Military Devotion – D-Day + 730,000 – June 7, 2024

There is no more enemy left to defeat because Christ has done that for you and for me.

#top .hr.hr-invisible.av-p5l4lz-a84910a2bfa296f2e0b937431bf771cb{
height:25px;
}

<div class='avia-iframe-wrap'><iframe loading="lazy" title="June 7, 2024 – Military Devotion – D-Day + 730,000" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/953577963?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963&autoplay=0&loop=0&controls=1&muted=0" width="1500" height="844" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write"></iframe></div>

#top .hr.hr-invisible.av-kzpxm2-cc03a553301fc809b8a5d28551c318de{
height:25px;
}

Based on Genesis 3:15; Revelation 20:1-3; Mark 3:27

If you are watching this devotion on June 7, then today is D-Day plus 1. On June 6, 1944, Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, turning the tide of World War II in favor of the Allied forces. Today is also another D-Day—D-Day plus 730,000—when Jesus took on human flesh and stormed this world as a baby and defeated our enemy, the devil. There is no more enemy left to defeat because Christ has done that for you and for me.

If you are reading this devotion on June 7, then that means today is D-Day plus 1. On June 6, 1944, the Allied forces named that day D-Day. There were many D-Days during World War II, but that one was the most famous—when over 160,000 Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, turning the page on the history of that war in favor of the Allied forces.

But the things that happened on D-Day plus 1 and D-Day plus 2 and D-Day plus 365—those things couldn’t have happened without the success of the missions and sacrifices on D-Day. But the sobering reality is that on D-Day plus 1 and D-Day plus 2 and D-Day plus 365, the Allied forces continued to fight because there was more enemy left to fight.

There was another D-Day that occurred a long time ago, making today D-Day plus 730,000. That D-Day occurred 2,000 years ago, when the eternal divine took on human flesh and stormed this world as a baby. He came into this world to engage and defeat the enemy forces that would overcome us: the devil and all of his legions of demons. It was our sin, with all of its consequences of physical death, spiritual death, and eternal death that would keep us separated from a holy God for eternity. But Jesus won. He died our death. He died our hell. Before that he succeeded over every temptation that the enemy threw at him. And by rising from the dead, he declared victory for you and for me.

But for us today, on D-Day plus 730,000, the enemy still rages against us. He knows that he has lost, but he continues to fight against us. He tries to deceive us, tries to lure us into temptations and desires that are not godly desires. He tries to convince us that God does not have the strength and power to defend us against evil by pointing to those evil things that have come into our lives. He tries to convince us that maybe God doesn’t love us because he hasn’t stopped those evil things from coming into our lives.

But, my friends, today is D-Day plus 730,000. The enemy has been defeated. There is no more enemy left to defeat because Christ has done that for you and for me.

By storming the beachhead of this world, Jesus came and defeated the devil by overcoming all of the temptations for us, for you, for me. He has overcome our death, he has overcome our hell, and he has given us the victory. And because he has done that and has risen from the dead, he stands with us today when the enemy rages against us. He stands with us to help us defeat the enemy, stands with us to remind us of these promises that we hear from the apostle John as he saw his revelation. He said, “He has seized that dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil, or Satan, and has bound him, thrown him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him” (based on Revelation 20:1-3).

As he writes through the evangelist Mark, “He has entered the strong man’s house and bound him so that he can plunder the strong man” (based on Mark 3:27).

As we heard from the first promise way back in Genesis, “He is the one whose heel has been bruised as he hung on the cross, but with that same heel crushed the serpent’s head” (based on Genesis 3:15).

And so, my dear friends, remember that promise today, on D-Day plus 730,000. And tomorrow, on D-Day plus 730,001, and on every day after that. Because Christ wins, you and I win.

Prayer:

Almighty and eternal God, your Son, Jesus, triumphed over the prince of demons and freed us from the bondage to sin. Help us to stand firm against every assault of Satan, and enable us to always do your will. Eternal Father, there are many in our armed forces and among those who have served in our nation’s military who struggle with trauma they experienced or saw or even heard about while they served. This month, PTSD Awareness Month, help us to open our eyes and our ears to those who struggle, to provide listening ears and compassionate hearts so we might point them to the One who knows and experienced trauma and understands them and has the power to strengthen them as they work through the trauma that they have experienced. Provide hope and healing for those suffering from trauma. We ask this in your Son’s name, Jesus, our Savior. Amen.

Written and recorded by Rev. Paul Horn, WELS National Civilian Chaplain to the Military, San Diego, California.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. Note: Scripture reading footnotes are clickable only in the web version.

#top .hr.hr-invisible.av-113fpca-989f40ea1f83cad2cd0fcb6385641da8{
height:50px;
}

Share this entryShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInShare by MailLink to FlickrLink to InstagramLink to Vimeo