Looking Unto Jesus

by William J. Stewart

A few years back, there was a TV commercial advertising a certain brand of breakfast cereal. I can’t recall what cereal it was, but remember the advertiser using the phrase “a full bowl full.” Apparently their cereal was so good, that you would want your bowl to be full.

by William J. Stewart

When we focus on great people in the Bible, we often look at Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Peter, Paul, etc., and rightly so, for these are wonderful people of faith. And yet there are countless “minor” characters who are equally worth our attention and consideration. Let’s look at what the Bible reveals about Nathan.

ADMIT WHEN YOU’RE WRONG

Have you ever spoken hastily, and then discovered afterward that what you said was wrong? Perhaps it was a misstated fact, or worse yet, given someone licence to act when it was not in your authority to do. That is exactly what happened between Nathan and David in 1 Chronicles 17. David sought to build a house for the LORD, and Nathan gave him the go ahead (v 1-2). Nathan was corrected by the LORD (v 3-4). To keep both himself and the king from doing contrary to the will of God, Nathan needed to admit his error—he had spoken without authority.

by William J. Stewart

When unexpected circumstances come, it can turn our lives upside-down. Jonathan, Saul’s son, was heir to the throne of Israel, until his father’s sin removed the monarchy from the family (1 Samuel 13:7-14; 15:24-28). This loss could have destroyed him, but he did not allow it. Instead we see a man of godly character, living a life worthy of imitation. Let’s consider Jonathan, the son of Saul.

BOLDNESS (1 Samuel 14:1-14)

1 Samuel 13 describes the army of Israel as a group of men who were distressed, hiding, walking away and trembling (1 Samuel 13:6-7). There was no confidence in the camp that they could be victorious over the Philistines. Though his father was caught up in this lack of faith, Jonathan wasn’t. He and the young man who bore his armor went out against a Philistine garrison—by themselves! Hear the faith of the then future king of Israel:

by William J. Stewart

Humans are creatures of rhythm and rhyme. Our lives are surrounded by sound and poetry; from the time we rise in the morning (alarm clock, perhaps a radio alarm) to the time we lay our head down at night (for young children, perhaps with a lullaby). Consider the radio at the doctor’s office, the mellow tune in the elevator, the birds chirping in the park, the familiar rhymes at nursery schools, the chiming bells from the clock in town square, the musical instruments of street entertainers. Everywhere around us, we find a beat or a time, and at times, some verse, lyrics or rhyme associated with it.