Meredith Andrews [The Invitation]
Posted September 24, 2008
By christianmusicreview,
[Main Review]
“Sing to the Lord a new song” is a phrase that comes up over and over again in the Psalms. Meredith Andrews is truly living out the word of God by offering up many new songs of praise to the Lord. She started out like any other Christian singer, serving and worshiping God in her own church. No visions of stardom, no dreams of glory; just a passionate spirit and a servant’s heart. In this album, “The Invitation,” Andrews extends her hands and voice to invite you to enter with her into a time of worshiping our Lord.
The first song gives the listener a visual of God waiting for us with His wide-open arms to come love Him and be with Him, despite whatever ashes our past may hold. The good thing about ashes is that they can be blown away with a gentle wind. “Now I am walking away from the life I once knew and running into your grace/ it covers my shame/ again and again/ I’ve found my life in you. You invite me in/doesn’t matter where I’ve been/you’re arms are open wide/there’s nothing left to hide.” There is no shame under the protection of Christ. Track two continues on inviting listeners to “Lift up your head, and throw off every chain, lift up your eyes to the one who doesn’t change…” Worship is not just singing or words; worship is action. Lifting up your eyes and hands can be an action symbolic of devoting yourself to the Lord, mentally and physically. It is freedom to throw off your chains and meet the eyes of the One who loves you more than life.
A big standout song is track six: “I’ve been wading in shallow water/ you’re the ocean I am after and I wanna go with you…/ Take me deeper and take me deeper to where you are/ that I may find you/ Take me further, take me further than where I’ve been/ I wanna be with you.” Through this slow and steady melody Andrews also speaks of coming through a desert place, out of the dust into His embrace, being drawn ever deeper into the love of her Savior.
It is hard not to get up and dance as the track eight starts to rock with “We are reconciled by love/ This is the new song we sing/ to the King of Heaven…/ We stand before you redeemed/ as you children…we who were once so far away/ are brought near by your love.” It’s a fun and perky mix, followed by some heavier sounds in the next few tracks, dealing with the greatness of God, and how hard it is for our human minds to fathom who He is. I believe that Andrews has made it clear that if no one buys her album, or she doesn’t reach top charts, it does not matter because she has done what God called her to do, and she did it for Him, no one else. The last three songs, although beautiful, are all a little too slow paced, and might be better mixed in with something more lively. However, this detracts from the overall effect very little.
In a press release, Andrews said “I never want to write songs just to write songs. I always want them to be about conveying the heart of God to people, whether they are people who walk with the Lord or people who don’t walk with the Lord,” she says. “I think the best way to do that is to do it through His word. I always want my songs to be infused with the word of God because if it’s my words, it’s null and void. What do I have to say to people that is going to change their lives? Nothing! But if it comes from the Lord, it’s that’s what’s going to change them.”
CLOSING THOUGHTS
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The project is honestly inspiring. Providing vivid pictures of hope, heaven, and eternity, this album is replete with spiritual refreshment. The lyrics speak of the security a Christian has in the heart and plan of an unchanging God of love. The best kind of music is music laced with scripture, and Meredith Andrews has provided a beautiful and artistic well of worship for brothers and sisters to draw from. One gets the sense that not only has Andrews released an album, but she has released her heart as well. Her focus is clearly on Christ, and this album is truly glorifying to God. This one is going to go through the charts.
Rating: 9.1 out of 10 (91%, A-)
Review written by: Liz Zelinski
(liz.zelinski@christianmusicreview.org)
Review can also be found at:
http://www.christianmusicreview.org/meredithandrews_theinvitation.html
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