Fame Fortune Faith

 

 

Two we strive for

The other is God-given,

This is the one that holds firm

When trouble threatens.

 

None of us is without,

We use it every day

In circumstances and situations

Too numerous to say.

 

Fame and fortune

May go hand in hand;

The more famous the person

The more in demand.

 

 

Where demand is

Fortune will emerge

And the more the fortune

The greater the urge.

 

Sometimes fame

Comes without fortune

But such is a rare occasion

That there is no boom.

 

Many a preacher

Has become famous

By accumulating a fortune

Via the religious.

 

A niche-market

Full of gullible persons

Whom these preachers set up

For financial reasons.

 

Elaborate crusades

Where miracles are done

And the appearance often takes in

An unsuspecting one.

 

Miracles of healing,

Financial breakthrough

And other supernatural feats

Of what faith can do.

 

 

Desiring fortune?

Looking for fame?

Some of these preachers will say,

Call on Jesus’ name.

 

A reliable talisman!

If you use Jesus’ name

You can come into great fortune

And much fame.

 

But fame and fortune

Outside of Jesus Christ

Is worth eternally nothing

But a useless device.

 

Beware of charlatans

Whose fortune and fame

Comes from conning people

In Jesus’ name.

 

 

Faith in the Gospel:

This is saving faith

And if fame and fortune come,

Give God the praise.

 

Stewart Russell © December 11, 2024

 

Life’s Pursuits

 

 

Some pursue popularity

Some strive for fame

To be popular and or famous

Is to have a great name

 

Some go after money

Some yearn for great wealth

They want to be rich and wealthy

Even at the risk of their health

 

Some want great possessions

Some desire position

Status and power for these

Are their soul ambition

 

Some prefer big families

Some want a big name

Leaving that kind of legacy

Ensures posthumous fame

 

Of course they won’t know

But that matters not,

They will get some idea

Before they leave this spot

 

Some long to discover

Some press hard to innovate,

These are the life pursuits

That will make them great

 

Some want to be doctors

Some want to be teachers

To be known for healing and teaching

Is a phenomenal feature

 

 

Some want to be great actors

Some to be astonishing playwrights

Presenting an alternate reality

Must be their undying delight

 

Some aspire to be magicians

Some the reading of palms

Regarding paranormal activity

They have no qualms

 

Some gravitate to sports

Some to the music industry

In these they’ll make a name

And become world celebrities

 

Some must live in a mansion

Some more than one or two

And wherever they are located

They must have the best view

 

 

Some want to be entertainers

Some to be stand up comics,

They will be quite happy

Once they control the script

 

Some pursue great knowledge

Some the wisdom of the world

Often these particular people

Will even dispute God’s word

 

Some desire universal power

Some even want to be gods

This is their life ambition

Go spread the news abroad

 

 

Some want to be great preachers

Some yearn to own a church

These will have great followings

Leaving many in the lurch

 

Some just want to make it

Some just to get two ends to meet

They stand in awe of the others

And love to be at their feet

 

Something is sadly left out

From all these aspirations

God is conspicuously missing

For each and every equation

 

They will all be total failures

This I can most assuredly add

And at the end of the day

They will all be very sad

  

With God out of the equation

Nothing can be solved

Doesn’t matter how you add it up

You won’t get it resolved

 

Whether scientist or astronomer

Mathematician or philosopher

Without God as the centre

Expect to be a failure

 

Whatever the operation

Be it addition or subtraction

God is the equal sign

That balances every equation

 

Whatever the problem

Without God it’s unsolvable

Doesn’t matter your expertise

You’re still in deep trouble

 

I trust I’ve made the point

To which I remain resolute

There will be no success

Without God in life’s pursuits

 

Stewart Russell © June 2018

 

Hearing from God

 

 

Do people hear from God

The way that they say?

Does the Holy Spirit speak

Whenever they pray?

 

“I was deep in prayer

And the Spirit said to me

This is the word for Sunday,

So let it be.”

 

From time to time

Pastors make this claim

Perhaps to reinforce the fact

It’s in Jesus’ name.

 

 

To get the buy-in

From their audience,

Perhaps they use the Holy Spirit

As an advertisement.

 

For sure we will listen

And we will also heed

Once the Holy Spirit ratifies it,

Oh yes, indeed!

 

So, they hear from God

And we hear from them,

That kind of going between

Spells out a problem.

 

There is one Spirit

The Bible makes it clear

Who witnesses to the believer

For the believer to hear.

 

The word one brings

Should be a confirmation

For of two or more witnesses

We have a conviction.

 

 

We hear from God

Through His revelation,

And God speaks to the believer

Via illumination.

 

The word of the Spirit

Is God’s Holy Word

And that is the instrument

To which we must refer.

 

Any urges we feel

Let us put in context,

They must not be dogmas

To suit our pretext.

 

God speaks in His Word

And through His Word

And to live by His Holy Word

Is to honour His Word.

 

Only today I learnt

Of a prophecy

Which seems to me ludicrous

And full of lunacy.

 

God told this preacher

When he will die

And the exact day and year

He also supplied.

 

 

The grand old age

Of a hundred and twenty

Before being whisked away

From his body.

 

It’d be mind-blowing

If it were true

But I have some serious doubts

And I suspect you too.

 

He was prophesying

Regarding 2025,

The year according to him

When we come alive.

 

 

Twenty twenty-six

Will be the big fix

And thirty years afterwards

He’ll be gone in 2056.

 

This, according to him

He heard from God,

Thus, another thirty-two years

Before death calls.

 

Use your brain,

Do not jettison it,

And I urge you my friend,

Make it a habit.

 

Listen to God

As He speaks by His Word

And ignore big-up prophets

Who are clearly absurd.

 

And if you feel led

To perform a task,

As long as it is God’s will,

You don’t need to ask.

 

 

 

Try not to get buy-in

By claiming the Spirit

But speak the Word of God;

Just do it!

 

Stewart Russell © December 20, 2024

 

What Encouragement!

 

 

What encouragement it is

To promise someone that’s down

Something not likely to happen?

They must think I’m a clown.

 

Politicians do it everyday

And especially at Election time

And they mostly get away with it

Particularly with the blind.

 

Christians do it as well

Like when they tell you to pray,

It’s their solution to every problem,

It’s their affordable get-away.

 

The apostle James mentions it:

Send the mendicant away,

More than likely he’ll be satisfied

If I tell him I will pray.

 

I may have the means to help

But prayer will do so much more

Than giving him from my abundance

Before I let him go.

 

Think of someone in pain

Moaning and groaning in anguish,

What great encouragement is it

To leave them with a wish?

 

I can see you are in great pain

But you know, it could be worse,

You could be in yonder churchyard

In the back of a hearse.

 

Or you go to church a Sunday

Weighed down with worldly care

And the preacher beats up upon you

Trying to convince you he cares.

 

 

What great encouragement

Blaming people for their woe!

You are getting just what you deserve,

Change or there will be more.

 

What encouragement is it

To give a man who has no feet

The most expensive pair of shoes

To walk on the dusty streets?

 

 

Or to promise 100 buses

That will be arriving next year

To sort out a critical present challenge

That many commuters fear.

 

Like the loss of employment

Because workers arrive late

And children missing time from school

And currently not up to date.

 

What encouragement is it

To blame the last Government

For all we are experiencing now

In our present torment?

 

Two elections since

And nothing much has changed

At least, for the most vulnerable,

Don’t you think this strange?

 

 

What encouragement is it

For the at-risk people living here

With all the shooting and the killing

To be told it’s worse elsewhere?

 

What encouragement is it

To pay exorbitant salaries to some

While the employable unemployed

Keeps on getting none?

 

Paying a barrage of Ministers,

Not to mention several consultants

Out of the Barbadian tax payers’ coffers

To sustain their extravagance.

 

And to boot, before I finish,

The middle class is being wiped out,

What encouragement is there in this?

None without a doubt!

 

 

What encouragement is it

To promise that better will come

And this for the last several years

When to-date there is none?

 

Pseudo encouragement I call it,

It's only in the mind

But it never rolls out in actual fact

At any given time.

 

Stewart Russell © May 1, 2024

Moron’s Christmas Morning

 

 

Moron is in church

One early Christmas morning

Fretting ‘bout how he had to wake up

Before the day was dawning.

 

He had to bathe in cold water

And all like then was still shivering,

Only to come to the village church

He had planned on never visiting.

 

The jacket was feeling heavy

And the tie choking he

And these people singing and clapping

While he feel like misery.

 

 

And Simpleton, his wife,

Trying to get him to calm down

But he getting louder and louder

And his face screwed in a frown.

 

“How long will they sing”

In anger and frustration, he asked.

“For as long as they need to

Or until you remove that mask.”

 

Unlike two Christmases before,

COVID-19 had all but disappeared

So, the people were sitting close up

With little or no fear.

 

 

Simpleton meant the frown

That Moron had constructed in anger,

You see, he had to wake up early

And for him this was no pleasure.

 

And besides, the shoes were tight

And burning up his toes

And he wanted to take them off

As well well as the stupid clothes.

 

But then the preaching began

And Simpleton said that was it

And admonished him to stop squirming

And button up his lip.

 

This was the part he hated most;

These preachers had no end

And some of the things they often said

Drove him round the bend.

 

However, the last he could remember

Were two punches to his side:

The result of his wife's assault

And he quickly opened his eyes.

 

“If ever there was,” she said,

“That was a rude awakening.”

You see when her pastor was preaching

Everybody had to be listening.

 

So, it was either he listened

Or be disturbed again

And he knew that the very next time

There would be more pain.

 

 

Christmas was the only time

That Moron went to church

And Simpleton always did her utmost

To keep him alert.

 

But needless to say,

This proved to be quite a task

For Moron, her husband was never willing

To do anything she asked.

 

The best part of church

Was when church came to an end,

And the shorter the church service

The less it would offend.

 

When the service finally ended

Moron’s applause was the loudest

For now, he could go home

And get the rest of his rest.

 

Without fear of bruised ribs

He could then sleep all he wished

For even on Christmas morning

This was what he relished.

 

Therein is the summary

Of Moron’s Christmas morning

And I find it so incredibly boring

That I am already yawning.

 

 

Hey, I don’t mean the service

Or even Moron’s wife, Simpleton

But my reference re incredibly boring

Relates to Moron.

 

Stewart Russell © December 7, 2022

 

Promising Promising

 

 

Promising, promising

But never delivering:

I mean the weather these days,

So much like politicians

And well, frauds too,

In their uniquely promising ways.

 

Often the sky is dark

With pregnant clouds

Apparently about to deliver,

But a little drip here

And a little drip there;

Not enough to bring a shiver.

 

Like some people I know

Who promise the world

And, with a very straight face,

But don’t hold your breath

And don’t tell a soul

Or you’ll likely be disgraced.

 

Excuses after excuses

You’d hear them offer

As though reading from a book,

All incredibly sound

And quite reasonable too

Here, just have a look. 

 

Yes, the sky is dark,

All over is overcast

It’ll definitely rain cats and dogs,

But just like before

It’s just drippy drip, no more,

These rain clouds must be frauds.

 

It happens in church too

When preachers make much ado

Promising a breakthrough

Only to be followed

By certain disillusionment

And more of the dismal view.

 

 

That is why, you see,

I am determined to wait,

Just taking one day at a time,

If things work out, that’s fine

But if they don’t

I won’t lose my mind.

 

There are many promises

I know I can trust,

I find them in God’s Word,

They stand me in good stead

As I live here below

And go beyond this world.

 

The Holy Spirit is faithful

And so too, the Son,

As well as the Father above,

He goes beyond promising

Unlike these rain clouds

And showers us with His love.

 

Evidentiary so

As each day come and go

For new are his mercies always,

So, when man’s promises fall through

I will yet trust in my God

However dark may be the day.

 

Promising, promising

But never delivering:

I mean the weather these days,

But God is faithful

And He always delivers;

You too can trust His ways.

 

Stewart Russell © June 14, 2022