How Was I to Know?

 

 

How was I to know

For I genuinely didn’t,

Unlike those excited shepherds

I really couldn’t.

 

There was no room

Well, except mine

And beside the animal stable

None could I find.

 

Mine wasn’t the first inn

That they had tried

So, I could not turn her away;

She was with child.

 

And heavily so

Just about to deliver,

Sorry to say, that animal shed

Was all I could give her

 

There she gave birth

Among the animals

To the Saviour of the world,

Not just Israel.

 

 

 

I offered the stable

That is all I could do,

Tell me, how was I to know?

Would you?

 

As I left them, I said,

God be with you

But this is the customary thing

That I would do.

 

I did not know then

What truth I spoke

And that the child she carried

Was the world’s hope.

 

The King of kings?

Born outside the palace?

What’s more, born in a stable?

The animals’ space?

 

How was I to know

Unless I was notified

That my specific inn was to house

The Christ child?

 

 

 

No room for Jesus

In any of the inns

But believe you me, had I known,

I’d have let in him.

 

Yes, there in my inn

The Saviour was born,

Not in any presidential room

But a stable forlorn.

 

I only came to know

After the fact

But had I known before hand,

It’d not be like that.

 

So, now that you know

Will you let him come in?

Is there any room in your heart

For him?

 

Stewart Russell © December 19, 2025

 

Sir, You Have Nothing

 

 

First, see the contradiction

Expressed in the theme:

There is Sir follow by nothing

What could this mean?

 

To be addressed as Sir

And then said to have nothing

Must be a contradiction

And one quite puzzling.

 

Unless of course

There is much more to follow,

Something preceding the substance

More like the shadow.

 

 

A misunderstanding, perhaps,

On the part of the speaker

Of whom we eventually discover

Is really the seeker.

 

“Nothing to dip with, Sir,

And the well is deep.

From where did you get water?”

Now the Saviour speaks.

 

“The water I shall give you

Will within you spring up

And you will not never need to dip it

With a jar or bucket or cup.”

 

Whether she clearly understood

Up to now I cannot tell

But the fact she recognized Jesus

I believe she did very well.

 

Off to the village she went

To tell one and all

That she had met the Christ

And on her he had called.

 

 

Jesus gave her water

That was not from the well:

An eternal spring of living water

And she could not help but tell.

 

He who had nothing to dip with

Gave her everything she needed

And unlike our everyday leaders

At no time had she pleaded.

 

“Sir, you have nothing”

Must be seen in another way:

It’s the plight of every one

That does not have Jesus today.

 

The water he will give you

Will quench your every thirst,

That is the promise he gives

To all who put him first.

 

Like that woman at the well

If you would take him at his word,

Your cup would so continually overflow

You’d want to tell the world.

 

If you have found the Saviour

Don’t keep him to yourself,

Tell your friends and your neighbours

He offers spiritual health.

 

Stewart Russell © September 25, 2020

 

If Christians Believe

 

 

If Christians believe

What they say they believe,

Then, when death approaches,

They should be relieved.

 

There should be rejoicing

Rather than solemnity

And the bombarding of heaven

For added longevity.

 

To see the Saviour’s face

Should be their avowed aim;

To see the one who died for them

As they undeniably claim.

 

Instead, they try to prolong

Their departure from here

Requesting from fellow believers

Much fasting and prayer. 

 

 

 

If they go straight to heaven

The moment they die,

Then, why so dejected and morose?

Please tell me why?

 

Absent from the body

Is to be present with the Lord,

If death facilitates this gateway

Why death do they abhor?

 

Could there be doubts?

Lingering doubts for example

That plague the Christian’s mind

Just like other people?

 

I must confess

That I am not at all sure

About what happens after we die,

At least, not any more.

 

I used to think I did

Until just a few years ago

And while I used to preach about it,

I truly didn’t know.

 

Let me emphatically say

I am no less a believer,

Jesus is the fact I will never deny

As my eternal Saviour.

 

I am cool with my demise

Though it’s not something I relish,

Death for me is not a desire

Or an eagerly awaited wish.

 

Unlike my fellow believers

I do have lingering doubts,

But I do know most assuredly

Death is not the final bout.

 

 

There is life beyond death

And this I most definitely know

For when Jesus rose triumphantly

He proved it to be so.

 

I may not know what happens

Immediately after death

But both here and in the hereafter,

In my Saviour I’ll rest.

 

I have nothing to prove

For Jesus has proved it all

And I shall be eternally grateful

Having answered his call.

 

 

Why pray to live on here

If to heaven we immediately go

With death being the gateway?

I want to know.

 

And why all the sadness

That accompanies death

If immediately on our passing,

We will enter our rest?

 

It baffles me, to say the least,

And maybe it baffles you too

But I take comfort in what Jesus said

And I trust so do you.

How and when this will roll out

I cannot exactly say

But for all that trust in Christ

It will happen one day.

 

Stewart Russell © May 14, 2024

 

 

Death Conquered

 

 

The phenomenon that is death

 We do not understand,

Yet its evidence is seen

All across the land.

 

Old and young, small and great, 

The rich and the poor too,

It matters not who you are, 

Some day it'll come to you.

 

But glory to God 

Who has removed its sting!

Of a glorious resurrection 

We can now sing.

 

The old and young, small and great, 

The rich and the poor too

Can take comfort in the Saviour,

This is true.

 

He died and so with Him 

We died as well

Thus, as He lives we live, 

His word tells.

 

That death may be conquered 

Once and for all,

Isn't it great that your loved one 

Answered His call?

 

So, weep if you must, 

Not like those without hope,

For in Christ Jesus 

You know you can cope.

 

By Lazarus' tomb He wept, 

Though not in vain

To assure you today 

He identifies with your pain.

 

Stewart Russell © 2008

If not Jesus, Who?

 

 

If Jesus cannot save his sheep

Tell me, who can?

Doesn’t it sound a little ludicrous

Considering salvation’s plan?

 

The preacher certainly can’t

Nor the dedicated pastor,

The evangelist can preach forever

But he is not the Saviour.

 

The prophet can prophesy

And the counsellor can assure,

The apostle may stir the people

But can’t open heaven’s door.

 

It is true Jesus waits to enter

And the sinner must open the door,

But it is the Father that draws:

No less and no more.

 

It is the Saviour, Christ Jesus,

That effects our salvation

And in concert with God and the Spirit

Completes our redemption.

 

None can come to the Father

Except through the Son

And them that come to the Son,

The Father draws every one.

 

 

 

So, if Jesus cannot save,

Tell me in all seriousness, who can

When it is Jesus that died

To effect redemption’s plan?

 

Nothing is impossible with God;

That is, nothing that He wills,

And anything that He has done

He is able to do still.

 

None that comes to Christ

He will ever cast out

And His word is eternally reliable

And this is without a doubt.

 

None that Jesus saves

Can in no wise be lost,

He paid sin’s price on Mount Calvary

On that middle cross.

 

There were other crosses too

One to the left and to the right

And one of the thieves hanging there

Received his spiritual sight.

 

 

Imagine him calling on Jesus

Minutes before Jesus died

And there receiving eternal life

From Jesus, the crucified.

 

If not Jesus, who can?

There is none other who can,

Only Jesus can unlock the gate

To let in a penitent man.

 

Such a one shall not perish

But has everlasting life

And the Father gives this assurance

On account of Jesus Christ.

 

  

Stewart Russell © February 12, 2022

 

Worship Christ the Lord

 

 

The shepherds heard the news

As they plied their trade,

Watching sheep was their job

They did both night and day.

 

Tidings of great joy

The angels said to them

And this the shepherds understood

Was in the town of Bethlehem.

 

 

They didn’t worship the angels

When they saw them appear

But as the Bible shows us clearly,

They were sore afraid.

 

The Bible does not say

They worshipped the baby Jesus

But we can assume that this occurred

Without unnecessary fuss.

 

The angel had said to them

“Which is Christ, the Lord,”

This in referencing the baby Jesus,

Who came to be the Saviour.

 

 

The wisemen saw a star

That was unlike any other,

Unlike the others it was slowly moving

And they decided to follow.

 

They didn’t worship the star

But merely followed its trail,

And the fact it led to Herod’s palace

Says it’s not a fairy tale.

 

Their worship was reserved

For the baby Jesus

And having left the palace they discovered

Herod they could not trust.

 

 

His worship was a setup

The baby Jesus to destroy

But rather than return to Herod

Another way they employed.

 

All of this is to say to us

Christmas need not be pagan,

Surely it isn’t so for the born again

Who worship Christ, God’s Son.

 

For he is Christ the Lord

Just as the angel said

And rather than worship Christmas

Worship Christ instead.

 

Use the opportunity, I plead,

To follow the shepherds’ lead

And spread this Gospel message

With like fervour and zeal.

 

 

 

For unto us was born that day

A Saviour, Christ the Lord,

And to God, the Son and Holy Spirit,

Worship we should accord.

 

And not to another:

We should worship the Lord God only

And Him only

Should we serve.

 

Stewart Russell © December 17, 2024

 

A Worthy Comparison

 

 

Not a comparison I hear,

More of a contrast,

The wisemen had the shepherds

Totally outclassed.

 

I beg to differ

And I will show you why,

If you consider the following,

It can’t be denied.

 

They were both looking

While daily engaged,

This made these two seekers

Equally sage.

 

They both found

Though not the same time

For it was the Almighty God

That gave them signs.

 

 

Angels on one hand

And a star on the other,

Giving directions to baby Jesus

Without a bother,

 

Directed as instructed,

Both found the treasure

And understanding its significance

Brought great pleasure.

 

The God-Man

For both the high and low

Be they shepherd or wiseman,

Christ paid the toll.

 

An infinite price

For a finite soul,

One way for wise and otherwise

To enter the fold.

 

 

One entrance point

For shepherds and wise

All must bow before the Christ

Shy of any disguise.

 

For he sees the sham

Of the so-called wise,

And them pretending to be wise

But in their own eyes.

 

All one in Christ:

Shepherd and wiseman

And all who accept the offer

Of redemption’s plan.

 

Brought back again:

Both shepherd and king

And of God’s great benevolence

Both can sing.

 

A place in the kingdom

For both the high and low

Who, once knowing the Saviour,

No hierarchy knows.

 

 

Same for Jew and Gentile

Same for rich and poor,

Shepherd and wiseman must enter

 At the same door.

 

The door, Christ Jesus,

Who is the way

And trillions can’t change this,

It’s already paid.

 

Stewart Russell © December 9, 2024

 

Wisemen Seek

 

 

The shepherds were nigh,

The wisemen afar,

While the former knew the way

The latter followed a star.

 

How they came together

Only God knows

But they met at Herod’s palace,

The Bible shows.

 

They sought Jesus

Is what Herod was told

And he wanted to see him too:

A liar quite bold.

 

Journeying for two years

Having seen the sign,

This Jesus had to be palace-born

Is what they opined.

 

But he wasn’t there

And Herod couldn’t help,

Though his cunning expression

Showed how he felt.

 

 

“Search diligently for him

And when you find this king

Come and bring me word again

That I may worship him.”

 

Wisemen seek Jesus

And for the right reason,

Being aware that Jesus is the reason

For this season.

 

Take Christ out

And mas is all you’ve got

And though many are still deluded,

Without him is naught.

 

Hence, wisemen seek,

Seek to know the Christ

Who gave himself on Mt Calvary

As an atoning sacrifice.

 

 

Paying our debt,

The price of man’s sin

And inviting the whosoever-will

To come to him.

 

The wisest decision

That anyone can make

When in true repentance we say,

“Jesus, my heart take.”

 

He is a wiseman

That seeks the Saviour,

Just like those wisemen of old

Who found his favour.

 

Today if you hear him

Harden not your heart

But let this Christmas season

Be your initial start.

 

 

Wise men seek Christ

And wise women too,

Your star may be this truth today

That brings him into view.

 

Stewart Russell © December 9, 2024