A Christ-Centered Christmas Doesn't Have to Be HardSample

The Bethlehem Star

A while back, I watched an intriguing video in which a gentleman who was so intrigued by the bright Bethlehem star, decided to carefully investigate the phenomena that announced Jesus’ birth.

Eventually his research led him to a computer program that would allow him to track star patterns and their course across the sky all the way back to the time of Jesus. It was amazing!

In Genesis, chapter one, God tells us that the heavenly lights would serve as signs to mark sacred times, days, and years (Genesis 1:14). For thousands of years, mankind studied the heavens for this very reason. But somewhere along the way believers stopped looking up to the heavens. We were told it was dangerous.

Why?

I have a theory as to why we are told to ignore the positioning of the heavenly lights. The enemy doesn’t want us to know the truth about God’s power, glory, and goodness. He doesn’t want us to know that God has it all under control and we don’t need to worry. By instilling fear and skepticism surrounding the signs in the heavens, the enemy is able to keep us in the dark and deceive us all the more.

Let’s face it. When we think something is foolish or dangerous, we throw it out. The enemy is very good at cloaking the truth and planting lies so that even the “elect” are deceived. Thankfully, God has given us truth through His Word, truth that is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

God is the ultimate scientist, the ultimate creator, and the ultimate physician.

It should come as no surprise to us that he could and would use the very stars he created to show us that what he foretold through the prophets had now come to pass.

Let me be clear. I do not believe in astrological charts that fortune-tell people’s lives based on zodiac signs. That is divination.

I do believe; however, God has instructed us from the very beginning to look to the heavens and watch for signs and wonders that would coincide with particular biblical events, like the Bethlehem star.

Why do you think the wise men went to such great lengths to follow the star?

They understood the significance of what was happening. The wise men spent their whole lives studying the stars and scriptures. They were convinced that what they saw in the heavens correlated with the prophecy found in scripture. So much so, they put their faith into action and set out on a several hundred-mile expedition, a faith journey that likely took months to complete, especially if they were traveling at night in order to see and follow the star.

Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, don’t throw out the baby out with the bath water. I have tried to implement this mantra into my faith journey. No one person or faith-denomination has all the answers. Different people have different pieces of the puzzle. Our job is to see which pieces of the puzzle fit together and line up with God’s Word.

God has given us the gift of His Holy Spirit. He has given us wisdom and discernment to know the truth and follow the stars.

God is speaking to us through the heavens. The questions is, are we listening?

Personal Reflection

• What is your favorite part of the story surrounding the birth of Christ?

Prayer

Father God, thank you for giving us the heavenly lights to not only govern our nights, but to enlighten us to what you are doing through your kingdom calendar which helps build our faith.