By and Without

 

 

By and without:

What is he talking about?

I will get to it in minute,

No need to shout.

 

Works and salvation:

We’ve been here before

But since the last time,

There is more.

 

By and without

Are key prepositions

In the relationship between

Works and salvation.

 

Examine with me

The following statement

Concerning the content therein

As well as its intent.

 

We are not saved

By our works

But we are certainly not saved

Without them.

 

 

Transformed from:

Prior unrighteous works

To: a life of righteousness

And good works.

 

To say one is saved

Is to speak of good works,

No change in a so-called believer

Should really hurt.

 

Paul’s “not by works”

Speaks to the acquisition,

James “without works” speaks to

Walking in salvation.

 

 

The tree is identified

By the fruit it bears,

The born-again believer’s fruit

Must appear.

 

Ephesians 2:8-9; James 2:26

 

I was not saved by

By the works that I do

But without righteous works

Neither are you.

 

Works is a testament

To a believer’s salvation

Though it is not by these works

He attains salvation.

 

Salvation is God’s gift

To a born-again believer

And of the enablement for works

The believer is a receiver.

 

The Father worked

And His Son worked too,

So too the Holy Spirit

In me and in you.

 

We are not saved

By our works

But we are certainly not saved

Without them.

 

Here ends today’s lesson.

 

Stewart Russell © March 28, 2025

Francine and Gercine 2

 

 

Picture two next door neighbours

With no paling in beween

And whose names make music:

Francine and Gercine.

 

Picture two fowl-cocks

To service the hens

And suddenly one disappeared

Causing big problems.

 

Picture an early morning

When only one fowl-cock crowed

And de neighbours had a bassa-bassa;

Now fuh de show!

 

“Francine! Francine!

Yuh got to come out here,

I en never see nutting like this

In all me born days.

 

Francine! Francine!

You still in dey sleeping

Or you frighten sumpting gine happen

And you in dey peeping?

 

Try and come outside

It en nutting suh serious,

Stop peeping and come outside

And see why de fuss.”

 

“Chile, uh was dreaming

When uh hear yuh call out,

Uh ask muhself, whuh loud mout

Out dey bawling out bout?”

 

 

Dat fowl-cock right dey!

Dah’s yours or mine?”

“Chile, dah’s my fowl-cock;

It was so all de time.

 

And besides, it in my yard,

It en over at you,

Why you wud come asking me

When you know so too?”

 

I asking you cause dey was two

And one disappear

And dat wun at you got my sign

Pun he tail.

 

If I seeing right

That wun wud have to be mine.

Dah’s my fowl-cock

And it was so all de time?”

 

“Well, you cahn be seeing right

So get yuh eyes fix

And doan come round me dis morning

Wid nuh bigfoot tricks.

 

 

 

You cahn be serious!

De fowl-cock over at me

And yesterday it tread one my hens

And did look real happy.

 

If he did yours

He wud be ova at you,

Like me, you got hens ova dey

And you know dah’s de trute.”

 

“Eva since

I tell dat wussless wun,

Gordon, put up some paling

And he wun get it done.

 

Rather than listen to me

And get de paling done,

All de wusslessman bizness wid

Is he Cockspur Rum.

 

If he did put up de paling

When I tell he,

I wun be out hey wid you

Facing dis calamity.”

 

“Gercine, I feel sorry fuh you

But dat fowl-cock is mine

And dat is so despite you tellin me

He tail got on a sign.

 

 

I feed he from chicken stage

Till he become a fowl-cock

And as much as you saying he is you wun,

I know he is not.

 

I maintain, if he did yours

He wud be ovah at you

And dough you drop out in first form

You know dat too.”

 

“Dat is my fowl-cock

And I gine tek whuh’s mine,

You en getting way wid nuh tricks,

No, not dis time!

 

So how you gine tek he?

You gine come ovah hey?

Dat wud be over my dead body!

Girl, not today!”

 

“Before I get myself in trouble

I gine call Gordon out hey.”

Awright, you call Gordon, I’ll call George

And let de men have duh say.”

 

“Whuh wrong wid de two o’ wunna?

Wunna cahn live in peace?”

“George, Gercine trying to tell me

Dat I’s a thief.

 

She cahn find she fowl-cock

And want to tek way mine,

I tell she dat dat fowl-cock right dey

Was we wun all de time.

 

She telling me

Bout some sign pun de fowl-cock tail,

I want you to tell she whuheva she try,

She is bound to fail.”

 

“Wait! Gordon,

You en talk to Gercine?

You promise dat you wud tell you wife

Bout you little scheme.”

 

Gordon, whuh scheme is dat?

Whuh George talkin’ bout?”

“Look a woman, doan confuse me,

I got to go out.”

 

“You en gine nuh way

Till you tell me whuh I want to know.”

“Woman, you cahn be serious,

I suh I have to go.

 

Tek yuh hands off o’ me, woman,

You igronant or whuh?

I tell you that I have to leave,

You en understand whuh I suh?

 

And besides, leh tell me you,

You en want to hear bout that fowl-cock

Cause when you hear

It gine only mek you drop.”

 

“I doan care if I drop,

I want to hear

So before you leff bout dis yard

Leh me hear whuh you got to say.”

 

“Awright, I gine tell you,

Remember, you ask fuh dis,

I hope yuh ole heart cud tek it;

Um is you risk.

 

I did feeling thirsty

An I en had one red cent

So de money I get fuh de fowl-cock,

It awready shpent.

 

I en check fun nuh sign,

I shee fowl-cock and I ketch fowl-cock

And I done shpen de money

I get fuh Francine fowl-cock.”

 

“Whuh you spen de money pun?

Tell me, Gordon!”

“I tell yuh I did thirsty

So whuh you tink uh spen um pun?

 

I shpen um pun rum

And now uh echplain muhshelf, uh leffin

And dey en neffin you nor nobody cud do,

Neffin!”

 

 

“So, wait! He sell my fowl-cock

To get he Cockspur Rum

And now you want to suh dis fowl-cock

Is you wun?

 

Well, de devil is liar

Cause see dat fowlcock dey wid de sign?

Yuh could cry from now till Jesus come,

Dat fowl-cock is mine.”

 

“Francine, I is real sorry

Fuh accusing you

But dat man is embarrass me all de time

And I en know whuh to do.

 

I promise to divorce he

But tell de trute, I en got de heart

And plus, he din always so;

At least, not when we start.

 

 

I tell he many, many times

He should go to Alcoholics Anonymous

But de foolish man suh people widout a name

Nobody shun trust.

 

He’s tell me when I get duh names

I cud leh he know

And if he feel comfortable wid dem,

He might decide to go.

 

But I know he en gine nuh way,

Dah is jest he excuse

Cause when Gordon see Cockspur Rum,

He jest cahn refuse.

 

Gordon sold Francine’s fowl-cock

To buy a bottle of Cockspur,

I guess he saw a relationship;

Wouldn’t you concur?

 

Francine and Gercine

Are still very good friends

But they do need a second fowl-cock

To deal with those hens.

 

Stewart Russell © November 24, 2024

 

Umbilical and Unbiblical

 

 

Umbilical and Unbiblical:

Do not mix up these two,

They may have something in common

But they are different I assure you.

 

Take the first, for example,

That speaks to a connection,

The link between a mother and child

At the point of its ejection.

 

Ejection from the womb

And into this world of woe,

The eventual severing of this naval string

And much more we know.

 

Two terms come to mind:

Umbilical cord and naval string-

Reminds me of Mighty Gabby’s “Emmerton”,

A folk song we love to sing.

 

 

What close relationship

Like that of mother and child!

That umbilical cord, though severed,

Nourishment is not denied.

 

Not as close, I dare say,

As our Shepherd and his sheep,

That’s the relationship Jesus bolsters

As His little lambs he keeps.

 

By a spiritual umbilical cord

Referred to as the Holy Spirit

Who, through his infallible Holy Word,

Makes his adherents fit.

 

 

His sheep adhere to his Word

In spite of their adversary,

Whose cunning and unbiblical trends

Attempt to prise them free.

 

Beware of unbiblical trends

That lure the unsuspecting sheep,

That so often appear like nourishment

But is contaminated meat.

 

Both speak to disconnection:

Umbilical and unbiblical,

The former is absolutely necessary

The latter is detrimental.

 

 

Reggie McNeal

 

As a new born babe develops

So too must the born-again,

The umbilical cord must be severed

But from the unbiblical refrain!

 

Stewart Russell © January 11, 2024

 

First Cause God

 

“Whatever begins to exist

Must have a first cause”,

To assimilate this profundity

Let us take a pause.

 

You may call it simplistic,

At a glance that may be true

But it takes some people a life time

To grapple with this view.

 

It makes scientific sense

And to the erudite, it’s scholarly

But its “whatever begins to exist”

Does not factor in eternity.

 

Who or what, I ask

Is this eternal first cause?

For this cause must be eternal

And cannot itself be caused.

 

This cause must always be,

Therefore, always was

And right about now you’ll hear

Darwinians begin to buzz.

 

First cause must be eternal,

No beginning and no end…

Any other conclusion I advance

Is fictional let’s pretend.

 

Any scientist worth his salt

Must come to this conclusion,

And it cannot be Big Bang-

Big Bang is the delusion.

 

The first cause must be one

That has an intelligent mind

Since throughout the Universe

There is intelligent design.

 

 

The order all around

Speaks to a supreme intelligence

And the creativity within humans

Is conclusive evidence.

 

First cause is eternal

First cause is intelligent,

Big Bang does not measure up

Whatever the atheist’s intent!

 

There has to be relationship

For humans have a mind,

We all know this to be a fact

From the beginning of time.

 

Made in the Creator’s image

For relationship:

Relationship with the Supreme

And with one another fit.

 

Design is not by accident

But is purposefully arranged,

God, the first cause did this

And this is not strange.

 

But the delusion definitely is

And undeniably so,

Big Bang surely does not cut it

And it’s time we let it go.

 

Intelligent design wins out

The evidence is markedly clear,

First cause is conclusively God

Whose attributes we share.

Created for relationship

Created to worship God,

Created to honour and obey Him

And to hold Him in Awe.

 

Our First Cause is awesome

He is altogether lovely

He not only has no beginning

But exists in eternity.

 

 

The I AM THAT I AM

The one and only first cause,

The Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer

The Father of us all.

  

He is worthy of all praise

To Him belongs all worship,

Our First Cause: Father and Son

And blessed Holy Spirit.

 

Stewart Russell © September 10, 2021

 

 

 

My God Changes Not

 

 

My God changes not:

He is the same forever,

He’s not like human kind

Vis-à-vis the weather.

 

My God changes not:

For Him there is no need,

After all He is God

And lives by no man’s creed.

 

My God changes not:

He does all things well,

From even before time began

He had always excelled.

 

 

My God changes not:

He says so in His Word,

Circular reasoning, we may say

But that is really absurd,

 

My God changes not:

He transcends all argument,

By faith we accept Him

And by faith we also repent.

 

My God changes not:

He is a personable God,

With us he desires relationship

Hence, He created us all.

 

 

My God changes not:

Redemption is His plan,

For even before time began

It was his plan for man.

 

My God changes not:

And on His own Word depends.

He is no man’s debtor-

No need to make amends.

 

My God changes not:

And neither does His Word

And all that trust in Him

Of this they are assured.

 

 

My God changes not:

His promises He has kept,

None that comes to Him

Does He ever reject.

 

My God changes not:

He will return one day

For all that trusts in Christ:

He is the only way.

 

My God changes not:

He will vindicate His own,

Presently He sits in heaven

On His heavenly throne.

 

My God changes not:

With Him is no instead,

He will come again one day

To judge the quick and dead.

 

My God changes not:

What else can I say?

Make Him your God too,

Invite Him in today!

 

Stewart Russell © August 20, 2021

 

Suspicion

 

There is something about him

That I just don’t like

I can’t put my finger on it

But it will come to light.

 

There’s something about her too

That troubles my spirit

I can’t tell you what it is

 But something just doesn’t fit.

 

We just didn’t set horses

From the first time we met

And you know what they say

What you see is what you get.

 

But there is more in the mortar

Than just the pestle

 And with this peculiar feeling

Day and night I wrestle.

I would never trust them

My feelings are never wrong

Except for the few times

The feelings weren’t strong.

 

At most suspicion can kill you

Or at least rob you of sleep,

It causes discomfort

When you and that person meet.

A potential relationship

Is not allowed to blossom

All because you are habouring

An unfounded suspicion.

 

It has happened to me

 Though I was on the receiving end

Yet I took the first step

And now that person is my friend.

 

A great relationship has developed

That would not have been

If I had not swallowed my pride

And had not intervened.

 

 

So don’t be too quick to judge

Without solid evidence,

Give another the benefit of the doubt

And don’t let it be an offense.

 

Stewart Russell (c) May 2018