Shalom

 

 

The way one Jew greets another

And how some Christians do,

Neither is speaking Greek nor English

But in fact, Hebrew.

 

It is a Hebraic expression

But has made its way into English

And is becoming more and more popular

As a born-again believer’s wish.

 

Shalom, meaning God’s peace,

This day be upon you,

Not the peace that the world gives

But of a heavenly world view.

 

It’s the peace of the blessed Christ

That came down at Bethlehem

When angels announced it to shepherds

And later was received by wise men.

 

 

It’s the peace that fills the heart

Of all of the born-again,

Meaning all of both Jew and Gentile

Who dare to trust in Jesus’s name.

 

For everyone that trusts in Christ

Dares to oppose the world,

The philosophy and the policies of which

Naturally oppose God’s Word.

 

A peace that passes understanding

That the world cannot give

And a peace it can never take away

From any that in Jesus Christ live.

 

 

Peace on earth and goodwill!

These words still echo in my ear,

That such peace is needed in this world,

To me is abundantly clear.

 

We fight for peace with weapons:

Weapons of mass destruction,

For the peace that this world seeks

Is one of domination.

 

That is, the weak over the strong,

The rich dominating the poor

And when it comes to ethnic cleansing

The world’s peace is a closed door.

 

However, in stark contrast,

Is the peace of the Prince of Peace,

Jesus offers this peace to one and all

That would from their own way cease.

 

 

May the shalom peace of Jesus Christ,

Permit me to be redundant,

Rest on our war-torn world this day,

Particularly on all the repentant.

 

Shalom

 

Stewart Russell © March 10, 2025

 

Nothing Can Make A Thing

 

 

Please give me another chance

Just to tease your mind,

I will make no promises, though,

Not to do it another time.

 

First, read the title of the poem

Then, please read it again,

Don’t be too quick to form an opinion

From such haste, please refrain.

 

Can a statement be both true and false

At one and the same time?

Study the following statement

And you will see what I opine.

 

“Nothing can make a thing.”

What do you understand that to say?

“Nothing can make a thing.”

Did you read it a different way?

 

 

By this time you might be wondering

What I am getting at,

If you haven’t picked it up yet

Please go all the way back.

 

“Nothing can make a thing.”

Let me repeat my self,

“Nothing can make a thing.”

There are two books on the shelf.

 

Both carry the same title

But they portray it differently,

“Nothing Can Make A Thing”

I trust you can now see.

 

But just in case you cannot

I will give you one more chance,

And maybe from this clue

Your thinking will be enhanced.

 

“Nothing can make a thing.”

What do you understand by that?

“Nothing can make a thing.”

One of them is a fact.

 

Nothing can make a thing

Some cause must bring it about,

The second law of thermodynamics

Should leave us in no doubt.

 

However, there is another position

Which is in stark contrast

And the number that hold to it

You will find, is quite vast.

 

 

Nothing can make a thing

But we must give it a few billion years

For with time under the right conditions

Everything appears.

 

“Nothing can make a thing.”

A claim held by two world views,

Creation story makes more sense

Evolutionists don’t have a clue.

 

Stewart Russell © November 2019