Star Light, Star Bright

When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:10-11

Merry Christmas, Friends!

I hope your Christmas was filled with Christ. Before Christmas day this year, many of us were looking up into the night sky to see the "Christmas star." Jupiter and Saturn aligned which produced what looked to us as a bright star. While this alignment of planets was beautiful, I don't think it was anything like the star of Bethlehem. There are many theories as to what that star was- a meteor, a comet, a nova or supernova, or an alignment of planets. That's the most likely scientific explanation. In fact, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn did indeed align in 6 BC. We humans seem to want a scientific explanation. Something that backs up what the Bible says. And there's nothing inherently wrong with that. It's cool when we find scientific evidence that backs up what the Bible says. But here's the thing-

GOD DOESN'T NEED SCIENCE TO BACK HIM UP! Our God is so amazing that He can make nature do anything He wants. This is the Creator God who created everything out of nothing. Creating one star would have been nothing to Him. And, He's a God of miracles. By definition, miracles defy scientific explanation. Sure, He could have used the alignment of planets to guide the wise men. But He could have just as easily created a special star for the specific purpose of guiding them to the King of kings, the Light of the world. No, I don't believe that star was a rare, natural occurrence. I believe that star was a one-time-only, supernatural miracle created by our great God to guide the wise men to His Son.

Hubert J. Bernhard was a lecturer at the San Francisco Morrison Planetarium in the 1960s who spoke on the star of Bethlehem. Near the end of his lecture, he said this, "If you accept the story told in the Bible as the literal truth, then the Christmas Star could not have been a natural apparition. Its movements in the sky and its ability to stand above and mark a single building; these would indicate that it was not a normal phenomenon, but a supernatural sign. One given from on high and one that science will never be able to explain."

Page Details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: I AM, Shine Your Light, Marker Alpha, and the baby Jesus is from a retired Christmas set. I started the page by stamping baby Jesus. Then I drew the star and the stained glass lines. I used distress oxides to color the background. I used washi tape to mask each stained glass area and then used a sponge dauber to apply the inks. After the background was colored, I stamped the words. I stamped "star" onto sticker paper to make it stand out a little. I also stamped "light" on sticker paper and cut out the letters to make it stand out for "Light of the world." I used a white pen to accent "light" and "world" as well. It was a fun page to do while meditating on Christ's birth.

As we move into the New Year, I pray that we may be like the wise men- focused on Jesus and worshiping Him each and every day. Let Him be your Light!

Have a blessed week! Andrea