Click above to listen to a portion of While the Morning Stars Sang in Chorus (Cinematic Mix) as you read, from the new album Climb to the Sky. Visit climbtothesky.com for links to the new music video, CD, MP3 Album, Sheet Music, iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify.

What stirs awe and wonder in you at this time of year?

As we are now in the first week of Advent, a season of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth, I was reflecting on how best to share the inspiration behind the new song While the Morning Stars Sang in Chorus. This is a “creation song” rooted in God’s words to Job:

“Where were you when I created the earth?…How was its foundation poured, and who set the cornerstone, While the morning stars sang in chorus and all the angels shouted praise?” — Job 38:4-7 (The Message)

There is an amazing and beautiful connection to the Hubble telescope image below (credit to NASA and STSCI). Pause for a moment to study this image and read its description, then consider two ideas which stirred my wonder and awe. I hope they will stir yours too.

“Hubble peered into a small portion of the nebula near the star cluster NGC 2074 in 2008, to take a snapshot of a dazzling region of celestial birth and renewal. This approximately 100-light-year-wide fantasy-like landscape is a firestorm of raw stellar creation, perhaps triggered by a nearby supernova explosion. The image reveals dramatic ridges and valleys of dust, serpent-head “pillars of creation,” and gaseous filaments glowing fiercely under ultraviolet radiation. The region is on the edge of a dark molecular cloud that is an incubator for the birth of new stars. It lies about 170,000 light-years away near the Tarantula nebula, one of the most active star-forming regions in our Local Group of galaxies.” — NASA

IDEA #1 — CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE

Let the beauty and wonder of the stars and all creation stir your wonder and awe this Advent season. If you believe, let God’s marvelous handiwork enrich your faith. If you don’t believe, God believes in you, and offers His love, forgiveness and hope in all things.

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” — Psalm 19:1

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” — Genesis 1:1

“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” — Hebrews 11:3

IDEA #2 — SAVIOR OF THE WORLD

The “birth of new stars” pointed me to the birth of Jesus. How can the Creator of the universe also be the Savior of the world? It is good to ask questions and to search for truth. We don’t have all the answers, but God does when we believe by faith and seek Him. Jesus coming as a baby is an awe inspiring display of power and humility, the Lion and the Lamb, our Creator and Savior.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” — John 1:1-3, 14

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” — Luke 8:10-11

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” — 1 John 4:14

“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” — 1 John 2:2

How does the music, image and/or words draw you toward awe and wonder?