Earlier today on Bellshill Salvation Army Band’s Facebook page I shared the devotions I shared at our band practice last Wednesday evening. I’d like to share those devotions with you tonight.
Coming out of Easter, we’re still carrying the echoes of resurrection hope — the reminder that Christ doesn’t just make things better, He makes things new. That’s why Life Anew, written for the Canadian Staff Band, feels especially fitting in this season. It wasn’t simply composed to honour Bandmaster John Lam’s leadership; it was written to celebrate the truth that shaped his life and ministry: Christ transforms, restores, and renews.
Bandmaster John Lam’s connection to ‘I Know a Fount’ goes all the way back to his first National Music Camp – a moment when the message of that song settled into his heart in a way that never left him.
The great thing about ‘I Know a Fount’ is that it doesn’t just tell John Lam’s story, it can tell the story of everyone who has ever come to God weary, weighted down, carrying more than we ever admit. Trying to keep going when we’re running on empty.
And after Easter, when the lilies fade and the services quieten down, that’s often when the tiredness catches up with us.
That’s when the invitation of the song becomes even more powerful.
Say, are you weary? Are you heavy laden?
It doesn’t ask if we’re strong.
It doesn’t ask if we’re managing.
It asks if we’re tired.
And most of us, if we’re honest, would nod in agreement.
Life has a way of piling things on us, responsibilities, worries, expectations, the quiet burdens we carry for others. Sometimes we don’t even realise how heavy we’ve become until the words of a song such as this one bring that realisation to us.
And then comes the invitation.
Come, then, with me…
Not fix yourself first.
Not pull yourself together.
Just come.
That’s the heart of God’s message.
That’s the heart of this music.
That’s the heart of a life made new.
In ‘Life Anew’, you can hear echoes of John Lam’s journey in the subtle motifs, the nods to meaningful moments. You can however hear something else, something bigger, the sound of grace at work in someone’s life.
Because woven into the music are the same threads God weaves into our stories:
- the prayer whispered in desperation
- the unexpected kindness that arrived just in time
- the worship meeting where something inside us shifted
- the quiet assurance that we weren’t alone
When the music swells, it’s not just John Lam’s testimony we hear – It’s the reminder that God has been writing ours too.
And here’s the good news for the week after Easter:
- Living “life anew” isn’t a one‑time event.
- It’s a daily resurrection.
- It’s choosing to believe that God is still renewing us, even when we feel stuck or tired or unsure.
The chorus of ‘I Know a Fount says it clearly
Burdens are lifted…
Night is turned to day…
Not might be.
Not could be.
But Are.
That’s the promise we cling to, not because we feel worthy, but because God is faithful.
Verse 1
Say, are you weary? Are you heavy laden?
Burdened with sorrow, weighted down with care?
Are you in bondage? Do you want deliverance?
Come, then, with me, there is refuge from despair.
Chorus
I know a fount where sins are washed away,
I know a place where night is turned to day;
Burdens are lifted, blind eyes made to see;
There's a wonder working power
In the blood of Calvary.
As you listen to ‘Life Anew’ by the Canadian Staff Band, let it wash over you.
Let it remind you that the God of Easter Sunday is also the God of the ordinary Monday after — the God who restores, renews, and rewrites stories, including yours.
The Distinct Dot 