Rend Collective, a band of friends from Northern Ireland, has entertained fans album after album since 2010. From Christmas music to everyday worship, they celebrate God in everything they release with an Irish flare. Rend Collective began as a simple musical experiment but has since grown into an international success. They've toured with some major artists in Christian music, such as Chris Tomlin, Lecrae, and Tenth Avenue North.
They also have Rend Collective Kids, a music ministry geared towards children. Their first album was released in 2014 and their newest one, Whosoever, was released a month ago. In this week's Worship Collective, I look at songs from Whosoever.
"Whosoever"
"There's no audition for true love
No matter what, you don't have to earn it
If you've ever felt like an outcast
There's good news if you've never heard it"
I was drawn to this song from the second I heard the first line, "There's no audition for true love." Isn't that amazing? We could never earn the love God lavishes on us. Knowing that, He sent His son Jesus to cross that void with His perfection, an act incredible to me every time I think about it.
This song proclaims God's truth of freedom and welcomes everyone, sinner, and saint alike, to live in the Lord's love. His kingdom is vast and open to everyone willing to surrender.
Rend Collective beautifully addresses listeners who feel left out in the world, "No more of life on the sidelines" and speaks of pure redemption: "Love looks like this/like a long walk home." There's so much truth packed into this song that I could write about it all day, but I'll leave it here to let the melodic message speak for itself: "God so loved the world/He never left you out of it."
"Plans"
"You got plans for me
You got plans for me
Greater than my wildest dreams
Stronger than the enemy"
"Plans" spoke volumes for me as an overthinking planner, intent on mapping out every second of my day and my future. Offering my planning to God from checklists to college applications is one of the hardest things I continually struggled with. But Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) never fails to speak life over me: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Rend Collective weaves Jeremiah 29:11 into these lyrics, a perfect example of the scriptural inspiration they use throughout this album. By utilizing God's written truth, they ensure that their music hits differently (they demonstrated this end goal in this song).
We can dream (anyone who has seen my daydreaming gaze can attest to this on a personal front), but we can't pretend that we're in control of our loves. God has the reins in His almighty hands, so why waste our lives attempting to take them back from Him?
I cherish the freedom to visualize my future life and I'm confident that God has it already mapped out. But it's God who's mapped my future, not me. So, with the assurance that His plans are ones of hope and future, I let go today, and I let Him lead instead.
Selena Schulz is NRT’s youngest staff contributor. She loves God, music, reading, and writing.
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