Not Even Me

 

 

Having said yes to God

He will in no way accept no,

I am dogmatic about this

Because the Bible says so.

 

Born into God’s kingdom

Speaks to permanence,

I became His precious child

Via genuine repentance.

 

According to Romans 8

Verses 35 to 39 to be exact,

I have that assurance

And God’s truth is fact.

 

Being born again

Is the premise I choose,

My "child-of-the-Father" status

I can never lose.

 

Once a child of God

I am always a child of God

Hence, I will not be deceived

Or let Satan defraud.

 

From my natural birth

I was my father’s son

But now I am born again

New life has come.

 

To all that believe

God grants us the power

To be His sons and daughters

From that very hour.

 

Since I cannot not change

My earthly circumstance

Neither do I have the power

To alter what God has advanced.

 

What he has put in place

Is His sovereign will

And I know like you do

What he promises he fulfils.

 

I’ve heard the argument

That I can separate me,

Read Romans chapter 8

And that you won’t see.

It explicitly says nothing

And later implies no one,

Please read from verse 38

And please read on.

 

This is the word of God

I am sure you agree

So read verse 39

And tell me what you see.

 

“Nor any other creature”

Can separate us

From the Love of God

Which is in Christ Jesus.

 

Put my name right there

I hope you can see,

“Nor any other creature”

Can separate me.

 

From the love of God

Nothing or no one

Can separate me from God

Ever since I was reborn.

 

For having said yes to God

I was born again

Hence being a cast off

Will never be my pain.

 

Stewart Russell © July 2020

 

Sounds so Great!

 

 

There are some things

That sound really great

But when they are examined

They are simply fake.

 

Like for example:

Check this following one,

This kind you would expect

To come from a blonde.

 

“When yuh dead

You don’t know

And when yuh know

Yuh done dead!”

 

This sounds so great

And intelligent too

But repeat it again and you’ll find

Only the first part is true.

 

When who knows?

The living or the dead?

Maybe the one reading this poem

Is dead instead.

 

Nobody knows

When they are dead

Unless of course,

They die in bed.

 

At what point does one know

That one is dead?

Apparently at the point

One dies in bed. 

 

Sounds so great

I am telling you

But I challenge anyone

To prove it is true.

 

Like the rusted machine

Clearly not functioning

But jar the official’s response

At the questioning.

 

“It is functional,

It’s just awaiting parts.”

This one really pierced me

Deep in my heart.

 

This official's sense

Had taken leave,

What a lying web we weave

Just to deceive!

 

The machine was idle

And it was so for a while

But he sought to mislead

By using guile.

 

People fell for the ruse

I have no doubt,

After all this was an official

With lots of clout.

 

It's not like he’s dead

He’s just not living,

Just a non-functional corpse

Awaiting burying.

 

It’s like the widower

That never had a wife

Or like an alive person

Who has lost his life.

 

 

 

Sounds so great

Until you think it through

And then you discover

It could never be true.

 

Don't bury him yet

He is not dead!

The fact he is an alive person

Says he is living instead.

 

Politicians have a way

Of talking utter nonsense,

If you are a politician

I mean no offense.

 

The operation was a success

But the patient died,

Just another way of saying

The doctor lied.

 

Don’t blame the doctor

For the patient’s death,

When the procedure he did

Was a great success.

 

Why could it not be

That the procedure failed

But the patient was declared

Hearty and hale?

 

Whatever the outcome

The doc must be praised,

The procedure mightn’t work

But the doc can’t fail.

 

 

Sounds so great!

Doesn’t it?

Lying with great sincerity

Has become a habit.

 

It is consolatory

For those who are blind

But the ones who can see

Are in no such bind.

 

For partisan yard-fowls 

And hen-picked males,

Such nonsensical rhetoric

Can never fail.

For people believe

What people want to believe

From the people

People want to believe.

 

Stewart Russell © April 18, 2024

Read the Word!

 

 

I am beginning to appreciate

The Word can speak for itself

Far better than the commentaries

That line across our shelf.

 

We rely on commentators

To expound on the Holy Word

And depending on our preference

We may or may not concur.

 

Some we hold in high esteem

And we say their names in awe

Often forgetting they are human

And therefore, not without flaw.

 

Some are particularly brilliant

And that I must admit

But they are not nearly as bright

As the blessed Holy Spirit.

 

I mean the Spirit in the Word

That came to teach all truth:

The promised alike Jesus Comforter

And Pentecost bears the proof.

 

The Spirit illumines the Word

And fits it to our understanding

In a way that no commentary can

Regardless of name or branding.

 

Interpretation is important

But it must not be the primary goal,

Reading is the principal thing

And quite a lot will unfold.

 

 

It is what the Bible actually says

And not what someone says it says:

It’s best we begin with the explicit

And let the Spirit guide our way.

 

I am having a severe struggle

With positions I once held dear

Ever since I began reading the Word

And putting study in second gear.

 

Often, we are inclined to believe

The Word doesn’t mean what it says

And so, we put our spin on it

And hence, our interpretive ways.

 

 

If the literal literally makes sense

Then that’s good enough for me,

No need for someone’s interpretation

To tell me what I did not see.

 

Now commentaries have their place

Please don’t get me wrong,

But they are not the be all and end all:

No human is that strong.

 

So, read before interpreting:

The explicit before the implicit,

The who, the what, the when, the where

Defines a good investigative habit.

 

Be careful with denominations,

Subject them to the litmus test

Which of course is what the Word says:

This approach is always best.

 

Let Scripture interpret Scripture:

The difficult in light of the simple

And read and read and read again!

Until you solve the puzzle.

 

 

A good concordance is key

It’s more instructive than a commentary,

Trace a word right through the Word

And see what its meaning be.

 

Context always before pretext

Exegesis and never eisegesis,

Don’t let denomination get in the way

And from the Bible never drift.

 

Keep the nature of God in mind

And remember, Jesus is the Word,

The Holy Spirit is the Comforter

So, to these three defer.

 

Stewart Russell © August 18, 2021

Identity Theft

 

 

Steal another’s property

That’s larceny,

Steal another’s wife

That’s adultery.

 

Steal another’s information

That’s identity theft

And when this happens

There is little left.

 

This invariably happens

On the Internet,

It is the cleverest thief

One has ever met.

 

They will claim your NIS

And your bank account

And hit you for hundreds

Even above that amount.

 

You’ll have a hard time

Proving you are you

And there is much more

A stolen identity will do.

 

 

It happens on Facebook

If you’ve been hacked

And often it’s real difficult

To get your identity back.

 

“It can’t happen to me”

Never say that,

But organize yourself,

Don’t fall for that trap.

 

Keep your information

Very close to your chest

For a stolen identity

Will also steal your rest.

 

Stewart Russell © October 20, 2020

 

Watch That Slip!

 

 

What a versatile word

Is the word ‘slip!

“There’s many a slip

Betwixt cup and lip”.

 

Therein is the first,

You mustn’t drink too fast

Or that beverage you relish

Will not last.

 

She wore a slip

And it’s a good thing she did

Or the wind could have exposed

That which she hid.

 

Bolts slip into place

If they are not too tight,

It’s important to make sure

They are made just right.

 

Many a slip

Confronts the elderly,

The young have their share too

Like you and me.

 

I trust you didn’t slip up

Thinking I was young,

It’s just a joke from yours truly,

The clown.

 

 

 

A slip of the tongue!

I did not mean to say that

But now that it is out

I cannot take it back.

 

Students’ grades slip

When they do not study,

Of course, that won’t happen

To you or me.

 

At my present age

Things often slip my mind

But I am grateful it doesn’t happen

All of the time.

 

They often slip him a note

To show their appreciation

And his face lights up with a smile

To show his gratification.

 

The skater lost points

Though it was a little slip,

A perfect score would have been his

Had he not dipped.

 

 

A slip is a chance

There might be a potato,

There are times, however,

When it’s a no-show.

 

There is a piece of land

Known as the Gaza strip,

That strip mentioned right there

Is synonymous with slip.

 

I need a slip of paper

On which to write a note,

A slip of paper can also be used

To cast a vote.

 

He gave me the slip

When I was not looking,

Evidently, he had no interest

In what I was cooking.

 

 

When Viv came to bat

The lone slip was removed,

Stemming runs was impossible

When Viv was in his groove.

 

It’s time I slip away

But I don’t mean in death,

This is my second poem today

And I need to rest.

 

Stewart Russell © March 16, 2024

 

No, You Don’t

 

 

You don’t know me

Though you think you do

And you can argue all day

How long I’ve been around you.

 

You don’t see me

Though you think you do

For my life is hid with Christ in God

And yours should be too.

 

You don’t understand me

Though you think you do

And I am aware in the same way

I don’t understand you.

 

Here is a phenomenon

We should not less count:

The fact we have been washed

In the blood of the fount.

 

 

The blood of Jesus

When he was on the cross

That flowed from his broken body

For all the lost.

 

As they knew him not

You don’t know me

For that by which you measure

Is no longer my lot.

 

I have been changed

Yes, I have been born again

And I have a new name in heaven

And a new refrain.

 

I am a kingdom child

Of the Most-High God

And no longer whom you know:

That nefarious fraud.

 

It may not be obvious

And I’m speaking of my change

But believe me, even my thinking

Has been rearranged.

 

Have a chat with those

Who are closest to me

And they will tell you I’ve changed,

Most sincerely.

 

I occasionally lapse

And like a toddler I fall

But I will not wallow in sin’s muck

No, not me at all.

 

So, you think you know me

But that is in the past,

That wandering sheep you know

Did come home at last.

 

 

Don’t be a prodigal at home

And in envy burn

Because the prodigal that roamed

Has finally returned.

 

Get to know me instead

And see what God has done,

And what the Spirit is daily doing

For me in the kingdom.

 

You don’t know me

Though you think you do

And what I am saying about you

Can be said about me too.

 

Stewart Russell © April 8, 2024

 

Genuinely Dishonest

 

 

I thought I had heard them all

But I was clearly mistaken,

This oxymoron I picked up today

Speaks to a growing problem.

 

Dishonesty is nothing new,

It goes back to Bible days,

Right there in the book of the Acts

We see two making a play.

 

Ananias and Saphira,

A daring early church couple

Lied to the anointed man of God

And ended up in trouble.

 

Trying to fool the apostle Peter

This husband and wife

But their otherwise secret ploy

Cause them their physical life.

 

And down through the ages

We have seen many a trickster,

Con-men, as today there are called,

Or simply, boldface liars.

 

They genuinely ply their trade

Morning, noon and night

Very purpose-driven and up to date

As though this makes it right.

 

 

They leave home with the bent

To con, to scam, to steal

And many succumb to their schemes

Because of their honest appeal.

 

They turn a believable story

Laced with emotion and charm

And the honesty showing in their eyes

Says absolutely no harm.

 

Genuinely dishonest,

Certainly, an oxymoron of sorts

And many doing business with such

Will often come up short.

 

A genuine counterfeit,

Genuinely dishonest is no different,

Oxymoron after oxymoron

May be a moron’s bent.

 

Stewart Russell © June 8, 2023