Christian Star News www.csn-paper.com
U.S.A
Issue 12
December 2009
The Cure For Perfection Paralysis
pg. 4
A Word from The Publisher pg. 3
Women of Worth
pg.5
Get your “STERIZO” on!
Happy Holidays
pg. 8
General Information: (337) 794-7304 www.CSN-Paper.com Publisher: Monica Soileau monicasoileau@christianstarnewspaper.com
Business Directory
Cornerstone University..................337-497-1871 EXT. 101 1605 Broad St. Lake Charles, La
ATTORNEYS
Oval Bible College..........................337-853-9755 EXT. 101 - 1717 E. Prien Lake Rd. Lake Charles, La
Docet Lorio LLC...............................337-433-0100 One Lakeshore Drive Suite 1600 Lake Charles, La
chamber OF COMMERCE
AUTO SALES-NEW & USED
Greater Women Chamber of Commerce www.gwccmission.com.................713-413.2305
BAKERIES
Graphic/Web Design and Printing
Chief Editor: Rolland Soileau rollandsoileau@christianstarnewspaper.com
Cypi’s Cake Box...............................337-478-0269 Galan Graphix................................713-203-6927 520 W McNeese St Lk Charles, La www.galangraphix.com
Advertising: Chauncey Latigue cl@christianstarnewspaper.com (337) 794-7304 Derrick Singleton; SWLA
derricksingleton@christianstarnewspaper.com
(337) 853-5172 R. Jane Guillory JaneGuillory@christianstarnewspaper.com (713) 413-2305 Designer: Chief - Sasha Singleton
sashamcdaniel@christianstarnewspaper.com
(337) 853-9883 Contributors: Anthony Carta Dr. Alfred Adams Casey Sullock Chauncy Latigue Michele Ledoux Abshire Monica Soileau Rafael Bastien-Herrera Pamela Thibodeaux Rev. E.J. Kemper III Distribution Managers: Derrick Singleton: Louisiana Nolan Melonson: Houston, Texas Disclaimer: The entire content of this paper is copyrighted © December 2009 by Christian Star News. All rights reserved. Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without the expressed written consent of the publisher. Christian Star News is not responsible for any claims made by advertisers. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the publisher.
BANKS
His Eye 4 Dezign..............................337-853-9883
BANQUET FACILITIES
HOME HEALTH SERVICES
Gathering Place The.......................337-433-0444 1100 1st Avenue Lk Charles, La
St. Paul Companion Care LLC .........337-433-1403
BARBERS
INSURANCE AGENTS
www.stpcc.com
Collins Service Center.....................337-436-6602 Melanie Perry................................337-855-7768 1601 N Prater St Lk Charles, La State Farm
BEAUTY SALONS
MASSAGES
Anointed Total Hair Care...............337-884-2977 www.athaircare.com
Hands for Life...............................337-477-2161 Kathy Cookson
BEDS-RETAIL Mattress & Waterbed Gallery.......337-474-1350 716 E Prien Lk Rd. Lk Charles, La
BRIDAL SHOPS BUILDING CONTRACTORS Quality Design Builders.................337-485-2460 Curtis Rougeau
BUSINESS CONSULTANTS
NATIONAL ADVERTISING FIRM Jane Consulting.............................832-588-8440
www.janeconsulting.org WfJ, Inc..........................................337-478-9005
www.wfjinc.net
PARTY STORES Club Tabby.....................................337-478-3600 Inside Prien Lake Mall Lake Charles, La
PHYSICIANS
SBA-McNeese University...............337-475-5000 Deb King
REAL ESTATE CONSULTANTS
BIBLE COLLEGES/SEMINARIES
RESTAURANTS
Calvary Theological Seminary.......337-853-9755 1605 Broad St. Lake Charles, La
Coffee Cup Diner..........................337-491-0960 909 Mulberry St Westlake, La
Scripture of the Month 1 Peter 5:7-9 (New International Version) “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert.Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
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A “Word” from The Publisher As we come to the end of 2009, I want to express my gratitude to everyone who encouraged Christian Star News to keep pressing forward. CSN knew that there were hungry Christians out there seeking to read and share “Good News”. We pray that CSN continues to improve in providing the readers 1.) Articles which are encouraging and informative 2.) Connections to our local businesses which in turn support our communities, and 3.) The word of GOD and also helping to manifest HIS word into action. We, at Christian Star News, believe that we must not only talk about Christ and what He means, but we must also turn these words into deeds. Words alone do not feed a starving person, nor do they clothe someone who has no clothes. We will continue to bring forth the call to be our brother’s keepers in the coming
year. Cast not a judgmental eye upon your neighbor, but instead gleam a compassionate glare in his direction. We all have a compassionate nature inside of us and we need to bring it forth
daily, not just on Sundays in Church with people whom we are familiar with.
When was the last time you gave to a homeless person, or even stopped to hold a conversation with someone who was down on their luck? In this Christmas season, we have a lot to be thankful for, even though some of us may not think so. It takes a community to raise a child, but what are communities? People who just happen to live close to each other? No, I think its people who are willing to work together to make things happen. Our communities can stretch from one end of the continent to the other if we all work to follow the words that our Lord left behind to guide us in times of doubt and apathy towards each other. Make someone’s Christmas special this year. Give them a hug or even a smile. A smile or a hug is a gift that doesn’t cost much, but really goes a long way.
Thought for the month: During this Christmas Season, of December, family issues seem to surface and prevent them from bonding and celebrating the birth of Christ. Let’s not resort to doing the work of our accuser, the devil, by being a stumbling block in his or her venture to knowing Him and accepting His blood to cover all of our transgressions. The Bible instructs us to love everyone, including our enemies, but also to be encouragers. Let’s set our offering at the altar and go to be reconciled with our family, so that our sacrifices for the Lord are made holy and acceptable to Him, in Jesus name, Amen!
Christ Our Savior is Born!
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The Cure For Perfection Paralysis By Casey Sollock Lake Jackson, Texas
PERFECTION PARALYSIS! Have you ever felt like you couldn’t do anything until it was perfect? Stop thinking that. We are all out here being imperfect human beings. Join the fun! Successful people take imperfect action. We can’t be perfect! It’s impossible. If you wait until your business is perfect before getting out there and talking about it, you are wasting valuable marketing time. Give yourself some slack. No one expects perfection from you. You, and your business, are already perfect enough. You can continue to grow and tweak your business, your offerings, your presentation, but go ahead and start marketing. You only need to be a step ahead of your target market to be able to provide valuable insight and ideas, and I bet you are already two steps ahead in your area of expertise. What do you do? Do you know more about it than the average person on the street? Chances are, you do. And, you need to get out there and share that knowledge with people. God has equipped you to do your work. You have to take the first step, in faith.
How do you overcome PERFECTION PARALYSIS? Well, first, make the decision that you’re going to move forward in your business no matter what. Set a date to accomplish something you’ve been putting off. When you know there’s a deadline coming, you’ll get into gear. You’ll get your presentation/speech/workshop/ done. No matter what, you’ll know you’re doing that event on that day, and you’ll have to do it…even if it’s not perfect! And, no one will know it’s not perfect. Next you need to prepare. Prepare your speech/presentation. Prepare and distribute handouts/flyers directed at your target market. You must market so people will come! Announce what you’re doing on the social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Next, get the support you’ll need to pull that event off. Do you need child care? Do you need professional support? Do you need an accountability partner/friend to make sure you are doing what needs to be done? Finally, reward yourself when you’ve accomplished your goal! What makes you happy? Do something that makes you happy when you have successfully accomplished your goal. Celebrate! You have overcome PERFEC-
TION PARALYSIS by taking action! ACTION, not INACTION, is what will make your business successful! YOUR ASSIGNMENT: Decide on what you want to do to move forward in your business (just choose one thing to focus on that will bring big results…focusing on too many things can result in overwhelm and inaction). Set a date, in the near future, by which you will accomplish this task. Prepare. Get support. Get it done! Then, reward yourself for overcoming perfection paralysis! Reward yourself for getting out there and sharing your talents with the world! You ROCK! Casey Sollock is the Career Happiness Coach and owner of Career Happiness Now!. She creates career happiness for Christian mompreneurs. She helps them start and grow businesses they are passionate about, based on their Godgiven gifts, while keeping family first. She is available for speaking, coaching, writing and encouraging! Please visit her at www. careerhappinessnow.com and receive your free copy of “The 7 Motivational Gifts and YOUR Unique Gift Mix.”
You ask WWJD? I say MMLJ will tell you.
What is MMLJ…. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, also known as the gospels of Jesus Christ. In these last days of a world gone bad, girls gone wild, men gone crazy, and children gone nuts. It’s imperative that you do not fall into the gap of the worlds system. Cliché after cliché after fad and bandwagon and so on. Get you a Bible and start reading. Read a Proverb and or a Psalm a day. This world is a pool of ingredients waiting for you to dive in and fill yourself with it. I was wondering; hypothetically speaking what if God made us wear a sign on our backs that told the “world” what we
really were away from his Grace. Imagine on your back where everyone could see Wife Beater, Crack addict, Thief, Liar, dope dealer, child pornography producer, Gay man, Lesbian woman, God tester, evil person, Drunkard, Lazy, slacker, Prideful, glutton, adulterer (sex with someone else while married), Fornicator (that is sex, before marriage) Prejudice, terrorist, suicidal, whiner, back stabber, poor, unsaved filthy rich millionaire, devil worshipper and so on..Now you fill in the blank with whatever you struggle with giving over to God for deliverance, I am a ____! But no one knows I want to give it up, but how? What must I do for true deliverance and become new? Glad you asked, In the new Bible you will buy after reading this nugget see 2 Corinthians 10:5 it states” Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into Captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Then it states in verse 7a: Do you look on things after the outward appearance? (With the jacket on) Well turn over to 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 couple of pages back in your new Bible. It states: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away: behold all
things are become new. And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them (wearing what you’ve done or where you’ve been) and hath committed unto us the word of Reconciliation. That, my friend is WWJD. He is the almighty one able to forgive you of your sins, able to allow you access to the throne so you can cry out “Lord Help me” father forgive me; Come into my heart and save me. Jesus I Love you. Cry out today! Let this be the day you remove your grave clothes and be loosed from the world’s system and dress in the whole armor of God according to Ephesians 6:1017 ( 17 talks about your new Bible) I am here to set you free from Bondage and let you know that it’s okay to be a God Lover and to Pray. It is one thing this world cannot take away, your God given right to talk to him. (Pray) whenever, where ever, and however! God knows your heart (see Psalm 139) and he is listening to you!
By Chauncey Latigue Lake Charles, La
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Women of Worth Marilyn Orton President of WOW I can't even begin to describe to you the joy I have in announcing God's Perfect Choice to become the Executive Director of WOW USA! She is Mrs. Monica Soileau, from the great city of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Monica has an abundance of gifts, all of which she uses for the Lord. After 16 years at her job with Conoco Phillips, she recently walked away from it to go, by faith, into full time ministry. We thank God for leading her to WOW! When Monica was only 8 years old, her Father shot her Mother in the head, and then committed suicide. Instead of Monica becoming bitter, she became better! You must read her book Domestic Violence: The Forgotten Victims. Monica offers hope, healing and restoration through her many ministries. She is the publisher of the Christian Star Newspaper. She also ministers in Juvenile Detention Centers, Prisons and Evangelism Conferences. She has also been the radio talk show host of Bent But Not Broken, which deals with real people with real problems. Monica will be speaking at upcoming scheduled conferences for WOW, both nationally and internationally. Women of Worth International has developed a very simple step-by-step program to create and maintain a successful Women’s Ministry in your church. • WOW is totally FREE • It is completely under the leadership of you, the Pastor • It is non-denominational • It does not take women away from other churches • It reduces your workload, as you delegate duties to the Women’s Ministry
• • •
It provides structure and accountability for your women It equips your women to minister to others It shares Christ with women who don’t know Him and disciples those that do
A WORD OF WELCOME TO WOMEN • lf you are worn out from carrying the load of a Women’s Ministry in your church, there is GOOD news! WOW will show you how to structure the ministry so that it is evenly distributed among the women of the church. • Your women will become excited about using their spiritual gifts to serve within the church. • Your women will have a set time each month for a Girls fellowship where you just get together and have fun! • You will develop the leadership skills of your women as they become responsible for a portion of the ministry • As you study the Word of God together you will grow together. Your WOW group will become a safe place to share your struggles and joy • As other churches in your area start their own WOW chapter, you will soon have a network of WOW women who will come together once a year and plan a Celebrate Jesus Festival for everyone to join. To Arrange speaking engagements with Monica Soileau for 2010, please immediately contact via email MonicaSoileau@ ChristianStarNewspaper.com because her schedule is quickly filling up. A portion of the proceeds donated to Monica Soileau will be tithed back into WOW International. Visit www.wowintl.net and register today to begin your WOW Chapter
The Red Ruffled Underpants
Have you experienced one of those age old lessons through the hand of discipline that teach you something for a lifetime? When I was a little girl I had one of those lessons and it has stayed with me all the days of my life. Though I was very young, this lesson was so real to me that to this day I have not forgotten it. At the time the lesson was hard to take and quite embarrassing yet it was necessary and I believe I am a better person for it today. That is what discipline is all about. Though we may not always understand discipline or like it, discipline is necessary. Discipline is born out of deep love from your parents and from God as you learn to walk in Him. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye illegitimate sons, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Heb 12:5-11 It was my fourth or fifth birthday party and my mom had invited family, friends and neighbors to join the event. A few days before the party, I remember one of the neighbors asking me what I wanted for my birthday and I told her that I wanted a doll. She kindly nodded her head, smiled and said “Uhm, we shall see.” Well, I took that answer for a definite “yes.” I can remember being excited, anticipation filling my heart. I remember the excitement of opening my presents; waiting until it was time to open the present from my neighbor only to discover that the box contained not a doll but a pair of red-ruffled underwear. I didn’t notice that they really were quite a beautiful pair of soft and silky underpants (quite the style when I was little); I was mad to say the very least! There in front
of all to see, I threw down the box, began to stomp my feet, crying and accusing the giver “you promised me a doll!” Looking back I can imagine my mom’s embarrassment at her young daughter’s angry outburst. How I must have hurt that dear neighbor’s feelings. However, my mom quickly took control and brought me to my bedroom, spanked me and explained that my behavior was unacceptable. She then marched me back in the living room in front of all those staring eyes to apologize to that dear woman and thank her for the present. Embarrassment of the highest degree! Though a hard lesson at the time I am now thankful that I learned it. What I did was so wrong and hurtful and I would never want to do that to anyone ever again. I am thankful for the discipline that my mom metered out that day; discipline that put me on the path toward being kinder and appreciative. I am thankful that my mom did not accept my bad behavior and made me apologize. To this day I accept presents with grace and appreciation taking care not to hurt the giver’s feelings. Gifts should always be appreciated because they are freely given with the hope of blessing someone. Hopefully, throughout life, we will have many such lessons. If we allow them to change us for the better those lessons will be valuable in our lives. Lessons such as this one will cause us to be better people so that we can be a light in the darkness. These lessons are all pieces of the puzzle that makes us unique and who we are as individuals. When we become God’s children he disciplines us as His children. He disciplines us out of His great love for us. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 12:5b “My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:” because as Hebrews 12:10b-11 states there is always a greater purpose in the discipline “but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” Another very interesting and sort of funny thing happened with this present I was so unappreciative of receiving. At some point, I learned to love those redruffled underpants. They became my ‘underwear of choice’ and I wore those redruffled underpants at every opportunity given to me. I wore them until the ruffles were falling off and they were threadbare.
Finally, mom had to take control again and say, “Michele, I really think it is time to let these go!” I remember that fateful day as she pulled them from my drawer and held them up for me to take stock and really see them; I had to admit they had seen better days. It was time to let them go once and for all. How did something so upsetting to me at first become so valuable in the end? Simply put, I had a change of heart toward that gift and it all started with discipline. We can liken this story to the greatest gift ever given to us by God. His name is Jesus and He is the Only Begotten Son of the Father. John 3:16 tells us “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jesus is a prime example of a gift not always appreciated or accepted. Yet, He was a gift freely given for us that we might have eternal life in Him. Not all appreciate and accept Jesus, much like I treated those red-ruffled underpants. However, isn’t it awesome that His love for us, His most prized creation, is so great that He continues to reach out to us in love always reminding us that the gift is still there to accept. Often we will take our gifts back if someone is unappreciative but not God. And once we come to accept this precious gift from the Father that was freely given we come to love Him and appreciate Him and wonder how we ever lived without Him. Unlike those red-ruffled underwear Jesus will never wear out or grow old, our love for Him grows continuously as we learn to know Him more and more. Yes, He is the greatest gift ever given. I pray and hope that we don’t callously turn His gift of love away. The gift has been freely given, the debt paid but we must accept it. If I had never accepted that gift of the red-ruffled underwear, if I had never chose to put them on and wear them, I would never had learned to appreciate and love the gift that was so freely given by that dear neighbor woman. It is the same with accepting the gift of Jesus Christ. Christmas is a time in which we celebrate the gift of God to us, Jesus Christ. This Christmas may we be more aware of what a special gift Jesus is to us. May we take the time to acknowledge and appreciate this wonderful gift. May the gift of His life fill our hearts with wonder, love, hope, joy and may blessings fall to you and your home. Truly, Jesus is the Reason for the Season; all of Christmas with its trimmings and gift giving started first with God and His most precious gift to us, Jesus! Love in Christ, Michele LeDoux Abshire Copy write December 2008
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D P ivine
rescriptions
with E.J. Kemper III
T
he Problem: Delivered but still bound
Jesus told Mary that if she only believed, that day would be the day of her brothers resurrection. Jesus stood outside the grave of Lazarus and cried aloud “Lazarus come forth”. Jesus called death and commanded him to let Lazarus go. Many of us can share this same testimony. Jesus has resurrected thing in our lives from the dead. What has Jesus resurrected in your life? Was it your marriage? Your finances? Maybe it was your ministry? Or your health? Just as Jesus brought life back into that dead body so did He bring life back into your dead circumstance. However, Lazarus found himself with another problem even after being resurrected from the dead. The Bible says “and he that was dead came forth, bound…” Indeed Christ had delivered him but he was still bound. In fact, the Word says his hands, feet and face was bound. How interesting! Allow me to tell you that many of us are in this predicament. We have been delivered but we are still bound. We are bound in our hands and feet: our deeds. And we are bound on our faces: our minds. Many husbands and wives experience God’s great gift of forgiveness and reconciliation, only to continue in the action that brought about death in the first place. What a tragedy for spouses to reconcile and then continue in the behavior that brought about distrust, hurt and anger. Many of us have been delivered from the PENALTY of sin but we still struggle with the POWER and PRESENCE sin. If we want to operate in the deliverance of God we must be loosed from the cycle of actions that initiated death originally. Not only
must we change in deed but there must also be a change in our minds. The Bible says “so as a man thinks in his heart so is he…” This means you are what you think….not you are what you eat. We cannot continue to think negative of our situations and expect positive. We cannot continue to think doubtful and mistrusting thoughts about others and expect confidence and trust to prevail. We must be loosed in our minds.
What a blessing it is to be surrounded by someone who will intercede on your behalf and encourage you to do better. We must be surrounded with people
T
he Prescription: Loose him and let him go Jesus said, after Lazarus had come forth, “Loose him and let him go”. Jesus had done His part by delivering Lazarus from death. He then commanded that others come and loose him from the bondage of the grave clothes. So it is with us my dears. If we are to be loosed to walk in the glorious deliverance that Christ has made available, we must have LOOS-
who will tell us when we are slipping back into negative thoughts and deeds. This is why the Bible tells us to not forsake our fellowship with believers. If we are to walk in the deliverance that Christ has made available we must be loosed in our deeds. We must learn to change the negative behavior that has been so harmful to our relationships. We cannot go to the same places that led us into sin and think that we won’t somehow…..sin. Nor can we fill our minds with the same foolishness that led us to sin and think that we won’t think how we once thought. If we are to walk in the fullness of our deliverance we must be loosed. Amen!
Loose him and let him go ERS in our lives. A looser is some one who will speak positive confessions over that area of bondage in your life. Often times a spouse can be a looser. Our sisters and brothers in Christ are great candidates to loose us from the negative patterns that keep us in bondage. Most of all our pastors, preachers and teachers are loosers. When the Word of God is taught it empowers us to change. The Bible, when taught right, can strengthen every area of the believers’ life. When the songs of Zion are sung they encourage us to live righteous. We find hope and strength in the fellowship of other believers.
E.J. Kemper III is the youth pastor at First Community Baptist Church. You may contact him at revejkemper@ yahoo.com or visit him online at www. ejkemperministries.com
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Get your “STERIZO” On! Written By Anthony Carta Freedom By Faith Ministries www.championshipfaith.com Farmington Hills, MI But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep [you] from evil. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 For the unsaved and many Born Again Believers alike, a developed dependency on natural senses dictates emotional action and reaction (emotional drive). The indwelling Spirit of God utilizes spiritual senses just as you utilize natural senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell) in an effort to develop emotional responses that will act and react as the Supernatural Family would. Pre-Jesus conditioning utilizes memory to enhance action and reaction, a type of response to cognitive skill development. This is in direct conflict with the development of the Born Again Believers spiritual being (Romans 8:7). Fortunately we have… SALVATION! Salvation Is Changing The Way We Think! The mind is developed with information provided by multiple sources including direct and indirect experiences. If we did not have a Holy Spirit filter (attributes of salvation plus dedication to pursuing things of God) in place we were most likely getting fed with things that did not build or encourage us but truly would keep our focus on worldly pursuits and desires. On the other hand, our Daddy provides us with knowledge to combat the “seen” with the “unseen” which is encouraging and definitely knowledge worth pursuing! Remember, the “power of the air” intentionally conditioned into the brain of the unsaved philosophies dissimilar to the precepts of salvation. That type of conditioning will always cause a development of accepted “false-truths” (oxymoron). The “false-
truths” are contrary to legitimate and “real truths” taught by the Living Word of God. The “false-truth” development may have manifested itself in such a way that it is not immediately perceived as something that hinders your regenerating mind. Consider how a Born Again Believer’s personal worldly interests (YES… I did write “Born Again Believer” and “worldly interests” in the same sentence) redirect the Born Again Believers attention from Kingdom of God precepts. This is an example of the pre-Jesus conditioning manifesting as a mind-desire redirecting a pursuit of your Supernatural Family. Born Again Believers frequently allow pre-Jesus conditioned “desire” power (strong influence on the mindset of a certain desire) to dictate pursuits which could lead to allowing things into the Believers mindset that are not spiritually heart smart! Dramatically changing this thought process type requires the Born Again Believers own diligence along with VERY ACTIVE and PROMISED help from the Supernatural Family. Much like physical exercise, spiritual exercise requires self-discipline but carries the benefit of a healthy spiritual heart! Get Your STERIZO On! But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep [you] from evil. 2 Thessalonians 3:3
not become undone (keep) if we continue to diligently seek Him! The same word “sterizo” is used again in Romans. Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, Romans 16:25 The Born Again Believer has to do their part to maintain the “sterizo” that has taken place. The supernatural act of making the mind firm (stablish you according to…) requires the good news (gospel) and preaching of Jesus Christ. You find this in the Living Word of God, anointed church sermons, Born Again Believer books, CDs and DVDs! As you pursue the gospel and preaching, God has promised that you will receive revelation. Understand that the statement in Romans, “according to the revelation of the mystery” is a statement of fact, an event that WILL occur. Revelation is a result of “teaching” by the indwelling Spirit of God (1 John 2:27) which is evidence of the power of God operating in your life. The indwelling teaching is what will develop the “sterizo” leading to ongoing change in the way the Believer thinks! Clearly, the thought process of the Born Again Believer is changing through the work of the Supernatural Family, but the enhancement of, is dictated by what we do! Spiritual Logic Point: “Rules of how things are and will be” are SUBJECT TO the impact of the Born Again Believers faith!
Salvation Is Changing The Way We Think! The word “stablish” comes from the Greek word “sterizo” which is translated as strengthening and making the mind firm and consistent. The promise in the verse is very specific: He will do (stablish) and prevent. The “doing” is setting into place your spiritual heart and sound mind with a very courageous indwelling Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 1:7)! The best part of this “doing” is that our Daddy is also insuring that what He does will
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Get your “Sterizo” on continued
can speed up the How You process of mind regeneration (Romans 12:2) Have I by changing the old Changed? Pre-Jesus conditioned
habits! We can, as Spirit filled Believers, eliminate doubt and any thing that contradicts the true knowledge of God by diligently pursuing the Kingdom of God. This creates a confidence that redevelops the pre-Jesus pragmatism and reactions that are typically driven by a pre-Jesus conditioned emotional drive (feelings). How Have I Changed? I Don’t Feel Any Different The word “feelings” is defined as an emotion driven reaction to a circumstance that has been perceived by one or many of the natural senses. Many of us when we accept Jesus Christ as our savior expect an immediate change in the way we think especially how we process and react to outward stimulus. The word tells us that man believes with the heart unto salvation, not the mind. When you make the verbal statement of belief you are confessing with the heart. We typically do not identify the change immediately but the confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for our sins DOES open the door for the Holy Spirit to come into you and start the transformation process. But there is [a vital force] a spirit [of intelligence] in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives men understanding. Job 32:8 (Amplified) The most powerful force in the universe is now working inside of you giving you a “sterizo” that is a consistent reminder that old pre-Jesus rules don’t apply! “Feelings”, typically driven by events that are designed by the enemy to stir emotions, will continue to develop into a force that drives actions and reactions UNLESS you consciously bring those thoughts into the captivity of Jesus (2 Corinthians 10:5) by meditating on the promises in the Living Word of God. As a result of the promise, the Born Again Believer can deduce a Godly action in response to said event. Developing this course of action will cause the Believer to become less responsive with pre-Jesus
conditioned emotions such as doubt, fear and worry. As you become more dependent on what is taught in the Living Word of God and the rules which your Supernatural Family live and play by (walk by faith, call things that are not as though they are, etc.), the change becomes evident. This is the first step towards developing your spiritual senses along with a confidence (faith) of dependency on the “sterizo” that is occurring! The Old Habit of “Feeling” A tactic of the enemy is to stimulate the pre-Jesus conditioned emotional drive with the objective of creating a hyper-focus on how you feel (to be conscious of an inward impression, state of mind, or physical condition) based on emotions that are contrary to Supernatural Family principles! But do not be discouraged, the enemy is shooting a bigger caliber bullet with the desire to make you think that “sterizo” is not happening. He’s a LIAR! The enemy has a full understanding that our thinking pattern determines how we “feel” and that our conscious is truly a product of our conditioning. Now I am going to ask you this: when you accepted Jesus Christ as Lord did you immediately start to think different? The next day did you respond to the same inconveniences with a far more spiritual approach? Most will say “no”. (If you said yes, recognize the power of God at work inside you, you made a super Holy Ghost leap) Please understand that though you may not be thinking completely different, you were saved and you stepped from a world that you had no control over to an existence in which you have immense supernatural power that awaits development and utilization! Though you may not discard those emotional and/or physical habits immediately, you are still operating in the faith realm and because you are in the faith realm your approach to situations will change. The Sterizo Influence! That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; Ephesians 3:16 You are in the process of being made “strong” emotionally (inner man) by the absolute power (riches of His Glory) in the universe with a very present helper (Spirit). The emotional drive can be redeveloped by Supernatural Family influence that would stimulate results causing an
“action” and/or “reaction” to be identical, not just similar, to that of Jesus. The “WWJD” (what would Jesus do?) takes on a whole new revelation as you develop and your “sterizo” impacts your mindset! As Believers we put a lot of weight on how we “feel”. We are very much in touch with our temporal-physical senses, sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. If the pre-Jesus conditioned mindset cannot utilize one of the five senses to determine the existence of a person place or thing, the item is very difficult to accept as a reality. Faith is all about believing what you cannot perceive with your natural senses, so as your faith develops so will your spiritual senses. The Sterizo Brings In Line Your “Feelings” Your pre-Jesus conditioning has placed an over-weighted, exaggerated importance on feelings. It has made “feelings” your gauge of judging what is real and what is not and has created you to respond accordingly. Those pre-Jesus remnant emotions, often times wrapped with uncertainty, are bred in the natural and eternal dimensions as we, a three part creation (body, soul and spirit), are active in both. Conditioning (Godly and anti-God) continues to occur in both realms of operation with the Supernatural Family moving your “sterizo” forward with Satan and his followers attempting to stop your faith influence. Ironically, development of “feelings” that line-up with the precepts of God can effectively eliminate influence contrary to the Spirit of God. To develop the emotions of God and to develop His sense of what is “real” requires the Born Again Believer to be proactive with Kingdom pursuit. When you put your Bible down, you are barraged with the conditioning of both dimensions with the enemy attempting to get his spiritual and natural influence anchored! There just so happens to be certain times when the enemy with his attempt to deceive appears to have a foothold on your “sterizo” development. NOT TRUE, Satan can’t stop God! Excerpt from the book “God’s Kids” “God’s Kids” can be ordered by clicking on “Books/Seminars” at www.championshipfaith.com
December 2009
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Question: "Will The
World End In 2012 According To Mayan Prophecy?"
A
equatorial plane from the observer) on December 21 for the Northern Heminswer: There has been so much sphere and June 21 for the Southern in the media regarding the 2012 Mayan Hemisphere. That year, the solstice occurs "end of the world" prophecy. Let's see at the moment of the conjunction of the how it stands up to Scripture. Galactic Equator with the Milky Way. The The ancient Mayans, based on star year this occurs (in relation to our Gregocharting, prophesied that December 21, 2012 would be the end of the world (or at rian calendar) is A.D. 2012, and happened least some form of universal catastrophe). last on August 11, 3114 B.C. Now, with the Mayan's mythology Meso-American star charting started teaching that our sun is a god and the around 680 B.C. by the Olmec civilization Milky Way is the gateway to life and who were recording astrological patterns death, they concluded that this interin the sky and eventually shared this insection in the past must have been the formation with the Mayans. The Mayans moment of creation. Mayan hieroglyphs/ had a long history of tracking the winter writings seem to indicate that they besolstice (probably for planting crops) and lieved the next intersection in 2012 would creating calendars (at least 17 that we be some sort of end and a new beginning know of). At some point, they developed of a cycle. The Mayans also believed that the belief that our sun is a god and that the blood of human sacrifices was what the Milky Way, called the “Sacred Tree,” was a gateway to the afterlife. After learn- powered the sun and gave it life. All the so-called “Mayan propheing from the Olmecs, they began keeping cies of 2012” are nothing more than records of the stars’ patterns of wildly speculatively deduced movement and continued to interpretations, which do so for the next 200To accept the are based on the yet 300 years. The MainterpretaMayan 2012 prophecy also uncertain yans then developed tions by scholars of their own calendar Mayan hieroglyphs. denies the clear biblical teach(The Long Count) the truth ca. 355 B.C. They ing about the end of the world, However, is that apart from were able to use their observations because Jesus told us “…of that day the astrological convergence, there and mathematical and hour no one knows, no, not is little indication superior skills to that the Mayans the angels in Heaven, nor the prophesied calculate the future anything movements of stars specific regarding the Son, but the Father” across the sky. The events of this distant result was that the Mayans future. The Mayans were discovered the effect of the not prophets; they were not even earth’s wobbling as it spins on its axis. able to predict their own cultural extincThis wobbling rotation causes the stars’ patterns of movement to drift gradually in tion. They were great mathematicians and accomplished sky watchers, but they the sky (called “precession”) in a 5,125were also a brutally violent tribal people year cycle. The Mayans also discovered with a primitive understanding of natural that once every cycle, the dark band at phenomena, adherents of archaic beliefs the center of the Milky Way (called the and the barbaric practices of blood-letting Galactic Equator), intersects with the Eland human sacrifice. liptical (the plane of the sun’s movement There is absolutely nothing in the Bible across the sky). that would present December 21, 2012, During that year, the sun reaches as the end of the world. While that date is its solstice (a brief moment when the no less valid for an end-times event than sun’s position in the sky is at its greatest any other future date, the Bible nowhere angular distance on the other side of the
presents the astronomical phenomena the Mayans pointed to as a sign of the end times. It would seem very inconsistent of God to allow the Mayans to discover such an amazing truth while keeping the many Old Testament prophets ignorant of the timing of the events. In summary, there is absolutely no biblical evidence that the 2012 Mayan prophecy / prediction of doomsday is in any sense valid or probable. Accepting the Mayan 2012 prophecy logically requires acceptance of the following theories: our sun is a god; the sun is powered by the blood of human sacrifice; the creation moment occurred at 3114 B.C. (despite all evidence that it happened much earlier); and the visual alignment of stars has some significance for everyday human life. Like every other false religion, the Mayan religion sought to elevate, to the point of worship, that which was created in place of the Creator Himself. The Bible tells us about such false worshipers: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25), and “since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). To accept the Mayan 2012 prophecy also denies the clear biblical teaching about the end of the world, because Jesus told us “…of that day and hour no one knows, no, not the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32). Rafael Bastien-Herrera, B.A., M.A., M.Div (Pastoral Ministry/Theology) Send your questions to: rbherrera@thewordwalk. com www.TheWordWalk.om
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