Kristi Krueger taught the lesson Sunday. With a look back at the early saints and a look forward to our own time, she reminded us, “Fear not, but be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.”
The key points of the lesson:
1. The enemy of truth opposes the servants of the Lord, especially as they grow closer to the Lord.
2. Those who love God will bear persecution with courage and faith.
3. God’s mighty power will sustain those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.
She also shared this story from Cheryl Bonnet:
LANCE’S STORY
Lance and Casey are cousins and were marines stationed at Camp Pendleton when Chris & I got to know them. They are both from Indiana, where Chris is from. Casey is the boyfriend of Chris’ niece so that’s how we got to know them. They became part of our adopted family when they were here in California.
The two of them were best of friends since the time they were babies. They were good old Indiana boys and one day when they were 16, they were sitting on a bench under the shade of a tree and decided they wanted to be marines. They wanted to serve our country.
They served their first tour of duty in Iraq together and both returned home with honor to families and friends who were thrilled to have them home. When it came time for a second tour of duty Casey was unable to serve due to a back injury, so Lance went without him. Unfortunately, he did not return home. He was killed in a car bombing along with several other marines.
Chris and I were able to attend his memorial service at Camp Pendleton along with all of his family, who we met for the first time. We got to talk to his fellow marines who served with him. There were many stories but one stood out. We found out they called Lance“ lantern boy” because every night he would go to his tent alone, light his lantern and read the bible. The guys always kidded him and gave him a hard time about this. The Friday before Lance was killed he called his mom and said “don’t worry about me, I know God is looking out for me”. I think of this often- Lance had great faith in Christ and in the similitude of our Savior, who is the light of the world, Lance was also a light to the world. In a very dark and dreary place, Lance's lantern shone brightly. He was an example to others. He knew where true comfort and joy came from in his life and he knew where he would go if called upon to leave this earthly life. He had deep love for his family.
Every year on Memorial Day, we have a lantern that we light in Lance's honor and we remember the sacrifice he made for all of us, a sacrifice that also reminds us of the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. Every year at Christmas we hang a star ornament with a picture of Lance on it right in the middle of our Christmas tree for all to see. We often have questions about it and we are all too happy to tell about Lance.
I recently talked with Lance’s mom and she shared another part of this story. Lance’s good friend Shiloh (a fellow marine) wrote Lance’s mom about 2 weeks after he died. She said she could just hear the sobs in his words as he told her the terrible thing he did . . . . . he did not pack Lance's lantern to go home with his items. Shiloh said that they just couldn't bear to have a night go by without the glow of Lance's lantern and what that represented to him and afterwards to them. He said he would send it home right away...of course she told him that Lance would want his light to shine for them...they should keep it...they did and Shiloh said they continued to light Lance's lantern each night until they came home. She now has Lance’s lantern. She also bought a dusk to dawn lantern that looked similar to the one Lance had in Iraq. She puts it on his grave to shine through the night as the one in Iraq did.
Lance’s light still shines even though he is no longer with us, just as our Savior’s light still shines, even though He is not still physically with us.
Lance’s story reminds us that we too can be a bright light in the sometimes dark and dreary world we live in.
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