3rd Word

This devotional get its name from the third word of the Old Testament and the third word of the New Testament – the word “beginning”.

Welcome! My hope is that each day for you and me will be a NEW beginning reading the Word of God. If you have a Bible – GREAT! If not, there are several online options for reading this good word. Reading God’s Word each day is of inestimable worth as we try to navigate this thing called life. Let’s read together and interact as we journey through the Bible. Feel free to comment on each post. Ask questions. I’ll answer as often and as regularly as humanly possible. There is great value in discussion. Tell a friend … or a bunch of friends. Ready? Let’s do this.

Getting Started

Each post is structured the same way, so once you make it a few days in, you should begin to find your own unique way to follow along. Each post will have the two elements that serve to focus your reading. Additionally, each post contains three options to guide you through the Bible.

A Day Number

Keep track of your progress by day. You can start at day 1 and follow the readings and posts through day 365 at which time you will have read through the entire Bible.

A Key Word

This will serve as a central theme for a given day. There are any number of themes that can be found for each day. I’m simply choosing one which jumps out to me.

Chapter Readings

I call this the ESPRESSO option. If you have ever ordered espresso from a coffee shop, well, you know it! It is memorable. ☕ ? Espresso is powerful and it takes devotion to drink! If you are devoted to reading through ALL of the Bible, every word, then the chapter readings will guide you through about 23 chapters each week.

Note that you could read through only the New Testament (the account of Jesus and the Early Church)
Read only the last entry in the reading options for that day (usually one chapter per day).

Verse Reading

I call this the LATTE option. As a beverage, a latte’ is more milk and flavors than coffee. If you are not used to coffee, this is a way of dipping your big toe in … to mix metaphors. A latté is a gradual introduction to what coffee is … just diluted. Beginning with day 11, each day will have a couple of readings of verses if you want to just do a little reading. They are key verses oriented to the keyword. These will get you through the Bible reading a few verses a day as opposed to a few chapters a day. You may miss a lot of context … but it is a good place to start.

Blog Reading

This is the TEA option. When people go into a coffee shop and order tea or hot chocolate or a water … well lets just say they are NOT getting coffee! Maybe they came for curiosity, or on the shoulder of a friend. It happens every day in every coffee shop. So if you opt for only reading the blog posts and comments, you will definitely be able to follow the themes. But you are smelling the coffee rather than tasting it. There is an important difference.

So there you go! And here we begin! I hope you can find your place in this 3rd word. Feel free to comment. I’ll comment back as much as possible. Everyone is welcome. Please practice patience and grace! I am not assuming that we are all in the same place but we are all on the Journey.

I say it again: please feel free to post any comments, conversations or questions.