False Versions of God

  

Idolatrous behaviour

Is even in the church

And I dare say, my brother, my sister,

It’s on a growth spurt.

 

By leaps and bounds

It is growing daily

As false versions of God, the Father

Satisfy the greedy.

 

A God of convenience

Is a false version of God

No different from the sun and stars

On which pagans call.

 

Presented as a God

Who will meet our needs

Without acknowledging our sin

Or unrighteous deeds.

 

A God who does miracles

Every time we call

Especially for the specially anointed

To show off to all.

 

Worship that is directed

To this kind of God

Is just plain downright idolatrous

And not worship at all.

 

All of these such gods

Are false versions of God

And to worship or acknowledge such

Is to invite the fall.

 

 

 

God is not our genie

Acquiescing to our whims,

No, He is the God that passed judgment

On our sins.

 

But having done this,

He placed them on his Son

Who became the scapegoat as it were

And a great victory won.

 

  Victory over sin

And triumph over death

And His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Is become our rest.

 

Rest for all those

Who put trust in him

Not to satisfy their insatiable greed

But to cleanse from sin.

 

 

 

Prayer meetings now are

A constant grocery-list

Which we take to God’s storehouse

And ask Him to assist.

 

Oblivious to the fact

Of His everyday supplies

And that it is He that wakes us up

To see the sun rise.

 

He gives us all things

But we must ask for more

For after all, all we need in this life,

He is the door. 

 

And so, we worship Him

For what He gives to us

Meaning His daily treats and gifts

And not Jesus.

 

 

 

This is false worship

To a false version of God

And like the pagans we are no better

In our idolatrous fall.

 

Stewart Russell © March 5, 2026

 

Passing Grade

 

What is the passing grade?

I would sure like to know,

If performance does count for something

Somebody please to me show.

 

How can I get to heaven?

Am I on the right road?

How many demerits am I allowed?

I need to set a goal.

 

Does my faith in Jesus suffice?

Or, is there something more?

E.g.: performance and track record

To bring to the fore.

 

What does “not by works” mean?

What must I do that does not count?

And, how much is required?

Please tell me the amount.

 

What sins must I avoid?

Where can I find this list?

Which sins are permissible

And with which ones am I at risk?

 

Must I wait till after the exam

To know if I have passed

And how will I get that information

When I am no longer in class?

 

Is this salvation you talk about

Somewhat like the lotto

Such that when my good deeds are added up

Only then would I know?

 

And what about these serious sins

That can disqualify me?

I have done a few in my lifetime

Though the church did not see.

 

 

I have often struggled

Being a particularly frisky lamb,

I guess there is no hope for me

For by now I must be damned.

 

I do not mean to be light about this

Neither appear to be trite

But if Jesus has paid the price for me

What still is my plight?

 

Something must have changed

From what was before,

I thought that having accepted Jesus

There was nothing more.

 

But apparently, I must pay back

In some measure what he paid for me

Through my self-righteous acts

And by not sinning seriously.

 

Now, please do not get me wrong,

I am not condoning sin

For I do believe there is outward evidence

For the transformation done within.

 

 

There must be a change in behavior

When one becomes saved,

The indwelling Holy Spirit appropriately

Moves that one thus to behave.

 

No sinning with gay abandon

As though one is still going astray

But a progressive and gradual growth

As one learns to walk God’s way.

 

Of course, they are the professors

Whom we often mistake

And confuse them with the born-again

Particularly so here of late.

 

No passing grade is required

For the born-again child of God,

He is a bona fide child of the Father

Who will never revoke his call.

 

 

 

Such a child is adopted by the Father

Through the blood of the Son

And the Holy Spirit seats him in heavenly places,

A.k.a. God’s Kingdom.

 

Stewart Russell © February 6, 2021

And with His Stripes

Wounded for our transgressions

Bruised for our iniquities,

The chastisement of our peace was upon him

And with his stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

Healing of the physical

There is no doubt

But when dealing with this verse

We must count this out.

Transgressions and Iniquities

Speak to the spiritual,

And the chastisement of our peace

Does not mean the physical.

Of what are we healed?

Of transgressions and iniquities:

The wounds of one man

Is the healing of humanity.

He was wounded, he was bruised,

The chastisement of our peace was upon him,

It is with his stripes that we are healed:

The remedy for humanity’s sin.

When we check out the tense

Thrice the author uses “was”,

But notes he switches to “are”

To point out what is the goods.

The goods here is the healing

That is both past and present,

A continuing reality

For the saved and the penitent.

Those stripes were indicative

Of the skin stripped from Christ’s back,

It’s with those stripes that we are healed

And the new birth becomes fact.

Healed of sin’s dominance

As expressed in our walk in the Spirit,

Where once the children of disobedience

Now, obedience is our habit.

It was not for his sins

Jesus was punished on the cross

But for our transgressions and iniquities

As all humanity was lost.

Some use this verse

To source a miracle of healing

But for such we must look elsewhere,

It’s to the spiritual this verse is appealing.

With one man’s wounds

All the nations are healed

Of their transgressions and iniquities

When to Jesus they appeal.

By confession and repentance

Regarding their sin,

On the acceptance of Jesus

Spiritual healing is wrought within.

“Healing in His Wings”

That beautiful hymn by Mary J. Nichols

Aptly expresses the healing therein

As the healing that is spiritual.

Regarding healing of the body,

In this life, that is only temporal,

But in Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 5,

The healing here is eternal.

Stewart Russell © April 2020

Then by Charles Wesley

“Five bleeding wounds, he bears,

Received at Calvary,

They pour effectual prayers

They strongly plead for me.

Forgive him, O forgive, they cry,

Nor let that ransomed sinner die.”

Were I A Live Tree

Were I a live tree

I would have felt his pain,

I would have writhed and scream

As I declare to them his name.

Were I a live tree

I would have tasted his blood,

His blood that stained my trunk

But alas, I was just wood.

Were I a live tree

I would have wondered aloud

How could this madness be?

The Creator crucified by a crowd.

A crowd of ignorant people

Not knowing what they do,

A crowd of religious delinquents

Obviously without a clue.

Were I a live tree

I would have heard his groaning

As in his agony he suffered

For their very sins atoning.

Were I a live tree

And not just two pieces of wood

I would have made him

As comfortable as I could.

I would have been a comfort

And quietly by him stood

But none of this could I have done

Alas, I was just wood.

Were I a live tree

With ability to reason and think,

Of the abundance of my fruit

I would have given him to drink

Refreshing on his hottest day

Soothing to his throat

But alas, I was only wood

There was nothing in me of note.

  

None of these appealing acts

Could I have truly done

When I bore upon my body

God’s only begotten Son.

It wasn’t my place in any case

To provide these things for him,

After all my human friend

It wasn’t me that sinned.

Were I alive in this your day

This I would say to you,

If you give to him your heart

He’ll also change your view.

I’m blessed to have borne him

A pleasure unparalleled

And as a witness of his handy work

To you this day I tell.

Were I alive this moment

I would clap my hands for joy

My branches would forever praise him

And my spirit would be buoyed.

On that tree Christ was crucified

The Father suffered it to be so

For the sins of all humanity,

Now I know you know.

Stewart Russell © May 1, 2019

Really Like Seriously?

Really like seriously?

Do you really believe that?

“I really don’t know what to believe

Whether it’s fiction or fact.”

Really like seriously?

Where’ve you been all this time?

“Right where you are

But such is not on my mind.”

Really like seriously?

So what actually is on your mind?

“The day-to-day stuff

The things I need to find.”

Really like seriously?

What is this day-to-day stuff?

“I’m sure you know what I mean

Everything is so tough.”

Really like seriously?

Can’t you explain what you mean?

“I mean like work, family, stress,

You know how rough it has been.”

Really like seriously?

Do you think this is all there is to life?

“Yes, there’s nothing after all this,

Death is the end to all this strife.”

Really like seriously?

Do you really believe that?

“Well what else is there to believe?

Nobody has ever come back.”

Really like seriously?

Have you never heard about Jesus?

He died and he rose again

And all that he did he did for us.

Really like seriously?

Don’t you know he was crucified?

It was for your sins and mine

That on Calvary’s hill he died.

  

Really like seriously?

Don’t you know he is coming back?

He is coming back for his own

Would you want to miss out on that?

Really like seriously?

Do you want to be left behind?

Why not accept the Saviour now?

Now, the Bible says, is the accepted time.

Acknowledge and confess your sins,

Repent of them and turn away,

Invite Jesus into your heart

And he will come in today to stay.

“Really like seriously?

Why are you telling me all this?”

Well because Jesus is coming back

An event you’ll regret if you miss.

“Really like seriously?

Do you really believe that?”

O yes I do and you’d better do too,

As a friend I am saying this is a fact.

Stewart Russell © July 2018