The Distinct Dot

No I haven’t got the year wrong, I meant to give this a ten-year-old title!

Why? Because Easter weekend 10 years ago marked the start of a new era in my Christian journey. Easter 2002 was the first weekend that I no long attended Rutherglen Salvation Army, but Bellshill corps instead. I’d been attending evening meetings and band practices at Bellshill for a couple of months prior to this, and had decided to transfer from Rutherglen to Bellshill, and Easter for the start of my Bellshill experience.

My lasting memory of my first full weekend at Bellshill Salvation Army on Easter Sunday was the senior band playing one of my all time band pieces, The Light Of The World. I have always loved this band piece and the message it gives us, not just for Easter, but for every day of the year.

These last ten years have been some of the most enjoyable and inspirational of my life…the highlight has most definitely been the tour of the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, I had the privilege of being part of during Easter 2003.

But then, if I’m honest there have been far more lows in my life during these last 10 years, particularly with my health and then the health of several other close family members, all of which is still ongoing.

During the lows of these years I did question if God was still there, and I did feel abandoned by Him. However God had not deserted me, He simply answered my prayers later than I’d hoped and in a different way than I’d expected. God got me through those tough times, and I continue to rely on Him for the strength I need for each day, but my faith in Him is now strong than I think it’s ever been. Put simply, through it all I chose to serve my Saviour!

Maybe it’s because of the new beginning in my life 10 years ago, that have subsequently brought me closer to God, but Easter is special to me. For me Easter is more special to me than even Christmas. Easter though is not important to me simply because of event in my life, it’s important to me, because of its significance to me as a Christian…Jesus is the light of the world, and for me He always will be. I pray you too will find Christ to be your light of the world.

I hope you receive many blessing as you listen to The Light of The World:

O Jesus, Thou art standing, outside the fast closed door,

In lowly patience waiting to pass the threshold o’er:

Shame on us, Christian brothers, His Name and sign who bear,

O shame, thrice shame upon us, to keep Him standing there!

 

O Jesus, Thou art knocking; and lo, that hand is scarred,

And thorns Thy brow encircle, and tears Thy face have marred:

O love that passeth knowledge, so patiently to wait!

O sin that hath no equal, so fast to bar the gate!

 

O Jesus, Thou art pleading in accents meek and low,

“I died for you, My children, and will you treat Me so?”

O Lord, with shame and sorrow we open now the door;

Dear Savior, enter, enter, and leave us nevermore.