Musings of a Snickerdoodle

I was very impressed when I first opened up the package that contained my review copy of The HCSB Study Bible(large print), it has a beautiful cover, it looks very…..well, I guess the expression that seems most fitting as a description would be 'simply elegant'.   I just hoped that the inside 'features' would be   impressive as well, and that it wouldn't just be a study Bible that looks really good but doesn't have truly helpful/exegetical study notes.   I am glad to report that this Bible is impressive inside and out.   I really liked the goal of the study Bible as stated in the introduction, "As servants of the text, the study tools are designed to keep the focus on Scripture and never on the tools themselves."   And, from what I can tell, they do a pretty good job at meeting that goal.   Even the font for the text of Scripture doesn't hinder or distract one hermeneutically as even the words of Christ are printed in black, not red(I don...

If you're looking for a commentary on the book of Acts that is more of an overview but still exegetical, this commentary by Guy Prentiss Waters is a pretty good choice.   He hits at a high level on some controversial issues/textual debates where he deems it necessary, but it is still kept at a minimum and further reading for delving deeper is usually suggested in the comments.   I think that it is a nice commentary to have that you can start with in your studies, turning to it first to get the 'high-level' view and then after reading Waters on a text, turn to the ones that are more critical. Or you can just 'read it through' on its own, the author really helps you get your thoughts moving on a text, for instance, in the account of Pentecost, I had never considered that "Like wind, fire is a sign of God's presence with his people", which caused me to 'connect the dots' and remember the tabernacle in the wilderness and the cloud that had th...