This blog is meant to help the Christian become a better disciple of Jesus Christ. http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=47027
Panic struck the ship as the crew furiously struggled against the power of the storm, all in vain. The storm was relentless, unforgiving and unwilling to release the captive vessel from its grip. Two weeks passed without relief. Desperate men cried out. Hope slipped away as they were powerless to change circumstances they never should have been in.

Even after the great Apostle proclaimed the deliverance of God the people on the ship were bound to the fear that was carried in the storm.

“Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight.” – Acts 27:29

They prayed for daylight… have you ever been there? Have you ever been in a place of such despair that it seemed even the sun might fail?

There are times when we set our course according to the wisdom of the world rather than the Word of God and plunge ourselves into a storm. We make every frantic attempt to keep our course, to make for the shores of our own desires and find that we are swept away, lost in the maelstrom of circumstances… praying for daylight.

A worldly decision in the past cannot be cured by another worldly decision in the present. Maybe you listened to the pilot instead of the prophet – to the counsel of the world rather than the word of God. Pray for daylight. Pray that God will again shine upon you His wisdom and truth so that you can survive the storm. And once God does give you the understanding to find deliverance, have the courage to take it.

The pilot and crew of that ill-fated vessel lost their cargo. They lost the ship’s tackle, the anchors, even the ship itself yet found that God had saved them. It was worth the loss of all things that they might live.

So, what would you give in exchange for your soul? When you pray for daylight, when you ask the Savior to deliver you from the storm, will you cling to your sins and stay with the ship? Or, will you determine to do exactly what God has said – even if it means that you might lose all things?

“When daylight came… the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding surf… and everyone reached land in safety.” – Acts 27:39-44

©2011
Rev. Michael Duncan
]]> Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:05:14 PST http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=47027 http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=46474
Cassie and Jack find themselves back in each others lives, all the while fighting the reality that love, which had sparked years before, still held its flame. Through faith, friendship, internal fears and external foes, both Cassie and Jack find that life can begin again and that dreams can come true.

To come into the richness and realness of the characters, especially Jack’s daughter, Lara, was a delightful experience. Even the ancillary characters were wonderfully alive and added to the story with grace and charm. And, just when you thought that Cassie and Jack had finally settled into the truth of their love, turmoil erupts. I found myself wanting to dive into the story and help!

Cassie’s Wedding Dress is a fabulous and touching story. You will fall in love with the characters and find yourself warmly received into their world. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will look forward to more from Clare Revell.

Review by Michael Duncan
]]> Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:39:36 PST http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=46474 http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=46362 Acts chapters 27 & 28

How is our (Believers) journey on this earth different from the average persons? What makes ours different? Paul has an answer.

Paul is headed to Rome to see Caesar. His mode of travel is by a ship of Alexandria. Anyone can travel by ship so this is normal. However, this trip is different than any other for Paul as you will see.

They set sail with Paul in the custody of Julius, a centurion. Paul makes the comment that he, “…perceived that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.”

The centurion believed that the master of the ship knew best so they went on in spite of Paul’s warning. Sure enough a tempest hits them hard for several days. Paul again speaks up and says, “Sirs, you should have harkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.”

“And now I exhort you to be of good cheer for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve.”

“Then they were all of good cheer and they took some meat. And they were all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.” The ship was run aground on an island where there were natives. As Paul had told the sailors, no one lost his life.

Paul gathers up fire wood and is bitten by an extremely poisonous snake. To the natives this meant that Paul was a murderer and this snake had taken vengeance on him for the murder. However, Paul was not killed or even made sick by the serpent.

The natives decide now that Paul was a god and the chief, Publius gave them lodging. Now, at this time the father of Publius lay sick of a fever; Paul enters the lodge and prayed and laid his hands on him, and healed him.” Paul then proceeds to heal any of the others in the tribe who were sick.

What is different about this journey Paul is on? Notice the knowledge of, “hurt and much damage.” Then the fact that he tells his shipmates to, “be of good cheer.” And when a ship wrecks in a storm what are the chances of all two hundred and twenty six passengers surviving? Plus, a serpent, whose venom is sure death, bites Paul and nothing happens to him.

Can we apply this to our pilgrim journey here on earth? Is our journey not full of, “hurt and much damage?” Do we not continually struggle with the storms of life on our journey? Are we not ministers of our Lord sent by Him to heal the lost souls of unbelievers?

Are we not also told by our Lord to, “…be of good cheer I have overcome the world?” Are we not surrounded by angels of our God, who continually protect us?

Our Lord promises in Psalms 34:18, that He is, “…nigh unto them that are of a broken heart,” and I Corinthians 10:13 promises that He, “…will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able,” and that, “...no temptations have been given to you that are not common to man.”

When the journey is tough, circumstances overwhelming we need to remember the journey of Paul and keep looking to our Lord because He has a purpose and protection for our journey.

T.A.Carlton
]]> Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:19:57 PST http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=46362 http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=45760
“If history is written by the victorious, what if the victors lied?”

A stolen text...When the Book of Aleth is stolen, Aaron, captain of the Royal Guard, is ordered by Emperor Therion to reclaim the ancient tome. The mission thrusts Aaron into a world he's never known--a world of elves and dwarves, races long thought extinct; a world where everything he has known and believed is a lie.

A secret past... Forced to challenge his long-held beliefs, Aaron and his companions, two soldiers of the Royal Guard and two men of the Dwarvish kingdom of Brekken-Dahl, set out on a quest to recover the Book. Aaron resolves to discover the truth, and rescue the empire he is sworn to protect.


To Purchase a copy, go to: http://www.pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/shadows-book-of-aleth-part-one. It is also available at multiple online retailers such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble as well as Christian Book Distributors (CBD) in both print and e-book formats (i.e. Kindle and Nook).

]]> Mon, 3 Oct 2011 11:28:02 PST http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=45760 http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=44906 The silver cord of life
Untouched by human strife
Is little more than a spider’s web
And has no strength in the flow and ebb
That comes to every life

Through pain and grief and sorrow
There’s hope for all the ‘morrow
For iron strength will come at last
To those in Christ who will hold fast
And bear up under sorrow

Trust not to human hands
Or the glint of silver strands
For God alone will be your strength
If through life you go the length
And hold His nail-pierced hand

Don’t walk through life alone
And falter at God’s throne
For Christ will be your saving grace
Just trust in Him and seek His face
You’ll never walk alone

©2011
Rev. Michael Duncan

(Scriptural references: Ecclesiastes 12:6; 1 Peter 5:10; 1 Timothy 6:17; Mark 13:13; Psalm 30:5)
 ]]> Fri, 16 Sep 2011 22:08:36 PST http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=44906 http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=44213 Overcome by: Pastor Greg Rolfe

A Book Review by Michael Duncan


“To him who overcomes…”

This is the premise of Pastor Greg Rolfe’s book, titled: Overcome, As Directed by Revelation 1-3. As I read the book, I am taken in my imagination to the pew of Beacon Hill Baptist Church where Rev. Rolfe serves as pastor. With each turn of the page, I can nearly hear him speak out from behind the pulpit as he encourages and upholds his congregation with the Word of God. Even as the forward testifies, these chapters were once sermons resounding against the hearts of those who listened. Written down, they have the chance to do so again.

Some, today, might be taken aback by a book that reads like a sermon, but I found it a refreshing and encouraging treatise on the issue at hand. Without a lot of “fluff”, Pastor Rolfe gets right to the point and delivers his declaration that: “The church, the earthly fortress of the Most High and Holy God, is at war.” And for the sake of spiritual victory, he gives us what it takes to prepare – to overcome.

Two themes are readily apparent in the text: the call to overcome, from Revelation chapters one through three, and the need for spiritual armor as found in Ephesians chapter six. Greg combines these two ideas and shows the Christian how to appropriate the armor to be prepared for victory. Each chapter begins with a key Scripture passage that is central to the theme. The chapters themselves are inundated with questions designed to make the reader examine himself. When you reach the end of each chapter you have been challenged, not only to hear the truth but to scrutinize yourself in the application of that truth.

Overcome is filled with scores of Biblical references, either directly or indirectly quoted, and is a useful resource for edification and encouragement. I think that this book will be most helpful to the average Christian who believes that they can't overcome in their lives. As a pastor myself, I have found it helpful to encourage others to realize that they can have victory.

Rev. Michael Duncan



If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the book: Overcome, you can go to Pastor Rolfe’s website: http://www.bhbaptist.org and click on the link titled: “Meet the Pastor.” You can also contact Pastor Rolfe at the contact information below.

Contact info: http://www.bhbaptist.org, Blogs on that site (meet the pastor), gregsprayer@gmail.com, http://www.linkedin.com/in/gsrolfe.

]]> Wed, 31 Aug 2011 09:45:53 PST http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=44213 http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=43779 (This article was originally posted at: Next Generation Evangelistic Network )

I am under the impression that there are some in the wide world of God’s kingdom who view the size of a congregation as the empirical test of spiritual power and prestige. Somehow the idea that “bigger is better” has crept into the mindset of those who see the church as a montage of programs and that the only blessed ministry is a fully-funded, highly-staffed and overtly energetic experience. There is, however, no biblical basis for such a systemic view of the church.

But, let’s leave that aside for a moment and wax pragmatic. Let’s tackle the idea that “bigger is better.”

By way of illustration, consider a nuclear explosion. The bomb that devastated Hiroshima had a core of uranium of about 141 pounds. However, it had the same explosive force of approximately 30 million pounds of TNT. Just because it’s small does not mean it lacks power.

Which is worth more: a five-hundred dollar diamond ring, or a five-hundred dollar car? I’m sure that my wife would much prefer the diamond ring over the car. The car is bigger but that does not mean it is better.

Okay, enough of the pragmatic realities of the “bigger is better” mentality. Let me wax spiritual for just a moment.

I attended a church many years ago that had a “prayer chain” ministry. Before you go ballistic on me, I’m not against prayer chains. In fact, I am very glad that the people of God want to connect their lives together in prayer. Anyway, I was confronted by someone looking to put something “on the prayer chain.” I encouraged that person and offered to pray with her but she insisted that the more people praying the better. I asked her, “why?” Her answer: “Because God will be able to hear it if more people are praying!”

Does God have a quota? Is there a minimal requirement of praying people? Can you imagine the Father in heaven saying, “If only they could get thirty people praying for this, then I would answer?”
The attitude of the small church is not unlike the attitude of the woman wanting the prayer chain: that the more people involved, the more God will respond. Surely, then, God is magnanimous to those “mega” churches who have thousands in attendance every week and He must be equally minimalistic to the church of ten. To quote Paul, “God forbid!”

In the sight of heaven there are no small churches! Every born-again body of believers who has Christ Jesus as the Head and the Word as the source for faith and life has the same power as any other gathering of God’s people. There are no small churches because there is no small God.

Think about it like this. One widow’s offering was worth more than all the offerings of the wealthy combined. It took one man’s stone to kill a giant. It took one boy’s lunch to feed a multitude. It took one man’s prayer to bring a drought. It took only twelve men to change the world. So, “small church” what are you doing?

Jonathan and his armor bearer defeated the Philistines. Consider Jonathan’s words: “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.” (1 Samuel 14:6).

There are no small churches, but there is small-mindedness.

The moment you say that God’s plan is impossible is the moment you have shrunk in your thinking. Every church, whether large or small, is called by God to accomplish His purpose in the community He placed them. However, to look out over the field of work and the little resources available, might bring a sense of distress and a feeling that you’re just too small to handle the task.

This same thing happened to the people of Israel. As they prepared to cross into the Promised Land, twelve spies returned and ten had developed a small-minded point of view.

But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” – Numbers 13:31-33

Don’t let yourself be lulled into a sense that you cannot accomplish the work of God simply because you’re small. God is not hindered by the size of a church’s budget or the number of participants. The only thing that will keep you from accomplishing God’s task is an unwillingness to trust Him.

To wrap this up, let’s hear it from our Lord Jesus:

To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. – Revelation 3:7-8

There are no small churches.

©2011
Rev. Michael Duncan

]]> Sat, 20 Aug 2011 12:55:26 PST http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=43779 http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=41476 So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).

Have you ever wondered at the arrival of the prodigal son? To refresh your memory, let me give you a bit of the back story. This youngest son of his father demanded his inheritance, squandered it in wild living and found himself feeding pigs in a foreign land. As he longs to feed himself with the pigs’ food he comes to his senses. He remembers his father’s house, that his father’s servants are better off than he, and determines to return home that very moment.

Now, several miles down the road we find this son walking in humility toward home. The father has been waiting for him all that time and runs to meet his returning child. With such grace and love, the father receives his son and takes him back into the home.

There are two things I want you to see, and they are conspicuous by their absence.

The first is this: the son never mentions cleaning himself up before he heads for home. Think about it. The son of a wealthy, Jewish landowner returns home with the scent of pigs lingering like a malevolent cloud all about him. The scent of that unclean creature to the Jewish life permeated the son’s clothing, his hair. He had pig dirt under his finger nails. But the son had “come to his senses” (verse 17). That’s the key. It didn’t matter the external reality of his life any longer—his heart was changed. He longed for home and for his father and though he carried the scent of pigs on his body, it would not hinder him from returning.

That is the humility of faith—that God will receive me and I can return to Him even though I still have the scent of pigs. How many have refused God because they thought they needed to “clean up” before they came back? How many have stayed away from God because they thought they were “unacceptable?” Of course you’re unacceptable! If you were acceptable you wouldn’t need grace. All of humanity is unacceptable to God—we all have the scent of pigs on us. But God loves you and is watching for your return—all you have to do is come to your senses and come back to the Father.

The second is this: the father never demanded his son clean up to be received. Again, think about it. This Jewish man, whose son squandered his wealth, sees his son returning on the road. Anger and resentment might be the normal reaction. But, before the son could protest, the father rushes him and throws his arms around him and kisses him—despite the fact that there remains the scent of pigs. Remember, the father was “filled with compassion.” That’s the key. Compassion—true compassion—receives and embraces anyone who humbly comes.

This is the nature of grace—that God watches and longs for His creation to return so that He can embrace them and be a Father to all who come. God does not hold people off at “arm’s length” until they clean themselves up from all their past and remove the scent of pigs from their lives. God rushes to receive any who come to Him by faith and He casts His mantle upon them, blesses and kisses them with His unending love, and celebrates with great joy when one sinner returns. Jesus touched the lepers and ate with sinners and spoke with prostitutes and walked with the rabble of this world. He never cast them off because He knew that the only means of expressing God’s love is to embrace—going so far as to stretch His own arms on the cross and cry out, “Father, forgive them.”

The cleaning up will happen. The longer the son remains in the presence of his father the less he will carry the scent of pigs. The longer we remain in the company of God, living in humble faithfulness, the more we lose the odor of this world, eventually to never again radiate with the scent of pigs.

©2010
Rev. Michael Duncan]]> Sat, 18 Jun 2011 09:15:54 PST http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=41476 http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=41329 Jeremiah 15:19, “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them.’”

As I read this passage of scripture, the voice of God comes ringing clearly off the pages. I cannot help but hear the condemnation of my own actions as to the things that I have yet to repent of. I find that there is a burning in my heart to become the man that I have always dreamed of being—a man of change who makes a marked difference in the world. However, I find that there is a quality of living that seems to escape me and that is to live a continually repentant life. I must repent before the restoration comes. If I do not, there is no chance that the Lord my God will use me for His divine purposes.

Restoration will always follow repentance. We have a wonderful God who loves us and calls us to service. However, He will not use us if we have remaining some transgression of which we have not repented. Perfection is not the key to valued service in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, restoration is. We cannot serve the living God without His restoring us to Himself. Do you want to know what God has called you to do and to be? If you do not repent of your sins, you will never know.

Service will always follow restoration. Jeremiah was called to be a prophet of God. He was to utter the very words that God would speak. How much importance, then, should Jeremiah place upon the words that come from his mouth? They should be worthy, not worthless words. They should be of the very best that he has to offer, filled with power and authority, filled with convictions and the very heart of God. To make application for those who are not called to be prophets, we must give our very best of what God has called us to do. Have you been called to serve? Do so diligently. Whatever your call is, perform it in a manner worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ – working with all your heart.

People will follow faithfulness. Are you faithful? If you are diligent in your service to the Lord, people will turn to your ways and follow that which you follow. However, you must not turn to their ways and follow the world. It is a lie to think that for you to understand and communicate with a sinful world, you must become like one of them. You do not need to get drunk or high in order to understand alcoholics or drug addicts. Let this people turn to you. You are the one following Jesus. Maintain your faithfulness to Him and don’t let yourself fall into the trap of worldliness.

Service follows restoration, and restoration follows repentance. This is the path that God has prepared for those who want to follow Him.
]]> Mon, 13 Jun 2011 10:32:20 PST http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=41329 http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=40790
Now I would agree that the dinosaur extinction is, perhaps, a necessity. I mean, who wants to go hiking in the mountains only to have a T-Rex disrupt a glorious morning? It ruins the entire experience. But is that the same for the prayer meeting of the church? Is the prayer meeting nothing more than a hindrance to spiritual growth and development—a disruption of other, more suitable activities?

First, prayer is the very breath of the Christian life. In the model prayer that Jesus taught His disciples, the entire scope of the Christian life is conveyed: Recognition of God as Father, yielding to His will, seeking His provision, receiving His forgiveness, living with forgiveness toward others, and following His lead through life (Matthew 6:9-13). As Jesus said, “This, then, is how you should pray.” Perhaps many churches have abandoned this model and degenerated into selfish, whim-based prayers? If so, the church must return to this model for the prayer meeting.

Second, prayer is one of the four devotions of the church (Acts 2:42). “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” These four devotions of the church (and I mean by devotion: that which is an anchor point of faithful living) must play out in the congregations of God’s people. If you will allow the illustration, these are the four legs that support the altar of the Christian life: the word of God (the apostles’ teaching), the people of God (the fellowship), the worship of God (the breaking of bread), and communion with God (prayer). Without prayer the life dynamic of the church will collapse like a table with a missing leg.

Third, prayer is the place where the church begins to see the power of God manifested. The great revivals of old all had at their foundation a collection of praying Christians. It was the group who gathered in prayer that originally received the outpouring of God’s Spirit (Acts 1:14; 2:4). The ground shook when the church prayed (Acts 4:31). Peter escaped miraculously from prison as the church prayed (Acts 12:5). The Bible says, “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call on the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord” (James 5:13-15).

Christians want to see God respond mightily to the circumstances that are in the world. But I believe that God just might be waiting on the church to respond humbly to Him in prayer and repentance. The prayer meeting of the church is not a dinosaur, lost to the ages past. It might very well be the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37), needing to hear the voice of God again and rise up on their feet, a vast army—prayer warriors all.

©2011
Rev. Michael Duncan]]> Tue, 31 May 2011 14:50:14 PST http://www.michaelduncan.authorweblog.com/default.asp?date=new&permid=40790