The Beacon

I have always been fascinated by lighthouses!  While each is different in shape, color, position and age, they have one purpose: to send a guiding light to passing ships leading them away from danger and ultimately to safety.

Starting in the early 1970’s and running for over 40 years, South Texas Royal Rangers’ quarterly newsletter was referred to as “The Beacon.”  As a district that touches the Gulf Coast, lighthouses have been a part of many of our communities in South Texas for over 150 years.  Towns like Bolivar (pictured), Port Lavaca, Matagorda, and Port Arthur all still have standing lighthouses that you can visit and look back to a time before more modern means were used to guide ships safely to their destinations.

Noah Webster’s 1828 English Dictionary defines the word ‘beacon’ as a “A light-house; a house erected on a point on land, or other place on the sea-coast, with lamps which burn at night, to direct navigators, and preserve vessels from running upon rocks, sandbanks, or the shore.”

In Psalms 43:3-4, the psalmist writes, “Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!  Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joyand I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

Reread the definition above and imagine yourself as a navigator and the vessels as our families and the future men we mentor in our local churches.   No matter how thick the fog or how violent a storm becomes, the lighthouse never wavers or hides because it is built on strong, solid ground.  The light we follow is the truth of God’s Word and the direction of the Holy Spirit.

It’s no secret that we are in the midst of changing and challenging times and each of us has seen numerous shifts in our daily lives since March.  If we aren’t careful to keep our eyes on The Beacon, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we are destined to run aground.

For the sake of the vessels that are looking to our example and reaction to life’s troubles, may we remain strong and courageous at all times as we follow The Beacon!

Rev. Jason Bone

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Author’s note:  starting this month, the new name of our STXRR monthly blog will be “The Beacon.”  We will continue to feature a new entry each month from leaders in South Texas and around the nation.

Please enjoy a look at “The Beacon” issues of the past below:

1972 Apr-Jun – Vol1 No2 – South Texas Royal Rangers Beacon

US STX The Beacon Newsletter 2000-09

US STX The Beacon Newsletter 2004-10