Moored to Oneself

 

 

To what are we moored

In this pluralistic time

Where everything seems relative

And jelly is spine?

 

No difference, it seems,

Between sand and rock

And one can pass for the other

Like dress and frock.

 

Nothing is steadfast

And we just float around,

Same difference, some would say,

Whether up or down.

 

To each his own reality-

That’s how he sees it,

No reference point or benchmark

Informs his habit.

 

Moored to myself

Makes me feel free

And it really does not matter

If I drift aimlessly.

 

No beginning, no end,

All one continuous bend

Riding the world’s merry-go-round,

World without end.

 

No reference-point

Nothing by which to gauge,

The entire world is just a stage

And I am its sage.

 

It’s me and me alone

Accountable to only me,

And my truth is as good as anyone’s

So, set me free.

 

 

 

Nothing is absolute!

Bear this in your mind,

One man’s freedom, my friend,

Is another’s bind.

 

It’s nothing topsy-turvy

If it works for me,

I am the centre of the universe,

And I am free.

 

My beauty is my beauty,

My truth is my truth,

Thus, my values are my values

And I am my proof.

 

My reason to be here

Is my own purpose,

It has nothing to do with anyone

Hence, it is just.

 

The survival of the fittest?

Call it what you may,

This means of all there is, I succeed

While all beside me fail.

 

 

 

I am moored to me:

Distinctly myself and I

And don’t you dare try to change me;

Don’t even try.

 

And so, I present to you

The world’s dilemma,

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

And each book its cover.

 

Thus, all things of beauty

But no distinctive beauty,

No benchmark by which a judge

Can perform his duty.

 

Many varying values

But no moral plumb line,

Morality and immorality are the same

Together combined.

 

 

 

A myriad of truths:

Yours and mine and theirs

But no truth by which to measure

What is just and fair. 

 

Different purposes

But no defining purpose

That rightly informs all of humanity

On his return to the dust.

 

From dust created He us

To dust we will return

And the sooner we understand this

The more we will learn.

 

God is the only absolute

By which all can be measured

And to ignore His divine blueprint

Is to miss life’s treasure.

 

Truth is at the top

Forming value and beauty,

Out of these emerges our purpose

That informs our duty.

 

 

 

Moored to the Rock

Though adaptive to change,

For to be moored to oneself

Is to be deranged.

 

Stewart Russell © September 17, 2025

 

What Do You Believe?

 

 

Some wander through life

Oblivious to the above,

They have an acute case of apathy

Void of hate or love.

 

They move from pillar to post

Almost without drive,

Theirs is a process of automation

Just like bees in a hive.

 

No concern for the questions

That are vital to this life:

Of origin, of purpose, of destiny

Or the reason for their strife.

 

But they believe something

Even if only subconscious

For something stirs their mind

Of or not about Jesus.

 

Beliefs originate in the mind

And hopefully reach the heart

And from there they are expected

In one’s life to play a part.

 

They may be outwardly expressed

Or they may be recessive,

But in all, whether good or bad,

They impact how we live.

 

Some believe in God:

Mostly what others say about him,

Many show a profession of faith

But unaware of their sin.

 

At some time in their life

They repeated the sinner’s prayer

But regarding the heart’s contriteness

It never resonated there.

 

 

So, what do you believe?

This question demands an answer

And contrary to some intellectuals,

It is more than silly banter.

 

Do you believe in God?

Not what others say about Him

For if their light is not of His Word

Then yours too will be dim.

 

Do you believe in God?

I must ask the question again,

Have you truly repented of your sin

And been saved in Jesus’ name?

 

To believe in Almighty God

Is to believe what He says about us,

All have sinned thus missed the mark

And need to come to Jesus.

 

That means acknowledging Christ

And to God confessing our sin,

It is believing Jesus refuses none

That penitently come to him.

 

Whether you believe it or not

What you believe means everything,

Particularly if like me you believe

That Jesus is the King of kings.

 

Like Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus:

He is Lord of lords and King of kings,

If you believe in Jesus Christ

That means everything.

 

 

 

What do you believe?

 

Stewart Russell © April 20, 2022

 

That Critical Triad

 

 

Today is the first day

Of the rest of your life

And if you are married

It is the same for your wife.

 

Your last day you can’t tell

None of us can,

Nonetheless, my friend,

We still need to plan.

 

Consider three questions

You should bear in mind,

Each one is important

At any given time.

 

Now is the opportune time

To consider these three:

They deal with origin

Purpose and destiny.

 

 

The “where from”

The “purpose”

And the “where to”:

It is time to consider these

Before you bid adieu.

 

“What’s my origin?”

Is a good question to ask,

From the Bible’s vantage point

It is not a difficult task.

 

“In the beginning God”

Four significant words

That tell the whole story,

I trust you have heard.

 

The creator of all things

That we see around,

His design is evident

Whether we look up or down.

   

Before Him

Nothing did exist

And in Him

Everything consists.

 

 

The first man and woman

Were created by Him

And all was perfect in Eden

Before the first sin.

 

We are their offspring

That is who we are,

Evolution missed the boat

And it still does by far.

 

That takes care of how

We came to be,

Such has to do with origin,

Now for purpose and destiny.

 

The critical triad,

I must restate,

Has everything to do

With our final estate...

 

 

But before we get there

There is the purpose for being

And if we miss this

Hell we’ll be seeing.

 

I hold no apology

For being so blunt,

These times are too serious

For political stunts.

 

We were created

To please the Lord,

In order to do this

We must consult His Word.

 

A lamp to our feet

And a light to our path,

The psalmist records this

In the biblical first half.

 

His reference

Was to the Word of God,

The one whom he worshipped

And would daily applaud.

 

Talents and gifts

God has given to us,

The major gift, of course

Was His Son, The Lord Jesus.

 

 

He came to die

So that we might live

And through His Son Jesus

Eternal life gives.

 

Our lives must be lived out

In praise to Him,

The one who conquered death

To free us from sin.

 

So that our gift to God

Is like His gift to us,

We give Him our life

In exchange for Jesus.

 

Next is our witness

Of Jesus’ life in us,

Formed by the Spirit

As in God we trust.

 

Called to be salt

And called to be lights

Is the purpose of every soul

Above all our rights.

 

The gifts and talents

God has endowed us with

Is for the main purpose

Of propagating His gift…

 

 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

To a world of sin

So that they may know

Salvation is only in Him.

  

Thus, shaping our destiny

And that of the world,

Particularly all them

That believe on His Word.

 

One of two destinies

May sound somewhat trite

But it is hell for the unsaved

And heaven for the lights.

 

The lights are those

That witness of the Light,

That light being Jesus

That gave the blind sight.

 

Thus, heaven and hell

Are the two destinies

And one or the other

Will be our reality.

 

Stewart Russell © February 2020

 

My Prayer: Shaping the World I Touch

Lord, help me this day

In your own unmistakable way

To do all you would have me to do

And say only what you would have me say.

As I live each and every day

Shape me, O Lord, I pray

That I may shape the world I touch

In your own compassionate way.

May my purpose be your plan

May my proximity be your will

And may my personal touch be your design

As my entire being your Holy Spirit fill.

Lord, even as you were touched

By the feelings of my infirmity

May my touch also be one of compassion

As I relate to all in my proximity

Thank you Lord for my proximity

Thank you Lord for my personal touch

Thank you Lord for your purpose

Knowing that what you ask is never too much.

Stewart Russell © April 2017

Potential and Purpose

Potential and purpose,

The hallmarks of life

Are equally important

In life’s daily strife.

One’s given at the start

The other ongoing till death

Lives full of purpose

With intervals of rest.

The believer, chosen of God

With a purpose in view

Invested with potential

That purpose to pursue.

Procrastination and indolence

With diligence eschew

These are ever present

To hamper me and you.

The Apostle Paul an example

Potential in a vessel

Walked as God demanded

Amidst all of life’s hassle.

In the end he could declare

His purpose fulfilled

Potential used up

And none of it spilled.

An excellent spirit

Manifested in his work

Mindful of his purpose

With no thought to shirk.

An example to Timothy

And to all of us here

That potential is purpose

That is yet to appear.

For potential means nothing

Unless it is tapped

So that purpose ensues

Or else purpose is trapped.

 

For excellence is ongoing

With potential its furnace

God’s purpose our goal

Ensured by His grace.

Stewart Russell © 2016

TIME-ORDER-FOCUS

Tick - tock, tick - tock

Hear the ticking clock

Note the moments lost

Count the climbing cost.

God gives to each of us

The time to order focus

First His divine purpose

In Him place our trust.

In order to get it right

Seek God the guiding light

Then life is not a waste

Don’t delay, make haste.

I will hasten to define

The phenomenon call time

It is really life, you know

God has measured it so.

Time is all we’ve got

God’s purpose is our lot

So let’s be up and doing

His will alone pursuing.

However long our days

We must avoid delays

So prevalent in our way

Most evident in our stay.

Time may be a moment

Or just an ordered event

An opportunity or a chance

Someone’s life to enhance.

It’s not just about me and I

Or when hurt brings a sigh

But all of God’s creation

Should engage our attention.

By now we all should see

Time is not a place to be

But a facility to be used

Not I but let God choose.


  

So life is a period of time

Often its clock will chime

Reminding of its brevity

One has entered eternity.

So what do I do with time?

Order now comes into line

For but few are our days

Number them King David says.

 

Solomon, his very first son

Reminds of the following one

A time to live and a time to die

Now that’s a fact none can deny.

A necessity we dare not miss

In the order of this analysis

God is first as the order is set

Remember, we tend to forget.

Order is important do realize

This is the key as we priortise

God first in all that we do

Brings success to me and you.

About order take another clue

Important to me and to you

What’s really needed in this life

Are love and peace, not strife.

Put them high up on the list

To omit them is a critical miss

God made us for one another

To live for His good pleasure.

Order right we won’t go wrong

Marching on bold and strong

Setting focus by the Guiding Light

Aimed at Christ so set our sight.

  

Focus makes the difference

In a hit or miss circumstance

In all of life’s endeavours

Focus unearths the treasures.

Time, order and focus, note

Make this your familiar quote

“Redeeming the time is a must

In Christ Jesus I dare to trust”.

God it was that created time

Ordered all that we call mine

By His focus all came to be

By His word all that we see.

Stewart Russell © 2013