A Magi

 

 

Perhaps you had heard

There were three of us

But whether there were more or not

Is not my focus.

 

Maybe you thought

We started out together

But again, neither is this my focus

So, no need to bother.

 

I just want to share

The incredible experience I had

And let me tell you from the outset,

I am eternally glad.

 

Please understand upfront

That I was not a Jew

And thus, the more wonderful to me,

And perhaps also you.

 

 

 

I studied the constellations

With their countless stars

And I was able to tell their distance

Whether near of far.

 

They often told of events

Particularly in the future

And because of the Almighty God

I got the picture.

 

I was not an afterthought

But I was always included

And just like the shepherds earlier

I was not excluded.

 

 

 

I followed that star

That mysteriously moved

Straight to over King Herod’s place

To give him news.

 

News of a new born king

He did not even know

But to whom that star had pointed

And also showed. 

 

I left King Herod’s palace

Of course, none the wiser

But I found the star still waiting

To be my guider.

 

It guided me to a house

In which was a young child

And by whom, I felt the strong urge

To kneel beside.

 

 

 

I presented him a gift

And it was of myrrh

With which he would be anointed

When his death occurred.

 

To me that was strange

For he was just a toddler,

Why should death at this early stage

Be a bother?

 

There were two more gifts

That I can recall,

There were gold and frankincense;

Yes, that was all.

 

There was a great presence

There in that room,

And it was of a heavenly invitation

And not of doom.

 

 

 

What an experience

And what great salvation

To be in the same room as the one

To bring redemption!

 

Not only for the Jew

But for the Gentile as well

And what great news other magi and I

Had to tell!

 

Some call us wise men

And some call us kings

But I can tell, seeing the Christ child

Meant everything.

 

Stewart Russell © December 16, 2025

 

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

 

The Little Child in Me

 

 

 

There is a little child in me

That long for Christmas time,

Months before this time arrives

Christmas is on my mind.

 

I have come to realize

It’s not so much about things,

It’s definitely not about parties

And getting to have a fling.

 

It’s not really about the eating

And looking kind of rotund

When all year I’ve been struggling

To get rid of the extra pounds.

 

It’s not about the Christmas lights

Well, maybe a little of that,

But it’s something more, I think,

That provides the crowning cap.

 

Definitely, the nativity story

Still stirs the heart and mind

As we take that Bethlehem journey

The wonderful Christ child to find.

 

 

Away in a Manger,

Once in Royal David’s City,

O Come to My Heart Lord Jesus,

These wonderful songs of nativity!

 

Coming closer to the point!

Yes, therein is the wonderful fact!

That this little child in me

Connects with that Divine act.

 

Bringing meaning to the lights

And to the bounteous food,

To this unique sense of goodwill

That goes with the Christmas mood.

 

So that it’s not any one thing

But an amalgamation of realities

That arouses that little child,

Yes!  It is the little child in me!

 

 

And it doesn’t matter, my friend,

That I am almost seven decades

For I have discovered the older I get,

The less this reality fades.

 

And so, like some people I know

The countdown is really on

And there is a sense re the fight of time

This Christmas will soon be gone.

 

So, from one Christ child to another,

Enjoy this festive season!

It’s the child in you and me that knows

Christ’s nativity is the reason.

 

While shepherds watch their flock

They saw a shining star

And wise men bow in great delight

Having journeyed from afar.

 

Two old ones past eight decades

Anticipated that Holy Child,

And the child in them became excited

When that moment arrived.

 

Like them there’s this child in me

That just longs for Christmas time

And months before December comes

Christmas is on my mind.

 

If there is one single regret I have,

It’s that the day passes so quickly

And just around the evening hours,

I feel profoundly melancholy.

 

 

Perhaps it’s what the disciples felt

When Jesus went away,

But he gave them the wonderful assurance

That he will be back someday.

 

And so, if my life be spared,

There’ll be another Christmas too

And that little child in me will rejoice

And hopefully in you too.

 

Stewart Russell © December 2, 2022

Just Once

There is no such star today

In the east or in the west

To guide the seeking traveller

In pursuit of his quest.

No angel song announcement

To shepherds in the field

Or light resplendent in the heavens

To guide wise men in their zeal.

No Simeon in the temple

To indicate the Lord has come,

No Anna, the aging prophetess

To confirm this revelation.

No inn in Judea’s Bethlehem

No Joseph and no Mary,

No decree from Caesar Augustus

No need to make that journey.

No baby in a manger

Surrounded by smelly animals,

No nativity scene in a stable

With just a few unimportant people.

No star standing watch above

Having led to Bethlehem,

No angry King Herod on his throne

Startled by the visit of wise men.

Though rehearsed and recounted

Up to and on Christmas day,

None of these events still happen

In this very same way.

No repeating of the history

Of that wonderful incarnation,

Once Christ came and once he died

To bring to us salvation.

However, wise men still seek

To be shepherded by the Christ,

Both the high and the low

Are saved through his sacrifice.
  

One price, once and for all time

One price for a soul’s redemption,

Paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ

God’s only begotten Son.

Once he suffered without the wall

Just once his precious blood did flow,

Once, he purchased our salvation

The Bible tells me so.

Let this Christmas time find you

Immersed in his wonderful love,

The Love that came down at Christmas

The Love that came from above.

To be covered for time and eternity

Just once is all you need,

Like the shepherds and the wise men

Haste to the Saviour, with speed!

Stewart Russell © December 2019