Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Quarterly News from Christian author Stephen M. Miller - Stephen M. Miller, Christian author "Newsletter of Christian author Stephen M. Miller." Steve writes easy-reading books about the Bible. for Tuesday, 1 November 2016

Quarterly News from Christian author Stephen M. Miller - Stephen M. Miller, Christian author "Newsletter of Christian author Stephen M. Miller." Steve writes easy-reading books about the Bible. for Tuesday, 1 November 2016

Headlines
Grandpa Steve's picture album
I'M STILL IN MY FIRST YEAR as a grandpa.
Our grandson, Owen, was born December 30. Our granddaughter Elise was born March 13. My wife and I are helping out with Grandparents' Daycare a few days a week.
It has been an active 2016.
I've cleared out the lower bookshelves in my office and filled them with toys. I've tried to kidsafe the office, but Owen is crawling and he goes straight to anything electrical...or to my shoelaces.
I confess, I'm not getting as much writing done this year. But I'm loving what I'm living. And writing while I live it.
Here are a few of my favorite Grandpa pictures taken this summer and fall with my new Grandpa Camera. You can see more in Grandpa's Showcase, an album in my Flickr account. I also occasionally post new pictures on my business Facebook page.

KANSAS SUNFLOWERS. Grandpa Steve and Elise at a sunflower farm near Kansas City.
LOOKING UP. Grandson Owen has a new habit of looking up. It became most noticeable in a church, at the baptism of his cousin Elise a few weeks ago. His dad said Owen seemed to be looking for God. I said that as much as Owen has been looking up lately, I'd say he found Him. Here's a link to a video of the baptism of Owen's cousin: Baptism of Elise.
SITTING PRETTY. Fresh from a pumpkin patch, 7-month-old Elise came over for a short visit. Her cousin Owen, 9 1/2 months old, was waiting for her. Just out of the picture is Grandma Linda, successfully working to prevent a face plant. The kids as well as hers.
DON'T FORGET BUDDY. When Buddy comes into my office and looks at the jar of treats I keep by the printer, I get the message. I've released so many photos of my grandkids on my Facebook page that people started missing Buddy the Dog and asking if he's okay. He kinda gets the short end of the stick these days, but he loves licking the kids when we grownups aren't fast enough to run a blocking pattern on him.

PAUL'S ROAD TRIP TO DAMASCUS. This is a new map from Acts 9 in the Casual English Bible. It's free online at the Casual English Bible website. A higher resolution version is available as part of a 70-page leader's guide and atlas for Acts, a $1 PDF download.
Online: Genesis, Luke, Acts
Casual English Bible news
I FINISHED THE BETA VERSION of Genesis, Luke, and Acts...the Bible paraphrase, background notes, and discussion questions for all three of those books.
I've added a leader's guide and an atlas for Acts. The leader's guide provides answers and insights into each one of the discussion questions you'll find online at the Casual English Bible.
Before I tackle another Bible book, I think I'll create a leader's guide and atlas for Luke and Genesis as well.
Then onto the next book, with the full package of resources for each book: free paraphrase, background notes, and discussion questions, along with a $1 leader's guide and atlas.
I'm still trying to decide what Bible book to paraphrase next. I'm considering Ephesians for a change of pace. It's a wonderful book for a small-group Bible study.
Any suggestions? Email Steve.
—Sample chapter from Casual English Bible—
NOR'EASTER PUMMELS SHIP FOR TWO WEEKS. Under arrest, Paul sails to Rome for trial. They expect to sail against the prevailing winds of autumn. But they don't anticipate the Nor'easter that runs them aground and splinters the ship.
ACTS 27
Voyage to Rome, Shipwreck Ahead27:1. When the decision was made to sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a Roman officer1 named Julius. He served in the Augustan Battalion.2
2. We boarded a ship from the home port of Adramyttium.3 The ship was planning to sail north along the coast of Asia,4 stopping in ports along the way. Traveling with us was a Macedonian man from the city of Thessalonica. His name was Aristarchus.
3. We left and then arrived the next day in the port at the city of Sidon. Julius was kind to Paul. He let Paul stay with friends Paul had there in Sidon.5 Those friends took good care of Paul while he was with them.
4. We left Sidon and put out to sea. We encountered some headwind, so we used the island of Cyprus as a windbreak.
5. When we reached the open sea, we sailed along the coast. We sailed past the provinces of Cilicia and Pamphylia. Then we arrived at the city of Myra in the province of Lycia.6
6. There, the Roman officer found another ship for us. It came from Alexandria, Egypt. Like us, it was headed for Italy. So we got on board.
7. It was slow sailing for many days. It wasn’t easy, but we eventually arrived near the city of Cnidus.7 We couldn’t sail any further west. The wind wouldn’t let us. So we turned south and used the island of Crete as a windbreak, starting at the city of Salmone.
8. We sailed past Salmone. It was hard to make any progress, but we finally came to a place called Fair Havens, close to the town of Lasea.
9. By then we had lost a lot of time and were sailing in the dangerous season. The fast8 was already over. So Paul offered his advice.9
10. “Gentlemen,” Paul said. “It looks to me like you’re planning to continue this voyage. If you do, you’re putting a lot at risk: the cargo, the ship, and our lives.”
11. The captain and the ship’s owner wanted to keep going. So the Roman officer took their advice over Paul’s.
12. The harbor at Fair Havens was too open. It wasn’t a good place to anchor a ship for the stormy winter. The majority of souls on the ship decided to sail a little further and try to reach the harbor at Phoenix, Crete.10 It was better protected, with just two exposed openings: one facing southwest and the other facing northwest.
Nor’easter pummels ship for two weeks
13. A gentle wind started blowing up from the south. It was just what the captain ordered.11 They pulled up anchor and sailed alongside the coast of Crete, which was directly north of them, on the starboard (right) side of the ship.
14. Suddenly a typhoon-like wind12 blew in from the northeast, plowing right over the top of the island of Crete and smashing into the ship.13 People called this violent wind a Nor’easter.14
Continue reading Acts 27
Notes127:1. Literally a centurion, a commander of a unit of about 100 soldiers.
227:1. Literally a cohort, a unit of about 500 soldiers. Archaeologists have found two inscriptions referring to this cohort. It was stationed in Syria. Many of the soldiers there would have been Syrians, not Romans.
327:2. Adramyttium was a city along the west coast of what is now Turkey, more than 100 miles (160 km) north of Ephesus. Today the city is called Edremit.
427:2. Asia was a Roman province in what is now Western Turkey.
527:3. Sidon was about 75 miles (120 km) north of Caesarea.
627:5. Cilicia, Pamphylia, and Lycia were Roman provinces in what is now Western Turkey. The harbor at Myra was more than 500 miles (800 km) from Caesarea.
727:7. Cnidus was a city on the Southwest corner of what is now Turkey. It was about 130 miles from their previous stop at Myra. That would normally take just a couple of days with good winds. But they were apparently sailing into a headwind. In the fall of the year, when they were sailing, it’s common for the Mediterranean wind to blow in from the northwest.
827:9. This “fast” probably refers to the only day of the year when Jews are instructed to fast (skip a meal): Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement. It’s an annual day of repentance among the Jewish people. The fast usually falls somewhere in late September or early October. The risky season for sailing in the Mediterranean during the autumn typically begins in mid-September. When possible, merchants tried to avoid having their products on the sea during the late fall and throughout the winter, when storms are most common.
927:9. It might sound presumptuous for a minister and tentmaker like Paul to offer sailing advice to sailors, but by this time in his career he had traveled thousands of miles—many of them by sea.
1027:12. Phoenix, Crete would have been about 50 miles (80 km) west of Fair Havens. That’s about a one-day voyage during fair weather, sailing alongside the coastline.
1127:13. The ship needed to sail west, along the Crete coastline just to the north of them. A gentle wind pushing them north would allow them to stay close to the shore, without getting blown out into the dangerous waters of the open sea at this risky time of the year for sailing.
1227:14. The Greek word for the wind is typhonikos, from which we get “typhoon.” It means a strong wind, like a typhoon, hurricane, or whirlwind. Not a fun time for sailing.
1327:14. The northeast wind would push them southwest, toward the African coast and in the opposite direction of Italy, where they wanted to go.
1427:14. The wind, in Greek, was called Euraquilo. It means “a northeast wind.”
Read more of Acts 27 and the discussion questions.
New books in 2016
Coming in 2017
Still Amazon's bestselling Bible handbook

COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE BIBLE
FOR THREE YEARS Amazon has listed the Complete Guide to the Bible as the best-selling Bible handbook. Each day, it battles with a couple of other less expensive books for the #1 slot.

Deluxe leather-bound edition with new maps
Two fav blog articles
HERE ARE TWO POPULAR blog articles I posted this summer and fall.
Two different kinds of emotion.
I write new articles every Tuesday and Thursday. The subscription is free. To get them, all you need is a name and an email address. Here's a bonus: I give away free, signed copies of my books every week.
Sign me up.
My one and only book dedication
TWO MEN IN A PLANE. I dedicated A Visual Walk Through Genesis to these two men: Milo Skinner and his grandpa Hal. I’ve never met them. Yet I’ve never dedicated a book to anyone but them. There’s a story behind the dedication: When the ones we love have died. Video clip by Milo Skinner.
I’M SURPRISED no one has asked me for the story behind the odd dedication I wrote in my newest book, A Visual Walk Through Genesis.
Maybe nobody reads book dedications.
But I want you to read this one.
It’s important.
I’ve written scores of books in my career. But this is the only book with a dedication in it.
Here’s the dedication:
To Milo Skinner (1980-2015) & Hal Skinner (1932-2015)
A young man and his grandpa who have reminded me to love the souls around me while they’re near, and then when they’re gone, to never forget their stories and the reasons why we love them still.
For the background story, here’s a five-minute video. I think you’ll find something of yourself in what you see.
YouTube Video: When the ones we love have died.
How would Jesus vote?
NOT ON THE BALLOT. Some Christians wonder how Jesus would vote in a presidential election like this. Would he vote for the lesser evil or maybe slip off to the wilderness for 40 days?
GOD KNOWS how Jesus would handle this presidential election cycle.
Jesus might take the opportunity to spend 40 days in the wilderness. It’s tempting, I know.
Or he might call the candidates by animal names that would describe them. He called King Herod Antipas a “fox” (Luke 13:32 Casual English Bible).
Maybe Jesus would not-so-peacefully protest what’s going on. He flipped the tables of business folks who had set up booths in Jerusalem’s temple courtyard. Then “He drove them out” (Luke 19:45 Casual English Bible).
I’ll tell you what I haven’t been doing.
I haven’t been watching political ads. It doesn’t matter where they come from, they tell only part of the truth, if any. And they program the brain to believe what isn’t true. So far this year, I haven’t listened to any of those ads. (You have to keep the TV remote control handy to pull this off.)
I educate myself by watching the debates, wrenchingly painful as they are this year. As a Christian, I’m embarrassed by what I heard. As an American, I’m ashamed.
Some political pundits say we got to this point because so many of us are stupid. Read more.
REVIEW BOOKS
There are two things folks can do to help in the ministry of Christian writers.
Buy their books.
Write honest reviews of their books.
If you're Stateside and willing to write a short review (even just one or two sentences) in the review section of an online website that sells books, such as Amazon, I have some review books to give away to you (one per human).
Send me an email note (subject line: Free review book).
First come, first served...as long as my stash of books holds out.
Last word
Jesus: "I’ve got bad news for you scholars, too. You crush the people with oppressive rules, and you do nothing to help them deal with it."
Luke 11:46, Casual English Bible
Stephen M. Miller
 Copyright © 2016 Stephen M. Miller Inc, All rights reserved.
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