30 Words

Bite-sized daily devotionals have long been a staple of Christian fare so Wilson’s book joins a crowded table. Some such works are tied to particular seasons (Advent and Lent being popular) but this is in the group that can be started at any time and will run about a month. As the title indicates, the author has picked thirty words (such as faith, hope and love), and addresses each one with a few paragraphs of reflection. Each meditation includes anchors in the Bible, along with a related verse of the day and a short challenge.

It was the challenges I liked least; many of them amounted to “tweet this aphorism and include a hashtag linked to the book”. People are using the #30WordsBook tag but I am not sure whether it is more about building faith or sales. Apart from that, I think it does its job well but not in such an outstanding way that it rises as a headline example. A devotional with the rest of them rather than, as the subtitle claims, a devotional for the rest of us. 3/5.