For many years, I have written songs based on scripture. A few years ago I read in Revelation 15:3, that “they sang the song of Moses and the Lamb”. It is a wonderful verse, and we will all sing it some day when we all reach Heaven. Here is my attempt at making a song using those verses.
nielsprip.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/song-of-moses-and-the-lamb.mp3
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I have felt the presence of the Lord in my life. I see it as a kind of foretaste of what heaven will be like. It may come as an overwhelming peace, overwhelming joy or an overwhelming reverence, but you do feel it. Maybe some of you have felt His presence, and maybe some of you never have. Some may question whether such an experience is real or imagined. Yet we do find verses in the Bible supporting such experiences. We see in Acts 3:19 that when we repent and turn to God, that He will “send times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord”. Also, Psalm 16:11 tells us “in your presence there is fullness of joy”. That is something tangible. Jesus also said that “whenever two or more of you are gathered in My name, there I am in your midst”. Matt 18:20
If we were to see His glory, that would be another level all together. There are many places in the Bible where people experienced or saw the “Glory of God”. Most of those times people fell on their faces in fear and trembling. There are some places where something else happened.
One such place is when Stephen was stoned. We read that in Acts 7. Verse 55 tells us, “Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit and the heavens opened and he saw the Glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God”. When Stephen told the Jews this, that is what caused them to stone him. This is where something other worldly happened, he cried out to the Lord, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Verse 60). We also see that when Jesus was crucified in Luke 23:34, He says “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”. What manner of God do we serve? It is almost too unbelievable to imagine that these words were spoken. It would do us well to meditate on the nature and character of the God we serve. Even in the time of death for Jesus and Stephen, they were offering forgiveness to the Jews by asking God to not hold it against them, if they would only accept it. Maybe some did.
Now we come to the Lord’s Prayer, “forgive us our sins as we forgive the sins of others”. It is instruction for us, that we might become more like Jesus and Stephen. We need to get a glimpse of God’s Glory that we might forgive those who have sinned against us. If we can get a glimpse of heaven, we will be forever changed. We will see our own sins and God’s love and forgiveness, and because of that, we can forgive others. Some have been severely abused and betrayed, but not nearly as much as Jesus Himself. Yet He asked the Father to “forgive them for they know not what they do”. It is a difficult thing! Can we also forgive people for their sins against us? Yes, we can, we can be like Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit and forgive those who have sinned against us. If we can get a glimpse of His Glory and a glimpse of Heaven.
In the book Azuza Street by Frank Bartleman, he talks about getting a glimpse of Heaven. “Could we but catch one strain of heaven’s pure melody, it would spoil us for earthly sounds forever. Could we but catch one glimpse of departed loved ones through the gates ajar, earth would no longer hold us here. We must see things from heaven’s side. Earth’s sounds and spirits are so crude and cruel. Heaven is all love, joy and peace and rest! Thank God!”
May we press in to God and ask Him to teach us His ways, for His ways are so much higher than ours.
Isaiah 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts”.
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Early this morning around 4:30 am, my wife and I went outside and sat and stared at the “super-moon”. It was chilly outside and the wind was blowing through the southern pines. It was very still and quiet, it was bright and beautiful. When I see God’s creation, I am always amazed and I can not help but praise Him.
I am reminded of Psalm 19:1-4 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world”.
There is a speech, a communication that pours forth without words when we view the majesty of God’s creation. Are we listening? Do we hear it? That silent voice “goes throughout the whole earth”. It crosses all speech barriers and proclaims God’s “handiwork”. Everyone can see it and “hear”, if they are listening. It is not a listening with the ear, it is a listening with the heart. All of creation is meant to speak to us yet without words, it is God’s gift to the world. Through it, He makes Himself known to all who will turn and listen.
Romans 1:20 tells us “For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” His creation was always meant to show us His “invisible attributes” and “His nature”.
As the New Year comes back to full swing, may we all take more time to slow down in our busy culture and have a listening heart. May we take time to see the Glory of God, and hear that voiceless speech as it pours forth from day to day, and night to night.
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Of all the books in the world, the one most quoted, most misunderstood and most misapplied is the Bible….
Adlai Stevenson, former governor of Illinois, when going through the throes of deciding whether or not he should let his name stand for nomination for the presidency, reportedly had a deep indisposition for the office. He was quoted as having repeated the words of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Now it is remotely possible that a true saint of God, in a moment of awful and heart-searching prayer, might in hushed reverence quote these words of the Savior and apply them to his or her own case. But their use at a political convention came as a dash of cold water in the face of some who heard. In the midst of endless billows of hoarse shouting, grandiose and unsupported claims of achievements, bitter and abusive denunciating of others who did not agree with them, senseless and moronic acts of childish demonstrating, “snake dancing” and horn blowing, obsequious flattering and downright lying, it is hard to see how the spirit of our Lord’s solemn and tender words could have a place. All political conventions are alike, regardless of party, and should Christ appear at one of them and demand that His Lordship be acknowledged and His commandments be obeyed, He would be forthright shouted down and led from the room by the sergeant at arms. Yet His words are quoted as if they had a place there—surely a painful misapplication of Scripture. – A W Tozer
This World: Playground or Battleground?, 43, 44, 45.—Tozer Topical Reader
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My version of the “Our Father” that I wrote a couple of years ago, I hope it blesses you.
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The greatest acts of worship in the Bible were not accompanied with music.
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By A W Tozer
Not much is known about the wise men who came out of the East in search of the newborn King of the Jews, but everything that is known is good. They were “wise men” indeed and checked well on every count.
As far as we know, these men did not have the advantage of a written revelation as did the Jews. They only felt after God in hope that they might find Him, and by His infinite goodness they did find Him. By the dim light of nature, aided perhaps by a tradition borrowed from the Jews, they learned that a Redeemer-King was to come out of Israel and their hearts conceived a great longing to worship Him and to lay some gift at His feet.
Imperfect and sketchy as their faith must have been, God honored it and whispered to them the wondrous news of the approaching Advent. That they were not mere ivory-tower religious dreamers is proved by the fact that they immediately set out to make the long journey, determined to follow the star till it led them to the Savior. Theirs is a good example, and their story a noble and heartening one to meditate upon in this day of universal religious lethargy.
So rich is this story, so replete with lofty and elevating details, that it has been read and told for 20 centuries without exhausting its treasures or dulling the shining luster that surrounds it. Each hearer finds in it something new and fresh each time it is told. But to me at this approaching Christmas season the story of the wise men says two things and says them loudly.
One is that a longing soul with scanty theological knowledge is in a better position to meet God than a self-satisfied soul, however deeply instructed in the Scriptures.
The wise men were Gentiles, “being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” Yet they saw the star and left all to make the long, dangerous journey to lay worthy gifts at the feet of Jesus. They acted on small knowledge and found the Messiah. That is to their everlasting credit.
On the other hand there were in those days chief priests, high priests, scribes, lawyers, rulers of the synagogues—all keen-eyed students of the Scriptures and experts in the Law and the Prophets; yet as far as we know not one of them had any spiritual awareness that the great day of Israel’s visitation had come. They could tell the wise men instantly what the prophets had written about the birthplace of the King, but their knowledge was formal merely. They themselves were blind to its real meaning. Gentiles had to come and rouse them from their strange stupor, if indeed they were ever aroused, for there is little evidence to show that they understood the wise men or knew what all the excitement was about.
The second message the story brings is that the wise men came to Jesus not to gain something from Him but to give something to Him.
This circumstance is so unusual as to be almost incredible. We must shake our heads to dispel the clouds from our minds and wait a moment to let our thoughts clear before we can grasp such an idea. It is all so contrary to everything we have been hearing all our lives. Imagine coming to Christ with any other motive than to gain something from Him!
This one act stands almost alone in the life of our Lord. Almost, I say, but not quite, for Mary later broke the alabaster box and poured the precious ointment on His head, and after His crucifixion the two Marys came to look for Him; asking nothing, expecting nothing, but impelled by a selfless love they came to bear His body away. Beyond this there is little evidence of anything as pure and lofty as the worship offered by the wise men. Possibly there was more than we know, and charity would dictate that we at least hope that there was.
One thing that makes the act of unselfish worship appear so beautiful is that it is so rare. Apparently the people of Jesus’ day thought of Him as a source of help merely, and it is the “merely” that makes the whole thing questionable. A source of help He was indeed, a fountain in the desert, a star to guide the mariner, bread for the hungry, health for the afflicted and everything that fallen and sinful man can need. Yes, He is our helper, but not our helper merely. He is our Lord and our God as well, and infinitely worthy of our ardent, poured-out love and devotion altogether apart from anything He may do for us.
While Christ walked on earth many came to Him, and the motives that brought them were almost as many as they who came. They sought to make Him a king for political gain; they sought preferment for personal ends, as the brothers James and John. They came for healing, for deliverance, for help for themselves, their children and their friends. Among these motives, if some were questionable, others were good and legitimate, but none was wholly free from selfishness of a sort.
Once a leper came to Jesus. In his great distress he could think of only one thing—getting rid of his repulsive sores and becoming a well man again. He came because he wanted something, and the Lord understood and gave it to him. His motive was not the highest, but it was acceptable. Later he came back with a heart full of gratitude and fell on his face to worship Jesus. The first pleased the Lord, no doubt, but the second pleased Him more—The Price of Neglect, A W Tozer chapter 39
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For many years, Peter was one of my closet friends. We challenged each other spiritually, many times over lunch. He was a year or two older than me but we shared many of the same things growing up. We were both heavily influenced by the Jesus Revolution in the early 1970’s and grew up in 1950’s America. It was always fun to discuss those days and to see the similarities since we grew up in different states. He was raised in Florida and I was raised in northern Illinois. The same Spirit influenced our lives yet we were miles apart! We were kindred spirits. Peter passed away a couple of years ago and I miss him dearly.
What was different about Peter was that as a child he contracted polio. He spent time in an “iron lung”. All the years that I knew him, he was in a lot of pain with severe back and spine issues. When I first met him he used crutches and as time went by he had to start using a wheel chair. He was still able to drive so he would pick me up for lunch and when we got to the restaurant, I would get the wheel chair out of the trunk and help him get in to it. We both cherished those lunches.
Peter told me that as a child, he always “knew God”. He did not blame God for his condition, he was “content with his weakness”. He had a wonderful ministry of helps and encouragement to others. I can still see him sitting there at the back of the church in his blue wind breaker, with people coming to him for advice and encouragement. I myself sat with him back there for some of that encouragement. It was the Apostle Paul who wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:10 “I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong”. That was Peter! A living example of being content with the hand that God had dealt him. Peter was at peace with it and was used of God in many ways. He was not mad at God, he was content.
He was always glad when people wanted to pray for him to be healed, but he told me that in his heart he always knew that God had him that way for a reason. That is a hard thing for many to understand, especially in some churches where there is so much emphasis on healing and deliverance. Peter had a deeper wisdom and understanding. He understood why, when the Apostle Paul prayed and asked for healing, that the Lord denied him of that healing three times. 2 Corinthians 12:8 “Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness, most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me”. I have never met anyone who understood this more than Peter. Peter’s depth in the Lord was formed by his suffering; many people do not understand that.
Even Jesus Himself in Hebrews 5:8 “learned obedience thru the things that He suffered” and in Hebrews 2:10 “In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author (Jesus) of their salvation perfect through suffering’. Hebrews 11:34 talks about those who “out of weakness were made strong”.
That was Peter, out of weakness he was made strong! And he shared his strength with many.
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Here is my version of Amazing Grace, written when I was volunteering at Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen in Pensacola, many years ago.
nielsprip.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/AmazingGrace.mp3
More original music at https://nielsprip.com/scripture-song-and-hymns/
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I have always wondered about the verse in Matthew 5:48, “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect”. How can I be perfect? We read in Ecclesiastes 7:20 “Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins”. That is me, I follow Jesus, but I am not perfect, I still have “little foxes” that I deal with. Yes, we are made perfect through the blood of Christ, but we are still maturing as we walk along “the way”.
This brings to mind the verse in 2 Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth”. We are at a disadvantage when we study the scriptures, since it was given to us in Greek and there are many different translations. That is not a bad thing, it just means that we have to be more diligent and “handle accurately the Word of truth”. For me it means studying the Bible, looking at different translations and try to understand Greek words. This is very helpful in understanding what the Bible says. When one looks at the Greek word for “perfect”, the eyes of our understanding will be opened a little.
The call to “be perfect” is a directive that follows Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, where He outlines the attitudes and behaviors expected of His followers. The Greek word for “perfect” is “teleios,” which implies completeness or maturity rather than flawlessness. This phrase suggests a call to spiritual maturity and moral integrity. In the context of the Sermon, it follows teachings on love, forgiveness, and righteousness, indicating that perfection involves embodying these virtues fully. The use of “therefore” connects this command to the preceding verses, which emphasize loving one’s enemies and praying for those who persecute you, suggesting that perfection(maturity) is linked to love and mercy.
So when we read that we are to be “perfect”, it means we are to be “mature” in Christ. We are told in Hebrews 5:14 “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil”. Also in Ephesians 4:-16 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love”. We are to grow to be a “mature man” in Christ.
There is much to say about being a “babe” in Christ vs being “mature” in Christ. Paul, in all of his letters addresses this problem. In 1 Corinthians 3:1 Paul says, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ”. I encourage you to study 1 Corinthians.
Let us “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”.
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