Book Review: Experiencing the Trinity: The Grace of God for the People of God By Joe Thorn

There are few things that can top getting a daily dose of spiritual truth and encouragement.  I often find myself going back to devotional works that carry heavy spiritual truth to get me through the day. Though there are many worthy works out there, Joe Thorn has joined the company of wonderful authors that have contributed to this genre. Experiencing the Trinity has now become a go-to book for me. It combines Biblical truth, with loving, gentle encouragement. If we stop kidding ourselves and openly recognize that life has more problems than earthly joys we will find comfort in a book such as this.

Thorn, in this work, has a gentle, soft, encouraging writing style. He is not beating the reader over the head with Scripture and expecting anyone to stand to attention. Just the opposite, he calmly weaves his way through each member of the Trinity reminding the reader of what each has given to us and will give us. This book isn't fluff, either. There are hard truths expressed, many that being a Christian long enough, we've all heard before. Yet, his style gently pushes the reader to remember the realities and delights of the Christian life as found in Scripture.

As the title suggests, it is about experiencing the Trinity, not just attempting to grasp the academic truths of doctrine. The work is divided into three sections for each member of the Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each chapter is only a page or two thus the reader has enough to chew on without being overwhelmed. There is no doubt this would be a great asset to anyone's daily devotions. Either starting off your day or ending your day, this is a valuable resource to Christian living. I warmly recommend it.

Crossway has provided a complimentary copy of this book through Beyond the Page. 

Book Review: Note To Self , The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself by Joe Thorn

Note To Self , The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself by Joe Thorn is a refreshingly easy to read and digest little work that is long overdue. Written in short, easy to absorb chapters, this one is a winner and should be on everyone's devotional shelf, after it is read, of course. Author Joe Thorn has written this work in a self-talk style that suggests to the reader that we should all be talking to ourselves in a corrective and positive manner.

Consisting of 48 chapters under three major headings, Note To Self covers a wide range of topics wherein we should be telling, or rather preaching, to ourselves Biblical truth. Ranging from love to risk taking to worship and work, we learn or re-learn Biblical maxims that should be at the core of our thinking. We often fail when we fall back into sinful modes of thought that drag us away from holiness and happiness. But Thorn neatly shows us how to preach to ourselves daily in each of these familiar areas of life. Thorn defines this private preaching as, "Preaching to ourselves is the personal act of applying the law and the gospel to our own lives with the aim of experiencing the transforming grace of God leading to ongoing faith, repentance, and greater godliness." So, we should find that, "...preaching to ourselves puts us into a cycle of law and gospel where we move from our guilt and need to God's grace and provision and then back to the law as joyful and free obedience." The result? "Here the broken find hope and courage, for in Christ we have power and victory to obey, and we will, in the end, be raised in his likeness."

He concludes his introduction this way, "To preach to yourself is to challenge yourself, push yourself, and point yourself to the truth. It is not so much uncovering new truth as much as it is reminding yourself of the truth you tend to forget." So, let me challenge you to obtain, read and preach to yourself in the manner described within the pages of this work for your greater joy in Christ. This little tome is well worth your time and effort to further your spiritual growth and well-being. Don't pass this one up.