The God that Saves

 

 

Who is this God that saves

None other than YAWEH

Whom the Jews acknowledged

And to whom they prayed.

 

But they had a difficulty

When Jesus forgave sins

And decided among themselves

To disregard him.

 

They knew him well:

His father and his mother

And his words and his works

Were to them a bother.

 

He could not have been

The Messiah they expected

And despite his miraculous works

Him they rejected.

 

They believed not

He was come in the flesh

So consequently, there was no chance

Of entering his rest.

 

They worshipped YAWEH

But ignored His Son

And thus, from the God that Saves

Away they had run. 

 

 

The God that Saves

Is the meaning of a name

Which speaks of two when interpreted

That are one and the same.

 

Yeshua is that name

And it means YAWEH Saves

So that the interpretation really is

Jesus is the God that saves.

 

The stone rejected

Is the chief cornerstone

And to all that believe on his name

Become YAWEH’s own.

 

The Father and I are one

Declared Jesus, God’s Son

But when the Pharisees heard it

They were stunned.

 

Is this not Jesus?

Is not he Joseph’s son?

And is not his mother Mary?

Yes, to all bar none!

 

But there is more!

He is Jesus the God that saves

And unlike the Pharisees and others

There’s no position he craves.

 

 

Co-essential with God

And co-existent too,

He is from eternity to eternity

Unlike me and you.

 

Salvation is in no other

As stated in God’s Word

And God the Father and Holy Spirit

With this concur.

 

Who is this God that saves?

Yeshua is his name!

King of kings and Lord of lords

And who eternally reigns.

 

Philippians 2:10-11

 

That at the name of Jesus

Every knee should bow,

Of things in heaven, and things in the earth,

And things under the earth;

 

 

And that every tongue

Should confess

That Jesus Christ is Lord

To the glory of God, the Father.

 

Stewart Russell © June 12, 2025

 

Go and Tell that Fox

 

Who said these words,

To whom they were spoken

And whom they actually targeted

Is the focus of this poem.

 

“Go ye and tell that fox”

The words of Jesus Christ

In his response to the Pharisees

Who were not nice.

 

That fox was King Herod

The then King of the Jews,

A vassal king put in place by Rome

And hence, bad news.

 

“Get thee out and depart

For Herod will kill thee,”

The advice that was given to Jesus

By certain Pharisees.

 

Depart hence, they warned,

Meaning away from Jerusalem,

Thus, one King Herod after another

Trying to be a problem.

 

You’d recall the first Herod

When Jesus Christ was born,

The second was no better than he

As these Pharisees warned.

 

 

The Herod at Jesus’ birth

Was King Herod the Great,

He sought the young child’s life

But he became the late.

 

His son, Herod Antipas,

Would certainly have his goal

Though not by his own scheme

The Bible shows…

 

 

 

Not by Herod’s designation

But at God’s appointed time,

Just like all the other prophets

Jesus stood in line.

 

The blood of the prophets

All the way back to Abel,

And Jesus would die at Jerusalem

As the prophets did tell.

 

But it won’t be a feather

In Herod Antipas’ cap,

That honour was the Pharisees’-

Compliment Judas’ pact.

 

You’d recall they paid Judas

To point out Jesus his friend

And that money bought a grave plot

For Judas at his end.

 

 

Go and tell that fox

That he will have to wait,

The Passover Lamb will be on time

Jesus was never late.

 

Go and tell that fox

That he is not in control,

Neither Caesar, nor Pilate nor Herod

Has any such claim or hold.

 

Jesus was in control

And there were yet three days,

Enough time to finish his work

In his predetermined way.

 

 

You’d recall Caiaphas’ words

That one must die for the people,

Jesus in the fulness of time

Completed that puzzle.

 

Jesus, not Barabbas,

“Give us Barabbas!” they cried,

He who came to die for them

They vehemently denied.

 

That Herod was cunning

Could never be in doubt

And Jesus’ referencing him as a fox

Surely bears this out.

 

Go and tell that fox

He is exactly like his dad

Who wanted to worship baby Jesus

But his was just a façade.

 

Like his son after him,

He too wanted to slay Jesus

But such was not in their control

However much they fussed.

 

Go tell that old fox

That Jesus is forever alive

And since Herod Antipas is no more,

He and his dad have died.

 

Satan is like a roaring lion

And as cunning as a fox,

Go tell Satan, that scheming old fox

That good will be our lot.

 

Yes, go tell that old fox,

We have no need to fear,

Death bands have been torn asunder

And Jesus Christ is here.

 

Go and tell that old fox

It is no longer night,

We have seen the risen Saviour,

We have seen the light.

 

Stewart Russell © April 9, 2024

 

Faith and Faith

 

 

Of what faith are you

Is a question often asked

And depending on who you are

This is an easy task.

 

I am of the Wesleyan faith

Or I am an Anglican,

I am a Moravian or Catholic

Or even Presbyterian.

 

Faith meaning sect

Is one of the expressions

That quickly come to one’s mind

When asked this question.

 

I am of Apollos

And I am of Paul

Of Cephas and Christ

Or none of the above at all.

 

Like the Pharisees,

That were none of the above,

They were sectarian and apart

And full of self-love.

 

So, faith as in doctrine

Is one definition of faith,

I will hurry on to the next one

I’ve reserved for this space.

 

Faith as in believing

For something to happen,

The faith expressed in a prayer

When something threatens.

 

Mustard seed faith

That will result in a miracle,

The faith that moves mountains

Or whatever the trouble.

 

 

 

So, faith as in a doctrine

And faith as in belief

Hence, the faith and faith title

In this poetic brief.

 

Both are important

One more than the other

And if not properly understood

They can be a bother.

 

Faith in God’s Word

Meaning one’s faith in the faith

Is what we should aspire to

And this by God’s grace.

 

The faith as in the doctrine

Purported by the apostles

Who also walked with Christ

As his first disciples.

 

And afterwards, Paul

And Barnabas and Timothy

And all in the New Testament

That we can see.

 

 

The apostle’s doctrine

Founded on Jesus the Christ

With Jesus the chief cornerstone

Does adequately suffice.

 

There is much dispute

In the church today

And many seek the miraculous

And keep doctrine at bay.

 

Sound doctrine I mean

As lived by the apostles

And this they have exchanged

For charismatic people.

 

Modern day apostles

And future telling prophets

Not necessarily based in the Word

They live to regret.

 

Emphasizing the gifts

While disregarding the Giver

And more or less placing faith

In a charismatic leader.

 

But faith is of no avail

If not placed in the faith

First given to the Bible apostles

That saw Jesus’ face.

 

 

A more-sure word of prophecy

Is how Peter put it,

One’s faith in this faith

Ought to be one’s daily habit.

 

To be like Jesus

This is the the faith to be,

Conformed to the image of Christ:

A reflection for all to see.

 

Stewart Russell © May 6, 2024

 

Why?

 

 

Why do we yet pray for that

Which we have already received?

Is it because, in fact,

We really do not believe?

 

If the Word of God says

That we already have it,

Why do we continue to bombard heaven?

Is it just out of habit?

 

God has given us, we are told,

All that pertain to life and godliness

Yet for these very things

Our prayer is rather ceaseless.

 

Is it because, I ask again,

We are acculturated by rituals

And like the many other religions

Must function as such people?

 

Does God not know

And has He not put in place

All that His redeemed children need

According to His wonderful grace?

 

So then, why do we beg

And why do we beseech

As though God needs a timely reminder

Of that not within our reach?

 

Is He a god like Baal

Whose prophets had to bellow,

And cut themselves until the blood gushed

And still Baal was a no-show?

 

Does God sleep

Like apparently Baal did

Causing Elijah to mock his prophets

When he did not do as they bid?

 

 

Why do we yet pray

As though we are in disbelief

And feel that much praying is our effort

To help God bring relief?

 

Why do we remind Him

Like He has a tendency to forget

And if we do not get to Him in time

We might in fact regret?

 

It appears God only supplies

If we plead and beg and beseech

And it is to those only who do this well

Is what we practice and teach.

 

Hence, why would we pray

For the same things over and over

Under the guise that even for God

The enemy is no push-over.

 

Why do we pray so fiercely

As though trying to convince God

If only we only we could get Him to see,

He would respond to our call.

 

Why do we harp about numbers?

Do numbers matter to Him?

Are not all of these signs of unbelief

And isn’t unbelief sin?

 

 

Why do we say we believe

And then pray as if we do not

Yet, still hoping like the Pharisees

God will give us our lot?

 

Our prayer is full of worry

And saturated with and anxiety

And it screams from hilltop and steeple,

God is not hearing me.

 

For it seems He does not answer

Hence, we pray again and again

And like the prophets of Baal on Carmel

We seem to be praying in vain.

 

Why do we not believe

We have that for which we pray

And why do we pray for the same things

Each and every day?

 

Stewart Russell © March 19, 2024

Beware the Tics

 

 

Nah, I don’t mean on animals

That provide a safe haven,

They are spelt differently,

Come on, have you forgotten?

 

So, what do you mean?

I am hearing you ask,

Well, bear with me a while

While I finish the task.

 

Not only animals as you know

But words carry tics,

Quite a few as I can recall

But for now, four will fit.

 

Yes, out of some 223 words

I’ll only choose four,

For the purpose of this discourse

I will need no more.

 

Let me say from the outset

They all relate to people,

You and I are among the four-

Sorry to burst your bubble.

 

I will start with the one

That says who I have become,

A skeptic for sure I now am

And I am not making fun.

 

I find it difficult to believe

Much of what I hear,

Most is intentional propaganda

And this I truly fear.

 

News and views went together

Now they are so unrelated

That I sometimes wonder

If the truth is now outdated.

That’s why I am now a skeptic

Not that I want to be

But when I listen to the news

The truth I cannot see.

 

Two sides in a given matter:

Which is right I cannot tell,

If I were to be tested on the truth

I wouldn’t do very well.

 

Skeptics, as far as I can see,

Are the least of these four tics,

The second I now give to you

Which for me is a critic.

 

 

 

Just like the skeptics today

Critics are on the increase,

These know so little about everything

But they talk will never cease.

 

Theirs is always another view

Different from any before

And they are extremely innovative

In giving one view more.

 

They even criticize their view

Yes, their own view they criticize

If an opposer carries the same,

They will feign surprise.

 

In the eyes of too many critics

A solution is never to be found

Since critics tend mostly to look in

And seldom look around.

 

I have a problem deciding

Which of the next two is worse

But I have unilaterally decided

To deal with a lunatic first.

 

 

Lunatics are mad people!

Nothing more and nothing less,

They ebb and flow like the sea

And never are at rest.

 

The moon controls the tides,

At least, that’s what I was told

But being by my new nature a skeptic,

To this I tenuously hold.

 

So lunar, looney, lunatic,

All words that are related

Indicating the magnitude of insanity

In which this era is inundated.

 

Finally, the last of the tics

Is none other than heretic,

This tic is extremely closely related

To its predecessor, lunatic.

 

 

Heretics evade the truth

And they do this at all costs,

Their proselytizing is foremost

As their recruit the lost.

 

The Pharisees were exposed

And censured by Jesus Christ

Whose righteousness they rejected

Feeling theirs would suffice.

 

Heretics are all around us

Trying to obscure the truth

And there are many in the church

That are of living proof.

 

Yes, skeptics and critics,

Lunatics and heretics!

These are in many ways related,

Watch out for their tricks!

 

Stewart Russell © November 11, 2023

 

Who Can Say?

 

 

I love these rhetorical questions

That we try to shift each day

And somehow continue to behave

In our self-righteous way.

 

Here is an interesting question

Asked by the wisest of men

That when the rest of it is added

Shows how we pretend.

 

Indeed, that is what we do

In our day to day lives

And when we promote our purity

It is nothing but lies.

 

“I have made myself clean,”

That is an absolute win

And even greater still would be,

“I am pure from my sin.”

 

But it is part of a question

Beginning with “who can say…”

And it’s a rhetorical question

Which answers no one, no way.

 

 

And notice its specificity:

It doesn’t say “free from sin”

For in that general regard

It is through Christ that we win.

 

But the pronoun “my”

Speaks of sins that we commit

That in our daily living

May be a cover-up habit.

 

Who can say?

And the answer comes back:

No one, no way

And that is an unalterable fact.

 

None can make himself clean

Or pure from his sin

And if anyone thinks he can

His sight is less than dim.

 

Solomon came upon this

And he was the wisest ever

So, none of us can;

We are not nearly as clever.

 

In Ecclesiastes he reminds us

There’s none righteous on earth

That has continually done good

Since the time of his birth.

 

In Romans 6 and verse 23:

All have sinned and fallen short

Of God’s glory, that is,

We are all of that sort.

 

So that if we say we have no sin

That is a huge lie

Such that if God were human

He would do nothing but sigh.

 

Like a loving parent

That can’t stop a child from lying

But can only sigh at the futility

After several years of trying.

 

No use comparing ourselves

With those we consider beneath,

The Pharisees’ self-righteousness

Caused Christ much grief.

 

We fall short in our actions

We fall short in our minds

And the expressions from our hearts

Are often off line.

 

The heart and the mind

The emotions and the conscience,

All are stained with sin

And require constant repentance.

 

 

None can say…

I have made my heart clean,

I am pure from my sin:

None!  Not one!

 

Stewart Russell © September 1, 2020