A Poor Rich Man

 

 

 

Hurtling down the highway

I landed in one of the ditches,

There I was without a cent

Though I had great riches.

 

I thought of my good fortune

As I sped along the road,

Everything was easy street

Not a single heavy load.

 

My parents were well off

And I had built a lot on that

So that money was no problem

With me there was no lack.

 

I had recently bought the car

Probably the fourth that year,

Altogether there were six

More than enough to spare.

 

 

I was trying it out

For it had great speed,

I was way above the speed limit

When there was no need.

 

Unable to make the bend

It slid right off the road

Into a watery ditch,

I had lost control

 

I was not badly injured

But I was trapped within my car

And where the car had finally landed

From the road it was quite far.

 

I yelled at the top of my voice

But I knew no one would hear,

Night was closing in fast

And that’s when I began to fear.

 

There I was with my riches

But on me I had no money,

It was just a short journey

So I hadn’t left home with any.

 

 

I was forced to learn than instant

That money was not all,

Here I was in trouble

And there was no one to call.

 

At that very moment

It was like being without a cent,

Poor rich man came to mind

Then I knew what that meant.

 

There are troubles in this life

That money cannot assuage,

A friend in need is surely one

That’s when I came of age.

 

By what means I do not know

How he came to know my plight

But piercing through the darkness

I saw a radiant light.

 

In minutes I was rescued

And the car was towed away,

My life was changed forever

From that very day.

 

I did not even know the man

That finally came to my aid,

It was he who called the wrecker

And he didn’t want to be paid.

 

I told him I was rich

And he could name his price,

He said that money was not all

And he was happy to be nice.

 

I never saw him again

I wouldn’t even know if I had

But what he shared with me that night

Still makes my heart quite glad.

 

I haven’t thrown away my money

In fact I’m still quite rich

But thank God I have been rescued

From a far more dangerous ditch.

 

 

I speak of the ditch of sin

That is just off life’s highway

Awaiting the unsuspecting traveller

That has gone astray.

 

If you are in such a ditch

God has a rescue team,

Just call the blessed Trinity

They are always on the scene.

 

The Father, the Son and Spirit

Are listening for your call,

They are always on hand to help you

Once you’re conscious of your fall.

 

So many things get in the way

As you go hurtling along,

It could be money or even status

Or the fact that you are young.

Let none of these distractions

Come between God and your soul

For He is the only one

That can make you completely whole.

 

Come to Him today

If you are a poor rich man,

Accept His offer of eternal life

And claim salvation’s plan.

 

Stewart Russell © July 2018

 

My Sure Support

 

 

 

My journey will end

Though I know not when

But plod on I must

Up until then

 

The trials will come

That I know, for sure

But I will come through

As I trust Christ more

 

It may be long or short

My journey, I mean

But I have a sure support

On whom I can lean

 

Dark clouds will gather

And the floods will come

But my house will stand

It’s built on God’s Son

 

What I am going through

May sometimes overwhelm

But the one I walk with…

He’s a one-of-a-kind friend

 

 

 

 

Be it rain or sunshine

Flood or drought

There’s no hole deep enough

That he can’t get me out

 

Of course I must trust him

And relationship is key

There’s no part of my journey

That he cannot see

 

In the darkest night

His voice is clear

And he assures me always

That he is right there

 

Follow him I must

As he leads the way

I must keep my hand in his

Whatever others may say

 

At times I will fear

That is my human side

But my faith will arise

In my support I abide

 

My journey will end

Though I know not when

But my support is sure

I call him my friend

 

Stewart Russell © July 2019

Case of the Missing Finger

 

 

The fourth finger on his left hand was missing,

Where it was he could not tell

And the more he looked at the space where it was

The more his countenance fell.

 

It is mighty baffling to me

Since it was missing on his left hand,

And why he was so sad I am baffled the more,

It must have been carrying a wedding band.

 

And there really could not be a space

If the fourth finger on his hand was missing

So, either the space was there or the finger was

But if both, someone was guessing.

 

I will leave you to sort out this one

And I will move on to another,

If this has never happened to you

Then there is no need for you to bother.

 

Stewart Russell © March 17, 2021

 

Case of the Missing Host

 

 

He told me he was not home when I arrived

Though he met me there himself,

I must confess I was forced to agree

As he convinced me he was somewhere else.

 

He told me he was not home when I arrived

Yet it was he that invited me in,

As I mulled over the matter I asked myself,

“Am I the fool here or is it him?”

 

He told he was not home when I arrived

And this he told me to my face,

I looked in his eyes to see if he was joking

But to be honest I could not see a trace.

 

He told me he was not home when I arrived

And this he said for the fourth time,

If not a fool then I must have been mad

For I felt as though I had lost my mind.

 

Stewart Russell © March 17, 2021

Case of the Absorbing Absurdity

 

 

 

There is nothing wrong with an absurdity

Only with the person that believe it.

This one went clean over my head, I must confess,

And I thought it was time to quit.

 

Yet I kept saying it over and over to myself

And eventually I discovered some truth,

But I am unable to explain it to you

Until I get some more proof.

 

Perhaps you could repeat it to yourself

And maybe you will see what I have seen,

O goodness gracious, what have you done?

I am sure I heard you scream.

 

There is nothing wrong with an absurdity

Only with the person that believe it,

I am definitely convinced that you are that person

Certainly, from where I sit.

 

Stewart Russell © March 17, 2021

 

Case of Too Much of a Little Bit

 

Haven’t you heard this before?

Did it make sense to you?

“Too much of a little bit”

I’d want to hear your view.

 

Is he rich or is he poor?

Is it less or is it more?

Tell me which if either it is:

Is it in or out the door?

 

Tell me, how can this be?

“Too much of a little bit”

Is my position good or bad?

Somewhere I smell a trick.

 

“Too much of a little bit”

Whenever I hear this phrase,

At first it sounds so full of sense

And after, I am amazed.

 

It’s worthwhile investigating

You can take the trip,

Tell me what you come up with…

“Too much of a little bit”.

 

Stewart Russell © August 15, 2021

Case of the Spotless Shirt

 

 

The spotlessly clean shirt was slightly soiled

Was what the maid had told her boss,

But I could not understand for the life of me

And the boss was at a total loss.

 

Not of the shirt as some may have thought

But he was beginning to lose his mind,

And particularly so on this occasion

Since this was not the first time.

 

Required to explain what she really meant

The maid struggled at a reply,

“What I can see obviously you cannot.”

That she was smart he could not deny.

 

That there was a spot on the spotless shirt

The boss was forced to agree,

Hence, he chose another shirt that he could wear

Even if there were spots he could not see.

 

Stewart Russell © March 17, 2021

Case of No Money

 

 

He has no money

What is wrong with this?

Nothing I would initially argue

Unless there is something I missed.

 

“He has” indicates he has something

Even if it is no money,

Thus, as I give it some more thought

It qualifies as an absurdity.

 

What does a person have if he has nothing?

What can he do with such?

In the case of no money I would say,

Certainly not much.

 

He has no money is an absurdity

How does no money look?

He doesn’t have any money would be better

Even though he’d still be out of luck.

 

Stewart Russell © March 17, 2021

What God Can and Cannot

 

With God all things are possible

But within a certain context;

His nature must be considered

And with His word there’s no pretext.

 

Hence I start with the first

And that is that God cannot lie,

That is why I dare to trust Him

And on His promises rely.

 

God delivers on His promises

He has always done so,

Yes! God can deliver

I want the whole world to know.

 

 

The second I have selected

Is that God cannot fail,

There is no hindrance or humbug

That can His will assail.

 

Understand that God can accomplish

Whatever he sets out to do,

As a matter of fact He originally did

Without help from me or from you.

 

God cannot be defeated

No matter how great the foe,

Satan learnt this the hard way

Don’t be misled by his grandiose show.

 

 

For Satan knows that God can

And that He has won every time

And though Satan still tries to thwart Him

He knows that God is one of a kind.

 

God cannot be intimidated

My readers please understand,

Often times we pray to Him

As though we have the controlling hand.

 

God can still do the miraculous

And great works He still performs,

Many are the blessings of His wonderful grace

And in the born again such is the norm.

 

 

God cannot be distracted

From His purpose for the Church

Though Satan makes a mockery of many

As they sit upon their lofted perch.

 

Unlike God they are distracted

By the glitz and the glamour around

But God can see through the fluff

And warns that Satan will pull them down.

 

God can see the future

As though it were the present or past,

You see it’s He who sits in eternity

And His gaze over all is cast.

 

 

God cannot be confused

By the list of requests we often make,

He knows our needs before we call

And asks that all to Him we take.

 

God can hear; He is not deaf

Though we scream and shout at Him,

Neither is His hand too short to reach

Those who would be saved from sin.

 

God can cleanse the vilest sinner

I am a testimony to that,

God can keep; He sustains me

Others can bear witness to this fact.

 

Yes!

 

God can do the impossible

With Him nothing shall be impossible

What God can and cannot do

You can find it written in the Bible.

 

Stewart Russell © February 2019

 

The “I” Man & the Christ Man

 

 

The “I” man and the Christ man

Are so very different,

One is walking with the Lord

The other on mischief bent.

 

One has been sentenced to death

The other has found eternal life,

Christ fills one’s life with loveliness

The other is full of strife.

 

One is passed from darkness to light

The other in darkness still,

To one is imputed Christ’s perfection

Revealed as the Father wills.

 

One is a stranger to the truth

The other is truth to the stranger,

One is in sync with life’s Creator

The other with the Creator differs.

 

For all, the cross was instituted

On it Christ’s blood was poured out,

The sin of the “I” man was for forgiven

When to Christ he turned about.

 

The cross stands as a testament

To the one that is born again,

But as an implement of judgment

To the one who from Christ refrains.

 

For in the Adamic nature

We were born and walked therein

But Christ bent the “I” to “C”

When he liberated us from our sin.

 

So that the Christ man is now free

He is no longer “I” but Christ

And though he is at home in his body

The Spirit is all that suffice.

 

Dead in trespasses and sin

Is the present state of the “I” man

But sitting with Christ in heavenly places

The Christ man is held by God’s hand.

 

The “I” man and the Christ man

Which one at this time are you?

Are you the renewed Christ man?

Or are you still of the “I” man’s view?

 

Stewart Russell © January 2019

 

Oops!

 

He was walking quite well

All of a sudden

Oops!

He fell

 

She was standing tall

And feeling proud

Oops!

She had a fall

 

He was leading the race

From beginning to end

Oops! A mistake

He slid at the bend

 

 

A sparrow singing

O so sweetly

Oops! A cat heard

The meal was tasty

 

I was about to eat

A sumptuous meal

Oops!

A fly lit on the meat

 

An unmistakable way

A way to exclaim

Especially when

You are to blame

 

 

I had it trapped

No way of escape

Oops!

At me sprang the rat

 

Oops!

Another mistake

On a daily basis

So many we make?

 

Oops!

What happen now?

He was butted

By a cow

 

I am just about done

Oops!

Late for an errand

I have to run

 

It was something to do

Just yesterday

Oops!

I forgot, now I must pay

 

Foul ups and bleeps

And blunders too

Oops!

Too much to chew

 

Stewart Russell © March 2019