Chris August has added some holiday cheer to his hit debut album, No Far Away. On Nov. 21 a special Christmas edition of the award-winning album hit shelves, bringing with it August’s original Christmas tracks “Come Now Our King” and “Jesus, Savior,” both penned by August.

August is quickly becoming a favorite in the CCM genre. With an impressive sweep at the 42nd Annual Dove Awards, he earned awards for “New Artist of the Year” and “Male Vocalist of the Year,” joining an elite group of only three artists in the history of the show who have received both awards. He also claimed the nod for “Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year” for his debut album No Far Away, which he co-produced with acclaimed producer Ed Cash.

The album delivered August’s first hit single, “Starry Night,” which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian/AC chart in September and stayed put for six weeks as well as the hit follow-up single “7x70,” launching this self-taught pianist, guitarist, and producer as an artist in his own right.

I had the great opportunity to interview August about his new original Christmas song “Jesus, Savior.”

Please tell me the background in writing the song “Jesus, Savior.”

I was sitting with my friend Ian Eskelin--who is an awesome songwriter and producer--and we were talking about writing a new Christmas song together for this year. For some reason, we were thinking about writing a song like a children’s book. We thought about writing song that could be understood by a child who knew nothing about the Christmas story. So we opened up a children’s book and started to read it. At first I was joking about the idea of how to write the song and then I fell in love with the idea. I love that a child can listen to this song and learn about what happened. Mary was confused, and didn’t know what was happening. If you put yourself in her shoes, it’s crazy! Sometimes, that’s how God moves. So it’s been a blessing to have written the song and hear reactions to the song.

Did you base the song on any Bible verses?

Matthew 1:18-25: This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

What's the take-away message for listeners?

I think that Joseph is a crucial character in the Christmas story. Not only was Mary confused, but she trusted and knew that she was having a miraculous conception. Joseph didn’t know that. Joseph at first thought there was a scandal. God sent an angel to him in a dream and the beauty is that he believed. Even for me, putting myself in that situation, I may not have an angel appear to me, but God has showed His faithfulness in my life. How easy is it to just forget that and doubt what God has for me. The beauty of this story is that Joseph knew that God was speaking to him and he went through with God’s plans. If you are obedient and willing, you can go and be in God’s will. His ways are higher than our ways. If God could fit in our small box of my common sense, then He wouldn’t be God. I serve a God much higher than my understanding.

Lyrics:
Once upon a time,
In a town called Nazareth,
Lived an ordinary girl.

Mary was her name,
And she was engaged,
To Joseph the carpenter.

Suddenly an angel came,
Said, "You will have a baby boy.
But don't be afraid,
God is with you.

Just call him Jesus, Savior,
Son of God, the King of Kings."
Our salvation has a name.

Jesus, Savior,
Precious Lord of Everything.
Our whole world's about to change,

Mary was confused.
And Joseph was too,
He thought, "How could this be?

Cause we're not married yet.
And even if this is some miracle,
Why would He choose you and me?"

Then in a dream an angel came,
Said, "Joseph you should marry Mary.
Don't be afraid, this child's the very Son of God.

He is Jesus, Savior,
Son of God, the King of Kings."
Our salvation has a name.

Jesus, Savior,
Precious Lord of Everything.
Our whole world's about to change,

And it will never be the same.

Glory to God, Peace on Earth.
Glory to God, Peace on Earth.
Glory to God,
He came to save the world.

Jesus, Savior,
Son of God, the King of Kings.
Our salvation has a name.

It is Jesus, Savior,
Precious Lord of Everything.
Our whole world's about to change,

It will never be the same.
Our whole world's about to change.

Asbury’s Bible commentary: “Immediately after the genealogy, Matthew records the birth story. Yet he says little about the actual birth of Jesus. The focus is rather upon the significance of Jesus' conception and birth as that significance is communicated through the testimony of the angel. The testimony of the angel contains two major elements. First, the mission of this child is reflected in the very name Joseph is commanded to give the child: Jesus (a Greek form of the Heb. Joshua, meaning “Yahweh saves”). This Jesus will save his people from their sins. Second, Jesus can function as Savior of his people for two reasons: (1) he has been conceived by the Holy Spirit and is therefore infinitely superior to all other humans and unique in his relationship with God and (2) God himself is present with his people in the person of Jesus to grant them victory in their struggle with evil.”

It is interesting to me that someone who was signed to a mainstream record label and achieved what America considers success--living in LA and playing sold-out venues--is truly reaching out and making it clear that he’s broken and giving his life to Jesus in his songs. We all need to be unashamed of our faith in Jesus and we all need to be bold in expressing our faith. We do friends and family members who aren’t believers a disservice when we don’t fully share the Gospel.

There are a lot of great Christmas songs regarding Mary’s role in the miraculous conception and birth of Jesus at Christmas. What I really enjoy about this great new original Christmas song “Jesus, Savior” by Chris August is the biblical description right from Matthew’s Gospel account of Joseph’s role as well.

As a father of three young daughters, I can’t imagine what was going through Joseph’s mind when he learned that his fiancee was pregnant. God still works miracles today and we all need to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and listen to God’s still small voice as He guides us.

God revealed the Truth to Joseph in a dream and he believed! Although it didn’t look good to people on the outside (it was scandalous!), it was the Truth of God’s plan. I’m sure that although he saw it as a miracle from God, he must’ve asked, “Why me? I’m just a random guy.” That’s the thing; those are the people God uses. You don’t have to be special; you just have to be willing. That’s the kind of faith that God calls us all to have, to listen to Him, trust Him, and allow Him to use us to lead people to His Son, our Savior, Jesus. That’s what Christmas is all about. This is a great way to cap off an amazing year and celebrate the birth of our King! Merry Christmas!