One of the truths of life that I have learned and which has given me comfort is that anything that I have been through, I am not alone.
Throughout life, I have read the Bible multiple times and still find passages that did not sink in during one of my previous readings. For this reason, I love sound preaching, commentaries, or sound biblical podcasts. This is one of my many thanks to God for providing the men who create these additional study tools and our access to them. With their insight into the Greek language, biblical history, and knowledge of the Bible, my understanding of the Scripture has been enriched even more.
For example, Rod Rutherford recently released his commentary on Acts. He graciously gave me a copy, and I dove into it during my next morning Bible study. Right there before my eyes, while reading the account of Stephen being stoned, I learned something new. Acts 7:54-55 states, “Now when they heard these things, they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus STANDING at the right hand of God.”
Through Rod’s commentary, I gained a clearer understanding of Jesus’s position. He had taken such an interest in Stephen’s situation that he is standing rather than sitting at the right hand of the throne, as it is usually depicted in the New Testament. I have read this portion of scripture so many times, yet I still had not grasped the whole picture.
If you are anything like me and not a scholarly person, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to have these study tools, which can also include Christian Courier and Apologetics Press, to add to your study. In 2 Timothy 3:14-17, we can see God’s wisdom telling us to continue in Scripture, having been acquainted with it, trained by it, and equipped by it for every good work.