What Do You Believe?

 

 

Some wander through life

Oblivious to the above,

They have an acute case of apathy

Void of hate or love.

 

They move from pillar to post

Almost without drive,

Theirs is a process of automation

Just like bees in a hive.

 

No concern for the questions

That are vital to this life:

Of origin, of purpose, of destiny

Or the reason for their strife.

 

But they believe something

Even if only subconscious

For something stirs their mind

Of or not about Jesus.

 

Beliefs originate in the mind

And hopefully reach the heart

And from there they are expected

In one’s life to play a part.

 

They may be outwardly expressed

Or they may be recessive,

But in all, whether good or bad,

They impact how we live.

 

Some believe in God:

Mostly what others say about him,

Many show a profession of faith

But unaware of their sin.

 

At some time in their life

They repeated the sinner’s prayer

But regarding the heart’s contriteness

It never resonated there.

 

 

So, what do you believe?

This question demands an answer

And contrary to some intellectuals,

It is more than silly banter.

 

Do you believe in God?

Not what others say about Him

For if their light is not of His Word

Then yours too will be dim.

 

Do you believe in God?

I must ask the question again,

Have you truly repented of your sin

And been saved in Jesus’ name?

 

To believe in Almighty God

Is to believe what He says about us,

All have sinned thus missed the mark

And need to come to Jesus.

 

That means acknowledging Christ

And to God confessing our sin,

It is believing Jesus refuses none

That penitently come to him.

 

Whether you believe it or not

What you believe means everything,

Particularly if like me you believe

That Jesus is the King of kings.

 

Like Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus:

He is Lord of lords and King of kings,

If you believe in Jesus Christ

That means everything.

 

 

 

What do you believe?

 

Stewart Russell © April 20, 2022

 

Science Is Limited

 

 

Science is limited

What a major difference

Between the God of creation

And science!

 

What is gravity’s purpose?

Does anybody know?

We know that it exists because

Experience tells us so.

 

Science answers questions

Of the physical type

But of purpose and meaning?

Not quite.

 

Science does not answer

The big questions of life,

Neither can it even resolve

The issues of strife.

 

Discoveries in science

Have made life better for us

But none of these innovations

Treats to our greed and lust.

 

Concerning our origin

Science falls flat on its face

And with regards to our purpose

This it can’t even trace.

 

 

Regarding our destiny

Science is profoundly silent,

It needs an additional tool

To even make a dent.

 

This tool is the Bible

The Holy Word of God

That foolish men revile and mock

At home and abroad.

 

Treating it as unscientific

And full of fairy tales and myths

While rejecting God’s love

And His unspeakable gift.

 

Science teaches us nothing

But what we make of it,

I know this sounds contradictory

But just wait a minute.

 

 

Through studied observation

And experimentation

Scientists seek the answers

To myriad questions.

 

The purpose for water

Was not answered by science,

But this was clearly facilitated

By a supreme intelligence.

 

Humans need water,

Yet science didn’t point out this

But there is an innate connection

That none can miss.

 

The need is built-in

In both animals and plants

And humans are no different;

There’s not a chance.

 

Science explains the brain

But cannot fathom the mind,

It can search the human anatomy

But the mind it’ll never find.

 

So too the heart of man-

Not what pumps the blood,

To find the seat of one’s emotions

Science never could.

 

Science is limited

But the Almighty God is not,

It is He that has created us

And given us all we’ve got.

 

The knowledge to do science

Came from Elohim

The God who is the I AM THAT IAM

And thus, always has been.

 

God is the Law Maker

And the Law Giver too

And He controls nature and science

And both me and you.

 

Gravity functions

Because God made it so,

Planted seeds die and germinate

And God makes them grow.

 

 

Science does none of these

It doesn’t have a mind,

And though it helps us make a clock

It cannot tell the time.

 

I could go on and on

To speak of energy of all kinds

But I have had you long enough

And I am out of time.

 

So, if you believe

That science explains away God

Then you have as much sense

As a table tennis ball.

 

Stewart Russell © September 20, 2023

 

No News Is Good News

 

 

No news is good news,

Have you ever heard the saying?

Yet we always fear the worst

When no news we are hearing.

 

She left ever since evening

And now it is late into the night

And having heard no news

You fear a terrible plight.

 

He went out with the car

And said would he be back shortly,

That was quite a while ago

And you fear an emergency.

 

You say you’re not going to worry

For no news is good news

But you’re wondering all the time,

About what you should do.

 

“But, why doesn’t she call me

And let me know that all is well?

She’ll be home as soon as she can

But right now, she cannot tell.”

 

But you are generations apart,

That’s not a young people’s thing

Hence, you cannot be expecting

That the phone will ring.

 

Even that you are afraid of-

I mean the ringing of the phone,

It will most likely be bad news-

And you’ll have to leave home.

 

 

Yet, no news is good news

You have been known to declare

But that’s when it’s another’s problem;

Not when it’s your affair.

 

That talk is cheap

Is another saying you have heard

It is only when the shoe pinches

That you are forced to concur.

 

No news is good news?

No, that saying is not true

For when information is lacking

That is not our view.

 

We can pretend all we like

That no news is good news

But until we actually find out for sure,

Bad news is our view.

 

Everything points that way

The longer that loved one stays out

And with the minutes ticking away

There is even more doubt.

 

No news is good news

If you don’t anticipate bad news

But when the brain goes a roving

The mind goes a roving too.

 

Stewart Russell © June 10, 2023

 

There Are Just Two

 

This from Stephen Hawking

An intellectual benchmark:

“Heaven is a fairy story

For people afraid of the dark.”

 

 

John Lennox, a Professor,

In his own words, not nearly as bright:

“Atheism is a fairy story

For people afraid of the light.”

 

 

And the debate goes on

Regarding varying worldviews

And when all is said and done

There are just two.

 

One: a grand designer

Featuring His grand design,

The other: a definite hoax

To confuse one’s mind.

 

One: incredibly silly

Even to a primary school child,

The other: more believable

But vehemently denied.

 

Both requiring faith

That is: creation and evolution,

However, one leading to nowhere;

The other to redemption.

 

 

One: revealing a divine plan

The other: a sinister plot,

Satan, the architect of the latter,

Having lost his spot.

 

His position in heaven,

After he opposed Almighty God,

Was taken from him

And so, we had the first fall.

 

The second fall being

That of Adam and Eve

But this is regarded as a fairy tale

To those that disbelieve.

 

Some will lose the debate

But they may gain heaven,

Some will win the debate

But they may not be forgiven.

 

 

Some will lose both

Because of their apathy,

They are neither here nor there

And living carelessly.

 

It is about what we believe

And in whom we trust:

The prince of this world’s power

Or the Saviour, Jesus.

 

If heaven is a fairy tale

For those in the dark,

So was it for Noah and his family

When they built the ark.

 

 

For that fairy tale came true

With the first drops of rain

As those without the ark

Screamed in anguish and pain.

 

I’d rather believe in heaven

And find out there is none

Than believe there is no heaven

And discover there is one.

 

For there is much at stake

If indeed there is a heaven

For it will not be about a debate

But about sins forgiven.

 

If you are in the dark

You can come to the Light

For the light is a person

And to the blind he gives sight.

 

I will end with this question:

On which side are you?

It is either Satan’s or Christ’s:

There are just two.

 

Stewart Russell © March 21, 2022    

Beliefs Impact Dreams

 

 

Based on my belief

I often dreamt of Jesus’ return,

I was absolutely convinced

It would be during my sojourn.

 

My night sleep would be filled

With visions of the rapture

But I would suddenly awake

To face reality’s picture.

 

It could be a nightmare

Where I would be left behind

Or caught up in the clouds

At another time.

 

I still recall that time

When I was awakened by a snore,

It was my mother’s trumpeting

That I hear no more.

 

I was steadfast in my gaze

Upon the starry sky

Expecting the Lord would return

And take me on high.

 

By the way, I still do

Though much has been rearranged,

After reading the Word

Quite a lot has been changed.

 

“After reading the Word?

What was he doing all the time?”

I took off the denominational lens

And I disabused my mind.

 

It is amazing how we study

In the light of what we think

And, therein my brother and sister,

Is the denominational link.

 

The denomination we joined

Shapes what we believe

And that influence is what we see

When the Bible we read.

 

We see what we want to see,

It is a denominational thing

And it is even further established

In the songs that we sing.

 

It jumps off the page

Whether it is there or not,

Since for years we have read it

It becomes our lot.

 

We read the pictures presented

Like we did in primary school,

Thus, the concept is cemented

And the denomination rules.

 

We live it out in the daytime

And we dream about it in the night

And as far as we are concerned

It is the only thing that’s right.

 

 

A little brainwashing, perhaps,

Hopefully not the dangerous kind

But at the end of the day,

It is what saturates our mind.

 

Now I read for myself

I no longer have those dreams

And I do not read into the text

What my denomination gleans.

 

I still dream, mind you,

But interestingly, not like before

And the Bible is becoming clearer

As I read it more and more.

 

Stewart Russell © March 21, 2021

 

Objective Is Subjective

 

 

 

Objective is subjective

Synonyms they’ve become,

Ah, but it was not always like this

But today, that’s how it runs.

 

Let me make this point

Now I have got the chance

And I promise I will be objective

Re the point to be advanced.

 

When did these two

Become synonyms, you ask,

But to pinpoint a particular time

Is a difficult task.

 

I use to think and still do

That they were really opposites

But given the way we argue now

Synonymous is the edict.

 

“You are being subjective,”

One says to the other,

Whereupon the other replies,

“You are being a bother.

 

 

 

Both argue objectivity

But within a specific context

Thus, as one analyses their content,

They argue from a pretext.

 

Three plus four is seven

It matters not the base,

Is a clear case of ignoring context

For in base 5 it’s not the case.

 

The lines are now blurred

Re objective and subjective

And arguing based on such a flaw

Has become addictive.

 

“Context is what matters!”

We are great at saying this

But our practice is so at odds,

It’s this tenet we miss.

 

 

Steeped in our traditions

As passed on for years,

We will disregard a biblical text

And what it actually says.

 

Objectively we will pretend

When subjectively we are

And true objectivity will elude us

And the two will be on par.

 

So, what is objectivity?

Let the dictionary speak:

It’s based on observable phenomena

And to this we must treat.

 

Ignore personal bias

And open up your mind

To the actual therein expressed

And accept the new find.

 

Twelve verses in Revelation

Speak to a specific time,

However, we misconstrue all of these,

And void an objective mind.

 

 

 

Subjective we are

But objective pretend

And those twelve verses though clear

We not so cleverly bend.

 

Explicit is ignored

And so too, the implicit,

And sticking to denominational ideals

Become our remit.

 

Objective is subjective

Within denominational confines

And pretext trumps context

And abuses our mind.

 

Read the Bible

With an objective mind

And therein pearls of great price

You will find.

 

Stewart Russell © October 25, 2024 

 

For Me

 

 

 

The fool has said in his heart

There is no God… “For me!”

“For me” becomes the operative term

I trust you will agree.

 

Whether or not there is a God

Really does not matter,

To the fool this is his personal view

Hence, do not blame any other.

 

“For me” nails it right to the floor

No buts, no ifs, no anything,

“For me” identifies who is the fool

Whatever argument one brings.

 

“For me” says this is my quest

For me says I’m a fool like no other,

For while most fools are ignorant

Folly is my endeavor.

 

 

Folly enters via the mind

But its destination is the heart

And then it becomes nigh impossible

To tear the two apart.

 

Folly is like a cancer

That grows and grows and grows

And the mind that used to think

Now slows and slows and slows.

 

The fool soon begins to believe

What is naturally unreal,

Everyone, but he, becomes the fool

And he grades all with a ‘fail’.

 

There is no God “for me”

Becomes more and more acute

And his heart is heard above all else

As the mind increasingly mutes.

 

“In his heart”, the Bible says,

Hence, the mind has gone to sleep,

The two were designed to work together

Now it’s only the heart that speaks.

 

“For me” the unspoken expression

Louder than the spoken words,

Expressed from a heart of derision

Makes the speaker more absurd.

 

“For me” holds him accountable

The ‘him’ here being the fool

And not any learning institution,

Be it a church or a school.

 

 

 

“For me” is not in the original quote

So, it was obviously an add on,

No doubt by the fool it referred to

Have a good day, my friends,

I am gone!

 

Stewart Russell © February 9, 2022