It’s great to have a friend like you
While traveling on life’s road,
For when I’m weak and weary
You help me bear my load.
It’s great to have a friend like you
While I journey through the years,
To share my joys and sorrows with,
My gladness and my tears.
It’s great to have a friend like you
While I walk the narrow way,
Who will in love reprove me
If I should go astray.
It’s great to have a friend like you
While I struggle hard with sin.
Together we battle temptations
And strengthen our friendship again.
It’s great to have a friend like you,
You make me more assured,
For when I doubt and might ask, “Why?”
You point me to God’s Word.
It’s great to have a friend like you,
I know you’re always there.
I thank you now for all you do
Our friendship is so rare.
It’s great to have a friend like you,
For such is hard to find.
For friendships rooted in the Lord
Are of the rarest kind.
It’s great to have a friend like you,
The world sees it too,
They see the light of Jesus Christ
Come shining through in you.
It’s great to have a friend like you,
As I journey to life’s end.
I only pray that as I go,
I, too, am such a friend.
As teenagers and young adults
We should be “choosy” who we date
For it’s through the dating process
We receive our lifetime mate.
We should not date just anyone
But be selective in our search
So the partner that we choose for life
Is a member of the church.
Our wedding days are joyous days,
Ones we look forward toward.
But we also have the calling
To marry in the Lord.
For marriage is a life-time bond,
It joins two one for life.
Let’s remember that when choosing
One’s own husband or wife.
The husband heads and rules the home,
Provides for all their needs;
The wife submits and shows her love
With many loving deeds.
And if, God’s will, their home is blessed
With the sounds of little feet,
This couple’s love is richly blessed
With a joy that is so sweet..…
For words cannot begin to tell
The joy of man and wife
When God sees fit to bless their love
With the precious gift of life.
But now their role increases
They have children now to raise.
They must raise them in the fear of God,
Teach them to sing His praise.
If they’re faithfud in their calling
As they raise these precious youth,
They’ll have the joy to know and see
Their children walk in truth.
And through their years together
The love vowed long ago
Does not diminish with the days
But with each day it grows.
For a marriage in the Lord, my friend,
Does not soon fade away
But being one in love and faith
It grows stronger still each day.
They will at times in sadness weep
And experience some pain.
But if their trust in God they keep
They will find joy again.
Perhaps their children’s children
Will greet them in this life.
They are grandparents! what great joy
For the Christian man and wife.
To see their children’s children
Gives them joy in sunset years
For they know the day is coming
When they’ll leave this vale of tears.
And when that day does come
And the death of one takes place
There’s joy amidst their sorrow
For there’s comfort in God’s grace.
Though all earthly ties are severed
And they’ve lost their life’s helpmeet,
They know the day is coming
When they’ll meet at Jesus’ feet.
The surviving one has memories
Of the years they lived as one
And the knowledge that the fight of faith
Their loved one now has won.
What joy the marriage bond does hold
For the Christian man and wife,
A bond they base on love for God
Which joins the one for life.
So as teenagers and young adults
As we look and start dating
We must seek a Christian helpmeet,
That in marriage we may sing:
“May the grace of Christ our Saviour,
And the Father’s boundless love,
With the Holy Spirit’s favour
Rest on upon us from above.
Thus may we abide in union
With each other and the Lord,
And possess in sweet communion
Joys which earth cannot afford.”
So many and great are the works of our God
That through all of nature His grace shines abroad.
He formed out of nothing the land and the sea
Revealing Himself both to you and to me.
Revealing Himself in each little thing….
The flowers that bloom, the birds that sing,
The fish of the sea, the fruit bearing trees,
A gentle spring shower or soft blowing breeze.
The sun in the heavens—our great source of light,
The moon and the stars that rule the night
Are God’s great creation to us in the skies
We hold from the earth with wondering eyes.
There’s grass for the cattle: for man, herbs and grain
For the earth is enriched with His showers of rain.
The hills and the vales that cover our land
Show forth in great splendor the work of God’s hand.
The trees branching out so grand and so fair
Are sheltering homes to the birds of the air.
The fish and the mammals He also doth keep
Some finding their homes in the waters of deep.
The unnumbered sand grains on each seashore,
The billowing waves, or the ocean’s great roar,
The wild beasts, free to roam over our land
Were all the creation of God’s mighty hand.
In all things created—both great things and small
We see it was God who created them all,
And know that there’s none who with God can compare
For the life of each creature the Lord makes His care.
So is God’s great creation a wonder to us?
Or do we take it for granted seeing no need to fuss?
Do we not see the power of the great mighty God,
For in viewing creation, are we not simply awed?
Do we not see the truth that our God is great?
For who but our God could have power to create?
We read in His Word of all things He has done,
No other could do it—He’s the Almighty One.
The Scriptures reveal to us creation’s story
But we, here below, see creation’s great glory.
We see how all nature—we see EVERYTHING
Proclaims the great glory due to our King. ❖
In recalling conventions that I have attended,
I can understand why they are so recommended.
The mem’ries I have of those in the past
Will always be with me — those memories last.
We gathered together in all different places
Renewing old friendships and seeing new faces,
Some coming from here and some coming from there
All coming to grow in the truth that we share.
We had many good times for fun and for pleasure
Yes, many the memories I always will treasure.
But also we grew in our love of the Lord
Through the speeches we heard and discussing His Word.
This convention is really no different than most
Except maybe the mountains, which in part are your hosts;
They’ll surround you each morning at the YMCA
They’re a beautiful sight to wake up to each day.
The theme or the topic for this year’s convention
Has already been drawn to all your attention;
“Lessons From the Life of David” you’ll find
Is the topic we chose with young people in mind.
Each speech spoken at this year’s convention
Draws an aspect of David’s life to attention;
Each speech gives a lesson, I think you’ll agree,
That can easily apply both to you and to me.
David, an elect and God-fearing man,
Grievously sinned as both you and I can.
He called on his Father to forgive and to save
And God in His mercy this son David forgave.
We are, too, at times tempted again and again
And it’s easy to yield to temptation and sin.
But God as our Father is with us each day
To guard and to guide us unless we should stray.
Thanks be to God for His protecting care,
Thanks be to God for the truth that we share,
And thanks be to God for conventions, too.
To Him give all glory; for to Him it is due.
The following was written after rereading an article written by my mother, which I happened to come across shortly after her death. In reading the article I realized that many tears were shed by my parents on my behalf along with the tears that were shed by other parents for their children. In rereading the article, I see that now I as a parent will also have times when I express both grief and gladness by way of tears. I would like to share with the young people the thoughts of my mother’s article by way of a poem, both being entitled. . . .
“TEARS”
Because of the things you secretly do
And of the friends you choose to keep,
Tears upon our pillows fall,
Long and silently we weep.
You do things that “everyone else does,’’
And so you ask us, “Why the fuss?’’
Once again the tears appear
And heavy hearts within us.
When we cannot help but wonder
If we’ve somehow failed our calling
To raise our children in God’s way,
We can’t stop our tears from falling.
For you’re the children of the church
Yes, you’re the church of tomorrow
And when you act in such a way
Our hearts are filled with sorrow.
What would become of the church we love
If you continue the world’s way?
We shudder to think it, Young People,
And amidst our tears we pray.
Tears of anxiety, tears, and grief
Yes, many the tears of sadness.
But there are many other tears
We shed because of gladness.
A little one practicing songs
And possibly quite off key
Exclaims how he loves singing praises;
How happy he’s made us be.
The love of God is clearly seen
Within this young one’s heart.
Our hearts are filled with joy and praise
But once again the tears do start.
Or on an occasion when you, Young People,
Make confession the whole church hears;
‘Tis a joy for the whole congregation
And we cannot hold back our tears.
And after your public confession
There will be less sorrowful tears.
Not because you will sin no longer
But you’ll strive harder to live in God’s fear.
Don’t think that your life will be easy,
And whatever the world may do,
Hold fast to your words of confession
And Jehovah will see you through.
Call on none other than God, your Father,
For He is the Almighty One.
We pray that He safely will guide you
And strengthen you your course to run.
If you continue to fear Jehovah,
When your life on this earth is done
Your battle with sin will be over
And the vic’try you’ll have won.
Yes, tears of anxiety, fears, and joy
Yes, many the fallen tears;
Now they’re shed for you but soon shall be
Shed by you in future years.
The Christian is placed in many different circumstances while on this earth. Some are characterized by hardships and trials, and others are full of joy and peace. How should the Christian respond? Throughout the Bible there are numerous times where God’s people sang in response to their various circumstances. Singing in response to God’s ordering […]
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As we examined the first eleven chapters of Genesis last month, we took note of the fact that the book of Genesis is theological, meaning it helps us to grow in our knowledge of God. In addition, we noted that the book of Genesis is historical, meaning that the events chronicled in it are the […]
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Who am I? What is my purpose on this earth? Why is everything the way that it is? These are the kinds of questions that often trouble young people as they become more independent from their parents, enter the world of college or career, and make major life decisions such as choosing a spouse, a […]
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The book of Proverbs was written by King Solomon to his young adult son. Solomon’s purpose in writing Proverbs was “that the generation to come might know them [God’s wonderful works]…that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments” (Ps. 78:6–7). Throughout the book, Solomon […]
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The group of churches that John writes to in this trio of epistles had recently experienced a split because of doctrinal controversy. We do not know the exact content of the error that these false teachers were spreading, but it is apparent from John’s writing that their teaching somehow denied the truth of the incarnation—that […]
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This article was originally presented as a speech at a Protestant Reformed mini convention held at Quaker Haven Camp in August 2021. Jael lived during the era of the judges. Deborah the prophetess was the judge who served Israel at the time of Jael. During this time, the Canaanites under the rule of king Jabin […]
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Although it’s been a couple of months since we’ve been immersed in news coming from Japan about the 2020/2021 Olympic games, it’s still worth considering how these events are understood in the modern worldview of our country. The “Top Story of the Day” on Monday, August 9 (at least according to my newsfeed), was how […]
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One of this year’s “mini conventions” was hosted by Grace and Grandville Protestant Reformed Churches at Quaker Haven Camp. Located just over two hours away in northern Indiana, the camp was a perfect fit for the 120 kids and 15 chaperones who attended. A total of twelve different churches were represented: Byron Center, Faith, First […]
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At the point that this edition of Beacon Lights arrives in the homes of our subscribers, most young people in the Protestant Reformed Churches will have been sitting under the catechism instruction of their pastor or elders for more than a month. If our readers are honest, that observation probably comes with a (quiet) sigh […]
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The 2021 Tennessee young people’s retreat was held August 9 to 13 by Providence, Hudsonville, Unity, and First (Holland) Protestant Reformed Churches. The retreat took place at Eagle Rock Retreat Center in the city of Tallassee. It was about an eleven-hour drive, give or take a bit due to stops for food and restrooms. Though […]
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