Are We with God?

 

 

Are we with God?

That is the real question!

But in the time of turmoil and strife

It’s the one we shun.

 

A question was asked

So very long ago

Of a warrior in the old times

Who suddenly showed.

 

“Are you for us

Or are you for our enemies?”

Neither, the warrior replied,

And was not being silly.

 

You may have thought,

It must be one or the other

But Jehovah does not take sides;

That’s not his bother.

 

 

One anthem speaks

Of the side the Lord is on

But regarding the world’s nations

There is not one.

 

That error’s been there

For nigh six decades

And none has dared to change it

Though dismayed.

 

It’s a rather silly notion

We ought to confess

For if Jehovah God be on our side

Then we would be best.

 

Better than God, even,

Since He aligns with us,

Isn’t this the tail wagging the dog?

Answer if you must!

 

 

Rather, ask the question

Like a leader long ago,

Who is on the Lord’s side, he asked,

And we ought to know.

 

For the bottom line is:

Who is following God?

Who is willing to walk the path

The Saviour trod?

 

Being on the Lord’s side

Is following his lead,

Not the world powers around

And man-made creeds.

 

It’s, “Are we with God?”

Not whether He is with us,

For His way is holy and righteous

And this means just.

 

He’s no respecter of persons:

Of world leader or Pope

But draws nigh to all who in him

Place their hope.

 

Here’s a word to the wise

And to the foolish too,

And while the latter may be me,

I trust it’s not you.

 

Are we with God

Given our trajectory?

Perhaps no would be the answer

If you see like me.

 

Wither our spirituality

And wither our morality?

The key is not whose side God is on

But whose we be.

 

 

If we be for God

Then we must serve Him

For Almighty God is not pleased

When we legalize sin.

 

Stewart Russell © May 28, 2025

 

What Is Your Life?

 

 

 

This is a question we must ponder

As we walk this passage of time,

When we plan our lifelong ambitions

It should be optimal on our mind.

 

For your life is but only a vapour

That perishes with the rising sun

And relative to the passage of time,

In a moment, it is done.

 

Tomorrow you will do so and so

Like it is the inevitable plan

Not recognizing as you really should

The frailty that is man.

 

And so, James poses this question

In the book that carries his name,

What is your life, he asks of his audience

Back then and to us again and again.

 

It is a flower of the grass, he posits,

That arises in all of its beauty

But is scorched by the heat of the sun

As it proceeds on its tour of duty.

 

For the sun rises every day

And this is the constant that has been

But not so every human being

As every one of us has seen.

 

 

The fleeting nature of a vapour

Speaks to the frailty of man

And the short-lived beauty of the flower

Contextualizes his plans.

 

It is even a vapour, James exclaims

Notice he did not say like,

A word to the academic and erudite

That think they are ever so bright.

 

It is even a flower of the grass

Mindless of its stunning beauty

A word of admonishment to the vain

And also to the haughty.

 

Your life is a vapour and a flower

And soon it quickly fades away

But there is more to life than meets the eye

And this should help to make your day.

 

It is a gift from the Source of life

That is none other than Almighty God

And all who have a different view

Walk hand in hand with the fraud.

 

For Satan would have you to believe

What the Bible calls the lie

When he himself does not believe it

But after all, he is Mr. Sly.

 

So teach us to number our days

The psalmist would have us understand

And to apply our hearts to wisdom

Would be the number one plan.

 

 

Be like a vapour that succours a plant

Though short be its stay

And a flower that shares its beauty

To light up another’s day.

 

Stewart Russell © December 22, 2020