A Blood Obsession

 

 

I am beginning to wonder,

And maybe you should

About the apparent obsession

We have about the blood.

 

Especially, I must say,

The blood of the Jesus

Which was shed at Mt Calvary

For every one of us.

 

Some will sprinkle it,

As though they could,

And draw a protective line too

With the blood.

 

Some plead it on others

As though they are foes

And what comes out of such,

Only God knows.

 

A seeming obsession

That the blood gives power

Over the enemy and misfortune

Every day and hour. 

 

 

Like the covenantal ark

Of the Ancient Isrealites

That would win them the victory

Over whom they fight.

 

Was the blood spiritual

Or was it real?

The blood we sprinkled today,

Of what is it made?

 

Who collected the blood

Off the cross and the ground

And please tell me if you can,

Is this blood still around?

 

The life is in the blood

And Christ gave his for us,

The blood given on Mt Calvary,

Was the life of Jesus.

 

 

He is no longer dead

As he conquered death

And because of his resurrection

The believer has rest.

 

The price for our sin

Was Jesus’ precious blood,

The beautiful hymn correctly says,

That no one else could.

 

No one was good enough

To pay the price of sin,

It took Jesus to open heaven’s door

And let the born-again in.

 

No sprinkling required

Except in the sinner’s heart

And everyone can rest assure

It’s where the Spirit starts.

 

No shedding of blood,

No remission of sin,

Nothing Apostle or Pastor can do;

Jesus must be allowed in.

 

 

‘Tis via the Holy Spirit

That Jesus will come in

And together with the Almighty

Will make his abode within.

 

The atonement was done

In a once-for-all sacrifice

And that once-for-all sacrifice

Was the blood of Jesus Christ.

 

So why this obsession

With this so-called blood?

It is time to stop the sprinkling;

I think we really should.

 

Stewart Russell © November 23, 2024

 

And Others

 

 

What a theme for a poem!

Not much sense as yet

But hopefully, not long from now

We will see its depth.

 

Turn with me to the Word

To a very familiar chapter

Where the hall of faith is paraded

But we will focus on the latter.

 

We will do so deliberately

Since it takes a different form,

The last five verses of Hebrews 11

Departs from the accepted norm.

 

In verses 1 through 35

Many stalwarts are mentioned,

From Abel to the prophet Samuel

And some that subdued kingdoms.

 

The faith of these are obvious

Particularly in light of great odds,

With their faith and trust in God

They accomplished great jobs.

 

Abel and Enoch and Noah

Abraham and also Isaac,

Jacob and Joseph and Moses

Gideon and Samson and Barak.

 

And there were not only men

But women are mentioned too

As in Sarah and also Rahab

To dispel any prejudicial view.

 

Today there is the hall of fame

But these were the stalwarts of faith,

And in many of their challenges

They came out untouched and safe.

 

There is another set, however,

Simply referred to as “And others”,

No names or miraculous escapes

They became the grim reaper’s fodder.

 

They were stoned and sawn asunder,

Tempted and slain by the sword,

They dressed in sheepskins and goatskins

Yet considered too good for this world.

 

These last five verses in Hebrews 11

Are very often not read,

Obscured by the 35 that go before

There is much that is not said.

 

 

“And others” means we must read on

There is more that is to come,

It’s no less important than what’s before,

Why stop before you are done?

 

Here is the caution for today

Re our obsession with the miraculous,

The greatest miracle of all time

Is the transforming work of Jesus.

 

Faith in Jesus is what it takes

It’s for every born-again believer,

However, Satan will make light of some,

After all, he is the prince of deceivers.

 

Stewart Russell © May 2020

 

Only in the Mind

 

 

Only in the mind

Do tomorrow’s troubles exist

And what’s on offer for today

We often times miss.

 

Tomorrow is our focus

Whenever today arrive

And today is left unattended

In tomorrow’s drive.

 

Nebulous and uncertain

But it’s a natural obsession,

Tomorrow’s on our mind

In today’s omission.

 

Today does not matter,

Tomorrow is our priority

And today is just the build up

Thus, it’s full of anxiety.

 

Tomorrow is that bridge

We have not yet reached

But to cross it today we must,

So, the Father we beseech.

 

Tomorrows troubles

Obscures today’s peace

And living tomorrow today

Is unsettled release.

 

Be not concerned unduly

Re tomorrow’s troubles,

Tomorrow is unsolvable today;

Sorry to burst your bubble.

 

No one solves tomorrow

Until tomorrow comes

And it always comes as today-

That’s how the days run.

 

 

It’s only in the mind

That any tomorrow exists,

It’s today that God has given;

Do understand this.

 

Tomorrow's a bridge

We cross only in our mind

And its success is only imaginary

Each and every time. 

Therefore...

 

Let today be your focus

And walk in it as God directs,

Its tasks are more than enough

And so too, its regrets.

 

Stewart Russell © September 14, 2021

 

An Opportune Time

Here’s an opportune moment

To do some reflection,

A temporary distraction

From our constant projection.

We’ve been so obsessed

With our plans and projection

That we have spent little time

In serious reflection.

Not that we hadn’t planned

Or intended to do so

 But with things coming on stream

We couldn’t interrupt the flow.

Reflection is about the useless past

And we want to get ahead

So we project and endeavour

With sometimes little time for bed.

 

In this fast pace world

We cannot afford to slow down

But now with the advent of Covid-19

We have been proven wrong.

Things have slowed prodigiously

At home and abroad

And in countries large and small

Production has begun to fall.

Social gatherings have been limited

And the elderly confined indoors,

No doubt those who venture out

This is becoming a bore.

Some are working from at home

While schools have been closed off

Restaurants and hotels

Are suffering significant loss.

 

We could grumble and fret

We could complain and gripe

Or we could make the best of family

And in one another delight.

An opportunity to appreciate life

And the blessings God has given,

A chance to study His Word

And to become more enlightened.

So let’s focus on Almighty God

And trust Him to bring us through,

He is mightier that the mightiest virus

And there is nothing that He can’t do.

Stewart Russell © March 2020