Shortest Day of the Year

 

 

All o’ that fuss

And the day is gone,

It will never be repeated

In the beyond.

 

Shortest 24 hours

Christmas lovers will agree

Whether one spends it quietly

Or go on a spree.

 

I am for the quiet kind

On account of my age,

I prefer a stay-at-home Christmas

At my brittle stage.

 

Either way I repeat

Christmas is far too short

But be grateful for its meaning

I do exhort.

 

 

 

Heaven on earth

In the person of love,

Sent to us that first Christmas

From above.

 

Pagan, some say,

I shout “No, God!”

Emmanuel meaning God with us

Here and abroad.

 

It’s the shortest day

Yet an eternity

When one gets past the fun

And frivolity.

 

It lasts forever

In the believer’s heart:

The one that was born-again

From the very start.

 

Not superficiality

But God deep within,

Having sent His begotten Son

To save us from sin.

 

Thus, Christmas extends

Throughout the year

With its very special celebration

On Christmas Day.

 

This one has gone

But another will beckon

And so, all like now I look forward

To the next one.

 

However, I thank God

I have seen this one,

It’s my seventy second Christmas

And yes, it is gone.

 

The melancholy is not

Like in years gone by

But to say I am not missing it

Would be a lie.

 

The day was too short

But I fully enjoyed it

On account of the indwelling

Of Holy Spirit.

 

 

 

‘Tis the real meaning

Of Emmanuel,

God is with me every single day

And not for a spell.

 

Herein is the difference

I’d finally say,

The Christ of Christmas is with me

Every single day.

 

Stewart Russell © December 26, 2025

 

Beware the Devil’s Deception

A sprat to catch a whale

And what a whale of a catch!

That is the devil’s offering

And on to it we often latch.

Divisiveness is the sprat

Distraction is the lure

The damnation of the human soul

In spite of the Father’s cure.

The asides become the issues

And we major on the minors

And progressively the argument

Descends into ethnicity and colour.

How unfortunate the blacks!

How highly favoured the whites!

And God’s chosen people, the Jews,

Yet all languish in sin’s plight.

The Indians and the Arabs

The Chinese and the Japanese

All are destitute and naked

And afflicted by sin’s disease.

What has colour to do with it?

What has ethnicity or race?

It matters not our status or station

We are steeped in sin’s disgrace.

It’s not man’s colour but his heart

It’s not his status but his state,

It’s not his identity but Jesus Christ

That can rid him of such racial hate.

We are children of the same parents

Whether we believe this or not,

We all are offspring of Adam and Eve

And therefore one family is our lot.

It is either that or some animal:

Perhaps the monkey, the ape or chimp,

It’s up to you the choice you make

You decide how far you will sink.

  

The colour is red; the heart is white

That’s dipped in the Saviour’s blood

Christ for our crisis, Christ for our creed

Only he can change our heart

And make us good.

Superficiality is just what it is

It is only just skin deep,

Right after that the colour is red

Unless of course you’ve fallen asleep.

No such problems in the grave

It matters not sprat or whale,

If Jesus was not your Saviour and Lord

Nothing beyond death will avail.

Stewart Russell © February 2019

Mirror, Mirror on the Shelf

I met a man sometime ago

But had seen him many times before

He was a constant variable in my home

And had often times crossed my door

In the humble district where I lived

He was highly regarded by everyone

But none knew him as well as I did

For I saw him midday, night and dawn

I was pretty pleased with what I saw

And held much admiration for this man

He aimed to please most everyone

But himself the most was his plan

Often times before the mirror

He would smile at the face he saw

Fascinated by the person there

The smile would widen across his jaw

Across the decades I watched him

Noting his achievements as they occurred

Growing in the eyes of his community

Marching onward undeterred

We had several times to chat

And the conversation was about others

But in depth about himself

About him he never really bothered

As time went on I lost track of him

The chats were not as often as before

But one day I confronted him

As he was standing before the mirror

I asked, “Do you know who you see?

Do you know whom you are staring at?

When he smiles and you smile too

Is that smile really a fact?”

I could see that he was puzzled

For the smile gradually went away

It was replaced by a quizzical look

And for a bit he had nothing to say

I inquired about the sudden change

He was silent a little while longer

I could see I had struck a raw nerve

He grew weak instead of getting stronger

The proud look had left his face

A serious visage took its place

The smile he often started with

Of it there was not the slightest trace

A true reflection began to emerge

As the question confronted him again

“Do you know who you see?”

Bombarded both his mind and brain

It is so easy to look in the mirror

And see there a Hollywood star

But do we stop to ask ourselves

Is that person who we really are?

We are actors and actresses everyday

In this life we play many parts

And often as we stand before the mirror

We are simply perfecting that art

So that what we see is what we get

For the superficial becomes the fact

And somewhere along the line

We are not looking at who we are looking at

Such was that gentleman’s case that day

As he stood before his looking glass

Suddenly realizing there was more to him

And the superficial would not last

One’s image is more than his face

Or what he has achieved in life

And unless he looks a great way deeper

He will never see that selfish strife

For we can so easily cover it up

With a smile that passes away

Holding on to it just long enough

And pretend to be having a bright day

Superficiality

Is a way of life today

With an abundance of daily pleasantries

To while the time away

The physical mirrors that we stare at

As we twist and turn and adjust

Are mere simple physical innovations

Which highlight the superficial stuff

There is a far better mirror, however

That shows us who we really are

And what’s really better about this mirror

Is it can help us become God’s star

For it is virtually impossible

To look therein and not see yourself

The information you gather there

Will reveal your spiritual health

You might not like what you see

But that’s a very good place to start

For as you peer in a little deeper at a time

It will begin to transform your heart

And what’s inside will become manifest

As that transformation takes root

And when next you stand before the mirror

You will actually see its fruit

The mirror of which I am speaking

Is the Spirit breathed Word of God

Not to be compared with the world’s vanity

Or the mirror of Satan, the fraud

For such mirrors will misguide you

Concerning who you think you really are

But God’s word is accurate and revealing

And such a mirror is better for you by far

So next time you stand before the mirror

Remember the mirror that is the Word

And like the man I started to tell you about

Your true image will not be obscured.

Rather than Mirror, Mirror on the wall

Take the Mirror, Mirror off the Shelf

And like me you will be guaranteed

To see a spiritual photo of yourself.

Stewart Russell© 2017