Quotes:
"Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground." - Theodore Roosevelt
"God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars" -. Martin Luther
"I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars." - Og Mandino
"For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream." - Vincent Van Gogh
Philippians 2:14-15 “14- Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 15- That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;”
The NIV says “Shine as STARS in the World.”
Filipenses 2:14-15 “14 Haced todas las cosas sin murmuraciones ni discusiones, 15 para que seáis irreprensibles y sencillos, hijos de Dios sin tacha en medio de una generación torcida y perversa, en medio de la cual resplandecéis como luminares en el mundo,”
The world has its stars and God has His. The stars of this world are mere mortals.
This world’s stars are the popular, famous (in too many cases, infamous).
However, God’s stars shine the brightest in the darkest of night.
Astronomers estimate there are about 100 thousand million stars in the Milky Way alone. Outside that, there are millions upon millions of other galaxies! More stars are being created every day.
It is amazing to contemplate that light of the North Star that shines bright and constantly true; as the light from the North Star that we saw in the sky last night was from 430 years ago. That means that light was from 1583! Before you were born, before I was born, before 9/11,
before Vietnam, before WWII, before WW1, before the Civil War, before the Revolutionary War, before the King James Bible was written, in the midst of the Protestant Reformation that light that we saw last night first shined.
The story is told of two men who pried through prison bars of a sunken cell. One could only see the mud through the bars and the other the stars.”
It’s all a about focus: What you look at determines what we see.
If all you focus on is your problems, then that is all you will be able to see for they will fill your mind to the point that you can see nothing else.
Paul speaking of his Christian brethren said, “They shine like STARS”.
Star Qualities:
First and foremost they are created by God.
They are consistent, constant.
They are beautiful, for they reflect God’s glory.
Lastly, they shine!
Daniel 12:3 “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”
Daniel 12:3 “Los entendidos[b] brillarán como el resplandor del firmamento, y los que guiaron a muchos a la justicia, como las estrellas, por siempre jamás.”
Matthew 5:14-16 “14- Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15- Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16- Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Mateo 5:14-16 “14 Vosotros sois la luz del mundo. Una ciudad situada sobre un monte no se puede ocultar; 15 ni se enciende una lámpara y se pone debajo de un almud[d], sino sobre el candelero, y alumbra a todos los que están en la casa. 16 Así brille vuestra luz delante de los hombres, para que vean vuestras buenas acciones y glorifiquen a vuestro Padre que está en los cielos.”
In the first century the word “star” was also used for a navigational beacon that shined in the darkness to lead ships safely into harbor.
As Christians we are God’s navigational beacons that shine in this dark world to lead souls into the safely of God’s harbor.
Paul said in I Corinthians 15:40-41 “40- There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41- There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.”
1 Corintios 15:40-41 “40 Hay, asimismo, cuerpos celestiales y cuerpos terrestres, pero la gloria del celestial es una, y la del terrestre es otra. 41 Hay una gloria del sol, y otra gloria de la luna, y otra gloria de las estrellas; pues una estrella es distinta de otra estrella en gloria.”
Some Christians like the moon, reflect the Sun’s glory; while others the glory burns from within.
Peter on the Day of Pentecost, preached to the hearers of that day to “save themselves from this untoward generation”; “untoward”- not toward God; “crooked” generation.
The Greek word translated into English as “crooked” in our text is σκολιός skolios (sko-lē-o's) from which we get the English word scoliosis, a curvature of the spine.
Therefore you will make an impact on the world you live in by being a “straight arrow”.
A Star Quality Christian is to be Blameless (above reproach), Pure (of the high-quality, an unmixed alloy) and Faultless (a fit offering unto God, like a lamb without spot or blemish).
If a carpenter is using a slightly bent square, all their cuts will be untrue and off. Though hard to discern with the eye; it can be easily seen if a “square” square is laid beside the crooked one.
Be a “STAR” for Jesus!
Shine Bright, Shine True!
Psalm 148:1-3 “1- Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights. 2- Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. 3- Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.”
Salmos 148 1-3 “1 ¡Aleluya[a]! Alabad al Señor desde los cielos; alabadle en las alturas. 2 Alabadle, todos sus ángeles; alabadle, todos sus ejércitos. 3 Alabadle, sol y luna;”
