A Worthy Comparison

 

 

Not a comparison I hear,

More of a contrast,

The wisemen had the shepherds

Totally outclassed.

 

I beg to differ

And I will show you why,

If you consider the following,

It can’t be denied.

 

They were both looking

While daily engaged,

This made these two seekers

Equally sage.

 

They both found

Though not the same time

For it was the Almighty God

That gave them signs.

 

 

Angels on one hand

And a star on the other,

Giving directions to baby Jesus

Without a bother,

 

Directed as instructed,

Both found the treasure

And understanding its significance

Brought great pleasure.

 

The God-Man

For both the high and low

Be they shepherd or wiseman,

Christ paid the toll.

 

An infinite price

For a finite soul,

One way for wise and otherwise

To enter the fold.

 

 

One entrance point

For shepherds and wise

All must bow before the Christ

Shy of any disguise.

 

For he sees the sham

Of the so-called wise,

And them pretending to be wise

But in their own eyes.

 

All one in Christ:

Shepherd and wiseman

And all who accept the offer

Of redemption’s plan.

 

Brought back again:

Both shepherd and king

And of God’s great benevolence

Both can sing.

 

A place in the kingdom

For both the high and low

Who, once knowing the Saviour,

No hierarchy knows.

 

 

Same for Jew and Gentile

Same for rich and poor,

Shepherd and wiseman must enter

 At the same door.

 

The door, Christ Jesus,

Who is the way

And trillions can’t change this,

It’s already paid.

 

Stewart Russell © December 9, 2024

 

Ben and Mal

Ben and Mal are no strangers

We know them very well,

I’m sure the gifted ones among us

Know the truth this poem will tell.

But read on I must beseech

If only to give me a hearing,

In life’s story we all have our say

Regarding all that we are bearing.

From time immemorial

These two have always existed,

Not in the eternity past

So let not your mind be twisted.

One of them always existed

The other was brought on the scene,

And sometime post his arrival

He hatched a horrible scheme.

The effect ever since

Has been somewhat topsy-turvy

Particularly for the human race

Mal-adjusted and nervy.

So that what started out as good

Turned out very bad

And steps had to be taken

For which I am very glad.

It appears that wherever one is

The other is close around

Waiting for the opportunity

To pull everything down.

From the preceding verse

You should identify these two,

The former one is Ben

Mal holds the opposite view.

They’ve been evident in every era

Their battle raging fierce,

One showing increasing hostility

The other infinite grace.

  

Mal always seems to be gaining

The advantage in the fight

But hope springs eternal

And morning will overtake the night.

It’s like a great chessboard

On which the two best compete

Only that Ben is better

And Mal faces inevitable defeat.

They compete for our attention

In the things we do and say

But use very different strategies

To get us to go their way.

One makes full use of the truth

And presents it clearly to us,

The other infers the truth

To fan our greed and lust.

And as this real drama unfolds

On life’s daily stage

Ben exudes a calming spirit

While Mal explodes in rage.

Mal is ever icing coated

And promises the world and all,

Ben has been revealing Mal’s devices

Ever since the fall.

Mal’ schemes are deathly

Hence the reason for the death of Ben

But Mal’s celebration was cut short

When Ben came back to life again.

It is very interesting to note

The arrangement on that day,

Ben hung between two agents

That had lived their lives Mal’s way.

Do you recall those malefactors?

To the left and right hung one,

In between was our benefactor

The one whom for our sins atoned.

I am sure you are now aware

Regarding the origin of these names,

Ben is our Supreme Benefactor

Mal is Malefactor aka false claims.

Mal’s nature is malevolent

As displayed in the Garden of Eden

When he twisted God’s instruction

And deceived Mr. and Mrs. Adam.

Ben’s nature is benevolent

As demonstrated in another Garden

When to the Father he committed

To die for fallen man.

The battle continues to rage on

For the soul of every man,

Mal is still bent on repealing

Ben’s redemptive plan.

Unfortunately he is succeeding

Every time the truth is rejected

And that impenitent soul or souls

To hell are already headed.

But on the other hand

To the millions that have received

Ben has given life eternal

And unto as many as believed.

Stewart Russell © April 2018

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

The Biblical Paradox

  

A day is but a thousand years

A thousand years but a day

God reckons not like we do

To make His plan come true

Out of nothing came the world

On nothing it hangs and twirls

Six days it took the Creator

Just a word no manual labour

Exaltation through humility

Impossible becomes possibility

Strength through inability

Life straight out of mortality

Receiving through giving

Dying resulting in living

Gaining through losing

Healing through His bruising

We triumph through defeat

And gain strength when weak

We reign by serving

And conquer by yielding

In bondage we are free

Though slaves we have liberty

Made great by becoming small

From a small seed proceeds the tall

Robes washed in blood become white

Hundreds less than a widow’s mite

More blessed to give than receive

Having not seen yet some believe

Was dead yet alive forever more

Little food fed thousands galore

King though a servant to the fore

A lamb yet a shepherd and the door

The way to up is the direction down

Lose your life so it may be found

Gain the world but lose your soul

Jesus, Savior, the door to the fold

  

Created water yet said, “I thirst.”

He was the last but also the first

Was a son though existing before

Abraham, King David and many more

Foolish things to confound the wise

Before weak things the mighty lies

An ear of corn falls to the ground and dies

There in the darkness death it defies

Jesus, born of a virgin’s womb

And destined for a virgin tomb

Creator, ruler of the universe

Died to rid us of sin’s curse

Becoming poor to make us rich

Sold for silver Judas’ sales pitch

Emptied himself to make us full

Rescued us from the devil’s pull

Extending from earth to heaven

A wooden bridge was given

Hands outstretched to every man

Christ unveiled redemption’s plan

 

Died on the cross to give us life

Formed the church to be his wife

He the groom the church his bride

For all eternity ever by his side

Having risen from the dead

And now waiting to be wed

The sheep the shepherd led

Will become his bride instead

A man who dies can live again

Once reborn in Jesus’ name

And he who lives will never die

So says the One who lives on high

God’s sovereignty is complete

Man’s free will need not compete

And while I am unable to explain

I choose to believe it all the same

It’s like the conflicting paradox

Like one key and so many locks

One of those locks must fit that key

Yet many will try and never see

Can these two truths fit?

Although apparently opposite?

Yes, for while in part we understand

God’s whole is the perfect plan

It’s very interesting to observe

How the pieces of a puzzle curve

Yet they fit precisely together

To form a most attractive picture

God’s word is often like a puzzle

In our minds an evident muddle

But the Spirit brings us comfort

When to His reasoning we resort

Stewart Russell © 2013