A Stellar Offering of Praise
Posted August 06, 2015
By KevinDavis_NRT, Staff Reviewer
From my first listen, I was totally captivated by the compelling live worship album Mighty by Kristene DiMarco, who is known for her work with Jesus Culture ("Break Every Chain") and Bethel Music ("It Is Well"). This album's standout songs "Jesus, Your Love," "Eyes on You," "Mighty," "I Will Follow You," "It Is Well," "Carry Me" and "Over and Over" each feature an engaging and emotive musical style while phrasing biblical truth in a creative, corporate and also personal way, making it one of my top worship albums of the year.
"So let my heart tell You again, when seasons change and stories end, Your steady love, it will sustain me through it all, Jesus, Your love" is the Spirit-cry of the moving chorus of stirring seven minute opener "Jesus, Your Love." The song is a wonderful way to open your heart and lift your hands in awe of the Presence of God, asking for a fresh filling of His resurrection power in us. The song expresses the heart cry and hope of the believer in a similar fashion to "One Thing Remains." I heartily recommend that the global church add this expression of faith to our Sunday morning sets.
That theme continues with "Eyes of Love," based on the hymn of the faith "Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus," and "Carry Me," which features lyrics from "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms." Those songs and their dependence on God have perfectly poetic biblical descriptions and are filled with piercingly difficult Truths to believe all of the time. When you put yourself under a microscope and examine whether you really believe all of the words of these great songs, you'll find that it will challenge your faith and how closely you are walking with God. These songs also give insight into Kristene's walk as a fellow believer.
"Mighty" is a powerful worship anthem. You'll be worshipping our King Jesus right along with Kristene as she sings "Your death made a Way, You overcome by Your name, we're free in Your grace, You are mighty to save." What a great way to profess your desire and ask the Lord to be in His Presence. If you feel alone, know that you can sincerely pray these words along with Kristene: "Our God is Mighty, our God is Mighty, our God is Mighty to Save."
"I Will Follow You" is a sincere offering of praise back to the Lord to decide to follow Him and go anywhere just to see His face. This song reminds me to have resolve and be steadfast as a follower of Jesus, remembering to keep my eyes wide open and find ways to serve Him and His children for our good and His glory, seeking His face. My resolve from this song is to pray more fervent prayers, have more faith, have joy to the fullest, and sincerely cry out to God "I will follow You, I belong to You." We know from Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV): "You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart."
My personal devotional prayer this year has been to have more faith, and "It is Well" is my heart's cry and anthem to sing daily in praise to the Lord, regardless of my circumstances, doubts or worry: "through it all, through it all, my eyes are on You, through it all, through it all, it is well with me." This song is poignant and powerful with earnest, worshipful lyrics reflecting the yearning for Jesus that I pray for my daughters to feel in their hearts as well. This song is a modern day psalm singing about God's attributes and how much He loves us, a powerful reminder that we are not meant for this world but to live with God eternally in Heaven. Commit your life to Jesus and offer Him your heart and your life as you sing along with this great song: "So let go my soul and trust in Him, the waves and wind still know His name."
Closing Thoughts:
These excellent songs are all prayers, adorations and declarations about our great God, who is mighty to save. There are only a few other live recordings of songs I can even try to compare this spine-tingling experience with. The closest comparisons are "Your Name is Glorious" by Kim Walker-Smith, "God, I Look to You" by Jenn Johnson and "You Make Me Brave" by Amanda Cook. If you like those Jesus Culture and Bethel Music artists, then you are in for a treat with this stellar worship offering. All of these songs invite you to express your own desire for God's presence and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. I love how expressive these songs get, such as in the emotive bridge from "I Will Follow You," which says "I have decided and I have resolved in my heart that I will go anywhere, anywhere just to see Your face."
These are very passionate worship songs sung with vocal sincerity and reverence with biblically based lyrics. There are several instantly sing-able and worshipful arrangements that you'll want to add to your Sunday morning set. Mighty is about proclaiming the mightiness of God and crying out for His presence throughout this incredible worship experience, which stirs my heart, mind and soul to bow before Jesus, our mighty King. He alone is worthy. Kristene's powerful and gorgeous vocals keep me hanging on every word she sings. The songs completely focus me as a listener on joining Kristene, whose name means "be steadfast for God" and "follower of Jesus," in praise, worship and adoration of our mighty Lord and Savior Jesus.
Song to Download Now:
"I Will Follow You" (Get it on iTunes here.)
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