The Old Testament is filled with God’s miracle-working power from the parting of the Red Sea, to God speaking to Moses from the burning bush, to Elijah calling down fire from heaven. All these were instantaneous miracles. The people involved could see and feel them happening. They are the kinds of miracles we want to see today, causing awe and wonder. We want God to rend the heavens, come down to our situation and fix things in a burst of heavenly power.

Jesus prayed for his disciples, “That that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I in you; that they also may be one in us… And the glory which you gave me I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one: I in them, and you in me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them as you have loved me” (John 17:21-23, NKJV).

Forgiveness is a way of life, meant to bring us into every blessing in Christ. “I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven…” (Matthew 5:44-45, NKJV).

In ancient Israel, the ark of the covenant represented the mercy of the Lord, a powerful truth that came to be embodied in Christ. We are to receive his mercy, trust in the saving blood of his mercy, and be saved eternally. You can ridicule the law. You can mock holiness. You can tear down everything that speaks of God. When you mock or ridicule God’s mercy, however, judgment comes and swiftly. If you trample on his blood of mercy, you face his awful wrath.

One of the greatest burdens I have as a shepherd of the Lord is “Oh, God, how do I bring hope and comfort to believers who are enduring such great pain and suffering? Give me a message that will cancel their doubt and fear. Give me truth that will dry up the tears of the grieving and put a song on the lips of the hopeless.”

The message I hear from the Holy Spirit for God’s people is very simple. “Go to my Word, and stand on my promises. Reject your doubtful feelings.” All hope is born out of God’s promises.

Caleb, whose name means “forcible, fortitude,” was the type of Christian who goes all the way. He was inseparable from Joshua who represented a believer who continually walks with the Lord.

Those who choose to live in the middle ground share certain characteristics. I see those characteristics shown in the two and a half tribes of Israel that chose to stay west of the Jordan. They were Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh. Those tribes’ Hebrew names exposed their sin struggles.

Here’s an incredible promise to God’s people: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3, NKJV).

Paul was saying, “All who follow Jesus are blessed with spiritual blessings in heavenly places, where Christ is.” This promise becomes mere words if we don’t know what these spiritual blessings are. How can we enjoy the blessings that God promises us if we don’t comprehend them?

King David knew that there had to be more to knowing God; he sensed there was something of the Lord he hadn’t obtained, and he would not rest until he found it. “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord” (Psalm 27:4, NKJV).