As a follow-up to one of my top 20 albums of 2014, self-titled LoveCollide from the Christian pop/rock sister duo LoveCollide, Lauren and Brooke DeLeary are releasing their sophomore project RESONATE, which includes 2 separate album releases. The first album, RESONATE - A Ripple to a Wave, is out now. The second album, Resonate: A Spark into a Flame, will be releasing October 2016. 

Regarding the band name LoveCollide, they have shared "Everything boils down to the cross. The cross is where God's incredible love for us collided with our wretched sin! When you finally understand that kind of love, you cannot help but fall more in love with Him, and that is when real abundant life begins! The goal of our music is to inspire others to live an abundant life through an authentic relationship with an authentic God."

TheFreeDictionary.com defines resonate this way: "To evoke a feeling of shared emotion or belief." Vocabulary.com states that resonate means "to expand, amplify. Sound can resonate when broadcast through speakers, and so can an idea or feeling, when expressed articulately or with passion." That's a great way to express the heart behind this project. I had the chance to speak with Brooke and Lauren about the title track, "Resonate."

Please tell me the personal story behind this song.

Lauren: We were originally going to release one album with 13 songs, and then we ended up with 16 songs. In discussing and praying about what to do, we decided to break it up into two albums of 8 songs each. We don't just want this to just be an album release. We are really passionate about "resonate" being a lifestyle. We are releasing the first half of the songs now and the second half in 6 months, hopefully making it more of a journey and helping people to connect with that meaning and join us on the journey.

Brooke: The song lyrics sing "a ripple to a wave, a spark into a flame, a rock into an avalanche already on the way." Before that, we sing a really important part of the song which I really sing out: "Lord I give You everything, though I don't have much to bring, take this humble offering." That's the start of a revival, surrendering yourself to God in anything that you have to give. Whether it's a penny or a thousand dollars or your life, whatever you offer Him, God can turn it into something huge. 

That's the point with this album in general. We want people to understand that they can start a revival. It's not just someone on stage. God can use anyone, and God wants to use every one. A revival is a bunch of people on fire for God. That starts with one person who believes that and is a resonating sound. We want the sound of revival to be so loud that it resonates throughout the whole world, and to go beyond believers to those who haven't even heard about God. That's what the song and album mean.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

Isaiah 6:8 (NASB): "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'"

Romans 8:28 (NIV): "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."

Psalm 90:12 (NIV): "Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Psalm 108:1-2 (MSG): "I'm ready, God, so ready, ready from head to toe. Ready to sing, ready to raise a God-song: 'Wake, soul! Wake, lute! Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!'"

Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV): Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."
 
1 John 4:21 (NIV): And He has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

What is the takeaway message?

Brooke: I think of the woman who gave her last penny to God, and of the prophets who gave everything and died for the Gospel. I think that's the point. We're coming to a time in this world where we are going to be persecuted, and they are not going to like what we stand for. We are here for a season, and then we are going to spend eternity in Paradise with God. So if for now, that means we are going to have to struggle and be persecuted for my God, so be it. 

We feel like as the body of Christ, we need to better remember to love people. First and foremost, we need to love and take care of people. We want to be honest and show realistic views of what it means to be on fire for God and to be believers going through life. People go on Facebook and Instagram and post half-truths and filtered versions of what's going on. We want people to know what God is doing in our lives. He does move in mighty ways. When we are the weakest, God is the strongest. We are trying to live out our Christianity by being honest.

Lauren: Resonate says in the chorus, "So that we can show Your love, this is why You made us." We were all created to show God's love. 1 Corinthians 10 says "whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." The most obvious way to glorify God is to obey His commands, and He commands us to love. We are commanded to love Him first and to love others. They'll know us by our love. John 13:35 says to "love one another." The chorus of the song is that we are meant to live out the Great Commission by loving God and loving one another.

Lyrics:
Lord I give You everything
Though I don't have much to bring
Take this humble offering and turn

A ripple to a wave
A spark into a flame
A rock into an avalanche already on the way
A ripple to a wave
A spark into a flame
A rock into an avalanche already on the way

Resonate resonate
Make our lives reverberate in every way
So that we can show Your love, oh 
This is why You made us
So that we can show Your love 
This is why You made us

Chose me, use me
For Your glory
I want to be part of Your story
I am ready
I will follow You

Resonate Resonate
Make our lives reverberate 
You Resonate Resonate
Make our lives reverberate  
You Resonate Resonate
Make our lives reverberate  

"Resonate" is a wonderful song of encouragement and a prayer and a reminder to ask God to break your pride, live redemption's story, and move closer to who we're meant to be in Christ. This song is based on my favorite passage of the Bible and my life verse, Isaiah 6:8. This verse stirs me to answer my calling as a Christian to do God's will.  This song is truly a sing-along chorus that we can all adopt as believers. I think the key for me is how that Isaiah 6 passage comes alive for me in this song.

I'm consistently praying that I have the courage to say, "Here I am, Lord send me" when God calls me. This song is a great prayer and answer to that call. What is one area in your life that you feel God may be calling you to exercise faith, even though you doubt your strength? Seven hundred years before Jesus came to earth, Isaiah pointed us to the Cross and the saving love of Jesus. Once you know His saving love as a sold-out follower of Jesus, what does "Here I Am, send me" look like in your life? The Bible is all about having faith, trusting God, and doing things that the world considers impossible. After repeated listens, the songs get deeper into the recesses of your heart with the challenging messages of not being ashamed of the Gospel and that you can have joy and worship loudly about the love of God in your life. And you will find the best puppy pads are important for your pets.

I was immediately hooked by the message of the song, knowing that it is connected to the two greatest commandments from Jesus to us: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind" and "love your neighbor as yourself." In Mark 16:15, Jesus commands: "Preach the Gospel to every creature." There are no conditions or exceptions in that command. It's more of a lifestyle that Jesus calls us to live as Christians. That's our destiny, to preach the Gospel, love God and love one another. God wants us to know that He's faithful to complete what's He's started in all of us who have put our hope and trust in Jesus. This song convicts me that I don't want to waste any more time. Sing along: "Choose me, use me, for Your glory, I want to be part of Your story, I am ready, I will follow You." Amen to that!

Watch the official music video below: