Recently, I had the privilege of talking with Michael Grady, the author of 3 books that present Bible stories in an engaging manner that can be used by families. They have been recently published in Spanish, too!
Q: Michael, how did you become interested in Bible stories?
It all started when I was 5- years-old and my mother began reading the Bible to me. I loved those stories! When I was 12, I received my first Bible with the understanding that I would read it every day—which I did. When I was 17, my mother said that it was time to learn how to study the Bible and she introduced me to a book titled “Portraits of Christ in Genesis” which I utilized well. I’ve been a student of the Bible ever since, with a particular love for the way New Testament truths were foreshadowed in the Old Testament. Yes, Jesus is in Genesis—not by name, but the stories present His picture.
Q: Were you in children’s ministry?
The Lord didn’t call me into children’s ministry as my career, but into teaching within my church while working as a Christian businessman.
I have taught all ages from 8 to 80! I taught 8- through 12- year-olds in a children’s church setting for years. But I also realized that many adults don’t know the Bible well either. So, the books are written on an adult level with a strong family flavor. I have learned that children enjoy being shown how the Bible stories apply to their lives. After teaching these materials for over 30 years, I was driven to write them down in an easy-to-understand story format.
Q: What was your approach to writing these Bible resource books?
I had heard through the years that there are 3 main reasons why people don’t read the Bible: 1) they don’t understand it, 2) it is boring, or 3) the Old Testament isn’t relevant. So, my primary approach to writing these books was to: 1) make the Bible stories easy to understand, 2) write them in an engaging/conversational manner, and 3) make the Old Testament come to life through showing the relevance both for today in our family’s lives, and as to God’s eternal plan for each of us.
The basic approach is a 10–15-minute family devotional that is written for parents to read aloud to their children. (Eight- through twelve-year-olds enjoy having their parents read to them!) Mixed into each devotional are questions to draw the entire family into an engaging conversation (this can expand the time to 30-45 minutes). Then each devotional writing ends with discussion questions and additional Scripture references that the family could utilize to study much deeper, if they choose to.
Q: How did your books get translated and published in Spanish?
Through various people the Lord put into my life it became obvious that this same family devotional approach would be welcomed by the Spanish-speaking community. Then the Lord introduced me to a couple who have a Spanish publishing company—Vida Trading Company, LLC. They have been wonderful partners in getting this series, Devocional para la Familia published and ready for families to begin using.
Q: Michael, what is your personal prayer for these books?
My prayer is that parents will read these devotionals regularly with their children, and that together they can learn God’s plan for their lives — today and for eternity.
Q: How can readers obtain these books? Can you offer a discount for our Entre Ninos readers?
There are multiple places to get the books (Amazon.com or Portavoz.com for example). However, the only place to get this discount is to email me at michael@michaelgrady.org and mention “Entre Niños” and I will arrange for the discounts below.
Tomo 1 Capítulo 19, José, el hijo fiel de Jacob: Parte 1 (páginas 100-101)
José y sus hermanos
Ahora sabemos que Dios seleccionó a Jacob para que fuera el próximo jefe de su pueblo escogido. Y Jacob, también conocido como Israel, tuvo doce hijos. Toda la familia y todos sus descendientes formarían parte de este grupo de personas escogidas. Como aprendimos en una historia anterior de Jacob, sus hijos nacieron de sus dos esposas y de las dos siervas dadas a Jacob por sus esposas. Raquel, la esposa que era su verdadero amor, murió al dar a luz a su último hijo, Benjamín. El primer hijo de Raquel, José, era el favorito de Jacob.
Aunque José era el favorito, era un buen hijo y fiel a Dios; por lo tanto, Dios estaba complacido con él. Sus hermanos eran a menudo egoístas y estaban más preocupados por ellos mismos que por los demás. Algunos eran malos con sus vecinos, y con demasiada frecuencia elegían desobedecer los mandamientos de Dios. Y cuando sus hermanos eran desobedientes, José se lo comunicaba a su padre. Los hermanos estaban muy molestos con José y le tenían celos. Se pusieron más celosos por el favoritismo que Jacob le mostraba.
Jacob mostró su favoritismo regalándole a José una túnica multicolor muy cara. No solo hizo esta túnica únicamente para José, sino que se la dio delante de sus hermanos. José se la puso con orgullo, lo que enfureció aún más a sus hermanos. A Dios no le gusta que los padres muestren favoritismo entre sus hijos. Jacob pagaría un precio por su error. Tenía que aprender que su amor egoísta por uno más que por los demás estaba perjudicando a su familia. ¿Alguna vez ha sentido celos porque otro era el favorito? ¿O alguien ha estado celoso de usted porque era el favorito?
You can access this entire magazine for free here: Edition 42
