Admit it. You like reading the Psalms, the Gospels, Paul's epistles and maybe Esther and Ruth.
But what about the least read Bible books -- I call them Orphan Books -- because they almost are never read. Here's a list I found.
Hope you take the challenge to read an "orphan" or two this week.
------------------------------------
# Book Why read it? Difficulty
1 Obadiah A miniature study of pride, injustice, and God's judgment Easy
2 Haggai A surprisingly relevant book about misplaced priorities Easy
3 Philemon Paul, slavery, forgiveness, and Christian brotherhood in 25 verses Easy
4 3 John A fascinating glimpse into early church politics and leadership Easy
5 2 John Truth, love, hospitality—and boundaries Easy
6 Nahum The dark counterpart to Jonah: what happens to Nineveh? Medium
7 Zephaniah Judgment followed by one of the OT's beautiful pictures of God's joy Medium
8 Jude Strange, intense, apocalyptic, and packed with unusual references Medium
9 Habakkuk One of the Bible's best books for wrestling honestly with God Easy
10 Lamentations Biblical poetry about grief, catastrophe, and hope Medium
11 Joel Locusts, the Day of the LORD, and the famous promise about God's Spirit Medium
12 Malachi A surprisingly sharp ending to the Old Testament Easy
The ones I'd especially recommend
If you only want to read five, I'd pick:
Habakkuk — perhaps the most rewarding “orphan.” The entire book is essentially a conversation between a confused believer and God. Habakkuk starts by asking, “Why aren't you doing something about this?” and ends somewhere radically different.
Haggai — extremely short but surprisingly practical. Its central question is basically: What happens when God's people become preoccupied with their own houses while neglecting God's house?
Philemon — don't let its size fool you. It's an extraordinarily compressed little letter about power, status, forgiveness, reconciliation, and what the gospel does to human relationships.
Nahum — read it immediately after Jonah if you can. Jonah tells you that Nineveh repented; Nahum, written later, tells you what eventually happened to Nineveh. Reading them together makes both books considerably more interesting.
Lamentations — probably the most emotionally neglected book on the list. It gives you something the Bible is unusually good at: language for grief when everything has gone terribly wrong.
And here's the really fun challenge
Don't read these as if they're merely the Bible's “B-list.”
Try reading one orphan book a week, with no commentary at first. Just read the entire thing in one sitting.
You'll discover something interesting: some of the books that feel least important at first are actually the ones that illuminate the famous books around them.
Jonah → Nahum
Isaiah/Jeremiah → Lamentations
Romans/Galatians → Habakkuk
1 John → 2 John → 3 John
Ezra/Nehemiah → Haggai

I HAVE ONE REQUEST… LISTEN TO THE WORDS.

Out of all the music I'm releasing, I believe different songs are going to find different people at exactly the right moment.

Maybe THIS one found you today.

If it speaks to you, SAVE it.
If it reminds you of somebody, SHARE it.

FoxxFusion

#FoxxFusion #ChristianMusic #OriginalMusic #MusicMinistry #NewMusic

Note





The Stick You Write With



When we read the bible,what do we think about? Do we think about the writer being inspired by the Spirit of God? Do we look to the setting it was written in, the culture of the times, etc? Do we look at the style of writing as some scholars teach us to do?

These and more are often taught as the way to read the bible. In more modern education we are taught to think critically and what is being said and written. In other words what can we infer or deduce from the text we are reading?

Questions such as these, more often than not lead to an overly complicated mess of confusion that is sometimes hard to navigate. Complicating the simple way the people of the day actually thought. What is more is that the New Testament was written in Koine ( common Greek).

This Greek as written in the NT is often studied by scholars, pastors and laymen alike, searching for a clearer picture of what the biblical writers were intending. And in this way, we may more accurately discern the truth that God, through His servants, is trying to convey to us, 2,000 years later. Mind you in a culture that is very far removed from the culture it was written in.

In short a lot has happened in 2,000 years, and some ideas just don’t translate well. To make up for this, scholars have tried hard to come up with different and new translations, paraphrases etc, that are everything from absolute trash, to literal word for word hard to read versions of the bible.

Many popular bible translations we read are something of a dynamic equivalent, that’s thought for thought. Others are word for word. And still others are a paraphrase giving the general sense of what is being spoken of. Yet, for all this we seem to lose a little or a lot depending, when we try to bring this all into a culture, language and thought process that is far removed from the original.

So we dig, scholars and laymen alike, dig. We dig into the language it is written in. We find meanings to words, and their roots. Sometimes we look at the society and culture around them and it brings out even more. Yet for all that, it seems we still come up short and we wonder why.

In my own life, the more I dug into some limited Greek studies, the more I saw it was not really going too far, so I stopped looking. I would only look up what I was curious about or led to. If I am honest at times, I would remember my pastor who told me of his friend who was a biblical Greek scholar, who said it really doesn’t do you that much good to know Greek. As I studied I could see that, but why. Aren’t we taught to look into the language? Isn’t that the example that is set by many, if not most pastors and writers of biblical material? Look into the Greek to find the meaning of the words used in the NT, so we can understand a bit better? But its really not helping that much so what am I missing?

What I found was not intentional. I was not looking for it. At all.

I found where Jesus wrote about being the bread of life In John 6:35:

“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

In our minds we wonder what that means so we dig. And that is just what I did. I wanted to find out what that meant, exactly. My research led me to the cultural life of the Jewish people. And I found out that they, without a long explanation, knew that Jesus was saying, without bread, you die, you have no life.

That may seem obvious and overly simplistic, yet for a people who lived in the desert, to not have bread and water, was a fact of certain death. Biblically the principle stems back to the time in the wilderness when God supplied bread for them in the form of mana. Again, this may seem obvious, but it’s not something most in western culture know very much about.

We don’t know starvation as a possibility as well as they did then, we don’t know the waterless tracts of land they made their home in for thousands of years. They knew intimately the slow agonizing death by starvation and thirst, in a land where water is a commodity. Unlike us who just go to the faucet or by another water bottle at the nearest grocery store. These things were their reality, unlike ours.

Finding this set me on a journey of sorts to looking into their culture more. As I did I began seeing things that we don’t often talk about. Then one day I realized that almost every NT writer with the exception of Luke was born Jewish. That meant that they came from a Jewish background, culture, traditions and language.

Then I began to wonder how come we are looking at the NT from a western outlook, through the Greek language, when we should possibly be looking at it from a more Hebraic outlook? Why weren’t we looking at what they were saying through the culture, history etc of the person who was speaking it? They knew the language and ideas of the OT far better than we do.

So, again I began digging. What I found was that as a general rule, the Jewish people of that day, had gained some complexity of thought because of outside influences, such as the Babylonian captivity, the Roman occupation etc, they still retained much of their original simplicity and straightforward thinking. In fact, without going too deep in this, most Jewish men at the time had at least some knowledge of the OT scriptures and how they were written and the thoughts behind them. This is due to the fact that they would teach the fathers trade to the children and were required to teach them the word of God as well.

For them, things were relatively simple. Their culture and thought process, at least so far as these things are concerned, was simple compared to the Romans, or Greeks where we in the west get much of our way of thinking.

To see the difference when we describe something, such as a pencil, we say its long, often yellow, with lead or graphite inside, it has an eraser on one end and the other is sharpened to a point so you can write with it. In ancient Hebrew, it’s literally a stick you write with, that is the description.

To us, who habitually over complicate everything, even a bowl of Cheerios, this seems way too simplistic. Truthfully one may be right with that assessment. But that does not negate the fact that they understood things far different than we do.

Now, I am doing more digging. Looking into the Hebrew language and looking at the NT from somewhat of a different angle. What happened is the truth we all see, written within the pages, started taking on a deeper meaning. Instead of looking at the Word through the lens of our culture or even the Greek, I began to see things that way I think the biblical writers were seeing them, and thus seeing the intent of God through them. Regardless of how it was written.

When we look at the bible in this way it seems to take on new life. It doesn’t change the meaning, but deepens it, brings a fuller, more clear revelation, and application to our lives and ministries.




I write my own writing, I do not use AI to write. All my writing is my own and can be scanned for AI content as well as plagiarism.

THE POWER OF UNITY

Together We Are Stronger

ANCHOR SCRIPTURE

Psalm 133:1 (KJV) “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”

1. UNITY BRINGS STRENGTH

Unity produces peace, strength and progress.

Where there is unity, there is strength.

2. UNITY DOESN'T MEAN UNIFORMITY

We may have different opinions and gifts, but we can still have one heart and one purpose.

You don't have to agree on everything to walk together.

3. AVOID DIVISION

Pride, gossip, jealousy and unforgiveness destroy relationships.

Proverbs 16:28 (KJV) “A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.”

Don't be the source of division.

4. UNITY ATTRACTS BLESSING

Psalm 133:3 (KJV) “...for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.”

Where God's people walk in unity, God commands blessing.

5. BE A BUILDER OF UNITY

1. Forgive.
2. Love.
3. Communicate honestly.
4. Pray for others.
5. Promote peace.

KEY LESSON

1. Unity brings strength.
2. Division brings weakness.
3. Forgiveness protects relationships.
4. Love overcomes differences.
5. Unity creates room for blessing.

FINAL CHARGE

Be a bridge, not a wall. Be a peacemaker, not a troublemaker.

Build unity.
Protect relationships.
Walk together in love.

SHORT PRAYER

Father, give me a heart that values unity and peace. Remove pride, jealousy, bitterness and unforgiveness from me. Help me to love, forgive and respect others. Make me a builder of unity wherever I go. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Prepared by Rev Frank Fabian Aidoo +233544295158

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Kindly join me in faith as I embark on this journey of advancing the gospel through our ministry that has a new name, The Temple of Christ Church.
The ministry will be carried out in different ways, including digital platforms.
May God bless us all.

There is no need too great, no wound too deep, no battle too fierce, and no valley too dark for the name of Jesus.

When I feel unseen, He is El Roi—the God who sees me.
When I am in need, He is Jehovah Jireh—the Lord who provides.
When I am hurting, He is Jehovah Rapha—the Lord who heals.
When my heart is troubled, He is Jehovah Shalom—the Lord who is peace.
When the battle surrounds me, He is Jehovah Nissi—the Lord who is my banner.
When I lose my way, He is Jehovah Rohi—the Lord who is my Shepherd.
When I am weak, He is El Shaddai—God Almighty.
When sin condemns me, He is Jehovah Tsidkenu—the Lord my righteousness.
When the future is uncertain, He is Alpha and Omega—the Beginning and the End.

Different names revealing one faithful God. One truth. One Savior. Jesus—the Name above every name.

Whatever you are facing today, call upon His name. His name still saves. His name still heals. His name still provides. His name still protects. His name still brings peace.

“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow… and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” — Philippians 2:10–11

#Jesus #NameAboveEveryName #FaithInGod #ChristianEncouragement #RiseInGrace

Shalom saints ,
there is so much more to discover with Yahweh , I so blessed that the Father-Abba gave me the abilities to be in the spirit like prophet Ezekiel or Enoch, Elijah, apostle John and apostle Paul or Philip or even our Lord Jesus to ascend and be tranported and fly in the spirit with Holy Spirit , traveling in heavenly places or to be transported to different nations to pray and visit homes , hotels , churches, buildings , schools and universities and visit the middle east in the spirit , literally seeing and walking and praying as a man-soul-spirit,

Just Glorifying Yahweh and come back at home and be blown away of my experiences with the Holy Spirit I have so much to teach about this and the Bible and Jesus talks about walking as a spirit man on earth and in the realms of heavens. Hope to talk with you more about it soon, be bless

One way God cares is through his providence. What is God’s providence? We often think of it in terms of his sovereignty. The Bible says, “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Ps. 115:3). God has the right and the power to control all things. But that is different from his providence. Providence is the use of that sovereignty for the specific purpose of caring for this world and using his sovereignty for his wise purposes. One definition I found put it this way, “The providence of God is the working of God’s sovereignty to continually uphold, guide, and care for his creation.” [Helm]

One failing of the American church today - there are surely others as well, but I'm going to focus on this one - is the lack of connection. The book of Acts tells us that the church met daily. House to house. Breaking bread. Of course with fellowship, and that would mean mutual support.

Now that does not mean we have to meet together every day. Nor does it mean that we must go from house to house. Our modern culture and society is different. And that's ok. We don't have to copy, to the detail, the methods of that time.

But the spirit of the idea should remain the same. But when the normal for us is to show up three minuets before the beginning of the Sunday morning service, and be in our cars driving away three minutes after the final benediction, we're never going to have connection with our fellow believers. You can't offer a quick handshake and a "how are you doing?" and a "good to see you," as we pass on down the aisle toward our own seat, and call that "being friendly."

You could do that every Sunday morning for years and never actually know the other person. Some of us remember when after Sunday morning church, we'd either invite someone to come have dinner at our house, or have someone invite us to theirs. It is over a meal that you get to know the person. What is that person, or that family going through right now? What might be the struggles they're dealing with?

But we seem to live in a time when nobody wants to know anything about our neighbor. That person, or that family who sits in the pew in front of us, or behind us. And we don't want anyone else to know about us either. Certainly not know our business. But that's not the accurate definition of a "body of Believers."

So what are we going to do to change that? Or would we rather keep it as it is. It's more tidy that way, we believe, and that's the way we seem to like it. But that is not the way of the church.

Today’s Walk in the Word is a brief devotional by Joe Barnett that appears Monday through Friday.



Aug 23, 2026 11:00 pm

Be Holy

Be holy, for I am holy.
—1 Peter 1:16

Justin Martyr’s First Apology (his defense of Christianity) was addressed to Emperor Antoninus Pius, challenging the emperor to examine the exemplary purity of Christians.

“As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Pt 1:15–16).

The primary meaning of holy is different. The secondary meaning of holy is pure. God is different from any other and pure like no other. Peter enjoins Christians to be different from others, with pure conduct shaped by God’s standards, rather than by prevailing culture.

In the next verse, Peter entreats Christians to “conduct yourselves throughout the times of your stay here in fear” (1 Pt 1:17)—not a cringing fear of punishment, but a respectful fear of misrepresenting your Savior and disappointing your Father.

Father,
I don’t want to disappoint you.
Amen

The post Be Holy appeared first on Pathway Evangelism, Inc..



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