On the Threshold

 

 

Standing on the threshold

Of a brand-new year,

Lord, we offer up to you, thanks

In this prayer.

 

It is because of you

That we are not consumed,

Daily we receive of your mercies

And daily we bloom.

 

Many have passed on

During this current year

And we thank you for their mark

Though no longer here.

 

Their legacy remains

Upon which we can draw

But their passing reminds us all

We are but straw.

 

Unstable in the wind

But for your mighty hand

And your constant revelation

Regarding your plan.

 

 

 

The bigger picture

Regarding all the called

And all those that trust in you

As their God.

 

Thank you, Lord

For such assurances

And for imputing to your children

Christ’s righteousness.

 

For ‘tis in you we live,

Move and have our being

And without the Spirit’s guidance

None would be seeing.

 

 

 

Thank you for your care

In this closing year,

And for reminding us in our peril

We need not fear. 

  

 Just as in this year

So, in the one to come,

Teach us Lord to number our days

And not before you run.

 

Thanks for marking

The way we should go

And for the light of your Word

That makes it glow.

 

And as we close out

This remarkable year,

We thank you again dear Father

For your Divine care.

 

Stewart Russell © December 31, 2025

 

 

The Fact Is…

Today is the oldest

That this year will ever be,

In less than fourteen hours

It will have passed in to eternity.

Was there some task

That you had planned to do?

Something had purposed

Before this year was through?

Well, hurry up and do it

In just thirteen hours more,

In this count down to 2020

The hours are getting lower.

Hey! Here is little something

You need to think about,

A little morbid, I would say,

But of it there is no doubt.

Today is the oldest

That somebody will ever reach,

It could be you or me

Consider this, I beseech.

Often we ponder,

Who will go in the New Year?

But before the year 2020

Many will disappear.

Less than thirteen hours now

As we wind this year down,

Somebody that’s counting

In 2020 will not be around.

No, I am not prophesying,

It’s an everyday thing

And none of us can tell

What a new day will bring.

Here today and gone tomorrow

I have oft heard it said

But the stark reality is

That today any of us could be dead. 

  

Everyday somebody dies,

That is a proven fact

And never the day or the person

Can we bring either back.

So as the year winds down

Bear these pointers in mind,

Time is very short

Even though it’s longer than twine.

Half the day is almost gone

As we look to another year,

Lord, teach us to apply our hearts to wisdom

As the Year 2020 appear.

Stewart Russell © December 2019

Wonderfully Blessed

Today I am wonderfully blessed

I have commenced my sixty-sixth year,

Going to funerals is my past time

But none has been mine; that’s clear.

I give God thanks today

For letting me live this long,

Many have gone the way of the earth

But I am still around.

A few have been family members

Some have been great friends,

Some have been contemporaries

They all have met their end.

Their lives have left a mark on me

In many, many ways

I thank God for their influence

And I praise Him every day.

I thank Him for health and strength

And all the blessings He gives,

I shall not take my time for granted

However long I live.

I draw on the words of the Psalmist

For this particular occasion,

“So teach me to number my days

That I may apply my heart to wisdom.”

My health thus far God has ensured

I give Him thanks and praise,

And as long as He lends me breath

My voice for Him I will raise.

I know not the length of my time

Or how much longer my sojourn

But my goal is to please my Saviour

Each and every awaking morn.

I give him thanks for my B.A.

“Born Again” is what I mean,

Far surpassing all of my achievements

This certainly is the cream.

One death I’ll probably experience

But two births are already mine,

The second by far is the more important

That is the spiritual kind.

I cannot remember the exact day

Though I can for my natural birth

But I know I am a dual citizen

Of heaven and of this earth.

Born of water and of the Spirit

I am a child of God

And on this my sixty-sixth birthday

I am spreading that news abroad.

I am not ashamed of the new birth

For it ensures I will never die

And I will have a home with Jesus

Be it on the earth or in the sky.

Stewart Russell (c) February 2019