing

And having loads of fun,

Unaware of the pending peril

From which they cannot run.

 

That is, of course,

Unless they follow the animals

They would soon be past tense:

An eradicated people.

 

A flood?

What flood?

Old Noah, are you mad?

All of that work for absolutely nothing,

How foolish, how sad!

 

A massive boat

And no water to float it,

Poor Noah had lost his senses

And didn’t know how to quit.

 

Persistence is all right

When you are aware of your goal,

But surely not in Noah’s case

He was now in a hole.

 

 

A massive boat

Built in the middle of nowhere

With no water to sail it

And none likely to appear.

 

And so, they mocked

And so, they laughed

Not recognizing

This was their final repast.

 

 

 

An evening at the movies

Suddenly turned sour

And their fun turned to horror

That very hour.

 

Stewart Russell © July 2020

 

How Should a Christian Vote?

 

 

From should a Christian vote

To how should a Christian vote,

Is a matter occupying our attention:

A matter of important note.

 

Thus, we put behind us

The question regarding the should

And thus, we shall focus on the how,

Assuming that he or she would.

 

So, what are the parameters

That should control the how?

From the debate among Christians

We will deal with this now.

 

The more pious Christian believers

Would posit that we must pray,

Pray that God would open our eyes

And show us the way.

 

For whom we should vote

Since God knows everyone’s heart

And He knows the ending of a matter

From the very start.

 

From this emerges a perception

Regarding how we hear God,

Do we hear Him like Noah and Abraham

When they answered His call?

 

 

One: to build a huge boat

Since there was going to be a flood;

The other: to forsake his native land

And even leave his blood.

 

 

 

So much was up in the air

That neither of these patriarchs knew,

That they would have to be very sure

God was telling them what to do.

 

It could not have been a dream

Or some trumped up vision

As is the case of modern-day prophets

Before making a big decision.

 

No, there was a certainty

That they were hearing from God

And there was no doubt, whatsoever,

The reason they were called.

 

In the recent Presidential election

There were prophets in both camps

Hence the predicament of the Christian

Regarding a particular slant.

 

 

Then there is the “lesser evil”-

Another “how”, I have heard advanced:

If Christians vote for the lesser evil

They’d have a better chance.

 

Herein is another perception

Especially where there is cover-up

And given the propaganda machinery

You’d need more than luck.

 

Plus, is it the will of God

That Christians should vote for evil?

Does our God promote comparative evil

For His born-again people?

 

A resounding negative

Must be the Christian’s response

When in particular, by other Christians,

This nonsense is advanced.

 

Such must not be a criterion

By which a Christian cast a vote

But a thorough analysis of the candidates

Is of critical note.

 

What has been their practice

Not just what they enunciate

And how has the most vulnerable advanced

Re the policies they initiate.

 

How God-aligned have they been

Re their party’s governance

And in recognition of God’s template,

How is their moral conscience?

 

Let the Christian voter beware

Casting a vote is rather involved

And is a responsibility and accountability

That cannot be lightly absolved.

 

Vote conscience rather than emotion

Vote godliness above ambition,

Vote populace instead of person

And let God shape your decision.

 

At the end of the day

Christians will still vote differently

But they would have carried out their duty

To vote responsibly.

 

Stewart Russell © November 8, 2024

 

No Nations in Heaven

 

 

No nations in heaven

Not a single one,

God ushered in the heavenly Jerusalem

And the old was gone.

 

He didn’t start with a nation

But with one man

To whom he gave a woman

For redemption’s plan.

 

The first Adam failed

With his eyes opened wide,

That he knew what God required

Cannot be denied.

 

 

Judgement came later

In the form of a great flood,

Noah preached for 120 years

But nobody budged.

 

Eight people were saved

To repopulate the world:

Noah, his wife and six others

According to the Word.

 

Next it was Abraham

Called from among his clan

And who was instructed by God

To journey to a land.

 

Followed by Isaac

And Jacob renamed Israel

Out of whom came the twelve tribes

God’s chosen people.

 

 

In faithful Abraham

All nations are blessed

Becoming one people in Christ

Thus, entering God’s rest.

 

No nation at the start

And no nation in the end

But a people out of many nations

Christ calls his friends.

 

To all that received him

They are children of God:

A people not limited to ethnic Israel

But scattered abroad.

 

 

 

Made up of every nation,

Every kindred and tongue

Having heard the everlasting gospel

To YAHWEH now belong.

 

A people, not a nation,

Do not be mistaken!

All of ethnic Israel will not be saved;

Only those that are forgiven.

 

Now no wall of partition,

No longer Gentile and Jew,

All are one people in Christ Jesus

No chosen nation in view.

 

 

No nations in heaven

Only the people of God,

And with these God tabernacles

Though scattered abroad.

 

1 John 3:2

 

Beloved,

Now are we the sons of God,

And it doth not yet appear

What we shall be:

 

But we know that,

When he shall appear,

We shall be like him;

For we shall see him as he is.

 

The New Jerusalem

Prepared as Christ’s bride,

Coming from God out of heaven

With us to forever abide.

 

Stewart Russell ©June 13, 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

 

Must Be A Joke

 

 

Ha, ha, ha,

He must be a joke

In the middle of nowhere

He builds a boat

 

How will he move it?

This massive boat

Without water

How will it float?

 

He mentions a flood

That is to come

Let us all taunt him

And have some fun

 

 

Seven people only

Were assisting Noah

So building the ark

Was quite slow

 

It was a long time

Before the flood

For the naysayers

This was good

 

One hundred years

And twenty more

Noah and family

Had to be sore

 

Bearing the brunt

Of everyone’s jokes

A warning he gave

Every time he spoke

 

A flood is coming

He preached to them

But not one convert

What a problem!

 

 

Building a boat

And preaching too

Such a long time

Breeds a dim view

 

The more he preached

The less they heard

And building a boat

Was just absurd

 

A long time passes

After a long time

Something simple

Strikes the mind

 

Only animals respond

To Father Noah

Two by two

They begin to show

Into the ark

These animals went

But the human beings

Refuse to repent

 

Still they laughed

At Father Noah

And they totally enjoyed

His free show

 

Ignoring the signs

The animals displayed

Must be a joke

So they say

 

“What is that?”

One of them asked

This time of course

No one laughed

 

“Water,” one said

And up they looked

  But by this time

The ark’s door was shut

Must be a joke

But the joke’s on them

Not one of them

Knew how to swim

  

Drowned they all did

Every single one

But for all in the ark

Came a new dawn

 

It was after the flood

When they disembarked

Noah and his family

Made a new start

 

Must be a joke

I am hearing you say

The joke will be on you

One of these days

 

Heed the call now

The bridegroom comes

He could be here

Before this day is done

 

 

Must be a joke

But you won’t laugh

If you don’t get in

Before time is past

 

Ha, ha, ha,

You’ll be the joke

In the middle of nowhere

Without a hope

 

Stewart Russell © September 2019

 

 

The Gospel According to Genesis 5

 

 

The Gospel According to Genesis 5

 

MAN – Adam

 

IS APPOINTED – Seth

 

MORTAL - Enosh

 

SORROW – Kenan

 

THE BLESSED GOD – Mahalalel

 

SHALL COME – Jared

 

TEACHING – Enoch

 

HIS DEATH SHALL BRING – Methuselah

 

THE DESPAIRING – Lamech

 

REST AND COMFORT - Noah

 

Genesis chapter 5:

These ten generations

Truly form a narrative

That depicts salvation.

 

Cain and Abel

Were omitted from this mix,

When Cain killed Abel

He caused that fix.

 

That the Hebrew meanings

Of each of these names

Tell the Gospel message

Is wonderfully plain.

 

 

The first man ever:

His name meaning MAN

Was created by the Almighty God

Who called him Adam.

 

Next in this Genesis 5 bloodline

Was Adam’s third son,

Seth means IS APOINTED;

That’s the second generation.

 

Next, we have Enosh

The third of these people

And it is significant

That his name means MORTAL

 

Fourthly, there is Kenan

And his name means SORROW

The state of fallen man

Comes every tomorrow.

 

Then comes Mahalalel

Hence, THE BLESSED GOD:

The turning point in the message

To be spread abroad.

 

Next, we have Jared:

His name means SHALL COME

Pointing to the Lord Jesus:

The Father’s begotten Son.

 

Enoch means TEACHING:

Of course, meaning the Christ

Whose life was offered

As our sin sacrifice.

 

HIS DEATH SHALL BRING:

That’s what Methuselah means,

Showing why the Lord Jesus

Came on the scene.

 

Next are THE DESPAIRING

Hence, the name Lamech:

An emotional state

That speaks of much regret.

 

Hallelujah for Noah

Meaning COMFORT AND REST!

Genesis chapter 5

Is THE GOSPEL, no less.

 

 

Man is appointed mortal sorrow

But the blessed God shall come teaching.

And his death shall bring the despairing

Rest and Comfort.

 

Stewart Russell © July 31, 2021