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

 

Until You Die, Live

 

 

The most we can do before we die

Is live,

The least we can do while we live

Is to squander what God gives.

 

Optimally, He gives us life

It’s given for His good pleasure

And when we refuse to live for Him,

We lose its hidden treasure.

 

As an explorer digs for treasure

We must explore what God has given,

There is treasure enough to explore

Hence, stay clear of the forbidden.

 

The talk of death and dying-

Is an obsession more or less

It is robbing us of the opportunity

To enjoy whatever life is left.

  

Daily we die before we reach

Death’s inevitable destination,

Making a waste of the treasure of life

Merely contemplating life’s termination.

 

Until you die, live!

That is the whole purpose of life,

Let your existence be of value

Be a hero amidst this strife!

 

To what purpose is our death

When we have never even lived?

Soon, we are forgotten

Have wasted what God did give.

 

To die and not live

Is like having never been born,

Such an unenviable achievement

To me seems rather forlorn.

 

Not far removed from some

Merely awaiting Christ’s return

Rather than the passion for souls

That in our predecessors burned.

 

It is an expressly horrible thing

To die before we live

And allow the window of opportunity

To slip through us like a sieve.

 

 

Heavenly Father, this I pray,

Help me to appreciate all Your gifts,

Not least of all, this earthly life

Which is our greatest natural gift.

 

To use it as an investment

As an instrument from your hand,

To live for you until I die

In accordance with your plan.

 

Help me until I die to live

Knowing that death is just a sleep

And in my sojourn here below

Let it be a heavenly peep.

 

To occupy until you come

Is what you have ordered for us

So, before we die so let us live

That we may honour Jesus.

 

Amen

 

Stewart Russell © April 2020

 

What’s in a Name

What’s in a name

Especially the name Stewart?

The first thing coming to mind

Is probably a joke.

 

But my name means more

Than you could ever think,

It’s probably my strong point

And not my weakest link.

 

Of course, I looked it up

Because I wanted to know,

Don’t stop reading now

Here’s what my research shows.

 

It says I am “spiritually intense

And can sting or charm”

But please understand, my friend,

I mean no harm.

The name Stewart “brings love

And new starts into life”,

For sure you can see

I’m nothing to do with strife.

 

Add to this “originality

And considerable financial success

Along with much versatility”

To which I can attest.

 

“Always looking for an opportunity

To investigate the unknown,

Looking for the meaning of life”

From what wisdom has shown.

“A unique way of thinking:

Intuitive, reflective and absorbing,

Having the ability to learn easily

And putting a premium on understanding.

 

I might be a little subjective

But I am sure you will be more open

So, I will leave you to judge

Whether these be facts or mere notions.

 

Stewart Russell © April 10, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who Is Better?

 

 

Because I let you win

You you think you are better than me,

Well, let’s play another game

And we will definitely see.

 

I am better; I am better,

In every way I am better,

Check this second game and you will see

I am definitely better.

 

That first game was a mishap

I did not take you seriously

But note that in this second game

You will be forced to agree.

 

All right, you have won two, so what!

I am still better than you,

Twice you’ve beaten me in your life

But your winning streak is through.

 

 

I am better; I am better,

In every way I am better,

In this third game you will see

That I am by far the better.

 

That first game was a mishap

The second one was a coincidence,

Now I will teach you a thing or two

And dismantle your offense.

 

This is not looking good at all

Not when you know I am the king,

I’ll wipe that smirk from off your face

And put an end to your fling.

 

 

Because, I am better, I am better,

In everything I am better,

I am warming to the task

Now you will see that I am better.

 

You can’t get up at number three

Let’s see who is the first to six,

I didn’t tell you when we first started out

But I was in a mind-boggling fix.

 

Something was weighing on my mind

And I could not concentrate,

But now that I have put that behind

Your winning streak will dissipate.

 

I played badly in those three games

And you were able to capitalize,

But that is the end of your little spree

Now here comes your demise.

 

Four five and six and still not a win,

Could this be really true?

Could he really be better than me?

Definitely not in my view!

 

A second six without a win

I have lost twelve games in all,

He is better; he is better,

To admit that is like bitter gall.

 

I cannot put it down to luck

To do so would be a laugh,

It wasn’t dominoes as you had thought,

We were playing draughts.

 

 

I am feeling quite at odds

Having lost a game of draughts

But in the serious matter of life

We take a similar path.

 

We are bent on defeating someone

So we can make it to the top,

But along comes a better one

And we experience a shock.

 

Life is not a game of draughts

To determine who is better

But an opportunity to work hand in hand

So we can achieve together.

 

It is really about team effort

Where our diverse strengths will count

And offsetting the weaknesses we have

Together we will climb the mount.

 

Stewart Russell © January 2020

My Closeup View

There was a difference about him

Even as he hung there,

In spite of His discomfort

He still seemed to say, I care.

How could it be possible

That a man in such pain and anguish

Could think of anything other

Than a selfish wish?

A wish to be set free

Even if that escape route was death,

To be freed from this anguish

And enter the folds of sweet rest.

That was certainly my wish

And the wish of the other

But this man, O he was different,

His was another matter.

We were concerned with the now

But he looked to the future,

We were concerned with the me

But he saw a bigger picture.

His agony was obvious

But his words seemed unrelated,

It was though he were free

And his tormentors incarcerated.

“Father, forgive them,” he cried,

This got home to me,

This man was truly different

That I could definitely see.

He would have to be

To have uttered such a cry,

He was in a different frame of mind

Though we all were destined to die.

  

All around they mocked him

Even the other malefactor,

This man had done nothing wrong

But we both were transgressors.

Suddenly I saw my opportunity

And I grasped it with both hands,

I called out, not in desperation,

But in accordance with his plan.

I rebuked the other malefactor

Then confessed we had sinned,

Then I focused right on Jesus

And I said these words to him.

“Lord, remember me,” I cried,

“When you come into your kingdom.”

That day I was promised paradise

By God’s begotten Son.

Shortly after, all was dark

But I beheld a glorious light,

It was the light of sins forgiven

That instant my heart was right.

I heard the centurion confess

He was a righteous man,

I could not agree with him more

He was the sacrificial Lamb.

For a crime he did not die

But for a wretched soul like me,

It was I who had done him wrong

But yet he sealed my destiny.

Not death, the wages of my sin,

But life he freely gave,

In the closing moments of my life

He saved this worthless knave.

Mine was a closeup view

Just like those beneath his cross,

So was my fellow scoundrel

But yet he ended up lost.

To have been that close to Jesus

And yet reject his call

Is like having everything in life

And then to lose it all.

This need not be your lot today,

He beckons with outstretched arms

Bidding all to come to him

In the midst of their alarms.

So, follow my example,

I am one of the malefactors,

Run to Jesus this very moment,

Invite him to be your Saviour.

Stewart Russell © April 2020

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

A Thought

Some thoughts are so fleeting

And sometimes are gone so fast

That if we had to recount them

It would be an impossible task.

Try tracing a thought

From its inception to its end:

Even to contemplate this

It is difficult to comprehend.

Though we often think

We seldom analyze our thoughts

And the times we do

We’re either excited or distraught.

A thought is sometimes referred to

As a brilliant idea

Though just as often too

It can run the other way.

A thought may be sinister

Or it may be saintly like,

Of course the former is darkness

While the latter is light.

Thoughts are linked to our senses

They are received in five ways,

They are reflected in our actions

As we live out our days.

Some thoughts are bothersome

And load us down with care:

These we wish we could forget

But they don’t easily disappear.

Some thoughts make us happy

These are the desired experience

But unlike the other thoughts

They are not as intense.

Enough about thoughts though,

Let me concentrate on just one:

It will take just a few more verses

And then I will be gone.

When is the last time

You thought about your soul?

Can you trace it from its inception

Regarding the word you were told?

Please don’t dismiss that thought

Unceremoniously

For it bears a direct link

That speaks to your destiny.

For certainly that is a thought

That has eternal repercussions,

To ignore this particular thought

Is to court eternal damnation.

I know this sounds harsh

 And perhaps a little absurd

But you can verify it

If you search in God’s Word.

This thought comes from God

You are fortunate to have received it,

Make the best of your opportunity

Don’t resist the Holy Spirit.

Stewart Russell © October 2018