Vice vs Virtue

 

 

Vice versus Virtue

Is like evil against good,

Light opposing darkness,

Should not and should.

 

These are the tensions

In our present time,

These are the actors

On the stage of our mind.

 

The apostle Paul

Sets it up really neat

Go to Romans chapter 7

And there have a peep.

 

When I want to do good

Evil presents itself:

Vice stemming virtue

Ruining spiritual health.

 

The sins of the flesh

Versus the fruit of the Spirit:

The Spirit wants control

But sin is my habit.

 

Who will deliver me

From this bed of vice?

If only I yield to the Spirit

All would be nice.

 

The whatsoever things

Like truth and purity

That build a good report

And the things that are lovely.

 

These are the virtues

We should concentrate on

And say to the vices

Vices be gone!

 

Vices like unforgiveness

That stagnates the soul

And suppresses spiritual growth

Like the common cold.

 

Vices like bitterness

That we hold in our mind

Spoiling good relationships

Most of the time.

 

Greed and avarice

Selfishness regarding wealth

The proverbial altar on which

We sacrifice health.

 

Envy and strife

And a poisonous philosophy

Pulling down others

In fits of jealousy.

 

Compare the above

With the following virtues

And tell me, if you will,

Which one is your view?

 

Love, joy and peace

Long suffering and goodness,

A life lived above the law

Of temperance and meekness.

 

For they that are Christ’s

Crucify the vices of the flesh

And the evidential witness

Is a life of righteousness.

 

Vice versus Virtue:

Are you in darkness or light?

Which of the two is winning

In your spiritual fight?

 

I trust it is the latter,

The former spells strife!

Strife is a death option,

Why not choose life?

 

Stewart Russell © February 15, 2022

 

But Sunday Dawned

 

 

From a bad Good Friday

To an awfully sad Saturday,

From an awfully sad Saturday

To a glad-tidings Sunday.

 

Three signaled days!

From the hapless to the hopeless to the hope,

Friday, Saturday and Sunday:

Three days worthy of note.

 

What an eventful Friday:

That heart stopping nightmare!

What a mind-numbing Saturday

Full of grief and fear!

 

But Sunday dawned

In more ways than one,

The light shone resplendently

And the darkness was gone!

 

 

“Three days,” he had said

And it came back to them,

“Slow of heart,” he had called the two

But this was the common problem.

 

He had told them many things

Which they had refused to accept

And the notion of his decease

Was a total reject.

 

But Sunday dawned

In more ways than one

And suddenly, like out of nowhere,

Hope was reborn.

 

 

 

It was Mary Magdalene

Who spoke to the gardener

Only to discover

That it was the Master.

 

With that she rushed off

Evangelism on her mind,

“Come and see the Master,” she said,

What a glorious find!

 

It did not take the rest long

To stir from their slumber,

Not much sleep on Saturday anyway,

Friday had done a number.

 

But Sunday dawned

In more ways than one

And the dread of Friday and Saturday

Was definitely gone.

 

“He is alive!” the cry went up

For Sunday had truly dawned,

A pep was in the disciples’ step

And they celebrated as one.

 

 

Yes, Sunday had dawned

In more ways than one:

The Lord Jesus Christ had risen

And death’s horror was gone.

 

From a bad Good Friday

To an awfully sad Saturday

But that glorious resurrection Sunday

Bespoke the born-again way.

 

Stewart Russell (c) April 17, 2022

 

 

Saturday Was for Real

 

 

If Friday was the nightmare

Then Saturday was for real,

No need to pinch themselves any more

Saturday was for real.

 

Friday morning, he was around

Saturday morning, he was not,

There was absolutely no doubt then

That despair would be their lot.

 

Crucified and buried!

Their champion was gone

And of all the miracles he had done,

This was not to be one.

 

That’s the way they saw it

And their seeing was believing,

He came, he saw, but did not conquer

Given all that they were seeing.

 

Friday may have been the nightmare

But Saturday they were wide awake,

And the fact that there was no Jesus

Had them in a horrible state.

 

 

They had doubted what he said

About his decease and return to life,

None of that had made any sense

Since all they faced was strife.

 

Friday Jesus hung from a cross,

On Saturday, he lay in a tomb,

Death had delivered its mortal blow

And that was the symbol of doom.

 

An awfully horrid Friday

Followed by Saturday’s confirmation,

Jesus is stone dead in a tomb

Leaving them in desperation!

 

Saturday was for real!

A Sabbath of colossal proportions,

A memorial never to be forgotten

With perhaps misplaced devotion.

 

 

It was good while it had lasted

But Saturday confirmed the end,

He made himself out to be the Messiah

But alas, he was only a friend.

 

Stewart Russell © April 16, 2022

 

A Bad Good Friday

 

 

The first Good Friday was a bad one:

The Lord Jesus was crucified,

For his followers and those he had healed

It was day to be despised.

 

The one upon whom their hope lay

Was suddenly taken away,

Their champion, like none from before,

Was crucified on that day.

 

Crushed were their expectations

And devastated would have been apt,

All that was left to do was run and hide;

All their gains were rolled back.

 

 

Things looked bright and hope was alive;

Their conquerors were held at bay

But the tables were turned unexpectedly,

As in the tomb their champion lay.

 

They gazed from afar afraid to come near;

Fear was then their greatest torment,

Betrayal and denial were in evidence

And Judas did not live to repent.

 

A bad Good Friday is an apt summary

As we looked back on that dreadful scene,

For his disciples, it was a nightmare

But for the Jews, a realistic dream.

 

They had planned with bedevilment

And had yearned for this eventful day:

The day they would see the back of Christ

And under the ground he would lay.

 

 

They rode on the backs of the Romans

Since crucifixion was without their remit,

They were bent on killing the Lord Jesus

But were actually following his script.

 

He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquity,

The chastisement of our peace was on him

And with his stripes we are healed.

 

It was a horrid day to the faithful few,

For the Jews, it was a dream come true,

But to everyone that believes in Jesus,

It is salvation to both Greek and Jew.

 

The first Good Friday was a bad one

But the resurrection removed the bad

So that each born-again believer ever since,

Has had every reason to be glad.

 

Stewart Russell © April 14, 2022

  

Owning and Owing

 

 

 

Just an ‘n’ missing…

Not much you would say

But the former determines

The latter’s pay.

 

One owns what he has

The other still owes

And as to when he’ll own it

Only God knows.

 

They work together

Usually one for the other

And the relationship between

Causes one to bother.

 

 

Owning lives in the heights

Sometimes Owing too,

But one owns what he has

While Owing’s rent is due.

 

Owing may get a chance

To own a piece of the rock

But it’ll take him many years

If his hope is not blocked.

 

Just an ‘n’ missing?

That’s what you thought,

Owning is living quite high

But Owing is distraught.

 

Owing makes a move

And gets into politics

But Owning was there before

And has more tricks.

 

 

 

Whereupon

Owing still owes

And when he will get out of it…

Only God knows.

 

He’s a grassroot politician

And there he remains

Except for a few exceptions

Not much does he gain.

 

Re those exceptions,

There may be an insertion

Where the ‘n’ is dropped in

And thus, transformation.

 

This may last

Or the ‘n’ may drop out

And Owning is back to Owing

With even less clout.

 

 

 

Two distinct people

Are Owning and Owing

And in between these two

You and I struggling.

 

Owning and Owing

Last seen in the bank:

One lending, one borrowing,

Therein is their rank.

 

Stewart Russell © September 13, 2021

 

Apologetics

 

 

An apologist should know Hebrew

An apologist should know Greek,

If you know neither of the two

Then, on what basis can you speak?

 

But what is apologetics?

How is it defined?

It is a defense of Christian doctrines

But then there are different kinds.

 

They are all based on the Bible

So, which one is really right?

This is where apologetics come in:

To decide who has the light?

I guess the one who knows Hebrew

Or, the one who knows Greek,

And if perchance that one knows both,

Then that one has the right to speak.

 

We follow a particular denomination

And for years they are right

But one day along comes another

And we suddenly see the Light.

 

Both were based on the Bible

But one interpreted it more accurately,

That of course was the second one

And that’s what attracted me.

 

But how do I know which is right?

That is based on Hebrew or Greek

And the one who knows either or both,

You must listen when he speaks.

 

The problem with that reasoning

Is that you know neither of the two

So how can you tell for sure

That what you now believe is true?

 

There are theologians a plenty

And many commentators too

That hold different biblical positions

And know both Greek and Hebrew.

 

If they that know are floundering,

What can be said for you and me?

There must be more to apologetics

Than multilingual eyes can see.

 

I am reminded of 1^st Peter 3:15:

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts:

And be ready always to give an answer

To every man that asketh you a reason

Of the hope that is in you

With meekness and fear.

 

And be ready always to give an answer

For the hope that is in you,

How does one adequately do this

If he knows neither Greek nor Hebrew?

 

Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts;

This is the believer’s remit,

Nothing to do with Greek or Hebrew

But through the Holy Spirit.

I am not knocking Hebrew

And I am not putting down Greek

But I just want to proclaim to all and sundry

That the Holy Spirit still speaks.

 

He speaks through our experiences

But more importantly through the Word

As scripture corroborates scripture

And together they concur.

 

And so, one is thus enlightened

Though this takes effort and time,

The Holy Spirit is the one that enlightens

And he is the only one of his kind.

 

Stewart Russell © June 2020

 

The Tree of Life

 

 

Two trees in Eden

 From which to choose:

One to maintain the good life

The other, to lose.

 

Free access to one

The other was forbidden,

The former was no big deal

But the latter beckoned.

 

Two trees: one of life

The other death,

Adam and Eve chose the latter

And gave up their rest.

 

A choice for life

And a choice for death,

Who in his right mind

Would not choose the best?

 

 

The tree of the knowledge

Of good and evil

Became a better prospect

For the first two people.

 

Their best was the worst

That could happen back then

And out of their choice

Came our problem.

 

The tree of life

Was a literal tree

Just like the trees around us

That we all can see.

 

Its fruit was edible

And it offered eternal life

But our fore parents in their error

Opted for strife.

 

Fast forward to today

When we have the offer again:

No longer a literal tree

It’s the Lamb that was slain.

 

The Creator is he

That created the first tree

And again, he offers life

To you and to me.

 

Jesus is the tree of life

And he beckons us to himself

And all who accepts him

Avoids the second death.

His branches are extended

With his offering of fruit,

Fruit of the Spirit

To nourish his offshoot.

 

Love, joy and peace

Longsuffering and gentleness,

Goodness and faith

Not to mention his rest.

 

Eternal rest he grants us

In this world and the next

With his word to guide us

As we read its texts.

 

 

Jesus is the tree of life

That bids us come to him,

Eternal life is on offer

With deliverance from sin.

 

Come to him today

No longer delay,

Satan wants you for his prey

But Jesus is the way.

 

Stewart Russell © October 2, 2020