Of Bread and Crumbs

 

 

If it tastes as good as it smells

It’ll take just a crumb,

Just a crumb or two to prove

My assertion is not dumb.

 

The crumb tastes no different

From the entire bread

And if I couldn’t have the loaf

I’d have a crumb instead.

 

Or maybe two or three

As they fall from the table,

After all, bread is the staff of life

That means, it’s a staple.

 

And so, she approached Jesus

With her critical request,

She wanted healing for her daughter

That was not at her best.

 

At first, he ignored her,

At least, that’s how it appeared

But she was persistent

About her daughter’s welfare.

 

The disciples were annoyed

And wished she be sent away

And the answer Jesus gave to her

Said it was not her day.

 

He had come to Israel’s house

And she was of the Greeks,

Most would have gone away

But she continued to speak.

 

 

Ignored the first time

Abruptly brushed off the second,

This time she knelt and worshipped him

Hoping something would happen.

 

The answer Jesus gave her

To me seemed rather harsh

And I must confess if it were me

I’d surely have gasped.

 

Did he call her a dog?

Goodness gracious, but why?

Then again, that he needed rest,

None would dare deny.

 

After all, he was human then

And could crack under strain

And people just kept on coming

Again, and again.

 

This may have been so

For the disciples and all others

But in the case of Jesus

It was a different matter.

 

 

A lesson was truly unfolding

For them and for us,

It was what great faith looks like

As one responds to Jesus.

 

This woman was focused

And to me this is clear

As she demonstrated to all and sundry

A faith greater than her fear.

 

The bread was not for her

The disciples would have said,

And Jesus mirrored their feelings

As the woman pled.

 

You would recall that they said

To send her away

But what hope would she have had

When Jesus is the way?

 

If they learnt the lesson then

I really cannot tell

But Jesus commended the woman

And made her daughter well.

 

She had had a demon

But didn’t we all

Until we put faith in Jesus Christ

And were drawn to God.

 

One way to God the Father

And it’s through Jesus the Son,

For both Jew and Gentile

In one predetermined kingdom.

 

Herein is the lesson

Re the lost house of Israel,

In Abraham’s seed all will be blessed

Meaning all earth’s people.

 

Of Jews, Gentiles and Greeks

And of Syro-Phoenicia too,

Like this woman and her daughter

And like me and you.

 

Jesus commended her faith,

It was of the persistent type

But understand Jesus did the healing

Not some emotional hype.

 

While faith is important

It does not replace God,

God must always be faith’s object,

Beware of Satan the Fraud.

 

 

The bread was for the children

But not merely the Jews

And this miracle sent this signal

Though many Jews refused.

 

They that come to Christ

He will in no way refuse

And it matters not their ethnicity

Be they Germans or Jews.

 

Despise not the crumbs

They’re the same quality as the bread,

I believe not a crumb was wasted

When Jesus thousands fed?

 

Jesus is the living bread

That came to us from heaven

And they that live by his every word

Are eternally forgiven.

 

Stewart Russell © April 29, 2024

 

Ezekiel 38 and 39

 

 

 

Ezekiel 38 and 39

Where does it fit?

A prophecy yet to be fulfilled?

Not from where we sit.

 

A restoration of Israel

At the end of time?

In the light of Holy Scripture

Nothing of this kind.

 

A modern day battle?

It does not appear so

For when we take a careful look

It surely does not show.

 

Note the weapons used:

Not of modern day,

Chariots, horses, bows and spears?

Definitely not, no way!

 

This cannot be a war

To be fought in modern days,

Modern day weapons are far superior

In so many different ways.

 

They are more powerful

And much more accurate,

They are far more long range

And can obliterate.

 

There are some, however,

That attempt to convert

The ancient weapons to modern day

But this does not work.

 

Chariots may be tanks

Horses as horsepower,

Arrows and spears are missiles

A bow: a missile launcher.

 

Very clever I would say

But far from making sense

Since God is sharing with Ezekiel

Regarding Israel’s defense.

 

Notice too, the spoils:

Gold, silver, goods and cattle;

Not likely to be the spoils taken

In a modern-day battle.

 

If not in our future

Where does this battle fit?

A reading of the book of Esther

Should be adequate.

 

 

Taken captive to Babylon

Most of Israel not all,

But the Persian empire took over

After the Babylonian fall.

 

Seventy years in exile

The Israelites had been

When Haman, on becoming a prince

Tried to wipe them off the scene.

 

First Queen Esther

And her uncle, Mordecai,

Then all the Jews in the Persian empire;

Each one was to die.

 

Haman built the gallows

On which to hang Mordecai

Not knowing with a twist of fate,

On it he would die.

 

Esther 8:11-12

 

A decree was given

To slaughter Israel’s foes

And throughout the Persian Empire

They were taken out in droves.

 

Thus ended Haman’s plot

To commit genocide

When God intervened on Israel’s behalf

Miraculously turning the tide.

 

Compare Ezra 1 verse 4

With Ezekiel 38:13,

The exact same spoils are itemized

Implying the same scene.

 

In both, the same spoils:

Gold, silver, goods and cattle;

For sure these won’t be the spoils taken

In a modern-day battle.

 

Ezekiel 38 and 39

Have already passed

And the proof this is a future battle

Disappears quite fast.

 

Stewart Russell © July 20, 2024

 

Beyond the Mere Ritual

 

 

Heavenly Father,

I pray today

That my prayer

Would go beyond mere ritual,

And be not the complaints

Or the grocery list

As usual.

 

Help me,

Heavenly Father,

To appreciate you

Simply just for who you are

And to thank you

For supplying my needs

As you always do.

 

And to do so,

Heavenly Father,

Form a heart of gratitude,

Ascribing to You all glory,

And all honour,

And all praise

In the right attitude.

 

Giving thanks,

Heavenly Father,

For those necessities

I often take for granted:

Like the strength I use,

And the air I breathe

Uninhibited.

 

For the so-much

That is going for me,

Heavenly Father,

Rather than the focus I take

On life’s challenges

And making the same

A huge bother.

 

 

Help me today

And always,

Heavenly Father,

To go beyond the mere ritual,

Praying from the heart,

And that without ceasing,

It will be continual.

 

Help me, Heavenly Father,

To conform to the image of Christ

As I grow and glow,

And that the beauty of Jesus

Will be seen in me

As I live out in my life

Here below.

 

I pray, Heavenly Father,

That…

My walk will match my talk,

My life will match my lip,

My prayer would be mindful

And meaningful

And not just a daily habit.

 

Stewart Russell © February 21, 2022

 

Polysyndeton

 

 

What a strange word

But what does it mean?

I will show you in this poem

What I have gleaned.

 

Verse 3 and verse 5

Of Genesis chapter 22:

Here is a little assignment

I want you to do.

 

Focus on those verses

And you’ll get an idea

Of an interesting polysyndeton

Standing in the way.

 

Find the word repeated

More than any other,

Checking just these two verses

Shouldn’t be a bother.

 

You can pause here

Before you continue

And concentrate on the task

I have given you.

 

 

You must be saying,

What a really weird name

And before I had understood,

I thought the same.

 

I was studying this text

In a way unlike before

When an Internet presentation

Shone light in my door.

 

It was a study showing

How we have strayed

Regarding Bible based worship

In a significant way.

 

Mentioned in the Bible

First at Genesis 22 verse 5

Where God a timely sacrifice

Did provide.

 

In the place of Isaac

A ram temporarily sufficed:

A foreshadowing in actual fact

Of God’s sacrifice.

 

The sacrifice of Jesus

His promised Son

On whom He did established

His heavenly kingdom.

 

You’ve had much time

To find that word:

The first known conjunction

Most have heard.

 

 

Genesis 22:3

 

 And Abraham rose up early in the morning,

And saddled his ass,

And took two of his young men with him,

And Isaac his son,

And clave the wood for the burnt offering,

And rose up,

And went unto the place

Of which God had told him.

 

Genesis 22:5

 

And Abraham said unto his young men,

Abide ye here with the ass;

And I

And the lad will go yonder

And worship,

And come again to you.

 

Seven “ands” in verse 3

And five “ands” in verse 5

And at the purpose of this poem

We have now arrived.

 

 

Polysyndeton is the name

For this use of a conjunction,

No doubt English teachers today

Would have an objection.

 

But it’s a description

Rather detailed, I believe,

That Abraham specifically followed

As from God he received.

 

Worship is our response

To God for Jesus Christ,

The Lamb from God, the Father,

His enduring sacrifice.

 

Typified in these verses

By a rather strange word

Showing the length God went to

To redeem His world.

 

Matthew 2:21

 

And she

Shall bring forth a child

And shall call his name Jesus

And he shall save his people

From their sin.

 

Stewart Russell © October 22, 2024

 

Should I Say I Know?

 

 

Should I say, “I know,”

If I’ve a strong belief?

Oh yes, you should

If it brings relief.

 

Job said it, didn’t he

When severely tried?

“I know!” he stated emphatically,

It’s in Job 19:25.

 

Should I say, “I know,”

If it’s in God’s Word?

“I know Messiah comes,” she said,

When she had only heard.

 

The woman at the well

No longer had to hide,

Go yourself and check it out

In John 4 verse 25.

 

Should I say, “I know,”

If I strongly believe?

Of course, you should, my friend,

If from God you’ve received.

 

 

For “I know,” said Paul,

“Whom I have believed,”

As he shared with young Timothy

What he had received.

 

Should I say, “I know,”

When so many doubt?

Martha did, you would recall

And Jesus worked it out.

 

“He will rise,” she said,

In the resurrection,

Like Job, she too had believed,

In this revelation.

 

 

“I am the resurrection

And the life,” Jesus said,

“And he that believes in me

Shall live though dead.”

 

Should I say, “I know?”

Well, tell me why not,

Especially, as I’ve discovered,

God is all we’ve got.

 

Yes, I hear the rebuttal,

And I see it every day

Re those with their millions

Heading the wrong way.

 

They too say, “I know,”

Trusting in their wealth,

But what have they got, I ask,

When they’re facing death?

 

Their “I know” is mute

Unlike Job’s “I know”,

And all the wealth they have,

They still have to go.

 

 

In whom is your “I know”?

It had better be God,

For if it is not with all you’ve got

You have nothing at all.

 

Should I say, “I know,”

If in Christ Jesus I believe?

Oh yes, you should, my friend,

I trust you are relieved.

 

Stewart Russell © August 22, 2024

 

Lifetime Learning

 

 

Live going forward

And learn from the back,

Don’t dwell on the past

And what that past lacked.

 

The past can hinder

What the future can achieve

If in the present

You refuse to believe.

 

Undoing is impossible,

What is passed is passed,

Don’t burn your bridges

And stay on task.

 

Lifetime learning

Must be always the goal,

Journey one step at a time

Move from pole to pole.

 

Put God first

In all that you do,

Search His life manual

To find all that is true.

 

Plan for the long term

But walk in increments

And maximize the learning

Of your life’s events.

 

Observe life’s balance

And the tensions at play,

Do not overdo or underdo

Take it day by day!

 

Make some things happen

Do not just wait

And make a positive input

Regarding your fate.

 

Fate does play a part

Yes, I believe this is true

But I also do believe

There is much one can do.

 

We can shape the future

By the ongoing present

Through our acting decisively

And not mere intent.

 

 

Intent is in the mind

But if that’s all intent is

It will not make a difference

To our well-to-do list.

 

The road to failure

Is strewn with good intent

And with armchair critics

That entered no events.

 

Lifetime learning

Is about learning to forgive

And very often too,

To live and let live.

 

Give good counsel

But don’t live another’s life

For such is truly impossible

And causes more strife.

 

Disputes of the past!

Don’t let them eat you out

But do what you possibly can

For a positive turn-about.

 

Be contented where you are

With a view to move on

And once opportunities arise

Press on!  Press on!

 

Stewart Russell © February 12, 2022

 

A Popular Name

 

 

I remember my school days

Not so very long ago,

Lots of things I have forgotten

But somethings I still know.

 

Not me is one of them

You would hear it every day,

As boys we were often up to mischief

And not me we would say.

 

Who was talking in the class?

Not me would be the reply,

Who stole the missing pencil?

Not me would be the lie.

 

An entire class with one name

Not me was that appellation,

So many boys with this name

Was surely beyond comprehension.

 

Even when the culprit was seen

He still would plea not me

And since not me was everyone

He could not be found guilty.

 

Well, at least not him alone

Since everybody was guilty,

Not me could never be punished

Since not me was everybody.

 

Maybe, it’s “hiding in a crowd”

Like people are wont to do,

How can you tell who’s done it?

Not me is also not you.

Not me has another slant

Which has to do with the exception,

Everybody must comply with the rule

Except the not me appellation.

 

Different strokes for different folks

Or perhaps, par for the course,

For every rule there is an exception

Sometimes it is even worse.

 

Under no condition whatever

Should anyone be allowed to pass

But it does not apply to not me,

Not me is in a special class.

 

And the lengths to which we go

To vindicate not me

Bearing in mind, of course,

The guilty is innocent until proven guilty.

 

Not me though guilty is innocent

And invariably wins each case,

After all, that is to be expected

Since the law can be two-faced.

 

The court says you must pay

But not me says not me,

From whom will you extract the charge?

Not me is somebody.

 

Somebody big and important

That is who is not me,

It would be better to leave this matter alone

And enter a not guilty plea.

Sometimes not me is nobody

Sometimes not me is somebody

But whether somebody or nobody

Not me is never guilty.

 

Sometimes not me is everybody

That is the not me in the crowd,

But the not me that can’t be touched

Is the not me that’s large and loud.

 

That’s the not me with power

And the not me that has position,

That’s not the not me that hides

But the not me that makes decisions.

 

Who is responsible for this poem?

The answer to that is not me,

Not me is the person now reading it

Not guilty as charged; you are free.

 

Stewart Russell © May 2020