"The Manifested One"

"And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water." (John 1:31 KJV)

  ""Comfort, comfort my people," says your God. "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the LORD has punished her twice over for all her sins." Listen! It's the voice of someone shouting, "Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all the people will see it together. The LORD has spoken."" (Isaiah 40:1-5 NLT)

  Can you see what I see? is more than a question about what we see with our eyes; it is about what we see with our hearts! All of these ways that seem to block us from seeing the manifestation of God, each and every one of them, there is something that limits or distorts the vision with the eyes, but it is the heart that needs to see, and is made able to see, when He is manifested! Like the partial opening in a wall, where the light shines in: There it is! Comfort is realized; peace is finally felt! 

  Matthew Henry indicates this, as he says, "God reveals himself to his people be degrees." It is much like the way anyone might learn any sort of craft: there is an introduction and a desire to start; the learning of and practice of the mechanics; and then a heart bonded to what it is that is done. It becomes easier and less about how you do something, but more about skill and how well it gets done. My mom would anyways say, "Practice makes perfect,'" which counts for most anything in life. 

  Before I got saved, I practiced reading the Bible, if you don't mind that I call it that. I began reading it when I woke up, all idle times of the day, and then as I was preparing to go to sleep. If you could call it anything, you could say that I was searching for peace and understanding; at least that is what I felt I was trying to find. But in the process of doing what I did, God allowed me to have brief glimpses of His glory; some were involving creation, some were odd encounters or visitations by His Spirit; some were just from questions that were manifested in my mind.

  But, when that day came, it was like a portal had been opened; something of a strange comfort came upon my heart, almost as through it was something I did not want to get free from. If I had to explain it, if this makes any sense, it was a comfort that I knew I needed to know why that I felt it, because I did not understand it, nor could I see it: it just had to be discovered and looked into, right then, like right at that moment! 

  If you will, this is the same for individual experiences as it is for everything else, including the nation of Israel. It would also apply to John the Baptist, as he felt the need and the call; understood the word he was given concerning Him, and believed; then, Him in which he believed, was revealed! Matthew Henry sums this up saying, "They who, upon God's word, believe what they do not see, shall shortly see what they now believe." 

  In light of what this is speaking of, I am concerned for those of the church that might not believe in the Bible being the words of God; as some might put it, that it is written by men that were inspired by God. There are many things that take place in this world we could say are inspired by God, whether that is regarding people or practices; most of which, if not all, come and go, live and die, and become revealed and then fade away. But God's Word never changes, is always proven right, and is alive! 

  Live like today is your last day...

"So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don't need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don't need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding." (Hebrews 6:1-3 NLT)