He’s Changing Me

 

 

One day at a time

The Lord is changing me,

One day at a time

That’s all the change I see.

 

Moment by moment

He takes me along,

For the trial in the present

He makes me strong.

 

I am stronger today

Than I was yesterday,

My spirit is thriving

Though my body decays.

 

I gaze in the distance

But I cannot see far

And the little that I see

Appears somewhat marred.

 

But He oft assures me

Worry not of tomorrow,

Today all by itself

Is enough of sorrow.

 

Yes! He is changing me

One day at a time,

And he does it from within

Capturing my mind.

 

Bringing me to understand

That whatever betide,

By His Holy Spirit

He lives on the inside.

 

You may be puzzled

As you analyze me,

And you may not be satisfied

With what you see.

 

That is only because

My increments are small

And just one day at a time

 It looks like I’ve stalled.

 

That is true sometimes

But I will never turn back,

Jesus is my only hope!

At least, I have learnt that.

 

My journey is dotted

With defeats here and there

But God is holding me up

And faith displaces fear.

 

I am His

And He is mine,

And I have absolutely no doubt

It will be so even after time.

 

 

So, one day at a time

Is all you will get to see,

That God is changing me

Is my reality.

 

Judge me if you wish

Though, ill-advisedly so,

God is doing far more for me

Than time will ever show.

 

But eternity will tell

When all time is gone,

And my change will be complete

When eternity dawns.

 

One dawn it will be,

No more day, no more night,

And my change you will see

For then all will be right!

 

Stewart Russell © February 17, 2022

 

To Fix A Broken World

 

 

 

None can fix the world

Not one of us can,

But we are doing our best to destroy it

As though that’s our plan.

 

Every era has left it

Worse than the era before

As though in a competition

To get the worst score.

 

But the loser wins nothing

And the aftermath is grimmer

Yet there is this weird feeling

That he is a winner.

 

 

Our world is a broken puzzle

With pieces out of place

And given our so-called intelligence

This is a universal disgrace.

 

A Nobel winner for this

And A Nobel winner for that

Yet few can derive the benefits

And this is a sobering fact.

 

The masses are unchanged

In the barrel at the bottom,

And while a few enjoy the good life

For most it’s mostly rotten.

 

Those that try, pretend

That they are fixing the puzzle

But the sureties they put in place

Are not for ordinary people.

 

 

The world is a broken puzzle

For certain, a puzzle to me

And when I try to understand it

I experience futility.

 

None can fix the world,

None in this world I see

And they that reap the benefits

Are saying to leave it be.

 

It is fixed for the wealthy

And suited to the strong,

Only the vulnerable would say

Something has to be wrong.

 

For some it needs no fixing,

For others it is out of shape

But none of us knows how to fix it

Especially here of late.

 

 

Some pieces are hidden

For the benefit of a few

Thus, the majority can do little

Even if they knew.

 

There is one who will fix it

Though not fix it like we would,

And the change he has facilitated

Was purchased by his blood.

 

His is really not a fix

But a complete makeover anew:

Transformation from within

And also, a change of view.

 

 

Make the man right

And all will be rearranged,

This is not a fix, I must add,

But a genuine change.

 

Stewart Russell © September 7, 2021

 

Puzzled

 

 

The featured post on my blog

Has been unchanged for a while,

You would all know

That is not my style.

 

The reason for this, you see,

Is that I am still puzzled,

Five in a single year

Sounds more like a riddle.

 

What could we have done

To have altered that course?

Believe more, maybe trust more,

Prayer till we were hoarse?

 

Five in a single year

And every one a youth!

So where does this place us

Regarding God’s truth?

  

“Ask and it shall be given you”

“Seek and you shall find”

“Knock and it shall be opened”

Instantly comes to mind.

 

“Ask anything in my name”

And “only believe”

Believe that you already have it

And you will receive.

 

I trust you are now seeing

Why I am puzzled,

Five in a single year;

This must be a riddle.

 

All serving the Lord

Five wonderful individuals,

No trouble and no worry

All beautiful people.

 

Prayers for their protection

Yet two by the murder route,

Prayers for their healing

But three less of this group.

 

What is the use of praying

If our loved ones still die

Causing many sleepless nights

In which we just cry?

 

What more can one do

To reverse this trend?

If prayer doesn’t seem to work

What is there to defend?

 

Can we tell unbelievers

That our God is real

If our prayers ascend to heaven

And come back as fail?

 

We declare and decree

On the foundation of the Word

And when it does not happen

To the world it looks absurd.

 

We comfort the aggrieved

With “It’s going to be all right”

But what good is that

When theirs is all night.

 

Fast forward to this day

Where 2020 is being repeated

And the born-again believers’ pain

Is particularly deep-seated.

 

Hurting very deep down

And oft pretending to trust

But how ever hard they try

They still feel crushed.

 

Make some sense of this

I can hear them cry,

Lord, please tell us,

Why did you let our loved one die?

 

How can God comfort

If no situation merits His comfort?

And how can we grow

If there is never any woe?

The answers to some questions

We will never receive here

And it won’t matter afterwards

When we get over there.

 

Old things will all pass away

Everything will be new,

Old troubles will never bother us;

Neither me nor you.

 

We’ll be caught up with Jesus

And the home he has prepared,

There’ll be no loss of loved ones

Hence, no shedding of tears.

 

Until then

Take in the following verses,

They are required for life’s journey

No matter the courses.

 

 

Stewart Russell © September 3, 2021