Two Days to Forget

 

 

 

Forget yesterday

It does not remember you,

Worry not about tomorrow

For you haven’t a clue.

 

Today is your day

Since yesterday surely is not

And tomorrow is no guarantee

Concerning your lot.

 

Two days to forget:

Yesterday and tomorrow

For from neither, I dare say,

Not a minute you can borrow.

 

Neither the twain exists

I can assure you of that,

Yesterday has already gone

And tomorrow’s never a fact.

 

Yesterday may be a track record

You’d want to consider

But it’s better to forget it

If it brings you a shiver.

 

Tomorrow on the other hand

Is all in the mind

And has never eclipsed today

At any given time.

 

 

None can fix yesterday;

That’s an impossible feat

And tomorrow doesn’t come

So today is never complete.

 

Plan all you can

For the prospect of tomorrow

But bear in mind, my friend,

It is today that you sow.

 

Regret all you must

About yesterday’s mistakes

But there is nothing you can do

For yesterday is too late.

 

Two days to forget:

Yesterday and tomorrow

But neither the twain do we

Whether of joy or sorrow.

 

Stewart Russell © June 4, 2022

 

Performance or Preference?

 

 

Performance or preference

Which should come first?

Some say it doesn’t matter

I disagree of course.

 

Track record is vital

It’s important to take note,

What you see is what you get

Is a Flip Wilson joke.

 

Has he done what he said?

And how much of it?

This should inform preference

Whenever we sit.

 

Looking good and doing good

Are two different things,

Besides her good looks

Tell me what else she brings.

 

 

Performance before preference

Is being on the right track,

If he has nothing to show

Then that’s a real set back.

 

“But I like how he moves

It doesn’t matter what he does”

Here of late in decision making

This seems to be the buzz.

 

And “she talks really well

We should give her a chance.”

Sweet talk is for lovers

She should be in France.

 

 

Performance is premiere

Is he a man of his word?

Or, are you simply satisfied

With the rhetoric you have heard?

  

What is her claim to fame?

What has she built?

Is there gold in her stream

Or is there only silt?

 

“But she promises a lot

And she is incredibly smart,

She even puts a time-frame on it

And that’s great for a start.”

 

“I know he is new

But he comes highly qualified.”

However, papers in hand

Is not performance applied.

 

 

What has he done?

For me it comes right down to this,

Preference without performance

Is a colossal miss.

 

Performance is a track record

Preference is a like,

Unless they work hand in hand

We’ll never get it right.

 

Stewart Russell © November 14, 2020

 

Passing Grade

 

What is the passing grade?

I would sure like to know,

If performance does count for something

Somebody please to me show.

 

How can I get to heaven?

Am I on the right road?

How many demerits am I allowed?

I need to set a goal.

 

Does my faith in Jesus suffice?

Or, is there something more?

E.g.: performance and track record

To bring to the fore.

 

What does “not by works” mean?

What must I do that does not count?

And, how much is required?

Please tell me the amount.

 

What sins must I avoid?

Where can I find this list?

Which sins are permissible

And with which ones am I at risk?

 

Must I wait till after the exam

To know if I have passed

And how will I get that information

When I am no longer in class?

 

Is this salvation you talk about

Somewhat like the lotto

Such that when my good deeds are added up

Only then would I know?

 

And what about these serious sins

That can disqualify me?

I have done a few in my lifetime

Though the church did not see.

 

 

I have often struggled

Being a particularly frisky lamb,

I guess there is no hope for me

For by now I must be damned.

 

I do not mean to be light about this

Neither appear to be trite

But if Jesus has paid the price for me

What still is my plight?

 

Something must have changed

From what was before,

I thought that having accepted Jesus

There was nothing more.

 

But apparently, I must pay back

In some measure what he paid for me

Through my self-righteous acts

And by not sinning seriously.

 

Now, please do not get me wrong,

I am not condoning sin

For I do believe there is outward evidence

For the transformation done within.

 

 

There must be a change in behavior

When one becomes saved,

The indwelling Holy Spirit appropriately

Moves that one thus to behave.

 

No sinning with gay abandon

As though one is still going astray

But a progressive and gradual growth

As one learns to walk God’s way.

 

Of course, they are the professors

Whom we often mistake

And confuse them with the born-again

Particularly so here of late.

 

No passing grade is required

For the born-again child of God,

He is a bona fide child of the Father

Who will never revoke his call.

 

 

 

Such a child is adopted by the Father

Through the blood of the Son

And the Holy Spirit seats him in heavenly places,

A.k.a. God’s Kingdom.

 

Stewart Russell © February 6, 2021