THE ‘THUMBS-UP’ MAN
And 30 Other Bible-based Meditations
By Roger Ellsworth and family
Great Writing Publications. 144 pages. £9.99
ISBN 978 0 998 881 256
This rather unusually-titled little book of devotions is part of the ‘My Coffee Cup meditations’ series by Roger Ellsworth that include titles like A Dog and A Clock and When God Blocks Your Path.
Having enjoyed Roger Ellsworth’s commentaries; finding them to be rich in theology and full of practical application, I was intrigued to begin this easy-to-read devotional.
Family contribution
What makes this book unusual is that Roger’s wife and family have also written some of its 31 short chapters. There is, however, no discernible difference in tone or weight of content from author to author; they are all very helpful and clear and the book flows as a whole. Each of the chapters has a short Bible portion on a double page spread followed by a couple of pages of application. This often takes the form of a short anecdote or story to illustrate the Bible theme.
The whole book is full of brief meditations on the wonders of the gospel and the greatness of our Saviour. I would have been pleased if each section had been longer, but they provided a number of points of application to dwell upon further throughout the day and often linked the passage to additional Bible readings or hymns to meditate upon.
This book is very suitable to use for a month of short Bible studies for personal quiet times and would be helpful to readers of all ages and stages of the Christian life.
