Boekje ben engels tekst v6

To Caleb en Juliën, Kayleigh, Corey en Chad.
\ contents
Word of thanks
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Foreword
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Chapter 1 Children of Light
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Chapter 2 Beautiful Colors
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Chapter 3 Wanna Be
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Chapter 4 Doodle di Dubb
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Chapter 5 Power of Prayer
38
Chapter 6 I Am a Tree
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Chapter 7 No 1 Like U
52
Chapter 8 Mighty Rock
58
Chapter 9 Close to Me
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Chapter 10 Rescue Me
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Chapter 11 Give Thanks
80
Chapter 12 Jesu ni Wangu
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Chapter 13 Promises of Love
94
Chapter 14 The Word of God
100
Chapter 15 Send an Angel
108
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word of thanks
For the past four years, I have invested every spare moment of my time
working on this book and the DVD and CD that go along with it. This
threesome, as I called it, would not have been a success without help,
insight, and support from many people.
I want to recognize these people. First, I am thankful for the input and help
from my wife, Kim, in writing the text for the songs and the translation of
this book. I am very aware of the fact that this project has cost much of my
time—time that I would have otherwise given to my family. Thanks Kayleigh,
Caleb, and Juliën for “lending out your dad” to this project.
I would like to thank my parents, who have gone to be with the Lord, for living
a life based on Bible principles. Their wisdom and devotion to God has had
and still has a huge impact on my life and the purpose for my life.
Willem van der Neut, my youth leader (better known as Uncle Willem)
but most importantly, a good friend: Your faith in this project, financial
investment, and loving patience have been an enormous blessing.
Also my thanks to Paul van Laar for his supervision, guidance, and support.
Finally, all my praise and honor to Yaweh, Adonai, the Almighty and
Eternal God, who is my inspirer and loving Heavenly Father.
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foreword
The Children of Light project includes a CD, a DVD, and this book. The fifteen
songs, fifteen music clips, and fifteen explanatory chapters that follow will
help you see how to find true happiness that only God can give. This project
is especially intended for older children and preteens. You can use this book,
together with the CD and DVD, as your personal study guide. It can also be
used for school projects, as a Sunday school curriculum, for youth groups, or as
a family devotional..
In this book, I explain my motivation for writing the songs on the Children of
Light CD. These fifteen songs cover topics related to life situations you may
encounter as a young person: Topics such as happiness, love, the future,
money, discrimination, power, sickness, sadness, the battle between good and
evil, death and life, are all brought into the light of God’s Word. This book will
show you why it is so important to study God’s word, what the Word says
about the topics mentioned, and how you can find God’s joy through his
Son Jesus Christ
This is not your traditional Bible study or devotional for young people, even
though you could use it daily as a devotional. Most of the scriptures are written out for you, but I felt it was also important for you to search the Word
yourself, which helps you learn how to understand the scriptures. I used to
the New International Version, but you may choose to use another version to
make comparisons.
All the chapters are written in the same pattern. I begin with the scripture
that inspired the song. Then I tell a bit about my own life and my thoughts
about the song. I continue by telling you about the clip you will see on the
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DVD . Next, it gives you a few ideas on how you can apply these topics to
your own life. In each chapter, I ask a few questions; you can think about
these by yourself or discuss them with family members, friends, or a group,
such as your youth group. I end each chapter with a prayer.
These song are not based only on scripture but also on my own experiences
and my upbringing. They are also based on different situations I encountered
while ministering to young people on my many missions adventures around
the world. You will see how young people from all over the world express the
different characters of God.
My hope is that every person will find true happiness: The happiness that only
God can give through the light of Jesus Christ. That’s why I produce projects
like this one. It’s my mission.
Much pleasure and many blessings with Children of Light!
March 2007
Ben Ketting
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All over the world and from every place
Coming from far and wide
In every culture of our human race
Children will carry the light
Piercing the darkest night
In every city on every shore
We gather from left and right
Our voices united like never before
Children will carry the light
Piercing the darkest night
children
of light
Come all ye children and follow along
No reason for you to hide
Nothing can stop us we’re going on strong
As children we carry the light
Piercing the darkest night
Raising our voices together we sing
Praise to the Father our God and our King
Making a difference with him on our side
Claiming the victory we conquer the night
Children of light
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theme
First a few facts: There are around 6.5 billion people on this earth. Of that
number, 852 million are hungry. In under-developed countries, there are more
than one billion people living in extreme poverty. That means that each working person in these countries earns less than 1 dollar a day. Every minute, 247
babies are born. Every minute, 107 children die. This means that only 140 babies
survive every minute. So every hour, 8,434 people are brought into this world.
That is more than 73 million per year. Together with the children who already
exist, that’s a whole lot of kids! Many of these children suffer every day. More
than one sixth of them are very poor. They don’t receive enough food, and they
die at a very young age. What a privilege it is to be a child born into a country
where you have few worries.
Jesus replied:“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest
commandment. And second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
(Matthew 22: 37-39)
Loving God is the beginning of everything. But who is God really? What does He
look like? Why this commandment? I believe that there is a Thinker behind all of
creation. People, animals, and all of nature didn’t just appear. There is a Maker, a
Creator. If you stop and think about how complex life really is, you see there had to
be a plan laid out for it. Many people call the Creator God but his proper name is
Yaweh. In Hebrew, which is the language of the Israelites, His name was almost
not speakable. It was a name so holy that people couldn’t say it. Who He is and
what He looks like is not explainable in a few words. Therefore, it’s important that
you take the time to figure it out, just as God always gives you time. A good image
to compare God’s likeness to is creation. It’s how God let’s you see who He is.
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I find the most beautiful image of God in the more than 6 billion different
faces on this earth. There are no limits to God’s creativity. That’s how I know
He cares about each and every one of us. Many of the billions of people on
this earth are walking in darkness because they don’t know their Creator.
Jesus came to help us know Him and to take us down a new path that leads
to eternal life. If you walk down this path, you are a Child of the Light, a child
of God. Everywhere in the world, there are Children of the Light.
You can find God’s original plan for us in the beginning of the Bible. That’s
where the thoughts and actions of God are written. You will also see how the
people reacted to what God made, said, and did. Let me help you with a few
thoughts God has over this world and the people in it:
Genesis 1:27-31
God made man, blessed him, and saw that it was good.
Genesis 3:17-20
In these verses, you read about the first sins of man and the grief it caused
God. Because of their sins, God took extreme measures.
Exodus 14:21-31
God can do miracles, and all of creation is under His authority.
John 1:1-5
Everything was created by God. He is the incomprehensible Light.
John 1:14
Here we read that no one has ever seen God, but Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
has shown us who God is through the example of His life.
1 John 1:5-10
Here it talks about God being the Light and tells how He wants us to also
walk in Light.
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If you believe that God exists and that He is the Highest, the Almighty, and
the Creator of Heaven and earth, you can say that you are a believer. Many
people do this, but believing in God means much more.
Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light.
You belong in the light when you have fellowship with God. Fellowship is an
old word, which means “to be a part of” or “to be one with.” You are a part of
the Lord Jesus if you truly believe that He is the Son of God. You are then one
with Him. God then sees you through His Son. As the Son of God, Jesus was
sent to the earth to let us see how we are supposed to live our lives. He was
the great example, and yet the people who walked with Him and talked with
Him still chose to live for themselves and live in sin. Jesus pointed out their
mistakes, and they didn’t like this so they eventually got rid of Him. Actually,
they killed Him. Because Jesus was without sin, He was able to conquer
death. He fought with death, and because He was stronger, we celebrate His
victory at Easter. We celebrate that Jesus rose from death. You can read about
all this in John 3:16-21.
God loves us so much that He came to earth in the form of a person. God’s
words are full of love. This is the only way He can live with us and the only
way we can live with each other. That’s why ”Love the Lord your God and love
your neighbor as yourself” is the most important commandment.
Just as you can read in the Bible how to love God, you can also discover how
to love your neighbor. Your neighbors are simply the people you associate
with, go to school with, work with, and live around. That’s why we have
been given the task of taking care of one another. People have different
ways of doing this. For some people, it comes naturally and for others, it
must be learned.
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1 Thessalonians 5:5
You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the
night or to the darkness.
If you believe that Jesus died for your sins and rose from the dead, then you
are a child of God. You walk in the light. You are a child of the light. You take
God’s light everywhere you go!
my story
My CD and DVD talk about all the different things children go through—good
things and bad. It doesn’t matter how old you are, we all seem to have the
same questions. That’s why it’s good for us to help each other and to be there
for each other. Those who are strong can help and support those who are
weak. Somewhat like the rich being able to help the poor. He loves those
who have less, those who think they aren’t worth much. I wasn’t the best
looking kid in my class when I was younger, yet people liked me and they
listened to me because they knew they could trust me. I was a Child of the
Light, and I let my light shine everywhere I went.
the clip
Children of Light was filmed on the beautiful island of Curacao. We knew that
we had about 45 minutes to capture the breathtaking sunset before it would
be gone. Our cameraman had to run across huge rocks and sand hills to film
the children on the beach. He was literally running from the boy on the cliff with
the shell horn to the other side of the beach in order to capture everything we
needed in time. You will see children of many different colors and from many dif-
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ferent backgrounds who sang this song together. We should also, as one group
of people, sing praises to God. We should let God’s light shine all around us.
get to work
Try to remember a few times when you really thought about the creativity
and grandness of God. Amazing, huh? That God shares all His greatness
with us!
With so much poverty, war, and problems in the world, we have an important
task before us. It’s important to keep your eyes and ears open to the things
going on around you. Thanks to many organizations that help people in need,
this task is not as heavy as it could be.
The most important thing is that you love those close to you—your parents,
friends, classmates, the people in your neighborhood—with your whole heart
no matter what color they are or what they look and act like. Sometimes that
is not so easy. Especially if we don’t understand their language or culture.
Ultimately, we are all in search of the same things: a house to live in, a safe
place, friends, love, and a sense of security. Sometimes these things are not
easy to find—especially love, safety, peace, and friendship. Often there are
things in our way: fighting, misunderstanding, wrong thoughts, and sin.
Luke 11:33
No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a
bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand so that those who come in may see the
light. So never hide the light God has given you. Let it shine so that others can
see it. It doesn’t matter what color your skin is or which country you come
from or what you look like. Children of light recognize each other because
they believe together in a God who loves all people.
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discussion
• Write down what you think God looks like..
• You are a “Child of Light.” How can you let your Light shine around you?
prayer
Dear Lord, thank You that You are so good, that You see me in the middle of
six billion people, and that You know me by name. Thank You that You think
I’m important. I will gladly follow You and carry Your light.
Help me, Lord, to learn to know You better. Help me to look inside myself and
change the things that are wrong. Teach me how to give Jesus everything,
even all my sins.
If I follow the path of Your light, I can be an example to others. Father, will You
open the eyes of my heart so that through the words of this book and the
songs on the CD, I can get to know you better. Speak Your words into my
heart so I can learn to love more deeply. Amen
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Red Yellow Black White
They are precious in His sight
Red Yellow Black White
They are precious in His sight
Red black and orange yellow or white
We’re all the same when you look down inside
Beautiful people filled with love joy and grace
Making this world a happier place
Making this world a happier place
beautiful colors
beautiful colors
beautiful colors
beautiful colors
In London and Joeburg Hong Kong or Madrid
The language we speak might be different a bit
But when you look further than a voice or a face
You’ll find a friend in almost every place
You’ll find a friend in almost every place
Shake hands with your neighbor sitting next to you
Please tell him your name and say ‘How do you do’
We all are God’s children and together we stand
So give a high five to your neighbor and friend
So give a high five to your neighbor and friend
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theme
The word race is not used in the Bible. The Bible knows only one race: the
human race. The Bible does speak of the different nations. This word is used
approximately two hundred times. When we use the word race, we refer to
the different nationalities with an emphasis on physical appearance, such as
skin color, the shape of the eyes, and types of hair.
What did the very first people (Adam and Eve) look like? No one knows
exactly. Maybe they were dark-skinned because the land they came from,
Eden, which lies between the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers, is very close to
Iraq. Most likely they were not white. Not black either but something in
between. The Hebrew name Adam means “man” but it also means “having a
red color.” Adam was made out of the clay of the earth. God most likely
named him Adam because he was a man with a reddish-brown tint to his skin.
He also made human bodies so that they help take care and protect us. For
instance, if you come from a country close to the equator or from a very warm
climate, your skin is most likely a darker color. That’s because the more pigmentation you have in your skin, the better protected you are from the sun’s
UV rays. Pigmentation is the brown color your skin gets when you stay out in
the sun for long periods of time. Americans call it a tan.
Acts 17:26-28
From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the
whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places
where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though he is not far from each one of
us. For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own
poets have said, “We are His offspring.”
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In the beginning, everyone lived close together. They felt strong and powerful.
But God didn’t want them to live together. He wanted them to spread out
across the earth. That happened at the Tower of Babylon. This is where the
miracle of different languages occurred. The people who understood each
other lived together, and there was division from other people and causing
them to “spread”—move apart. After this happened, genetics came into play,
changing the way people looked because of the natural elements around
them, such as the sun and climate differences.
Racism began when the people were divided into groups. At this point, people
began to see and feel the differences among themselves.
Instead of enjoying the differences God created in people, we humans have
turned things around. All we seem to do is judge and condemn one another.
This attitude goes against God’s purpose. Racism puts people in boxes and
causes division. God doesn’t want us to be divided but wants us to be one.
That’s why it’s good to teach children that everyone belongs on this earth and
that no one is better than another. In Romans 12:2, Paul says to the people:
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what
God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
There are many ugly swear words used to describe African Americans and
other people of other nationalities. You also hear offensive racist words in rap
songs. This is not how God wants us to treat the people around us. He wants
us to see them just as He sees them. He calls us to look for the good in others
and not make others feel inferior to us when we are around them.
Insults and hatred go deeper than the color of someone’s skin. It also extends
to people’s sexual feelings or their insecurity over their sexuality. Many young
kids and teenagers are treated unfairly at school because of this issue. If
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someone is struggling with these issues, you shouldn’t shut them out, but let
them know that someone cares. You need to think “What would Jesus do?”
Would He stomp them into the ground?
My favorite example is the story of the woman at the well:
John 4:2-14 He left Judea and headed for Galilee. He had to go through
Samaria to get there. He came into the city of Sichar in Samaria, very close to
the land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph, the place where Jacob’s well
is. Jesus was exhausted from His trip and went to sit at the well. It was in the
afternoon. His disciples had gone into the city to buy food. A Samaritan
woman came to the well to get water. Jesus said to her “Will you get me
something to drink?” She asked him “How can a Jew ask me to get him a
drink? I am a Samaritan.” Jews did not associate with Samaritans. Jesus answered her “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink,
you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” “Sir,”
she said “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you
get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the
well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
Jesus answered “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but
whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give
him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The Jews despised the Samaritans because of things that had happened in
the past. And the woman at the well had had many men in her life. She was
known as a prostitute. She was ashamed to be seen in public. People called
her names as she walked by, but she had to take care that there was water in
the house. Water only came out of a well. She didn’t dare go out if there
were other woman at the well. She went out during the hottest hour of the
day when no one else was out. Jesus was there too. He had just arrived in
Samaria and was resting there by the well.He was thirsty and asked the
woman for water. She shared her cup. Jesus looked at her and saw her pain.
He saw how the men in her life had only brought her sorrow. “If you drink of
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the water that I can give, you shall never be thirsty again.” Jesus often spoke
in parables. What he meant was that if the woman knew that He could give
her eternal life, then she would never want to return to her old life.
my story
Little by little, I began to learn my family history. My ancestors were
Portuguese Jews who migrated to Surinam during the Gold-Rush era. My
grandmother was Madurese and my grandfather’s ancestors were Surinamese
bushmen. During the Second World War, my grandparents and their children
(my mother being one of them) were held in a prison camp for many years.
When the war had ended, they fled to the Netherlands. My mother, who had
dark skin, married a blond Dutchman. The colors of their children’s skin are a
mix of many colors. This mix also has an effect on the color of my children’s
skin. My oldest son is blond, and my youngest son is dark. We are all mixed
up! Enough reasons to write a song I thought!
Do you know the famous speech from the African American preacher Dr.
Martin Luther King? He spoke about his dream for the future—a future
where there was no distinction between blacks, Jews, whites, etc. He dreamed
of a land where everyone had the same chances and opportunities. Not a
land where a few live in luxury and masses live in poverty. A place where there’s no discrimination because of the color of your skin or your race.
Former American President John F. Kennedy once said, “Imagine that God is
black. We, who have treated those of darker color as less important, come into
Heaven and look up and see that God is not white. How do we react?” This is
why I wrote “Beautiful Colors.” Because Jesus’ heart is much bigger than my
heart. It doesn’t matter to Him if you aren’t beautiful on the outside the way
the magazines and Hollywood say you should be or if your skin is a less popu-
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lar color. What matters to Him is the condition of your heart and how you
treat those around you. With Jesus, you are always welcome even if you are
different from everyone else.
the clip
“Beautiful Colors” was filmed on the beach of Curacao. We were short some
kids for filming so we began to ask vacationers on the beach to join us. The
boys with blond hair spontaneously volunteered. They didn’t care that most
of the other kids were different. No one even recognized any differences, and
there was absolutely no racism during this time. It was just as God would
have it. Beautiful that there are still beaches where black and white can play
together, huh?
get to work
The Samaritan woman in the story understood who Jesus was. He saw her
heart, not what she was on the outside. He didn’t judge her. He didn’t say
“Dirty prostitute, go away.” No, instead He said “Do you have something for
me to drink?” That’s the kind of love you and I are supposed to have. We
should not turn people away but draw them near to us.
Respect is the best word to describe “Beautiful Colors.” Respect others and
stand up for who you are. Different cultures, backgrounds, and colors are all
there for us to understand who God is because He is the creator of life.
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discussion
• How do you feel about America having so many different cultures?
Does that affect you in any way?
• What can you learn from other cultures? Do you have friends that
come from other cultures? If so, how are these relationships different
from your other relationships? If not, why not??
• According to you, how should we handle racism in the future?
What is the solution?
prayer
Thank you, Lord for so many nice people in so many different colors. You
created every person in Your own image. How beautiful You are!
Lord, help me to accept everyone the way You have accepted me. You look
at my heart and see the true me from inside out. That’s how I want to
see others. I want to embrace them with Your love, Lord Jesus.
In Your name, Amen.
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Sometimes when I feel sad inside
I think of things that make me feel alright
It helps
to make the dark clouds go away
and gazing at the sky above
I dream about a bunch of stuff
and here
is what I’m dreaming of today
wanna be
I wanna be a dolphin in the water
so free
Splashing all day long in a great big beautiful sea
’Cause if I were a dolphin in the water
I’d dance
With the sun and the moon
and a bunch of my very good friends
Yet when I’m down and can’t sing
I’m sure that God knows everything
I feel
’Cause God is always bigger than
And gazing at the sky above
I pray for joy and I pray that love
Will come
And make me happy once again
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theme
“I think about something fun!” This is something I hear a lot from children
who are sick or have pain or other difficulties. It’s way to forget. A way to run
away for a while. To dream it all away by thinking of something better. Think
about what? A dolphin, for instance. It’s time to do a little writing about ‘em
and then take a swim with ‘em.
“Wanna Be” talks about a difficult situation in life. In this instance an argument, but you can fill your own situation in. Sometimes life doesn’t go the
way you want it to. You can have problems in your life that last for months or
even years and not see them get better.
Most children try to escape difficult situations by thinking of something else,
something fun. Just like this boy, who thinks about dolphins. In the last chorus, I tell him that God knows all about his problems. I will now write more
about problems. I looked for a few problem situations in the Bible. Here they
are, but be ready because these are really bad!
• Joseph: He was almost killed by his own brothers, who then sold him to a
slave merchant. The slave merchant, in turn, sold him in Egypt to a man
named Potifar. After that, he spent years in prison but was an innocent man.
• Jacob and Esau: Two brothers get into a fight because Jacob deceived his
blind father into giving him his brother’s birthright. For many years after
this, Jacob was in hiding because Esau was so angry, he wanted to kill Jacob.
Eventually, they stopped fighting and everything was good again.
• Jacob: He worked seven years for his uncle Laban to earn the right to marry
his daughter Rachel whom he loved very much. His uncle deceived him by
giving him his other daughter, Leah, on his wedding day. Jacob had to work
another seven years for Rachel.
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• Moses: He grew up as an Egyptian prince, but he was really the son of a
Jewish mother and father who worked as slaves in Egypt. When Moses discovered the truth, he had to make a decision between his royal adopted
Egyptian parents and his own people. Read the whole story to learn just
how difficult it was for Moses to leave his Egyptian family.
• David: What a family drama! Rape, incest, and murder. And if that’s
not enough, you can read about the way in which he got his first wife.
You can find these stories in the book of Samuel.
• Samson: He married Delilah after God warned him not to marry her
because she was not a Jewish woman. She tricked him into telling her where
he got his strength so she could tell his enemies. The consequences for
Samson were, in the end, death. Many people that followed him also died.
• Solomon: This third king of Israel had hundreds of wives. We call this a
harem. Can you imagine what it must have been like for his children to see
their father with a different woman every day?
The reason for all of these problems was disobedience to God.
The consequences for some actions are horrible. Imagine how their family
members felt, what their children had to live through. The Bible doesn’t
spend much time talking about this, but it had to have been very tough for
them. These situations hit close to home because some of them have or
could have happened in our lives.
I also want to talk to you about Paul. Paul was a man the first Christians
followed whole heartedly. But before this time, he hunted the Christians
down and killed them. Then one day God came into his life. He was truly
changed and became a preacher of Jesus Christ. He is one of the most
important people in the Bible; we still use him today as an example for our
own lives. Paul wrote many different letters to the first Christian groups that
began to form after Christ ascended into Heaven. You can find these stories
and letters in the New Testament.
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Because Paul, as a Christian, was largely pursued by the enemy, he endured
horrible situations. He was beaten and abused, sent to prison where he was
always hungry, and out of prison he was often on the run. In short, he did not
have it easy. He experienced the same life he had earlier brought upon others,
mainly Christians (read about this in 2 Corinthians 11:23-29).
Despite everything he endured, Paul continued to honor God. He wanted
to live as Jesus had lived. He wanted to love his enemies. He saw life as a
contest in which you try to do your best for the greatest reward that comes
after it is all over. He found that the pain he had to endure could never measure up to the pain Jesus had endured for him.
In the second letter to the Corinthians, Paul talks a lot about himself. In 4:16,
he said: “Therefore we do not lose heart.. Though outwardly we are wasting
away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” The small burdens we
sometimes have to carry will give us eternal riches—everything included in
and beyond our expectations. So we need to focus not on the things we can
see but on the things we cannot see because the visible is temporary but the
invisible is for eternity.
In the beautiful poems of David in the book of Psalms, he reveals the hard
times he went through. Mainly because he also made wrong choices and had
many enemies. In the Psalms, many of his poems were written about sadness, pain, and joy. That’s why people love this book. It is a book we all can
relate to. All the emotions that David wrote about are also the emotions we
deal with every day.
Psalm 23 is probably the most famous of all the Psalms. In this chapter, David
writes about a dark valley. Maybe you feel that you are in a valley because
your parents are divorced or maybe you have physical pain. Maybe you go
through horrible things every day that are indescribable, or maybe you are
mentally sick or incapable of functioning like everyone else.
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No matter how hard life is for us, God always wants to be our rescuer. He
wants to restore and renew us from the inside out everyday. He will give us
new strength to get through each day so we don’t have to give up.
my story
In my own life and family, I’ve learned just what a divorce can do, even many
years later. It has consequences that have a life-time effect on the children.
Children are bonded to both parents but have to try to deal with the brokenness that divorce causes. Sometimes children feel responsible and think they
need to try to fix the brokenness. Divorce is painful and difficult, and often
children are forced to stand between their parents and choose sides.
One night my phone rang and it was a seven-year-old boy. I didn’t know him
and still don’t know how he got my nonpublished phone number. He wanted
to talk to me about what was going on at his house. He had watched my TV
program and heard me talking about a father who would never leave. The
next day he had to go to court and stand before a judge because his parents
were getting a divorce and he had to choose who he wanted to live with. He
was very scared. When I asked him what he thought the worst part of it all
was, he said, “If I’m with my dad, he says one thing, and if I’m with my mom,
she says something else, and I don’t know who to believe.” What a horrible
situation for such a young boy.
the clip
We filmed “Wanna Be” at a beautiful location on the coast of the island of
Curacao. The building in the clip is a monument called Quarantine. In earlier
days when a ship came into port and a sailor was sick, he was put in quaranti-
28
ne here. A contagious sickness on such a small island could have been a disaster. This building is visible from the sea and looks amazing!
This boy’s situation is not a rosy one. His parents are arguing. His father
blames his mother for something. The mother points her finger at the father.
They don’t even see that their son can’t take it anymore. He feels like he’s
forced to sit in the middle of this situation even though he has nothing to
do with it. When he can’t take it anymore, he stomps off. He needs to talk
to someone.
We were able to film and swim the entire day with the dolphins. That was
incredible! These are sweet animals, real buddies.
get to work
Fortunately, you don’t have to carry your problems alone. Unfortunately, you
learn who your true friends are when you’re in a hard situation. You need to
build friendships with people who also believe in God and will help you
during hard times. Find someone you can trust, someone you can share all
your emotions with.
I pray, like Paul did, that the love of God will fill your heart and that you will
experience the peace of God through all your life situations. “Wanna Be” is
not only a song about running away, not only about beautiful dreams; but it’s
about the assurance that God goes with you on all your adventures. You are
never alone!
29
discussion
• Do you recognize yourself in this clip when you have problems?
• Do you ask the advice of others in hard situations?
• How would you react if you were in the same situation as
the boy in the clip?
• How do you relate your faith to times of pain in your life?
prayer
Dear Lord, help every child and every adult as they try to bear their sadness,
worries, and pain. You know it all. I wish You would take it all away so that
we could play like the dolphins, carefree from moment to moment. Help the
children that carry a silent, secret sadness around. Help them to find a
solution so that the pain can begin to go away. Help me, Lord, to remember
that You are my strength in good times and in bad and that You know my
needs. Lighten the pain in this world. Amen.
31
Over and under
outside and inside too
Before and behind me
Wherever I go
I’m going with you
Sitting down and rising up
Doodle di dee, doodle di dubb dubb
Going left or going right
But never out of sight
doodle di dubb
High on a mountain
Low in the deepest sea
In heaven and earth God
Wherever I go
You’re going with me
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theme
How do you explain who and how God is? The Bible gives us the answer. He
is under, over, left, right, before, and behind us. He surrounds our whole being.
He wants to be close to us. That says something about His character. Evil also
wants to be close to us. It wants to separate us from God’s protection.
Ephesians 6:10-17 tells us what kinds of weapons we have to fight against
evil—spiritual weapons that is. Let’s read it:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor
of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our
struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual
forces of evil in the Heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God
so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground,
and after you have done everything, stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of
truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in
place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the
gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with
which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the
helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
We don’t fight fleshly battles, but spiritual ones. God is the good power, but
there is also an evil power. His name is satan, or the devil. This enemy of God
will do everything in his power to keep you from doing good just to cause God
pain. So be careful because even the thought of making wrong choices is like
taking an arrow out of the bag.
33
We can’t see the enemy with our eyes. He is present in the invisible world
around us. Paul warns us about attacks of God’s enemy in his letters to the
Ephesians.
my story
You know that even behind every funny line is a whole story to be told.
Actually, here is the general principal: God, who is all around you, loves you
and wants you to be happy forever. Satan wants to destroy what God wants
to give you. I have prayed more than once in my life that satan would go
away and stay out of my head and heart because my life belongs to God! You
don’t need to be afraid though because you can still be happy with God even
though evil exists. So sing out loud and experience the joy of the Lord that
fills your heart. I sometimes sing “Doodle Di Dubb Dubb satan shut up”!
the clip
Language can be funny. When we recorded this album in Chicago, the kids
who sang the songs had to laugh at the words “Doodle Di Dubb Dubb.” They
didn’t know how to pronounce them because they had never heard these
words before. But after I said it to them a couple of times, they had no more
problems with it. ‘Doodle Di Dubb Dubb” doesn’t mean anything really. I just
made it up! And it rhymed well with the word up.
The text from this song is simple. Everyone can sing and dance along to the
words. Dancing is a sort of outward expression of the joy we have because
we believe in God.
34
get to work
You see it in science fiction films -a spaceship with a built-in force field to protect it from the enemy’s weapons. That’s kind of how God is with us. He
wants to protect us. Is there something you can do to help? Sure there is.
God tells us we also are responsible to make sure we do all we can to protect
ourselves. One way is to take the things we’ve learned and apply them to our
lives when sin comes our way. We are taught right from wrong so when
wrong is standing in front of us, we can use what we were taught to do right.
It’s important to know that satan will use any means possible to separate you
from the love of God. He plays games with your thoughts for example. He
tries to manipulate your mind. So it’s up to you to protect yourself, just like a
soldier has to protect himself. Read Ephesians 6 very carefully to learn how to
use the belt, the helmet, the shield, and the sword. You’ll also learn here how
God’s Word will help protect you from evil. Maybe it’s a good idea to ask God
to help you fight against sin. Pray the moment you are eye to eye with sin
and you don’t think you can make a good decision. Remember that you are
never out of God’s sight. Naturally, God cannot be where sin is, so when you
choose to sin, know that you go that road alone. That’s why you feel so alone
and ashamed after you’ve sinned.
35
discussie
• What are some ways that you experience God’s presence in your life?
• There is no one without sin. Acknowledge your weaknesses, and ask God
to help you not to fall in that area again. Let someone you trust know
about this problem so they can also pray with you.
• What does it mean when I say that Satan is a maniulator?
• Do you remember a time in your life that you ask God to take control?
How did that feel?
prayer
Father, I need Your protection in my life. Evil is very strong and very real, but
You are stronger and You always win. Help me to fight against wrong
thoughts that satan whispers in my ear. Help me to listen to good. If I want
to do wrong, help me to fight that desire and choose right so I can stay in
Your sight. I pray that satan would leave me alone right now! He has no
power over me because I believe in Jesus, Your Son. Only in the name of
Jesus can I pray him away so I can have peace in my life.
God, will You protect me. Go before me, go behind me, under and above
me, and always stand next to me. Thank You for being with me. Amen.
37
Father, I want to stay close to You
Knowing You feel everything I do
When all my answers fade away
And I have no more words to say
You will come to rescue me
power of prayer
The power of prayer
A heart to receive
Can change everything inside of me
With all that I am
I will believe
I can become who You want me to be
You’re always there
The power of prayer
Father when things just don’t go my way
Show me You’re still with me every day
Help me to keep my faith in You
In everything I’m going through
When I call You answer me
38
theme
Prayer is important for a lot of people—for me too. Without this spiritual
communication, I feel far away from God. I’ve been in countless number of
difficult situations where prayer was the one thing that got me through.
Prayer is how we communicate our innermost thoughts to God, to the Creator
of the Heavens and the earth.
The word Prayer means “questions” or “requests.” But prayer is much more
than that. Prayer and believing go together. Prayer brings people closer
to God and closer to one another. I’ve read many books about prayer, but
the best “book” was the example my parents gave on how to pray. Now,
I give it to my own children—and to you. The power of prayer is very hard to
describe. That’s something you have to experience for yourself.
It’s different for everyone.
Prayer is something you have to learn, just like eating and drinking.
Eventually, you will create your own style because prayer is close relationship
between you and your creator. God’s voice can be heard in many ways
without you hearing an actual sound.
The power of prayer can change people from the inside out. But it will not
solve all your problems. Prayer doesn’t just wipe away pain although it can
ease the pain by helping us to focus on something other than just the pain.
We can give it to God and say, “God, I don’t understand my pain because in my
humanity I am not capable. Help me to cope and to find answers and peace.”
God is always there no matter what we are going through. It’s especially hard
to see and feel Him when our pain is so big that we feel we are drowning in it.
It’s difficult not only to experience Him but even to pray. But God knows this.
39
There is a scripture that I often turn to when I’m going through difficult times.
Philippians 4:6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by
prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the
peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus.” Maybe prayer was meant to change us from the
inside out or to help us find solutions to the things going on around us. But
no matter what prayer is designed for, God is always there.
Romans 8:27 says: “And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the
Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s
will.” So when I pray, I’m not praying alone! God’s Spirit (also called the Holy
Spirit) who lives in me, is also praying for me. That’s even better because the
Holy Spirit is in direct contact with the Father. It is the Spirit that goes before
the Father on my behalf. That alone gives me peace because now I know that
God is knows everything going on in my life. The text out of Philippians
encourages me to keep on praying even when others think it’s worthless to do
so. If I were the last person on this earth who believed, I would still pray
because in this brutal world, it’s God’s peace that gets me through.
Prayer is not a miracle drug but more of a conversation you have with God
about the every day things that go on in your life. It’s spending quality time
with your Heavenly Father. So make sure you make time. I have special places
where I love to go and pray. At the beach, on top of a mountain when I’m skiing, in the woods by the lake when I’m jogging with my son. These are some
of the places where God is very real to me and I feel very close to Him.
my story
It really doesn’t matter what is said because it’s more about letting our
feelings out. It’s beautiful to hear a child of nine pray for his older brothers
40
and sister and for his baby brother or for a sick friend of ours.
Sometimes I am so blown away by the closeness we have at this place. It’s
during these moments that we truly bond with one another. Here is where
we both know we can be open and honest and that what we say there stays
there, at the feet of Jesus.
My parents gave me a great example of how to pray. For as long as I can
remember, one of my parents was always around to pray with me. My parents
also prayed together, especially for their children. I’m sure this is why I have
chosen to live my life for God and share my love for Him with others. Those
prayers of my parents were always understandable and spoken with kindness.
I never felt like I was being forced to do something I didn’t want to do. It was
always peaceful even when we prayed for God to forgive the things I had
done wrong. There was such a wisdom and comfort for me when they prayed.
Prayer was a regular thing at a regular time and full of creativity. But we
also had prayer for the unseen situations like sickness, pain, sadness, etc.
We always prayed God would bring healing.
I have never felt disappointed that the prayers of my parents and later
those of my wife, Kim, and myself were not “answered”. The reason is
because I learned early on that prayer is not be used as like a magic spell.
the clip
On November 21, 1982, my mother died suddenly at the age of forty-seven. I
had just turned twenty-one. My brother Peter was fourteen, and my sister,
Anja, who found out three days later that she was pregnant with her first
baby, was twenty-three. On August 7, 2002, my father also died suddenly.
De clip van Power of Prayer is op de begraafplaats gefilmd waar mijn moeder
en vader begraven zijn. The clip for “Power of Prayer” was filmed at the place
41
where my parents are buried. It is a very special place. I go there regularly. I
sit before their grave just like Caleb does in the clip. When I’m there, I talk out
loud and tell them about the things that are happening in my life, how I’ve
been feeling, my worries and joys. This is when I realize just how important
my parents were to me. When I’m there, I miss them both very much. I tell
this also to God. I feel He’s very close to me when I’m there. That’s a comforting feeling. Of course, I know that my parents aren’t there because they are
with God, but this cemetery is very special. It’s in the woods, and it’s very peaceful there. I have asked many questions about life here. Questions like “Why
are life and death so close to each other?” or “Why did I make some of the
choices I made in my life?” It’s also a place where we have prayed as a family
for God to give us the strength to go on without them. A place where we felt
peace in spite of our confusion and sadness. A place that helps me remember
how life was when I was a child and they were still alive. Here, in this silent
forest full of century-old trees, we have sung songs and prayed. That’s why I
chose this place to film this clip.
My mother never got the chance to see how my life would turn out. That’s
why I dedicate this song to my parents. But I also want to thank my second
mother and friend, Dirkje, for her influence in my life.
get to work
I challenge you to get your prayer life in order. Pray for your parents, family, and
friends. Pray for your enemies, a teacher you don’t like, or a student who doesn’t
know God. Pray that God will help you to become a prayer warrior! When
things are tough, prayer is a great weapon. Try praying together with someone,
a friend maybe. First talk about the situations each of you would like to pray
about. Are you in love? If so, then I know you like to spend a lot of time with
each other. What do you do when you’re together? Do you ever pray together?
42
discussion
• Imagine that God gave us everything we asked for. What do you
think the world would be like? What would our purpose be if He did?
• How important is your prayer life? and why?
• When do you find praying the most difficult?
• What does prayer do for you?
• Do you have an example of a time in your life that prayer made
a difference?
• How do you hear God’s voice?
prayer
Precious Lord Jesus, I want to communicate more with You, starting today.
Teach me how to hear Your voice. Forgive me if I don’t spend enough time
really praying. I miss You, Lord. I miss the personal moments we should have
with each other. This is why I sometimes feel very alone inside. I want to
experience more of Your warmth and love. I thank You, Spirit of God, for going
before me to the Father and preparing my way. Help me not to make my
prayers full of wants and selfish desires. Will You come into my life and let me
feel Your strength and gentleness. I ask all these things in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
43
Happy is he who delights in the Lord
He will be just like a tree
Standing so strong by a shimmering stream
Yes, that is what he will be
His leaves will not wither or fall on the ground
His fruit will be juicy ’n sweet
Just like that tree he will prosper and grow
all of his plans will succeed
Rivers of water will rush through my soul
His spirit flows just like a stream
even when everything’s out of control
I will stand tall like a tree
Planted by rivers of water
I am a tree
i am a tree
God wants to bless you and bless you some more
Guide you in all your ways
You will be fruitful like never before
If you will trust and obey
44
theme
Psalms 1 lets us see what we need to be happy, how to make a good life for
ourselves. God thinks it is extremely important for us to know that we can be
happy people, in other words, people filled with joy. I say “can be” because
happiness is not just a temporary feeling of satisfaction. God’s happiness
goes further than the things this life can offer. It’s a joy that goes beyond the
emotional welfare of the here and now. God wants us to experience joy that
only comes from Him, and His joy lasts an eternity. His original plan for you
and me was perfection. This perfection was destroyed by sin. So now, it is
impossible for us to receive this joy in its intended form. Praise God, we are
still able to experience some form of joy, but God asks something of us first. It
doesn’t come free. It costs something.
Happiness and joy aren’t just there in your life. When God is present during
your “life’s journey,” you will find happiness along the way—mainly during
times when you tell Him you that you are dependent on Him or that You trust
Him in all things. Just like the man who wrote Psalms 1. This follower of God
is not only a good singer and storywriter, but he is someone who is recognized
by his actions. He showed what was important to him in the things that he
did. This person thought about the laws of God. Not just on Sundays at
church but every day.
IIn verse 1, God says He does not want us to follow those who do not follow
Him. He wants us to be aware of those who mock Him and ridicule Him.
These types of people only bring God pain. They are not a good group to hang
with, they’re not happy people. Staying away from these people isn’t always
easy, though. How do you handle such people? How should you react if there
are things going on around you that make you feel like “This is not cool at
45
all.”? How do you know when it’s OK to say something and when you
should not say anything at all? You don’t always have to come at others with
scripture, especially if it is you against a whole group. Maybe just pray that
God would give you an opportunity to talk with one or two of them and share
how you feel with them. But never stop praying for all of them. This is a
great way to begin true friendships. You’ll know by how they react to you and
how they treat you in front of others whether or not they are worthy of your
friendship. Always speak from your spirit because the Spirit can do much
more than you alone. Remember, no matter how rude or cruel kids can be,
God still loves them and wants them to change in their hearts. The Spirit
can help make this happen.
You will be happy if you read, study, and mediate on God’s Word because the
Bible is God’s own words written down for us. Many people don’t have a clue
what’s in the Bible. And sadder still is the fact that many churches don’t even
open the Bible. Bible stories have been forgotten, and Bible text is often used
out of context. Many people don’t know what the Bible says about the future
either. But in order to experience God’s joy, you have to read the Bible.
When you choose not to do this, it’s like throwing the greatest gift of all into
the garbage.
If you do what it says to do in Psalms 1 and 2, then you will be just like a
tree with its roots firmly planted by the water. This tree will bear fruit. This
means that your life will bless others and you will be someone others can
draw strength from. Just like we pick fruit from a healthy tree, others will
pick knowledge and wisdom from your tree because life with God is always
abundant. This doesn’t mean that everything in your life will be easy and fun.
It doesn’t mean that things at school won’t go wrong or that you will always
make good grades and be successful. What it does mean is that when things
do go wrong, God’s Word will give you strength to get through. It will also fill
you with a happiness that lets you know things will get better.
46
It says in the last verses of Psalms 1 that the wicked, or the ungodly, are like
chaff that the wind blows away. Chaff is the particles that separate from the
grain during harvesting. Chaff is blown away in the wind. It’s useless. It produces no substance. This doesn’t mean that people who don’t believe in God
are worthless or that their lives don’t mean anything. There are many people
who are unbelievers that do many good things. But what it does mean is that
their rewards are earthly, not Heavenly. Maybe they are respected by many,
but that respect only lasts while they are on this earth. So don’t be too quick
to judge. And especially don’t condemn others. Judging is God’s job. He can
use the works of the ungodly to bring light to His kingdom.
God’s Word speaks very clearly about being grain or being chaff. Your life can
either be like a tree planted by the water or like the chaff that is blown away
in the wind. These are harsh words, but according to the Psalms it is a matter
of life or death. Are you righteous? Do you try to live by God’s Word or have
you made the choice to live your life without Him? Are you happy? Would
you call yourself a fruitful tree, or would you say you are more like the dry
chaff blown away by the wind?
This Psalm lets us see just how God looks at us. Thank goodness, He knows
exactly what life is all about. Many things can happen along your ”life’s
journey”: accidents, sadness, pain, or situations that get out of your control
and there’s nothing you can do. God knows it all. He says, “Keep your eyes
on Me. I journey with you. If you make mistakes, I’ll always give you new
chances. You are My dear child, and I want to help you find happiness.”
47
God doesn’t have some complex philosophy on what you need to have joy. It’s
really only a few rules:
Walk in the way of the Lord.
Study His Word.
Produce fruit.
Then you will have the joy of God.
my story
Psalm 1 is a well-known Psalm. The meaning of this Psalm and the importance of being joyful in the Lord gave me the inspiration to write this song.
During many of my journeys into numerous lands, I find people everywhere
who believe in the joy of the Lord.
At school I always tried to be honest about my faith in God. When the opportunity arose, I talked about it. People who are true thinkers will always listen
to you, especially if you speak about something that comes from your heart.
Your words, actually God’s words spoken through you, will always have an
effect because God’s words have power and can penetrate the most unholy of
hearts. Words from God are different from all other words. So don’t be afraid
to talk about your faith.
It amazes me that God does not see prosperity and success as true happiness.
I think it’s because our lives here are only temporary. Happiness is knowing
that we have an eternal life. Happiness is a deep satisfaction that comes
from knowing God. Happiness is not just not having troubles. It doesn’t
ignore hardships.
48
Let’s be honest, Jesus didn’t come to this earth to hang out with the rich and
prosperous. He was born in a stable where animals were kept. Yet His life
was rooted in the words of His Heavenly Father.
the clip
We filmed this clip at the Boka Pistol on the island of Curacao, where the
waves hit the rocks with enormous force. This energy lets you see the power
of God. It also shows how the joy of God should be exploding out of your
soul. In this fairytale wilderness stood a magnificent tree with huge branches.
In order for this tree to grow so large, its roots had to be planted close to the
water. Farther down the path, we could see where this tree drew its water.
The fruit from this tree will give many people pleasure.
get to work
This Psalm says you must choose which group you belong in. At school, it can
be very difficult to find a group that believes in God, especially if you are a
teenager. But you can find Christians everywhere even if they don’t talk about
their faith at school. You can also find them in your neighborhood.
It is so important that you understand the ways and ideas of God so you can
help yourself when you find yourself in the middle of hard times. This is what
Psalm 1 means when it says, “be planted by streams of water.” Where do you
draw your strength and courage from when you need to share joy with
others?
49
discussion
• What does happiness or joy mean to you?
• How would you make a commercial to advertise happiness?
• Why are you happy or unhappy?
• What does God mean by true happiness?
• How would you explain the meaning of a joy-filled life?
prayer
God, help me to find that joy that You have set before me. Help me to trust in
You and learn to know You better. Your Word and Your laws are important to
me. I want to be truly happy. I want to be like a tree planted by streams of
water. Amen.
51
All the money in the world
And all the treasures of the sea
couldn’t buy the friend
That I have found in You
All the people with the power
Or the presidents to be
Fade away when I compare them
No one loves me more than You do
There is no one like You
You’re the one I will adore
There is no one like You
You’re the one I’m living for
no 1 like u
There are moments I feel lonely
And that no one seems to care
Those are times of trouble
When I’m feeling blue
But the things that can go wrong
And all the words that aren’t fair
Fade away when I compare them
No one loves me more than You do
He’s the Alpha and Omega,
the Beginning and the End
King of kings and Lord of lords,
the mighty rock on which I stand
He’s the Everlasting Father,
He will always be around
When I put my trust in Him
I put my feet on solid ground
52
theme
There are approximately 2.14 billion Christians in the world. All these people
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Jesus is the most important
person in their lives. That is the theme of the song “No 1 like U.”
This song is about the most important person in my life. I say in this song
that Jesus is worth more than silver or gold. He is more important than all
the money or power that this world has to offer. This is a really strange idea
to much of the world because the world thinks it’s all about how quick you
can become important, rich, or famous. The Bible also talks about these
things. Besides history books, the Bible is also a book with a lot of wisdom.
Read the books of Ecclesiastes and Proverbs. and see what they have to say.
God found it important for these books to be written down so that you and I
can learn from them. Look at what the Bible says about wealth:
Proverbs 11:28
He that trusteth in his riches shall fall; but the righteous shall flourish
as a branch.
1 Timothy 6:6-10
But godliness with contentment is a great gain. For we brought nothing into
the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into
temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge
men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of
evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced
themselves with many griefs. Many people have given themselves over to
their riches and possessions, therefore going further and further from God.
53
In Luke 18:25, Jesus says about the rich: “It is easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Does
this mean that the rich don’t deserve to be with God? Absolutely not! You
can be very rich and love the Lord with your whole heart and soul. Having a
lot of possessions brings a lot of responsibility, and every rich person will tell
you that money did not make their lives happier, only more complicated and
complex. Riches don’t automatically bring you happiness.
Besides money, power can be a driving force for some people. We can find
examples of this in the Bible but also in the newspaper from this morning.
The only one who could carry power without misusing it or hurting others
with it was Jesus. He is the Son of God and therefore all powerful. And yet
He chose to do the will of His Father. He spoke the words that His Father
instructed; He left Heaven in order for you to have life. That’s why He is more
important to me than anything else. He is the only one I worship, the only
God I give my life to. In the end, He is the only one that will be with me.
At some point, you will say goodbye to your family and friends. Think really
hard about who is left to go with you. Who or what is there for you? Money?
Power? Fame? No, at this point there is only one that’s left: Jesus!
Do you know Him well enough to say: “There is no one like You, Lord.
Thank You that You will never leave me”?
my story
I have spoken to many people about faith in God. Even when I was a teenager
in school we had many discussions about it. Of course, there were kids who
thought it was strange and always had something to say.
Sometimes that was tough, but at that point in my life, the Bible was very
important to me. Now, for my work as a TV host, I have had many discussions
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at schools with teens about situations that deal with their beliefs: Who is
Jesus? What do you see for your future? Is there a Heaven? Where does evil
come from? And many other questions like this.
Sometimes I find it difficult to put all my trust in Jesus, but songs like this one
help point me directly to Him.
the clip
“No 1 Like U” was filmed just outside Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. We were
brought to this place by our guide, and together with my cameraman, I spent
the afternoon at this incredible Arabic settlement. It was a breath-taking
location that was destroyed and forgotten after the War of Independence in
1948. We had the most amazing view of our surroundings from the roof of
the highest house. You can see how beautifully Jerusalem sits among all the
mountains.
Between shots, I had time to sit and think about what exactly happened at
this place. The battles that took place on this piece of land and the blood that
has been shed. I can only imagine what the reviews would have been like if I
could have filmed the events that took place here 2000 years ago. After
many, many years of war and uncountable lives lost, this land was declared
the property of Israel in 1948. There has not been one day go by since then
that this land is not in the news. The battle over this land continues today.
The history of the Jewish people is extremely interesting. Not only was Jesus
born out of this special nation of people, but according to the Book of
Revelation, the last battles that will be fought on this earth in the end times
will occur in this land and involve this nation.
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get to work
Maybe it would be a good idea to take a look at our own lives. How do
we—you and I—make decisions about really important things? Don’t we
all secretly long to be known and remembered?
And what about money…power…where do you stand on these issues?
discussion
• Who is the most important person in your life?
• Are you a fan of a pop star or actor?
• What do you need to do to make God Number 1 in your life?
• Can you explain why Jesus is so important to you?
prayer
Thank you, Lord, that You think I am important enough that You left Heaven
for me. You gave up everything for me—even Your life. I thank You for that
offering You gave to me when You died. There is no one so wonderful as You.
I love You and I want to give my whole life to You. Help me to give You the
place in my life that You deserve. Amen.
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Do you see the sun so bright
Do you see the moon at night
Look at all the wonders God has made
They tell the world that God is great
They tell the world that God is great
The mighty rock on which I stand
Is awesome and magnificent
The mighty rock on which I stand
Is awesome and magnificent
mighty rock
Do you see the stars above
They tell the story of His love
If they could sing they surely would
And tell the world that God is good
And tell the world that God is great
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theme
The Bible uses many symbols. A symbol is something you can touch or see
that stands for an idea or an emotion. For example, a scepter is a symbol of
the strength of a king. The text of “Mighty Rock” is also a typical Bible symbol.
The words Mighty Rock represent God or Jesus.
In 2 Samuel 22:2, David wrote these words in a song: “The Lord is my rock,
my fortress and my deliverer.” The rock symbolizes stability and solidity, and
fortress symbolizes a safe place.
David, who wrote the majority of the Psalms, used many symbols and comparisons. Before David became king of Israel, he was a shepherd. In addition to
that, he was a musician. A musician’s work comes from his deepest feelings,
and David’s songs were filled with passion and emotion. Before David became
king of Israel, he had to run away from Saul. During this time of his life, God
taught David that He was the only One that David could rely on and trust.
David lost all of his security, and when he had nothing left, God brought him
to a cave in Adullam. David found rest here and he made new friends.
While he was here David wrote a song. You can read the text to this song in
Psalm 57:1:
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in You my soul
takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until
the disaster has passed.
Here you see another symbol: wings! Also read the prayer of David when he
was a cave dweller in Psalm 142. In verses 1 and 2, you can picture him in that
cave, closed off from the world and hidden from Saul.
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Here he can cry out to God and find rest in Him. Listen to the emotion
in his words:
I cry out to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy.
I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble.
In Exodus 17, we read how the people of God escaped out of Egypt and came
into the desert. They were tired and thirsty. The place where they were, called
Rephidim, had no water for the people and animals to drink. They told their
leader, Moses, that he had to do something about this problem. It actually
says they began to yell at Moses. So Moses asked God for help. He was scared
that the people would kill him if something didn’t happen soon. God told
Moses to take his staff and hit it against the rocks of the mountain Horeb.
God said He would go before Moses and produce water. And it happened! In
this beautiful story, the rocks that were hit brought forth water and water
brings forth life. The rock that was struck symbolizes Jesus, Who was also hit
(slain) and brings eternal life. Have you ever drunk water from the Rock that
was slain for you? I pray for you today that you will drink of the everlasting
water so you will never be thirsty again. This means that you will receive
everlasting life and the joy of God!
my story
During my time with the gospel group Harvest, I visited the Rocky Mountains.
We flew between the hills in a helicopter—breath-taking! The Bible says that
Jesus is like a rock, a symbol of unshakeable, firm ground. This is what inspired me to write this song.
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the clip
Maybe you live in a place with lots of rocks, or maybe you have climbed a
mountain. What about skiing on a mountain top! Next time you see a massive, magnificent mountain, think of God, who uses something we understand
to explain His protection for us.
get to work
You can learn a lot about your own life by reading about David’s life. I learned:
• God speaks in symbols and parables.
• People use these symbols and parables as a comparison of their
relationship with God.
• These stories give a picture of the character of God.
• Being under God’s protection doesn’t mean life will always be an
easy ride. Sometimes you have to go through the valley in order to
soar above the mountains.
• Loss of friends and family is not something you have to suffer through all
alone. Often people have to lose everything in order to win (God).
• Always try to find the good in the hardships of life. Don’t focus on the bad
things that come into your life, but try to focus on what you can learn or
gain from it.
• God will eventually bring us to a safe place, but most generally it is not
where or when we’d like Him to bring us.
• Security is relative: A safe feeling is different from real security. As life and
health are never guaranteed to be safe in this world, God will let you see
that He is the only real security
• I can take shelter in the shadow of the Almighty and find protection under
His wings. Beautiful symbol.
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• Jesus is the Rock. If you build your life on what He has said and the
example He has given, you will find security and stability for this life
and for eternity.
discussion
• Search for a few symbols in the Bible yourself and then explain them.
• Which symbol in the Bible speaks to you?
• Where does the fish symbol that you see on the bumpers of cars come
from, and what does it stand for?
• What is the meaning behind the cross symbol
• How do you feel about nonbelievers, such as pop stars, using
the cross symbol?
• What does it mean to you when you hear “Jesus is the Rock”?
prayer
You are the Almighty Rock, Lord. You are so strong and stable just like a rock.
That makes me feel safe and sheltered. Lord Jesus, You are the Rock that was
slain for me. I can always drink from Your springs of living water. Thank You
for all the beautiful symbols that I can learn from. Thank You that I am always
safe with You. Amen.
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The Lord is near I know
Because He loves me so
That’s why I do believe
So when the times get rough
I trust His endless love
His blessings I receive
close to me
Close to me
You are always close
And when I call on You in prayer
You are there
Even in my deepest fear
You are wonderful ‘cause You are near
But those who don’t believe
Are like the falling leaves
In the autumn days
So if you love the Lord
Let’s sing in one accord
And praise His name always
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theme
Psalm 34:15, 17 and 18
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their
cry. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all
their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are
crushed in spirit.
Psalm 145:18
The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on him in truth.
Jeremiah 23:23-24
“Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord,” And not a God far away?
Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares
the Lord. “Do not I fill Heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.
Psalm 16:11
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your
presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
In spite of the verses, above, it sometimes seems that God is very far away.
Maybe you have heard the song that says “Higher than the blue sky and the
stars of gold, lives the Father in Heaven that loves all the children.” We learn
from the Bible that God’s house is up above, but yet He is also near to us.
The Bible also speaks of Heavens, more than one. God is spirit and therefore
not bound to one certain place. In a miraculous way, He can be everywhere
and yet at the same time, be in Heaven. Even though Heaven is thousands of
light years away, the Bible says that God is close to us.
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In Jeremiah 23:23, God says of Himself that He is a God that fills Heaven and
earth. You cannot hide from Him. You can read in Genesis that Adam and Eve
wanted to hide from God after they sinned, but He found them. He was closer
than they had thought He was. Distance is no obstacle for God to see us up
close.
Some people find this annoying. They see God as a busybody, kind of a “Big
brother is watching you.” This is a negative way to look at the All Knowing
God because if you get to know God’s ways, you will get a completely different picture. God doesn’t want you to see Him as an intrusive school teacher.
He doesn’t automatically come into your life. You have to ask Him to come in.
The decision is yours.
Psalm 145:18 says that God is close to those who call upon Him, those who call
on Him in truth. That means that God will find those who are sincere about
their desire to follow Him. It sounds strange that you can find something without ever seeing it. That is the miracle of believing.
Believing is not only a feeling because your feelings constantly change. The
feeling of being in love can quickly come but can also leave faster than it
came. If everything is going good, then you feel good, but as soon as things
don’t go so smoothly, your feelings will change. You especially need the certainty of your faith when life is hard and your feelings are not so positive.
These are times when you need your own convictions and understanding to
make the best decisions and to know that God is closer than you think, even
when it doesn’t feel like He is.
This is how Christians stay so strong during hard times. They know that God
is close because He promised in His Word that He would be. Knowledge is
power, and this knowledge can make you very powerful!
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David writes in Psalm 34:15 and 17: “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous...
The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their
troubles.” David’s life also had troubles. God is obviously a sort of “medicine”
against difficulties and misfortunes. Christians also experience pain, sadness,
and troubles. So does it really matter if you believe in God? Yes, it does. Belief
in God helps us to find peace and hope to go on when life is not so kind, and it
also allows us to feel His closeness.
And what if you still don’t notice a difference? How long do you continue to
pray and believe with all your heart? Let me say this: keep praying, keep believing! I have come across many people who were discouraged and felt abandoned and alone after searching and praying for a long time. This is very
disappointing, but God isn’t there to give us what we want when we want it.
We have the mindset that if we turn on the faucet, water will immediately
come running out. If it doesn’t, we know there’s a problem, and we need to
call a plumber. And this is how we think about most everything. We are logical beings. This is how we were designed, but God is different.
God works much differently than we do. This is why the Bible speaks about
God’s ways. His ways are higher, greater than ours. Sometimes it’s easier to
understand this, but then there are times when we think to ourselves: “He is
close by but yet so far away. This is so difficult for me to understand.”
2 Corinthians 4:16 and 18 states: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is
seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal.”
With this scripture, God gives you the answer to all the difficulties you will
experience. This is why faith has little to do with what you see with your eyes,
the external things. God says here that the unseen is the most important.
The rest will eventually disappear.
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Faith in God is an affair of the heart, soul, and mind. This is where your
feelings and your wisdom come together. Together they make sure you
can experience God to the fullest. Would you rather have a life without
questions or moments you just don’t seem to understand? That kind of life
doesn’t exist, even by God. That’s one reason I choose to believe in God, to
trust in Him completely. If I am sad or going through a difficult time, I’d
much rather have someone who knows me through and through go with
me. That someone is God, my Maker.
James 4:8 says: “Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your
hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” The presence
and closeness of God can only be felt when Jesus is the king of your life
because it’s only through Him that your sins are forgiven and all of your impurities are washed away so that you can be free and clean inside.
Jesus can give you a clean and pure heart. Without His cleansing power, you
cannot experience God’s presence, His closeness.
my story
Just like many people, I long to feel God’s presence in my life. If God had a
body made of flesh and blood, He could only be in one place at a time. That’s
why He is Spirit! The Spirit of God can fill my heart so that I feel a sense of
security. This has to be the ultimate feeling of joy I search for.
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the clip
God wants to be close to us so that we can also be close to others. Sometimes
there is a division between me and someone that I should be close to.
Compassion International helps me to bridge that division. The workers from
Compassion let children from far away see and feel the closeness of someone
thousands of miles away. That’s why I dedicated this clip to all the children
and workers of Compassion worldwide.
get to work
God has the names of all His children engraved in the palm of His hand.
This means that your name and my name are written in His hand! Both
figuratively and literally, because the nails were hammered through the hands
of Jesus when they hung Him on the cross. Those wounds have given you and
me eternal life. If you are sad, God lays His hand (with your name on it) on
His heart so that you are very close to your Father’s heart. Think deeply about
this beautiful symbol of God’s love for you!
discussion
• In which ways do you experience God’s closeness?
• How can you be close to another person in the way God wants
you to be close to someone?
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prayer
Father, today I pray for all the people that are suffering from such things as
abuse, but also for those who are suffering spiritually because of unanswered
questions. Lord,help me to accept that in this life, we will never understand
why things go the way they go or why we suffer and feel loneliness even after
we pray. Help us to know that You are close by and that You have us close to
Your heart. Help us to believe that our names are engraved in the palm of
Your hand and that we will be with You forever.
I want to pray for my friends who are suffering. If I don’t have any answers,
will You let them know that You are close to them? Lord, thank You for Your
desire to be close to me. With all my heart, I ask You to be close to me.
Amen.
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Sometimes we all need a hand
From a stranger or a friend
When the unexpected comes our way
Heroes around constantly
And I wonder who will it be
Who will come to rescue me
rescue me
When the dark fills the sky
When the waves are ten feet high
Who’s the one, who will it be
To rescue me
Often life is hard to take
In a moment things can change
Are you ready to step out and help
Knowing that life’s a mystery
And sometimes hard to see
Who will come to rescue me
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theme
This is one of my favorite numbers because it asks an important question.
Who will rescue me? There are many stories in the Bible about people who
were rescued. They were rescued from starvation, thirst, war, sickness, and
death. In order for Jesus to rescue us, we have to have complete trust in Him.
And sometimes He even asks us to step out in faith and do something we’ve
never done before, things we never thought were possible.
In Matthew 14:22-36, the story is about the followers of Jesus who are on a
boat. They wanted to cross over the water to the other side. It was already
night when they first got onto the boat. There came a bit of a wind. Then the
wind began to blow much harder. No problem, most of these men were fishermen before they become followers of Jesus and were used to this weather. It
wasn’t the wind that frightened them but the vague shadow on the water that
was coming directly toward them. Now they were getting really scared. A
ghost, coming closer and closer. They screamed from fear. And then they could
see the face of this “ghost”; it was Jesus! He came very close to the boat and
He called out, “Stay calm, it is me, do not be afraid.” Peter said, “Jesus, if it is
really You, then tell me to come to You.” He was no longer thinking about the
water and the waves. He saw and thought only about Jesus. Then Jesus said:
“Come.” Peter climbed out of the boat and set his feet on the water and began
walking toward Jesus. With his eyes fixed firmly on Jesus, he was getting closer
to His Master. He was almost there—just a few more steps when he realized
how absurd the situation was. He, Peter, walking on water! That is just not
possible. At that moment, he took his eyes off Jesus and began to question his
situation, and at the same time he began to sink. The wind and waves came
over him, and he was under the deep, dark waters. He cried out, “Lord, rescue
me.” And then he felt the hand of Jesus grab him and rescue him out of the
water. Jesus said, “Peter, your faith is so small. Why did you doubt me?”
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The disciples knew that Jesus could do miracles, but this went beyond their
wildest dreams. The scriptures foretold that the Son of God would come
and that the miracles He would perform would confirm who He was.
There, in that boat, they fell to their knees before Jesus and began to
worship and praise Him.
my story
Sometimes in my work I have to place myself in someone else’s circumstance
in order to understand their difficulty. In the last 20 years, I have written hundreds of songs for a specific child and the problem he or she is facing. As I’m
writing a song, I try to place myself in that situation. I want to be as close to
that child’s thoughts and desires as I can.
I find this necessary to do in order to write these types of songs. It inspires
me; it helps me to express the heart of that child but also helps me to learn
the different faces of a problem. This too is necessary for me to create a reaction and to give hope through my words. This doesn’t mean that I always
have an answer or that every time I have scripture that fits. This song also has
no answers. It remains a question. The answer is open-ended and everyone
must fill it in for themselves. As a child, I went every year to an island on the
northern coast of Holland called Ameland. Together my father, mother, sister,
brother, and I would take long walks over the beach and across the dunes. We
would always go after summer vacation was over, so it was very quiet there.
The one thing that I remember best is the rescue boat. In 1965, they still used
a horse and wagon to set the rescue boat in the water if a ship at sea was in
trouble. In the evenings, as I lay in my bed I could hear the sirens go off
through my open window. I used to pretend that it was my boat at sea, and I
would be drifting all alone, and the rescue team from Ameland would come
and rescue me out of the cold waters. They never failed to rescue me!
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the clip
In this clip you see us also on a boat. It looks like it’s a beautiful day, but don’t
let that fool you. The wind was so strong that, at times, the boat would sway
back and forth, and we had to be very careful and sit very still.
Can you imagine what that must have been like in Jesus’ time? There you are
in a small boat, probably fishing, when all of a sudden you find yourself in the
middle of a storm with waves that are ten feet high. Who would rescue you?
get to work
In the beginning of this chapter, you read a story from the Bible that had a
message for you and me. Sometimes we have to step out of the comfort of
our daily lives in order to feel the presence of the Lord. Someone once said, “If
you want to see things you’ve never seen before, you have to do things you’ve
never done before.” And this is what Peter did. He wanted to see things he’d
never seen before so he did things he’d never done before. It’s a risk to upset
the balance of your daily life, but it’s worth the risk if you find the joy of the
Lord. Peter asked, “Can I...?” and it was as if Jesus said, “Come, you must do
something you’ve never done before but you can do it.” So with his eyes
planted on Jesus and with complete trust in His words, Peter jumped out of
the boat and onto the water.
Jesus only asks that you believe and trust in Him, that if He calls you, you trust
completely and follow. Picture the sea as an example of your life or a problem
in your life.. Do you have enough faith that no matter how big your problem
is, you can find Jesus? Do you trust in His word?
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Do you believe Him? Peter took his first steps in faith and then began to
doubt. Then he felt the wind. At this point, he only had faith in his own wisdom. In other words, he didn’t see Jesus anymore. He only felt the wind and
saw his desperate situation. This was almost the end of his story. It almost
cost him his life. Following Jesus means stepping out of your boat and trusting in Him completely.
The hand of Jesus was there to rescue Peter from drowning. Who will rescue
you? Jesus is there to be your Rescuer. He wants to pull you in and while you
are wringing out your wet clothes, He will say: “I am here for you.”
Have you already asked Jesus to be your Rescuer, your Savior? Not just from a
bad situation but from death? Are you drowning in a dark world? Take the
risk and do something you’ve never done before. Peter cried out in his fear,
“Lord, save me!” He realized Jesus was the only one who could save him.
Maybe you’ve never asked to be filled with God’s eternal joy.
Below you will find a prayer that you can pray if you want to, a prayer that
Jesus will rescue you—not from problem to problem but for life. It’s the most
important prayer you will ever pray in your life. Just think about the hundreds
of thousands of people who have prayed this prayer before you! You now
belong to the great big family of God! You are a Child of the Light! You have
the joy of the Lord in your heart! Welcome! Fantastic that you have chosen to
follow the Lord Jesus!
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discussion
• Do you sometimes feel that you are all alone during hard times?
• What has to happen in your life in order for you to follow Jesus
• Do you find it hard to completely trust in Him?
• Have you ever really talked to Jesus about your life?
• How did you tell God that you wanted to believe in Him?
Write this moment down.
prayer
Precious Lord Jesus, Thank You for knowing who I am. You know my life, my
thoughts, and my problems. You know all the good things I’ve done and also
the bad. I need You. I know that without You, I do not have eternal life. I
know that I will be lost for eternity if I don’t give my life over to You. You died
so I could live. Through Your death, I received eternal life, and for that I want
to thank You, and also because You defeated death for me. Thank You that
You proved that You are stronger than death, that You are stronger than evil. I
give myself to You. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, and give me a new life. I
am ashamed of my sins, but I believe that You will forgive them. Teach me
how to follow You and put all my trust in You. Right now, I want to receive the
joy of God through His Son Jesus Christ. Thank You that from this moment on
I can call myself Your child.
Amen.
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extras
1 John 4:15
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him
and he in God.
1 John 5:11-12
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his
Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does
not have life.
1 John 5:20
We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding,
so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even
in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
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To Him who alone does great wonders
With mercy and love - His mercy and love
He laid out the earth and the water
With mercy and love - His mercy and love
To Him who created the sun so bright
With mercy and love - His mercy and love
He gave us the moon and the stars at night
His mercy and love lasts forever
Give thanks to the Lord
For He is good
His mercy and love
Last forever
give thanks
Clap with your hands for He is good
Stamp with your feet for He is good
Jump in the air for He is good
Lift up your hands for He is good
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theme
I sometimes forget to thank God for all the everyday things in my life. When’s
the last time you thanked God for a night sky full of stars or a snow covered
mountaintop? In nature, we see the greatness of God, the magnificence of
His grandeur.
The text for “Give Thanks” comes right out of the book of Psalms. The Psalms
are actually songs and poems written and sung mainly by David. David played the harp and was, of course, a musician. Before he became King of Israel,
he was a shepherd. He received most of his inspiration for his writings during
the years he watched over the sheep. He loved the silence of nature. He had
all those hours that he spent in the fields to appreciate the greatness of God.
At one moment, he is screaming out to God and another moment, telling Him
how awesome and powerful His work is. I think the Psalms are so beautiful
because they express exactly what every one of us has felt from time to time.
The one question we have all asked at some point is written, sung, and answered in the Psalms: What does God look like?
As a small child, you think in pictures. You learn this from the beginning. Your
first books are filled with pictures, pictures of everything, like nature and
animals, etc. This is how you start to learn about the world. God also taught
the first people with pictures, living pictures. This is how they studied nature
and admired the creations of God.
When God created Adam (the first person), he was told by God to give every
species of animal that he saw a name (Genesis 2:19). So God brought all the
animals to Adam. The first woman named Eve was created just for Adam.
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And when God looked at them, He said: “It is good.” It’s a shame that not
more was written in the Bible about the beautiful, perfect Garden of Eden and
what life was like with nature. But also how pure and innocent the relationship was between man, woman, and God. Not such a strange thing that people (believers and nonbelievers) still think of the most beautiful places in the
world when they hear the word paradise.
When God created the first people, He said He made them in His own image.
This is what is written in Genesis 1:26-28: Then God said “Let us make man in
our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the
birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
So God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them,
“Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the
fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that
moves on the ground.”
So, obviously, people look like God, their Creator. Of course, the first people
were without sin. The cleanliness and purity of those people is the image God
gives us to answer the question, “What does God look like?”
God’s creation goes much further than the design of people. Look at nature
and all of its beauty, color, and forms. These were also the ideas of God. Read,
for instance, Psalm 19. It’s good to think about (or meditate on) the things that
God has made. Then you can begin to understand His wonders and who He is
through all the things you see around you.
The song “Give Thanks” is based on the scripture from Psalm 136,
which says that God’s goodness and kindness for us lasts forever. Even
when we go through the deepest valleys in our lives, it says that God’s
goodness never stops.
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It always amazes me to see people who are terminally ill, and yet they
continue to talk about God’s love and goodness. That’s because they are not
blinded by their physical weakness but have their eyes focused on the Lord.
Look at Christian monks who sacrifice all worldly luxuries and personal
pleasures so they can completely focus on God. This is how they meet God,
with their whole body and spirit. We could learn a lot from them.
Maybe you think this book is hard to follow. That’s OK, you don’t have to
understand everything. Think about it this way: you are never too young (or
old) to learn about God. In Israel, children learn to read whole books out of
the Bible. The more you know about God, the more you understand who He is
and what He looks like.
my story
In this song, I think about everything and every situation in which you need to
thank and praise the Lord. That happens in the Psalms a lot. In spite of all
that David went through, he wrote beautiful words about what God meant to
him. He gives us a picture of who God is.
When my family prays together at the table, my wife, Kim, often prays about
the things we don’t think much about but yet we know they are there. For
instance, waking up every morning and the sun being in the sky, breathing,
seeing, hearing, smelling, going to bed at night knowing the sun has gone
down and the moon and stars take its place, etc.
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the clip
We had a great time filming this clip at the skatebaan (this is what it is
called in Dutch) in Zeewolde, the Netherlands. We only had a couple
skaters arranged for filming, but when we got there, there was a group
of skateboarders who had ridden their bikes 15 miles to skate at this
particular place. We asked them if they wanted to help us make a music clip,
and they were excited about participating.
get to work
You can meditate and give God thanks as you read over these verses in Psalms:
Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Psalm 119:130 - The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives
understanding to the simple.
Psalm 119:133 - Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no
sin rule over me.
Psalm 125:1 - Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which
cannot be shaken but endures forever.
Make a list in your head of several things that you have never thanked
God for. Thank Him today for all those things on your list and for all your
blessings.
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discussion
• Take the time to write down all the things you are thankful to God for. Tell
someone else what was on your list, and then compare your list with theirs.
• Thank and praise God for something that you find incredibly beautiful
or priceless. Maybe you could also do this together with your family,
friends, or church group.
• Read a verse out of the Bible. For example, a Psalm, and then think about
the words and meaning for at least 10 minutes.
prayer
Almighty God, thank You that You allow us to see so much of Yourself.
I am truly amazed at Your greatness as I look at all You have created: the
world, the Heavens, the plants, trees, animals... and I’m silenced when I think
You made me in Your image.
Will You teach me to be more appreciative of the things I take for granted
every day. Will You fill my whole life with You.
Amen.
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Yesu ni wangu wa milele
Yesu ni wangu wa milele
In every language
We worship His name
On every beach we'll sing
God of the heavens
And God of the earth
And Maker of everything
There is no other like You
There is no other like You
Hakunu mungu kama wewe
Hakunu mungu kama wewe
jesu ni wangu
Yesu ni wangu wa milele
Yesu ni wangu wa milele
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In Asia, New Zealand
And Africa too
Europe, America
Come let the children
All over the world
Praise Him Hallelujah
There is no other like You
There is no other like You
Hakunu mungu kama wewe
Hakunu mungu kama wewe
theme
Are you a missionary? Maybe you said “No” because your image of a missionary is someone who wears khakis and runs around in third-world countries
passing out Bibles. Well, do I have news for you! You are also a missionary!
If you believe in God, then you have been called by Him to go into your
neighborhood, school, sports field, and even into your own house. Jesus said
to His disciples, “You are my witnesses” (Acts 1:8).
The disciples of Jesus were later called apostles. They were responsible for
making sure that the gospel was spread throughout the world. They were to
begin in their own neighborhoods and cities but were to also go out into all
of Europe as quickly as possible. Everywhere they went, they told of their
experiences with Jesus.
The apostle Paul made many different mission trips. Paul’s original name was
Saul—or in the Hebrew “Sha’al”—and he was born in Tarsus, which is now the
country of Turkey. He had the civil rights of a Roman and that meant he could
not easily be arrested. His Roman nationality saved his life more than once.
Saul was there when Stephen was stoned to death for believing in Jesus
(Acts 7:58). At first, Saul hunted down Christians, but on his way to Damascus
one day, God grabbed him. His life changed drastically when he realized that
Jesus was truly the Son of God. It was then that Saul knew how wrong he had
been. After his sudden conversion, Saul was referred to by his Latin name:
Paul. From this time forward, his life was devoted to telling as many people as
he could about the love of God. Paul testified in many places about his faith.
He strategically planned out his trips to places where many people passed
through: traders, fishermen, businessmen, soldiers, etc.
This is how he slowly spread the gospel around the world.
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Today there are millions of Christians all over the world. The Bible is written
in more than 371 languages, the New Testament alone in 960. You can buy
a Bible in many different translations. If you read the Bible in a newer
translation, you should also have an older translation beside it. No matter
how difficult the older translations seem, the language is usually much
richer and much more full of meaning than the modern versions.
Bibles have been taken to some very remote areas of the world. Missionaries
and language specialists have spent years studying cultures and languages in
these areas. Sometimes they were putting their lives in danger. Presently
the message of Jesus is available in many lands, but there are also 2000
languages the Bible is not available in. There are thousands of children,
teenagers, and adults who don’t know who Jesus is, who have never heard
that God is a caring, merciful God who loves them. It is our responsibility
to spread the joy of God and the love of Jesus.
In Romans 1:17-18, Paul warns about spreading a wrong message about Jesus,
words that will send people down a wrong path and teach them false truths.
That goes for us today as well. So make sure you look, listen, and learn the
truth by studying the Bible for yourself. Don’t always believe everything you
hear from someone else. Jesus himself also warned us about false prophets
and teachers (Mark 13:21-23).
my story
Africa is a large continent with many contrasts. Some of the most bloody
wars have been fought here, but at the same time the nature scenes are the
most breath-taking in the world. It wasn’t so far fetched that I would write a
song in an African language. It’s cool if someone from a foreign land can hear
the gospel of Jesus Christ in their own language. It creates an immediate
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bond and brings people closer to each other. Everyone has a purpose (or task)
in this life. This purpose is not always clear. Sometimes you have to travel
long distances to discover your purpose, and sometimes your eyes will be
opened right outside your own front door. Whether you are 14 or 44, you can
be a witness for Jesus. At the children’s orphanage you see in this clip, both
young and old are worshipping God while singing this song. I had no idea I
would ever end up going there. When I wrote “Jesu ni Wangu” (four years
before I went to Uganda), I couldn’t figure out why I felt the need to write a
song in the Swahili language, but God knew! He uses all of our efforts for His
glory. It gives me a fantastic feeling to have had the privilege of being a witness there and to fulfill a special purpose.
Because I began my music career very early in my life, I have been able to
travel to many different places in the world to bring the gospel of Jesus.
What an awesome and fun experience! There weren’t always large audiences,
though. Sometimes there were only 50 people, and sometimes there were
7,000 like at the very first “Go Festival” in Bombay, India.
I also learned a lot from Scott Wesley Brown, an American artist who has a
heart for Africa. Together with him and others, we did many concerts in
South Africa. After that, I spent time on the Logos and Doulos singing and
preaching. These are two ships from Operation Mobilization that sail all over
the world giving workshops in ports and distributing Christian books and
Bibles. This was a fantastic experience! These times have had a huge impact
on my life and opened my eyes to the needs in this world.
One thing leads to another. If you are faithful in the little things, the Lord will
bless you. It was because I was faithful in the little things, that God used me
to bring the gospel to people all over the world.
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the clip
I was visiting handicapped children in an orphanage in Uganda, Africa. This is
a home that helps these children learn to live with their disabilities. Many
children in third-world countries don’t receive medical care. If you are not vaccinated against childhood diseases when you are very young, then sickness is
inevitable.
The orphanage I was visiting is called Cheshire Home. This Christian home is
approximately two hours away from Kampala, the capital city of Uganda.
With the simplest of medicines, they try to make something of their lives.
They are supported by different organizations. Nuns run this facility and work
with these children. The best part of this trip was teaching them the song
that I had written years earlier in their mother language, Swahili. The chorus
says: “Jesu ni wangu wa milele” which means “I love Jesus, He is mine”.
It was amazing to me to see these kids forget about their problems while we
were singing. I really felt at home there. I also learned a lot by being there.
Missions doesn’t always mean that you walk around with a Bible under your
arm preaching. Missions is also just helping children in need with everyday
things, helping teach them new skills. Just being there for someone else
is a skill.
get to work
When you travel around the world singing and speaking, you meet many
other Christians from whom you can learn a great number of things. Every
time I meet new people, I discover a bit more about God’s plan for my life.
The plan for everyone who wants to be a witness starts close to home.
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A missionary must prepare for such a task. So know this: If you choose to
give your life over to God, He can take you places you never dreamed you
would go. That’s the cool part of believing. It’s a challenge! It is so far from
boring. It is truly an adventure! Do you think you are ready to be a witness
for Christ? Are you ready to make sacrifices? Start at the place God has
brought you to—home, school, neighbors, etc. Are you ready to testify to
the joy God gives?
Being a witness for Jesus is more than using your mouth. The best way to tell
others about Jesus is be an example of Him in your own life. Start by being a
true friend, someone who listens without judging others.
I’m an ambassador for Compassion International. This means that during my
concerts, I make a presentation about the work that Compassion is doing for
children in third-world countries. It also means that I will do whatever it takes
to find sponsors for these children. Sponsors are people that support a child
with prayer, friendship, and a small monthly donation. But the best part is
that your support through Compassion also brings the love of Jesus to these
children.
If you are young, you can be a missionary together with your parents by supporting one or two of these children. You can read all about it on my website.
I challenge you to make this one of the ways you are willing to share God’s joy
with someone else. Witnesses for the Lord don’t just talk; they also stretch
out a hand and offer a heart full of God’s love
discussion
• Being a witness is not always easy. What are some of your experiences?
• What is your testimony?
• Is your testimony something you enjoy sharing? Why or why not?
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prayer
Thank You, Father, that I can be a witness for You, that I have a testimony to
share from my heart because of what You have done for me. Sometimes it’s
difficult for me to talk to people. Thank You that You understand that. Will
You help me to show others that I am your child through my words, actions,
and manners. In Jesus Name, Amen.
extras
Paul made many trips throughout the world to tell the stories of Jesus.
In those days, without modern forms of transportation, traveling was very
dangerous. You can read about the different places he went to in his letters.
Here are some of those places:
• Antioch, the capital of the old Syria: It is now called Antakya and is in the
country of Turkey.
• Athens, the capital of Greece.
• Caesarea, a port city in the old Palestine, the capital city of a Roman providence: now called Tel Aviv-Yafo in Israel.
• Corinth, a city of the old Greece.
• Damascus, a city of the old Syria: the capital city of the present day Syria.
• Ephesus, a city on the west coast of Asia Minor, approximately fifty miles
south of present day Izmir.
• Iconium, capital city of the old province Lycaonia in Asia Minor, presently
called Konya in the country of Turkey.
• Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel.
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• Rome, the capital city of the kingdom of the Romans:
presently the capital city of Italy.
• Paphos, a city on the southwest coast of the island of Cyprus,
which is in the Mediterranean Sea.
• Philippi, a city in Macedonia which lies close to the present day Kavala in
Greece.
• Salamis, a city in the east of Cyprus approximately 3 miles northwest of
Famagusta.
• Tarsus, a city in the old Sicily on the Mediterranean sea, close to the present
day Adana in Turkey.
• Thessalonica, a port city in the old Macedonia, now called Szalonike in northeastern Greece.
• Troaz, a coastal place in the north of the old Asia Minor, presently called
Canakkale in Turkey.
• Tyre, a city in the old Phoenicia, presently it is a city in south Lebanon
called Sur.
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He gives me hope
He gives me peace
He gives me confidence
to learn and grow
He gives me joy
He gives me strength
In every circumstance
There’s one thing I know
promises of love
I honor Him
I worship Him
For He alone is worthy
of my praise
I trust in Him
believe in Him
I dedicate my life to Him
Forever and always
Promises of love
His promises are true
The promise of his word
Is love for me and you
When I see the sunrise in the morning
When I look up at the stars at night
I remember that I’m shining
With His love when I walk in His light
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theme
The Bible is almost exploding with promises from God. You only need to open
it up, and you will find something He has promised His children. Because God
has always kept His promises, you can know He will also do the same for you.
“Promises of Love” is based on Ephesians 6:1-3. It is a special text directed at
children and young people. It begins with the word: “Children,”. What follows
is something that was written much earlier in history, one of the Ten
Commandments. A commandment for kids? Yes sir! Just read it: “Children,
obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and
mother’—which is the first commandment with a promise—’that it may go
well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’”
Isn’t it great to know that God finds children important enough to make a
whole separate commandment for them? And a promise everyone would love
to receive, that it may go well and you may live a long life.
There are many more promises from God that we should remember every day.
One of the most powerful promises came from Jesus in John 16:33. Jesus tells
His friends that He is going to return to His Father. He ends the conversation
with: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this
world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.”
How can you remember and apply all of God’s promises to your lives? By
regularly reading God’s Word, singing songs that have God’s promises in
them, or finding scriptures that have meaning to you and writing them down
so you can quote them from your memory.
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How do you know that God’s promises are true? Because He always keeps His
word. He can’t not keep His word. It’s up to us to stand firm on His promises
by believing in Him.
When Jesus knew that He was going to have leave His friends, He promised
them this in John 14:16-17: “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot
accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him,
for he lives with you and will be in you.” What a promise! So I guess you can
say that a life led by God’s promises is a life of winning in even the most difficult circumstances!
my story
I have experienced real love in my life, love that comes without conditions.
First from my parents and then from God. Even though it took quite a while
for me to find my life companion and soul mate (my wife Kim), God has
never let me down. He was, in fact, the very first one to love me because
He was there from the beginning. He was there when I was formed.
You might not know a whole lot about love, but one thing you can be
sure of—God loves you!
“Promises of Love” is written to encourage people, especially if you are at an
age where you don’t know everything yet! If you seem to let yourself down
time and again, it’s good to remember that He wants to help you no matter
what. That’s why He gave us His Holy Spirit. He promised this Himself!
What should we do with His promises? Trust in them, stand firm on them,
and act upon them. You can start by telling Him how much you love Him
and appreciate His promises. Tell Him that you honor Him because He is
truth. From sunup till sundown, God is with you. He is always by you.
A promise is a promise!
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the clip
In this clip, you will see a deaf boy and a deaf girl by the old city wall in
Amersfoort, the Netherlands. They communicate differently than we do, not
with their voices. They are discussing the promise of God’s love.
We also filmed on the beach at the North Sea. This is a very fickle sea with
unexpected, dangerous undercurrents, which any seaman would testify to.
God’s promises are like an anchor in a sea full of danger and insecurities.
get to work
Like I said earlier, the Bible is overflowing with God’s promises. See how many
of them you can find in ten minutes. You will be amazed! Write them down
in your journal or on cards or on sticky-notes and stick them all over your
room. Write a new promise in your journal each week so you can see it and
can remember where you found it in the Bible. Think of some other ways you
can keep God’s Word close by.
The Psalms tell us a whole lot about how others experienced God’s promises.
Maybe you could write your own Psalm to God, in both good and bad times
because God’s promises can comfort us in bad times and in good times.
No matter how you feel, write it down and see how God keeps His word!
He will never let you down. He promises that!
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discussion
• Which promise of God has made an impression on your life?
• Has someone ever promised you something and then let you down?
How did that feel? How did you get past the situation?
• Have you also gone back on your word?
• Have you ever said to God: “Lord, I promise....”?
prayer
Father, thank You so much for Your Word. Thank You that I can always count
on You. Thank You that You gave Your Holy Spirit to me to guide me and to
comfort me. I will stand on Your promises and follow Your Word. I praise You
for what You have done in my life. You always keep Your word, Father, and I
trust You with my life. Help me to be an example of Christ, and let my life be
a beacon of His love.
Amen.
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I found a treasure more worthy than gold
I use it every day
And through the years it’s never grown old
Still it has so much to say
So just hang around and wait till I’m through
‘Cause whether you believe it or not
What I have to give is waiting for you
Yeah, that treasure is the word of God
Sharper than a sword
Mighty as a river
Brighter than the sun in the sky
Is the word of God
Able to deliver
Words of peace that come from high
the Word of God
So when you start reading with faith in your heart
You’ll discover his word is true
It’s perfect and wise and it will never depart
Yes, believing is all you must do
There’s things to discover and places to go
It all seems important enough
But by reading the Bible God wants to show
nothing compares to His love
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theme
2 Peter 1:16 says: “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you
about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.”
If you want to know things about Rembrandt’s painting “Night Watch,” such
as when he painted it, who he was, and what people thought of him, you’ll
have to research it or talk to people who actually knew him. There’s a lot written about him and his paintings. It’s the same with the beginning of life on
this earth and the things God has done. Fortunately, we get this information
out of the Word of God, and it comes directly from eyewitnesses. It begins
with God Himself. He has always been. He says of Himself that He is the
Beginning and the End. There are people who deny the existence of God. I
would rather believe that all of life and nature didn’t just happen, but that it
was all designed and created by God, someone who knows me and finds it
important that I exist, someone higher, bigger, and wiser than I am.
Faith is not something your parents or your pastor can give you. You weren’t
designed to be like a car that has to go to the garage a lot. And you definitely
aren’t someone that goes to church to “fill-up” on faith. Faith is something
God places in your heart when you choose for Him.
Maybe believing in God is not something you have ever really thought about.
That’s OK because you have the opportunity to think about it right now.
If this is something you would truly like to do, then all you have to do is ask.
Not me, of course, but ask it directly of the highest, strongest Power that
ever existed: God, the Creator of the Heavens and the earth. It might be a
good idea to first know what it means to believe in God. He thinks it’s wise
to study, think, and then act.
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God wants you to know how it all began. That’s why He used people like you
and me. He used ordinary people: fishermen, carpenters, pastors, doctors, tent
makers, business people, politicians, etc. He used everyone who loved Him,
people that believed in Him without ever seeing Him with their human eyes.
And because they were people like you and me, they also had problems and
struggles in their lives. They experienced fatigue, excitement, sadness, anger,
etc. God gave them words to write down and pass on. God’s most important
words to us are, “People, I love you.” Aside from this, His Word lets us know a
bit about life after this life. A life of justice, with no more pain and no more
tears. His Word also gives you and me meaningful purpose in a broken world.
It gives us light in a dark world so we can find our way, and it helps us to find
the joy of the Lord.
The words and action of God are very important. They can give you an eternal
life and an understanding of what life is really all about. God’s words are
written in a series of letters, songs, and stories in a book we call the Bible,
which comes from the Latin word Biblia, which simply means “book”. The
Bible contains 66 books composed by God’s people, who are the earthly
ancestors of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. If you look at Jesus and study who
He was, you will learn a lot about who God is. Jesus said and did things His
Father instructed Him to say and do.
Hebrews 4:12 says this: “For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than
any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to divide soul and spirit, joints
and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
The most important thing about this song is that the Word of God was given
to everyone in the world.
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Let’s read John 1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. The Word was in the world and the world exists
because of Him and yet, the world doesn’t even know Him.” God Himself
came into this world. His words became flesh. What that means is that He
became a person. He took the form of a human and came to the earth.
God is a trinity: Father, God; Son, Jesus who is God Himself in human form;
and the Holy Spirit, who is Helper, Convictor, Comforter. God has many ways
of communicating with people. In the beginning, He spoke directly to the
people. Then He spoke through His prophets. God then came to earth as a
human (Jesus) and now He still speaks through the Holy Spirit.
The first name of God as found on the original book scrolls in caves was
JHWH, pronounced “Ya-weh.” Sometimes just “Ya” was written in the scrolls.
The name Jesus comes from the Greek word Iesous, which comes from the
Hebrew word JHWH U’SHUA, spoken as “Ya-shua.” Yashua means: “Ya saves.”
The HWH of the Hebrew word JHWH means “I Am.” You can see this in God’s
words: “I Was, I Am and I Am to come.” So one could say “Ya is forever!”
We can learn so much about God through Jesus’ life. He is the key, or the way
to God. He said in John 10:30: “I and the Father are one.” It is only through
Christ that we can come to the Father. In John 14:6, He says: “I am the way,
the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Without Him, we cannot experience the joy of God. I wrote this song because
you and I can find peace and rest in our lives through the Word.
The great thing about the Bible is that it is a reliable account in which the
goodness of God is the main focal point. It doesn’t tell all of God’s plans for
the world right away. There are mysteries and secrets. You will discover that
God’s Word has many layers. Besides rules for how to live your life, laws and
wisdoms, proverbs and poems, the Bible also contains God’s big plan for the
world. That’s why you can never stop studying God’s Word.
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my story
Believing begins by hearing the words of God. I heard them all the time as a
child. My parents always said: “You have to decide whether or not you want
to believe in God. It’s up to you to search it out.” I have always admired that. I
am a free person. I can make my own choices, and I choose to read the
accounts from witnesses who have had encounters with God and those who
met Jesus. This reading changed my life.
the clip
Shane’s Castle is in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In earlier days, there was a
lot of fighting between the knights. Later, the fighting was between the
Protestants and the Catholics. This castle was built from the ruins of another
castle. It was really special to have filmed in this place because there was so
much history there.
Even with all the cannons and the thick walls, you can see that forts and castles built by man are shakable. At some point, everything will be destroyed.
This is why God says in His Word that we need to take shelter in Him. He is a
strong tower and a hiding place. If you learn to hold on to God, you will never
be lost or forgotten.
All the secrets are in the Bible, the Word of God. Are you ready to uncover all
the secrets?
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get to work
I would like to give you some ideas about how to grow in God’s Word.
Everything in the Bible is written for us, but not everything is written to us.
There are many things that were written specifically for the Jews—for example, how the laws of God were to be upheld in the Old Testament.
The Bible clearly speaks about three groups of people:
A. Jews (the chosen people of God)
B. Christians (converted Pagans)
C. Pagans (also called nations)
You need to read scripture that talks about these different groups in order to
understand them better. 2 Peter 1:20-21 says: “Above all, you must understand
that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from
God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
And 2 Timothy 3:16 says: “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of
God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
discussion
• Can you explain what the Bible means to you?
• Is it important that you believe everything in the Bible from beginning to end?
• What do you find difficult to understand?
• Do you have a scripture that you read a lot or that has particular meaning
for you?
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prayer
How amazing, Lord, that You reveal so much of Yourself in Your Word.
I sometimes find it hard to understand all the words, but I really want to learn
more. Will You help me to read, understand what I read, and apply it to my
life. Thank You for Your Word that came to the world and lives still today.
Thank You for Your Son, Jesus Christ. In His name I pray. Amen.
extras
The Bible is divided into two categories: the Old Testament and the New
Testament. The Old Testament talks about how God created the world, and
about the fall of man and the promise of a Savior who will take away the
curse of sin. The New Testament tells the story of this Savior, the Son of God,
who came to this earth as a human. He was born out of a nation of people
that were set apart by God. The history of these people and the family bloodline of Jesus’ mother are recorded in the Bible. The Savior will one day rescue
these people from their enemies and set up a new kingdom. This kingdom
where Jesus will be King is not accepted by the Jews. He was actually crucified by His own people. You can read about it in the gospels, the first books of
the New Testament.
In the letters from the apostles (mainly those from Paul), they talk about a
new plan that is being made. Paul tells that salvation is not only for the Jews,
but through Christ, every person in the whole world can be forgiven of their
sins and can receive eternal life.
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Revelation is the last book in the Bible. Actually it is written for a time that is
still yet to come after the body of Christ (which is everyone who believes in
Jesus) is taken away to be with God. Then God will settle all accounts with
the devil and create a new Heaven and a new earth. The Bible doesn’t really
say what happens after that, but we will be with God forever. There is a lot in
store for us!
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When I’m going down to sleep
At the end of day
Jesus would you listen to
The things I have to say
I know you are watching me
When I take a rest
But before I close my eyes
I have one request
Send an angel
Send an angel
to watch me through the night
Send an angel
Send an angel
Beautiful and bright
Till the morning light
send an angel
Lying in my bed alone
Darkness all around
Jesus can You let me know
That I am safe and sound
And maybe it’s a good idea
If somehow You could send
A helper to stay close to me
A very special friend
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theme
There was a time several years ago when I barely escaped a situation that
could have cost me my life. Did I have a guardian angel watching out for me?
We were smuggling Bibles in our suitcases to take into Malaysia. The
smuggling and distribution of Christian materials was strongly forbidden.
At the border, our group was pulled aside for inspection. We were very
nervous and scared. We had to stand in line and wait to be called. When
we were almost at the front of the line, a policeman yelled out, “Hey you, you
can go!” We stepped out of the line and walked across the border with our
suitcases! Was this the work of an angel?
These days, the mystery behind the existence of angels is a hot topic! The
media is all over the stories of our invisible friends. At Christmas an angel is a
decoration for the top of your tree. There is almost always something about
angels in newspapers and on TV. There are stories about people who have
spoken to angels. Some even claim to have seen one. Others believe that they
will become an angel when they die.
There are scriptures in the Bible that specifically talk about angels that help
protect us. There are also angels that guide us. It’s not clear whether everyone has their own guardian angel, but it is clear that God does everything within His power to help us reach the goals He has set for us.
The Bible doesn’t give us very much detailed information about the creatures
we call angels, but let’s take a look together to see if there’s more to learn
about God’s helpers (as my son calls them). Hollywood has its own image of
angels. It is ultimately up to you and me to find out if what they say agrees
with what the Bible says.
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God is the Creator who created another world long before He created our
world, a sort of kingdom filled with Heavenly beings. It tells us in Genesis 1
that these spiritual beings were around long before the earth was made. The
Bible explains about this place where God and His angels live. It was perfect
until something horrible happened. Before we talk about good angels, let’s
look at the bad, or fallen, angels.
Satan was originally created as one of the highest angels. The Word speaks
about him in Isaiah 14:12. His name used to be The Morning Star, or Lucifer. In
different places in the Bible, we learn that some of the Heavenly beings made
a very bad choice. In other words, they sinned.
We can read in Ezekiel that Lucifer was the angel of light who acted as a
leader, but at some point his heart became full of pride. He wanted to be
higher than God (Isaiah 14:13-14 and Ezekiel 28:15). Ezekiel 28:12-19 refers to him
as the king of Tyre, and this is written about him: “Son of man, take up a
lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign
Lord says: “’You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in
beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned
you: ruby, topaz, and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise
and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you
were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for
so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the
fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of
God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your
heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle
of you before kings. By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you,
and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were wat-
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ching. All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a
horrible end and will be no more.” He and his demons (the angels that also sinned against God and were cast down along with Satan) began to destroy what
God had so carefully designed. Everywhere these ex-angels go, they bring darkness and destruction. So now this former “morning star” has become the greatest enemy of God. His goal is to destroy everything God ever made. This
earth is the “playground” for him and his followers. We live on this earth too
and thus are also a part of the spiritual world that exists here.
It says in Genesis that the world was created long before people ever existed.
So when God recreated the Heavens and the earth, evil already existed and
had entrance to it. This is why evil was able to take the form of a snake and
enter the Garden of Eden and cause Adam and Eve to eat of the fruit that God
had forbidden them to eat.
The future of the fallen angel, satan, and his followers is told in Revelation
20:1-3 and 10: “And I saw an angel coming down out of Heaven, having the
key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon,
that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand
years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep
him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were
ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. And the devil, who
deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast
and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and
night for ever and ever.”
There’s not a whole lot written about angels and their power, but according to
Paul in his letters to the Ephesians, we do not fight against people but against
“forces, rulers and power-holders of the darkness; against the evil spirits in
the Heavenlies.” The battles that people fight against each other and against
God are not human battles. They are spiritual battles. Thank goodness, Paul
tells us which weapons we should carry in order to fight these battles.
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There is a physical (visible, tastable) world and a spiritual (invisible) world.
Angels are spiritual beings, but they can take physical, visible forms. It is not
completely clear what exact form and condition an angel takes, but if they
appear before people, it can be as fearful as it is miraculous (see an example
in Daniel 10). There are different types of angels mentioned in the Bible.
The first type is the Cherubim angels: these angels worship and praise God
all the time. They were also the angels that God used to protect the Garden
of Eden (Genesis 3:24). Another type is Seraphim angels: they are mentioned
in Isaiah 6. God’s army of angels is incredibly huge. The prophet Elisha saw a
bit of that powerful army of Heavenly beings that belongs to God. He prayed
“Oh Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s
eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all
around Elisha (2 Kings 6:17). The Hebrew writer spoke about thousands of
angels in Hebrews 12:22. John also talks in Revelation 5:11 about large numbers
of angels around the throne.
So what does such a large army of angels do? When Jesus was confronted by
satan, satan knew that if Jesus were to jump off that mountain there would
be an army of angels there ready to catch Him, to protect Him. We also read
that angels protected Jesus when the people wanted to stone Him to death.
In Matthew 18:10, Jesus talks about angels that watch over us (in this instance,
He was referring to little children). In Hebrews 1:14, the question is asked: “Are
not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” Angels also come to earth. In a certain way, they watch over us. We
don’t exactly know how, though. They bring accounts before God about what
and how things are going on this earth. It’s also not clear if they protect us
from harm. They are messengers from God and sometimes have names. The
Angel Gabriel appeared before Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Zechariah, the
father of John the Baptist. Abraham, Lot, Moses, Gideon, Elijah, and Joseph are
all people who received a message from God through one of His angels.
If you want to learn more about angels, you can find additional scriptures at
the end of this chapter to help you understand them better.
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my story
I think I’m a pretty -get-to-the-facts- kind of guy. I have both feet on the
ground, but sometimes I can be very analytical. I like to see things in front
of me so I know the reality of the situation. But there are some things I have
to believe in without seeing. I believe what the Bible tells me, so I have to
believe that angels exist both in Heaven (to worship God) and on earth (to
help and watch over us).
It is a natural part of our lives for my wife, Kim, and myself to pray with our
children every day. We pray at the table but also every evening at bedtime.
Our daughter Kayleigh is old enough to do that herself without our guidance,
but Caleb, who is nine, still wants both of us to be there so we can pray
together. Juliën is our toddler, and he also folds his hands at the table and
says “Amen!”
I pray that God will protect all of our children. It doesn’t really matter to me
how God does this. It would be nice if He sends an angel! I’ve never seen one
myself, but then again I’m human and can’t see the spiritual world with my
naked eyes. But one day we will be with God in Heaven and be completely
surprised at what we see!
the clip
The clip was filmed on the island of Curacao (Netherlands Antilles) and in
Uganda, Africa. Have you ever tried to pretend you were sleeping? It’s not so
easy to do because your eyelids twitch. If you are really asleep, you are completely relaxed. Amazing how wonderfully we are put together, huh! When
you are sleeping, your brain has no concept of time. Time goes by and you
have no recollection of it.
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get to work
When Jesus suffered and died, He bore the sins of all the people. He died and
then fought with death. After three days, He arose from the dead. Jesus was
stronger than death. He fought with the fallen angels and with satan and He
won! He did that for you. Have you thanked Him for that? Have you even
accepted this gift from Him?
discussion
• Do you remember when you were afraid of the dark? What did you do?
• Was there ever a time when you were sure a guardian angel
was protecting you?
• What about a time when the fallen angel, satan, tried to keep
you from God?
• How can you protect yourself from that ever happening?
prayer
Thank You, Lord, that You always take care of me. I don’t fully understand how
You do that, but I want to put my whole life in Your protective arms. Whether
You use an angel to take care of me or whether You do it in another way, I
trust You completely. Thank You that You are stronger than the power of evil.
I will call upon Your strength when things get too tough for me. Thank You
that You always listen, even when my eyes are closed. Amen.
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extras
I found a few Bible stories about angels for you to read.
Isaiah 14:12-17
How you have fallen from Heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You
have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations. You
said in your heart, “I will ascend to Heaven; I will raise my throne above the
stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost
heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I
will make myself like the Most High.” But those who see you stare at you,
they ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made the
kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a desert, who overthrew
its cities and would not let his captives go home?”
Luke 10:18
He replied, “I saw satan fall like lightning from Heaven.
2 Peter 2:4
For God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, put
ting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment.
Colossians 1:5-16, Genesis 18:1-19, Job 5:13-14, Mark 16:5
Job 38:4-7 God asks Job:
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a
measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its
cornerstone - while the morning stars sang together and all the angels
shouted for joy?”
Revelation 5:6-14, Zechariah 4:10, Chronicles 16:9
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We want to thank all the children that participated to make this project
a success! You are too numerous to mention by name but are not forgotten!
We would further like to thank:
- Bureau of Tourism, Curacao
- Bureau of Tourism, Israel
- Bounty Adventures, Curacao
- Dolphins Academy/Sea Aquarium, Curacao
- Lilliane Funds, the Netherlands
- Cheshire Home, Uganda, Africa
- Fleur van Helden, producer, Curacao
- Henk Pool, sound technician, Curacao
- Heather Henry, assistant for Ireland filming
- Mirjam de Vries, assistant for Curacao filming
- Bjorn Hart, deaf presentation
- Delina Bijlenga, deaf presentation
- Merlin Dik, coach for the deaf presentation
- Eva Rivera-Halla, Spanish translations for subtitles on American DVD version
- Winnie Prins, Spanish translations for subtitles on European DVD version
- Jeannine Freudenberger, editor-English version
- Lyke Florentinus, French translations for subtitles on DVD
- Diederick van der Eems, cameraman
- Daan Zuijderduijn, creative design and printing
- Tim Neeves, editor for DVD clip “Close to Me” and European director for
Compassion International
- Paul van Laar, manager and advisor
- Beppy de Rooy, book editor, Dutch version
- Jan Willem Vink, director, Compassion International, Netherlands
- Willem van der Neut, project supporter and dear friend
- Walter Whitman, director of children’s choir for back-up vocals,
Chicago, Illinois
- Suzanne van der Velde (Fields), back-up vocals, the Netherlands
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And a very special thanks to our “Rachelly” Vermeulen, for her commitment
and countless hours of singing in the studio and filming (in rain and extreme
heat) without ever complaining! We couldn’t have done this without you!
Don’t forget Benny when you’re famous’n all!! :)
Drukwerk: Zuijderduijn Denkers + Drukkers , www.zuijderduijn.nl
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