The word of His grace is able to build you up and give you an inheritance.
“I commend you to God and to the Word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” – Acts 20:32
That Kingdom inheritance of God’s grace had preserved Paul time and time again as he stood for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. The power of a Spirit-led purpose will become a promise of the Lord and salvation in the storms that are to come. And like Jesus, the time had come for Paul to leave those he “birthed”. He knew he would not see them again in this life. As a spiritual father to the disciples in Ephesus, before his departure Paul gave them a blessing and spoke to them of their Kingdom inheritance. “He reiterated its ability to edify them and to provide for their future, by the work of God’s grace.” And this inheritance is for “all those who are sanctified”, for all those called to be separated unto God, made holy.
Jesus spoke a similar blessing over the disciples in His prayer to the Father, just before His sacrifice and eventual departure: “Sanctify them by Your truth, Your word is truth.” John 17:17. We are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that we may proclaim the praises of Him who called [us] out of darkness into His marvelous light” 1 Peter 2:9. By His word of truth, we have been sanctified, set apart, for the purpose of His glory.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Colossians 3:16
NEW RESOURCES TO ENCOUNTER JESUS IN HIS WORD
To encounter the Lord in His word we have developed a Plan to go along with the release of my new book: That I May Know Him: A Bible-In-A-Year Guide to Encounters.
To order the book, click here.
To access the month-at-a-glance Bible reading schedule, click here.
To watch our new Podcast: That I May Know Him with Steve Dittmar, click here.
GOSPELS
Acts 18 – 23
Paul and Silas covered many new places and brought many new converts. In Corinth, Paul stays a year and six months teaching the word of God. In Ephesus, he continued for two years, “so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:10). Here in Ephesus, Paul purposes, in the Spirit, to go to Rome after going to Jerusalem to bring the gift from the churches. The power of a Spirit-led purpose will become a promise of the Lord and salvation in the storms that are to come. It also brought about the writing of the book of Romans.
Paul is warned not to go to Jerusalem but is resolute in going. Upon arriving, he is arrested in the Temple, and almost killed a second time by the Sanhedrin the day after being arrested. But the Lord encourages him with the promise “You must also bear witness at Rome” (Acts 23:11). Promises are our future in Christ that transcends our captivity in this world.
REVELATION
Revelation 8 – 14
Here come the trumpet blasts! Then comes the mighty angel with the little book for John to take and eat. He is then told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings” (Revelation 10:11).
The two witnesses arrive with the power to testify for three and a half years, during the first half of Revelation. Then the beast ascends out of the bottomless pit, makes war against them, and kills them. But three and a half days later the two witnesses are resurrected and ascend into heaven and more worship breaks forth. Chapters 12 through 14 give details about the overcoming church through the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, and not loving their lives (souls) unto death. The beast and his prophet, the image of the beast and mark, and the number of his name are all found in Chapters 13 and 14.
HISTORY
Nehemiah 1 – 9
Nehemiah is Ezra’s contemporary, the cupbearer of King Artaxerxes. He hears from some returning from Jerusalem that though the Temple is rebuilt, the people are in great distress and reproach because the wall of Jerusalem is still broken down and the gates remain in ruins from the fires of Jerusalem’s destruction. Nehemiah weeps and mourns in fasting and prayer before God. He sets himself to obey the Lord’s command after repenting for Israel’s sins that had brought Jerusalem to ruin.
Having obtained favor from the King, he journeys to Jerusalem and begins a building project that calls all to work. In 52 days, they complete the wall amidst outward resistance from their jealous neighbors and inward corruptions that have been left unattended. Every chapter is filled with suspense and their determination to finish. Nehemiah’s name means “Comfort of Yahweh” and in many ways parallels the Holy Spirit’s ministry in rebuilding/restoring our souls as believers whose spirits have been born again.
PROPHETS
Zechariah 9 – 14
This second half of Zechariah is the promise and prophecy of the Lord, protection of His people, and their restoration, with many promises that extend to the end of the age. The last chapter brings us into the millennial reign of Christ and the worship of the King in Jerusalem.
