Trafford Publishing: Desert Duel With Satan

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Desert Duel With Satan

by Steve Novak

195 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #01-0137; ISBN 1-55212-738-9; US$19.50, C$21.95, EUR16.00, £11.00

World War II novel. Somewhat romantic with a bittersweet ending. The battles and locations are accurate. Also contains some scripture.

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about the book about the author sample excerpt catalogue info

About the Book

Would it not be interesting to see what the effect on the moral conditions of our nation would be if an additional five to ten percent of the people who shun all scriptural material would commence reading it?
There are so many great religious books written by theologians and Christian authors that are shuned by skeptics. Great numbers of people have not been acclimated to the scripture and have an aversion to it.
Obviously more of today's readers are interested in adventure, war, history and romance. Today's society has many war veterans. There are many service people. This population, as well as their relatives and friends, will readily read books based on wars, romance and adventure.
The main purpose of this book is to acclimate worldly readers to the scripture. In most cases this is a slow and delicate process. Many reject the mere mention of the Bible. DESERT DUEL WITH SATAN includes romance, adventure, and war history in a manner that will capture the interest of a worldly reader, yet he can hardly escapte the spriritual truth woven into this narrative. The first nine chapters contain a close facsimile of a biography of the author. The remainder of the book could be classed as fiction. However, the locations, battles and ship convoys are correct and researched.

About the Author

Steve Novak is an ordained non-denominational minister and a member of the Evangelical Church Alliance.
His ministry embarked him on a journey that has led him into the lives of many with shattered dreams, the homeless, the terminally ill with no knowledge of the gospel, and other crucial circumstances which engulf and deprive many of a healthy spiritual life.
Novak served eight years as a chaplain at the Heaven of Rest Rescue Mission and also conducted a daily bible study at the women and children's division of the mission.
For nine years, each Saturday and Sunday morning, he has held chapel services at the Battle Creek Adventist Hospital, south west Michigan's leading provider of mental health and addiction treatment. Four years ago this hospital was taken over by the Battle Creek Community Hospital and Leila Hospital. All Battle Creek hospitals are now incorporated and known as the Battle Creek Health System. Novak still serves there as assistant pastor. He also ministers at two retirement and nursing homes.
He attended the Syracuse University and served nearly four years in the U.S. Army during World War II, in the European and African Theater, the Middle Eastern Theater and in Japan. Novak is married and has one daughter and one granddaughter presently attending college.

Sample Excerpt - Chapter 12

"Heaven needs no riches," this was the philosophy of Malachi Zeccolo and indeed it would seem so. He often told his young energetic wife, Maria, "There is no man on earth I would trade places with, no matter how rich he might be. This humble little home we have here has been given to us by God, Himself. You my lovely Maria, He give to me when I give myself to Him. He blessed me good. How He can love a Gypsy like me so much, I don't know."
They were standing in a small garden and Malachi was leaning on his hoe. He was still a young man but not as young as Maria. He was just under average height, with very broad shoulders, and his arms bulged with well developed muscle. Maria was some nine years younger, beautifully built, and only average in looks, still her vivacious personality and happy disposition put her into a special class of well blessed children of God. Pleased by his flattery, she spoke now with a happy expression on her face, "Oh Malachi, there you go again. It's me God is blessing. Such wonderful man He give me. But now Malachi, I must tell you a secret. You are going to be a father." The hoe dropped from his hands and a look of disbelief and joy was mixed on his swarthy face. He took her in his arms, "Maria, you tell me truth? You not fooling me?" "It is true, Malachi, we are going to have a family now. We are going to have a baby." In his joy Malachi forgot the hoe and the garden. "We must get you out of this hot sun, Maria," and he turned her toward the house. She laughed at his sudden concern for her welfare. "Malachi, I am all right, and don't you go worrying about me. I need to work to keep strong." The house they were now facing was small and neat. He knew nothing about building, but he built this house by himself.
Malachi's ancestors were Nomads as far back as he could remember. As a child the only home he knew was a Gypsy wagon pulled by one horse, and when it was not moving it was parked wherever they would be allowed to rest for a time. Malachi was born in England and as in many other countries of the so called advanced culture, England was not accepting Gypsies as first class citizens in those times. His father, tired of being chased from place to place, sold what he could, including his horse and wagon, and bought their way on a cattle boat to Tunisia, a French dominated province in northern Africa. He said to his wife, with a bitter grin, "Here we have more room to move if they chase us." Malachi was their only child.
The Zeccolos indeed had more room, hundreds of miles of room. They were almost penniless but Isaac was a believer and did not worry. He had one particular verse he clung to, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matt. 6:33). "All our needs, Lena. Not wants. Just needs. He will take care of us because we are his children and we are sure of that. Lena, no matter what the world say. I show you here in our old bible. It say, "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." (John 1:12). He continued, "And that Lena, means daughters as well as sons. He don't say, but no Gypsies, but He say everybody and we do believe Him very much. Yes?" Isaac, Lena and their only child Malachi were blessed and lived a good life, yet they held to the traditional Gypsy customs. The people here however, accepted them for what they were and liked them very much. Malachi was a true Gypsy at heart. He was gifted with many talents. He played the violin with the best. He was mechanically inclined as well, and could repair almost anything. He loved horses as most gypsy men do, and he always managed to own one.
When he met Maria and fell in love, he immediately began building a house for her. He was not an architect. The important thing was to have four solid walls and a good roof; still it turned out well.
He traded items for furniture, and some he earned in various ways, At times he played at a wedding or a dance, and sometimes even at a funeral. In season he plowed for people who did not have an animal to work with. Lately some of the wealthier people in the area purchased automobiles, and he experimented in repairing these.
True, he knew nothing about engines, but gradually he gained knowledge and was often called by some unfortunate person who had a machine that would not run. Malachi had no particular desire for an automobile, he really had no need for one.
Malachi was pretty much a man of nature. He would gaze across the desert an hour at a time, often he would wander into it for a halfday journey. At times Maria would accompany him, then he would cut the trips shorter. One item he possessed and treasured much was an excellent telescope he had gotten from a Frenchman, in trade for work he did on his automobile. With this telescope he could see a gazelle a mile or more in the desert. He studied their habits for a month and finally he discovered a particular trail, which they often took to their feeding grounds. Knowing the extreme sensitivity and shyness of these creatures, Malachi dug a small depression on the down-wind side where he was able to conceal himself. He then stayed away from that area for better than a week so the herd would forget any disturbance he may have caused. Now he cleaned the old French army rifle he had acquired in trade from an old soldier who said his shooting days were ended due to his decreased vision. This was a rather costly item, for Malachi bargained to re-roof the Frenchman's cabin for it. He had a soft heart though, and would have done this for the old gentleman without any reimbursement. The rifle was in excellent shape but he had to take the Frenchman's word for the accuracy of the sight setting. He had only ten shells and decided he would use only one to check the sighting. As essential as this was, he held these shells too precious to use in such a manner. "Maria', said Malachi, "It's a long time since we had a meal of good meat. Perhaps the Lord will help us get a gazelle. I will have to stay in that hideout from before daylight, "till dark, or "till the herd passes by. They pass there almost every day, but I will watch for them only on days that the wind blows toward me for they are very sensitive." On the third day the wind blew in the right direction and Malachi was in his hideout before daylight. Time passed slowly and he had to be alert at all times. He could see for a long distance down their trail. After a four hour wait he saw a herd of five approaching. He waited until they were in rifle range. The trail came within eighty yards of his hideout. Watching them move closer and closer he got the sights right on the shoulder of a beautiful large buck. He slowly squeezed the trigger but nothing happened. After all the preparation, he found to his great disgust, that he had not cocked the rifle, Malachi could almost cry, for it could be a long time before he would again get such a perfect sighting. Maria did not show her disappointment, she only laughed and said "Perhaps I should take the rifle, and see if I can do better." Seeing his great disappointment she gave him a hug and a kiss and encouraged him the best she could. "Malachi, you can't expect to get your game every time. I know you will get that gazelle tomorrow." But Malachi was extremely cautious and waited for two days. Then, the wind being in his favor, he was in the hideout before daylight. He improvised a rifle rest from a forked stick and patiently waited, prepared for a long day. The Lord's blessing was on Malachi, and just about two hours after sunrise the herd came again. This time he was not choosie. As the first one came to proper range, and into his sights, he slowly squeezed the trigger. This time there was a loud report, and the gazelle leaped and fell, while the rest of the herd scampered away at lightning speed.
Malachi was full of joy, "Thank you, Lord. Thank you," he cried. "This time Maria will not be disappointed." This was not a buck but a large doe, somewhat smaller than the buck he had sighted the other day. This doe would be more tender and even better eating. Malachi now covered all signs of the kill so as not to disturb the herd needlessly. He then removed the doe several hundred yards before he dressed it. Now rejoicing, he proceeded to carry it home to surprise his wife. However, Maria had been watching and praying since the break of day, asking God to please not let her Malachi be disappointed the second time. When he was yet a quarter of a mile away she ran to meet him and carried the rifle. They came home rejoicing like two young children. Malachi hung the antelope off the side of the building. After cutting off a portion for Maria to cook, he began to work preparing the rest to be preserved the best way they could. A large portion of it was sliced very thing and hung in the hot sun to dry. Malachi would salt some to preserve it for future meals. From generations of experience they knew how to preserve without the use of refrigeration. After the exceptionally good meal of steak, fresh vegetables from their garden and hot bread made with corn and barley flour, the Zeccolos enjoyed the evening. Malachi played the violin, his foot tapping and his entire body moving in rhythm to the music, with Maria dancing to some of the traditional Gypsy tunes. Suddenly Malachi stopped playing, "Maria, you should not be dancing, the baby, Maria." Maria laughed at his concern. "Malachi, it's seven months away, so don't worry. Play me another song, but I will stop dancing and we sing together, ya?"
The Gypsies are perhaps the happiest people on earth. What their secret is no one seems to know, but many would pay a fortune to possess it. The Zeccolos had a double portion of happiness for they were believers. They had that special joy one can only attain by receiving Jesus as ones Savior and committing one's life to Him. Nothing else will do. With Jesus we have life. Without Him we just exist and most times exist in a miserable state. When trials and troubles stalk us there is no one to lean on and no secure foundation. When storms of life come upon us we have nothing to sustain us. Jesus is the Solid Rock if we take Him for our foundation. Then as (Matt. 7:24-27) states, "That house will stand through the storms of life." The Zeccolos' final song before retiring was that great hymn composed by Augustus Toplady, Rock of Ages. It was a sort of tradition with Malachi to end the evenings by playing Rock of Ages. He often told Maria, "It is a combination of prayer and witness and I love it. Maria, we are in times of great troubles. There is war all around us and only if God wills it, will Tunisia be spared."
The Zeccolos did not know how far and how rapidly the modern warfare spreads, nor the awesome fierceness of it. They did not know at that very hour a convoy of eight hundred ships was unloading in Oran and Algiers and simultaneously another large convoy of American ships was already unloading in Casablanca. Most of those mighty armies would end up in Tunisia, some at their own doorstep. Even now the Allies were making a mad dash for Tunis, the chief city of Tunisia, which was now being hastily reinforced by the Germans. Satan must have been delighted with the development taking place. The peace loving people like the Zeccolos and their good neighbors had one very simple desire. They asked only to be given a chance to make an honest living and to co-exist in pace and love with those about them. They prayed to be spared from the holocaust hovering about them.
Ah, love, precious love for how can there be peace without it? How can there be peace without God? God is love. (I John 4:8) states that "He who loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love." therefore, love is the greatest and nothing can be successful without it. Love is the root of all blessings and Jesus is the fountain of all true love, nowhere else can it be obtained. If you have committed yourself to Him and asked Him into your heart, then your heart is filled to the brim with the very same love that is in the heart of Jesus. That is our source of love, from that fountain, Jesus Christ. The difference is, the love flowing from the heart of Jesus flows freely to all. Revelation 21:6 states, "I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." How great this love is. Since our hearts are ever filled to the brim with it why would we hoard it? A person unlike God, seems to have floodgates on the heart. If we like someone we open the floodgates a crack and let a little love trickle to that person. If we do not like someone we shut the floodgates tightly and that person does not receive a trickle of our love, that love which Jesus gave us, a continuous stream of it, freely. If we threw open these floodgates from our hearts, each of us, and let this love flow freely to everyone as Jesus does, what a glorious place this world would be. If we would but consider the words of our King in (Matt. 25:40) "As ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me." His compassion is so great that He went to the cross for us. He wore that crown of thorns for the most vile of sinners. Evenmore, He bore the humiliation by personally bearing on His head all of the sins of the human race, even the most vile of sins. He took them to the cross, and there He paid for all of the sins of the world. "Whosoever receives Him is clean, white as snow," states (Isaiah 1:18.) He died that we might one day be with Him in glory. He who rejects him is separated from God forever, for eternity. God and love is inseparable, therefore, since God is the greatest so love is also the greatest. Love is the ball-bearing on which all good of heaven and earth revolves. Man can't dispense it and not receive a blessing.
Malachi sat silent for a while but he was a very energetic man and he could not be still for long. He said, "Maria we have been happy here and God has been good to us. We must continue to trust Him and not be afraid or worry." He picked up his violin and carefully tuned it, then took the bow and began to play a song he learned from his grandfather when he was a little child. This led to more old gypsy ballads and the violin began to cry as only a great gypsy violinist can make one cry. He held the instrument closely, drawing the bow over the quivering strings, his mind absorbed by the tunes that came from the instrument and filled the room. He played three songs then he removed the violin from his shoulder. When he looked at Maria he noted a sad countenance on her face. So much, that tears brimmed her lovely brown eyes, and he noted a few tears had overflowed and trickled down her smooth cheek. He hesitated but a few seconds, then as if by magic, made that violin sing tunes of happiness and filled with joy. It would laugh in his hands, and seemed to dance to the rhythm of his tapping foot. "Sing Maria," he joyfully shouted. "Sing us a song of joy for we are Gypsies, Gypsies happy people." Maria's tears seemed to fade much faster than they had appeared and she responded to her husband's joyful mood and the happy Gypsy tunes that bounced about the room. Maria danced and sang and laughed. Malachi finally put the violin down. Maria was breathless from the dancing and singing. "Come here, little one," he said. They spent the evening talking of future plans with the baby. "Malachi, do you want our baby to be, a boy or a girl?" Maria asked almost wistfully. "Would be nice to have a little girl. One that look like my Maria just as pretty and just as sweet." "Oh, Malachi that is making me feel all happy inside, but are you sure? What if God gives us a boy? One that's handsome and strong like you. Soon as he walks he will follow you around. When he is older he will help in the garden, learn to hunt and to play the violin. You would like that." "Maria, what you say if we take what God gives us?" they both laughed. "Malachi, if it be a boy, what will be his name. Should he be named same as his Daddy or Grandpa?" "No Maria, I am your Malachi. We get mixed up if we have two by same name. We got lots of time to think up names." Maria thought this over a short time. "You know, Malachi, when Grandma lived she always said baby should have name soon as Mamma knows one is inside her. Then she can talk to it by name. She said a good name make a good person. She said baby should not have a name of an evil person, but somebody good." Malachi could tell that Maria was serious, and that the family tradition meant a lot to her. "Maria, I would give him a better name like Elijah. He not only was a brave man, he obeyed God. Man can't do more than that. If God give him an order he carried it out. To Elijah it was more important then life. What you think?" "That's a good name, Malachi. Now our baby has a name. But what if it's a girl?" "If it's a girl it can't be Maria, because we get mixed up, maybe something like Maria. How about Mary? Almost like Maria. Jesus' Mother was Mary. What you say, Maria? You like Mary?" Maria was bubbling over with joy. "I was thinking of that name also. Mary or Elijah. It will be our best gift from God."

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