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

A Star Burns Bright

A star burns bright a billion years
Before its rays grow dim
A sparrow lives just two or three
And yet God cares for him

But long before the dawn of time
God’s candle lit the night
And came for us at Bethlehem
When shepherds, saw His light

Now to our hiding place He comes
At doors that we’ve kept locked
And offers light for our dark home
If we will open at His knock


Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. Revelation 3:20 NLT


A Star Burns Bright by Peter Caligiuri copyright 2022
All rights reserved


11th Gift of Christmas – His Star

 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy Matthew 2:10

Recently the news has been filled with stories of the 2020 “Christmas Star”; which is the almost perfect conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn happening for the first time in 400 years. We have no idea if this was what God used to guide the wise men but we do know that the star they saw led them to Bethlehem. Their journey was long; in danger of thieves attacking their small camel train and complicated by uncertainty after they stopped in for visit with King Herod. Big city lights can obscure our view of the stars and maybe that is what happened while they were in Jerusalem. It seems they lost sight of it there for a while, but the good news is that after they left the king, the Bible tells us that:

They went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. Matthew 2:9

Maybe they paused just over the horizon from Bethlehem, and gave thanks for God’s guidance all through their long journey. As our own journey to Christmas draws near its end we also need to take time to remember how on our darkest nights God sent His star for us as well. He sent His star to help us know the Savior was born. He sent His star to guide our path to Him. He sent His star to light our way. He sent His star to come and stand over the place where Jesus is so we can present our gifts to Him and worship. Thank God for this amazing gift that leads us to Jesus Christ. Thank God for His bright and morning star!

Photo by James Wheeler on Pexels.com