MercyMe Point Us to Jesus
I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that MercyMe was releasing a new CD this fall. They just released a new CD last year, after all, and I’ve gotten used to the every two year cycle most artists seem to be on these days. Naturally, I got Always Only Jesus as soon as I could.
If you are a fan of this Christian band, you will be very happy with this new release. It took them a few releases to perfect their sound, but they’ve carved out a wonderful space in the soft rock corner of Christian music, and they’ve hit that sweet spot perfectly here. Whether we’ve got the upbeat “Hands Up” or the slower “Then Christ Came,” these songs are singable and fun while hitting us with some great truths.
We start out with “Hands Up,” an upbeat song of praise, struggling with how to capture our response to all that God has done for us. This idea of praise comes up again in the title track, which is a wonderful song for “Always Only Jesus.”
“Better Days Coming” reminds us that, when things look bad, this isn’t the end of the story because God has promised us Heaven. But they do acknowledge the struggles of life with songs like “To Not Worship You,” which deals with praising God in the midst of trials. They also talk about finding the faith to trust God through the trials in “Heart Beats for Your Good.” This last song has my favorite line in the entire CD when they say, “Remind me that this hurricane is nothing but a breeze to You.” That’s such a great picture of how powerful our God is, isn’t it?
I really love “Forgivable.” This is another upbeat song that will get stuck in your head. Which means you’ll have a reminder that “No matter how much you messed up, you are still forgivable.” That’s a fantastic reminder. This theme comes up again in “Grace Amazing.”
“Lost in You” is part song of surrender and part marveling at how God leads us when we finally do surrender to Him.
I kind of spoiled this earlier, but MercyMe does present a new version of “Then Christ Came” here. On their last release, they had a 50 second demo version. When I heard it, I was wishing they had waited to turn it into a fully song. Well, they did, and what we got before is the chorus. The full song is a tad more upbeat and the melody is slightly different, but it is a great song about the life of a Christian before and after Christ came.
The disc closes with “Nothing but the Blood.” Yes, this is a new version of the classic hymn. While the lyrics are all the same, they’ve given it a new melody that is fantastic. Definitely another highlight for me.
Of course, saying that last song was a highlight is a bit misleading. I really like all the songs on this disc. They are fun with eternal truths.
I will be listening to this disc for years to come. And with a disc that lives up to its Always Only Jesus title, that is a great thing.
I also enjoy music by Mercy Me! Thank you for sharing!
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