Author of the Month: Shirley Temple Bainter

Our Xulon Press Successful Author Spotlight highlights Bible teacher and prophetic intercessor Shirley Temple Bainter, who wrote the book Unto Us A Star Is Born, which details the truth about Christ’s birth through poems, songs and teachings. She shares her information so she can share the history about this beautiful event. It is a must read for the Christmas Season and a great reference material for those seeking in depth facts about Christ’s birth. She and her husband Don are ordained ministers of the gospel, founders of Majestic Living Waters Ministry, and missionaries to India. They train and equip believers while reaching out to the needy. She has traveled internationally and ministered a number of times in India. Shirley believes that it is important to share her knowledge about Christmas because spiritual warfare is also evident in Christ’s birth which can also be evident in one’s own personal life. She asserts that God’s pathway of hope for healing leads us unto His holiness.

Shirley explained that “provision of cultural events with explanations” brings insight into the why, how, where, and when of Christ’s birth. Customary Jewish and Roman events during Jesus’ time period also affected His birth. She references Rabbi Dan Ben Abraham – and provides such insight as to why Christ was probably not actually born in a conventional “manger” as we have come to depict it. She teaches us that the word “Sukkah”, which is Hebrew for manger, was a little tent built adjacent to the house during the Feast of Tabernacles in September, when shepherds would have been watching their sheep all night. Jesus was most likely conceived during the Feast of Dedications, in December, and was born during the Feast of Tabernacles, in September/October time frame.

Other interesting facts about how Christmas came to be celebrated on the national holiday December 25th include:

400 AD – Day of the Sun – December 25th- Faustus the Manichean decreed that this date would celebrate the Sun – forcing Christians to celebrate the pagan holidays- called it the New Son Festival- pagans worshipped the sun god Mithra.

440 AD – The Roman Catholic church agreed to celebrate the birth of Jesus on the same day as the pagans celebrated the birthday of the sun –December 25th.

These are just a few kernels of knowledge concerning why we celebrate Christmas on December 25th that you may not have already known!

As we began our conversation, I asked Shirley “What one past experience changed the course of your life?” She reflected “Salvation of course. What really changed the direction of our lives, when I became deathly ill after our last child was born. When he was about four months old, I contracted EB (Epstein Barre) virus and other viruses, and we were told there was no treatment for it. So for about 13 years, I was drained of energy and unable to go out of the house. During this period of my life, I had a series of visions of Jesus. I had to lay down my pride. God went to the bottom of my soul during that time. I always felt unworthy and unable to do for the Lord. But with His help, I developed “a worthiness” and “a call to prayer”. I answered the call to pray and to serve Him. Not what man wanted me to do. I learned to hear God. I had a lot of dreams and visions. God showed me. I prayed “Lord, show me.” My husband said that I went into the fire like Shadrach, but I came out dancing. This experience will go in a book someday.”

As we ask all of our authors so we can glean from their experience, I asked her “What is your writing method when you start a project?” Shirley offered “I started with the devotionals first. That’s what I originally thought it would be. But God began to show me the human characteristics that we have that are shown in the Christmas story. Like how Jesus was rejected before He was born, like we have been rejected. It was meant to bring deliverance to people. Like when Mary was told not to be fearful, like Zachariah. I saw it as a deliverance story. Prophetically, God would tell me little things, and I would incorporate them in my writings. I wrote part of it in the first person– when I wrote the section of “I, Mary” and “I, Joseph”- the Holy Spirit showed it to me. The song in the book was given by the Holy Spirit. The poems just came to me. I went through the book of Isaiah and saw His name in it and wrote about this. “Are you ready?” Became a section. And I was fascinated by the truth around His birth. Like the Sukkah. I thought people needed to read about this. I have a heart for the Jewish people. I included the scriptures so they can see that Jesus was prophesied in the Old Testament. I have given it to one Jewish person, my guide in Israel, and she accepted the book. It is such a wonderful occasion to celebrate the birth that was given to us. I became aware of my Jewish roots. I love the 25th, and that’s just a wonderful time of year. The Lord revealed to me that, as a gentile, I can celebrate on December 25th and also celebrate during the Feast of Tabernacles.”

As we continued our conversation, I asked “What is the most important life event you have had?” Shirley shared “Salvation! And receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When I was 11, I got saved and was age 40 when I got the baptism. I am thankful for both!”

I asked her “What message do you want shared by the story of your life?” Shirley spoke powerfully as she explained “Jesus is our all in all. He can deliver us and restore us and can lead us into miracles. He is special in my life. They can see His reality in me.”

Offering her an opportunity to share her testimony, I asked “What would you tell others about your relationship with Christ that would inspire them?” Shirley responded “That I have been an overcomer through the testimony and His blood. We can do all things through Christ. People get discouraged and down and out, even Christians, but for them to see that I am an overcomer. When I was ill and sick, how God healed me during that time that I had to persevere and hang in there. I go into the juvenile justice system, and the teenagers don’t think that we have anything in common, but once I share what God has done for me by healing me, then they get inspired that God can deliver them and get them out of the mess they are in. They can identify with my overcoming my sickness. Remember: There’s a “God-part” and there’s an “I-part”. I share with them that He will hang in there with us.”

When I asked my signature question “What will they write on your gravestone that will sum up your life?” Shirley said that she contemplated this question for a while and finally decided “I was one of integrity who chose to be a seeker for the holiness of God!”

Seeking to find out more about our author, I asked “What inspires you?” She elaborated “I am inspired when I see the Holy Spirit working. I consider myself a dead person, but through the Holy Spirit, I have become alive, in my “soul-ish” realm and physically. Francis Hunter used to say that the Holy Spirit puts the zing in life. There’s no zing in my life without the Holy Spirit. The signs and wonders that I have been shown, dreams and visions, they thrill me. That’s the supernatural. I was reading in Revelations when John was told that He was giving the message to his servants, not just to John. Jesus sent me angels to speak to us.”

As I delved into her spiritual core, I asked the following “What is your theme scripture and why?” Shirley spoke eloquently as she shared “All of II Samuel 22: It’s called David’s Song of Praise–where David sang a song. Being delivered from Saul. He said “The Lord is my rock and my deliverer. From violent men you saved me. He is my fortress!” That says to me that God is my refuge and deliverer from whatever comes to me! I can trust that He will always be there to protect me—He is there even when I don’t feel Him—He’s there!”

As we drew our conversation to a close, I asked her “When you get to Heaven, what do you want to hear The Lord say to you?” She responded quietly, with a sense of reverence and longing for Heaven “He told me before my mother passed away. “Well done my good and faithful servant. It’s good to see ya!” Because He is my friend.”

As my last question, I asked this missionary and prophetic intercessor “what Wake Up Call message would you like to share with our audience?” Shirley passionately spoke as she shared what she felt the Lord was telling her to say. “America is spoiled. We take so much for granted. They do not appreciate the simple things, like their water and their variety of food that we have to eat. 3rd world countries drink out of ponds. Pastors lead someone to the Lord in the area. The first thing the Pastor does is to dig a water well. It draws people in from surrounding areas. People just need water. They have such a limited variety of food. The people in the villages, they will travel the train all day and sit for hours to hear the Word of God. When you give an altar call, they all come up. In America, no one responds.”

She continued. ”In the 3rd world countries, they are so appreciative of the fact that they love Jesus so much. They just have the basics—the fundamentals of life. And no shoes and just one dress a year, in the villages. In America– We are sleeping. We need to wake up. Wake up, wake up! I heard the Word of the Lord today. America needs to wake up. In India, they know Jesus. They are hungry. America has a lot of pride. In India, they are humble. They give them the physical water first, and Jesus is the living water. They feed them rice and give them chicken curry and then water, and then lead them to Jesus. They are depleted on meat. They do not have the protein they need. It is the survival of the fittest in the villages. But…the souls are in the villages. They have not heard the Word. The villages do not have as many meetings as in the city. We in America aren’t open enough and just too busy. We need to appreciate what we have and be thankful for what we have. I heard the Lord say “stubborn”. We are a stubborn nation. We just are stubborn and need to turn away from our ways and choose the Lord’s way as He is the way, the truth and the life!”

As I reflected on the message of this author, I felt challenged to remind myself that we in America are so blessed to have so much at our disposal—so much that we take for granted… when others would love to just have the simple things like just a glass of water to drink without walking miles—just to get water from a waterhole! Shirley Temple Bainter shared the Word about the truth of Christmas and she shared the Word of how fortunate America is and all that God has blessed us with—and how we just assume others have—like a simple glass of water—Jesus is the living water…I never want to take that for granted!