Note to Self

I love this book. I pull it out all the time and I wish more people knew about it. It has 49 'notes to self' (all beginning 'Dear self'!) which last two pages and are preceded by a verse or series of verses that make the same point that Thorn does. Each 'note' is something between a reminder and a rebuke. Titles range from 'Sing' to 'Don't be a Fan Boy' (via 'Repent', 'You are Proud' and 'Jesus is Enough'). Thorn is really biblical and draws together (soundly) relevant sections from the whole Bible. I think the strength of this is that each 'note' is addressed to the reader as 'self' - it's the sort of thing you get out when you need to rebuke yourself, gently but firmly. Thorns notes are firmly gospel-centred, not legalistic, concise, not tedious and they cover the topics that we really need rebuking on. Anyone who has studied a little theology will benefit from 'Be Humble in Your Theology', 'Theology is for Worship', 'Theology Talks', 'Be Careful in your Theology' and 'Don't be a Fan Boy' (1 Corinthians 1:11-13 is his launching point). On the back of the book, there is an endorsement by Ray Ortlund and I can't put it better than he does: """"Note to Self is a gospel-guided smart bomb scoring a direct hit on our strongholds of emptiness. But the explosion it detonates is life-giving. It clears the way for Christ to enter in with powers of salvation where we really need help. """"