He Made the Stars Also!

And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, 
and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 
Genesis 1:16

In many hymns we sing about how great God is, and especially in the song, “How Great Thou Art.” Those lyrics remind me of my Sunday afternoons, when I was a small boy. For some reason, my parents decided that Sunday afternoons were a great time for me to memorize Genesis chapter one. I’m not sure if they really cared so much about me learning scripture, of if they just figured it was good discipline for a busy nine-year-old. While I slogged through the process, I was always quite impressed with the verse that said:  “And God said let there be light.” and POW- there was light! I imagined God’s Spirit moving over vast dark ocean waves while God wrestled with the mysterious elements of the creation. I could just picture how after the light, came the oceans, then fish, birds, animals and finally man. After reading about all of God’s impressive accomplishments, we come to the tail end of verse sixteen, where it says, “He made the stars also.” This final act of creation is added almost as an afterthought, but today, after more than 60 years I know that in that snippet of a verse when God spoke, that trillions and trillions of stars came exploding into the universe. At those times when I see the enormity of God’s creation, the words of the hymn come back, “I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder.” and I am stunned that our mighty creator God has chosen to love people like you and me. Though we cannot with even our most advanced instruments see the farthest star, God calls every one of them by name and He calls us by name as well. Then this mighty loving creator God paused, took a deep breath, and then “He made the stars also!”

I see the stars; I hear the rolling thunder. 
His power throughout the universe displayed.
How Great Thou Art by Carl Boberg 1886
The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork . 
Psalm 19:1 NKJV

Oh the Wonder of His Plan!

I’m not just an act of nature
She’s not my mom - I’m not her kid
I’m not guided by the course of stars
Or by what my parents did

But I was formed in secret
By my God’s almighty hand
As He knit together all my parts
And breathed life in every strand

Though I have marred His image
That He designed to be
His own dear face reflected in
His life that lives in me

But at Calvary He’s chosen
To reveal His love for man
Christ in us the hope of glory
Oh the wonder of His plan! 



To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27 ESV

Oh the Wonder of His Plan
By Peter Caligiuri
Copyright © 2023 All rights reserved


Not Created to Be Efficient

We’re not created to be just efficient
God has angels who have mastered that task
They wing straight to earth to obey His commands
And with precision do all that He asks!

But at Bethlehem’s manger they breathlessly watched
As in wonder they worshipped the babe
Who in quite inefficient manner had come
And on hay in a manger was laid

His life was a puzzle as He grew to a man
He asked a stranger for water to drink
And He preached to the poor then He slept through a storm
In a boat that was ready to sink!

Then seeing Him stumble as He carried His cross
They gasped as nails pierced hands and feet
And they wondered to think that He spoke to the thief
Who confessed at the last and believed

Till on that third day and just before dawn
When the angel was sent at God’s call
To roll back the stone so that we could see
That Christ efficiently lives for us all!
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
 which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10 ESV