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<div  class='avia-video av-lp7brtdb-e802f1c5ca0f46fab88bc14e30eadf63 avia-video-16-9 av-no-preview-image avia-video-load-always av-lazyload-immediate av-lazyload-video-embed'  itemprop="video" itemtype="https://schema.org/VideoObject"  data-original_url='https://vimeo.com/1036064167'><script type='text/html' class='av-video-tmpl'><div class='avia-iframe-wrap'><iframe title="December 6, 2024 – Military Devotion – About-Face!" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1036064167?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></script><div class='av-click-to-play-overlay'><div class="avia_playpause_icon"></div></div></div><br />

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<section  class='av_textblock_section av-5bd59d6-8fb417576da5b616239b6ac5cb6af4b9 '   itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/CreativeWork" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop="text" ><blockquote>
<p><strong>Based on Luke 3:1-6</strong></p>
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<div  class='hr av-287z8j-7309da680e738cb9cd5c7124a9150723 hr-default'><span class='hr-inner '><span class="hr-inner-style"></span></span></div><br />
<section  class='av_textblock_section av-lv58ap8r-58524477537134426f07433d5766c0bf '   itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/CreativeWork" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop="text" ><p>December 7th, 1941, a day that continues to live on in infamy.</p>
<p>On that single day, 2,403 souls perished, and almost half of them in one battleship. If you ever have the chance to get to Hawaii, make sure you stop by Pearl Harbor and take the ferry out to the USS <em>Arizona</em>. When you get there, you’ll find it’s a very somber place. As you think about all the souls that perished there, as you stop to listen to the waves as they gently lap up against the memorial, you can both smell and see the oil that continues to float up to the surface from the <em>Arizona</em>. They call those “the black tears of the <em>Arizona</em>.”</p>
<p>All of this is a reminder of that awful day when lives were lost. As we think about tragic days like that, or 9/11, or the one-too-many violent shootings in our country, we turn to God and we ask, “Why?” What does this all mean?</p>
<p>Before Jesus publicly went out preaching and teaching in the region of Galilee and Jerusalem and through Judea, God sent John the Baptizer to prepare the hearts of the people for Jesus. And people went out to the wilderness around the Jordan River to hear John preach and teach and baptize. And they went out to John with their questions for God. And some of those questions were, “Why? What purpose does this serve?” John’s reply to them? “Repent.”</p>
<p>God doesn’t always give an answer to our questions of “Why?” God doesn’t need to, even though we think that he does. But God’s answer through John the Baptizer redirects our hearts and our minds so that we see what is really needed in our lives: not an answer from God, but for us to do an about-face, to repent.</p>
<p>John says to you and to me, “Repent!” Do an about-face, because that’s really what repentance means. <em>Repentance</em> in the original language of the Bible means to change your mind, to change your heart and your mind about your sin, to do an about-face in regard to your sin. To change your mind about the things that you do that violate God’s will for your life. To change your mind about those things that you fail to do, how you fail to joyfully and faithfully carry out God’s will for your life.</p>
<p>Do an about-face. That means to no longer find pleasure in sinning, to no longer find pleasure in the laziness to carry out God’s will for your life. To change your mind about those things so that you no longer think that simply by trying your hardest or doing your best to be a good person that somehow this will cause God to do an about-face toward you.</p>
<p>John says to you and to me, “Repent for the forgiveness of your sins.” Do an about-face and turn from your sin—but turn toward something, toward someone—to that person who has sunk into the depths of your sin, your guilt, your death, and your hell, and who has left it entombed in his grave forever.</p>
<p>Just as the <em>Arizona</em> in the waters of Pearl Harbor serve as a reminder of that awful day of death, so also the waters of your baptism serve as a reminder of that awful day of what Christ did for you: that he has drowned your sin, your death, and your hell. Let the waters of your baptism be that very real reminder of the promise that Christ has made you not just to drown your sins and your death with him on the cross, but also to raise you up to new life.</p>
<p>Repent, turn from your sin, turn to the cross, but then turn again. Do another about-face to go and live that life of forgiveness that Christ has earned for you.</p>
<p>And so when you consider the events of December 7th, 1941, or you consider the events of a 9/11 or whatever disaster comes to your mind, let it be a reminder to you and to me to do an about-face, to repent, so that when Christ calls us home to heaven, however he decides to call us home to heaven through death, you and I will go through life confident and unfearingly knowing that when we meet our Maker and see him face to face, he will welcome us home to heaven with a smile because of what Christ has done for us.</p>
<p><strong>Prayer:<br />
</strong>Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the way for your only Son. By his coming give us strength in our conflicts and shed light on our path through the darkness of this world. We pray, Lord Jesus, that you would work through our nation’s Homeland Security and armed forces to protect our borders. Keep our citizens safe so that we might live in peace, faithfully carry out our individual vocations, and joyfully share your Word with others. In your name I pray. Amen.</p>
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<section  class='av_textblock_section av-1xndci2-6914dcc6b6db809895d70d83d4e42bff '   itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/CreativeWork" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop="text" ><p><em>Written and recorded by Rev. Paul Horn, WELS National Civilian Chaplain to the Military, San Diego, California.</em></p>
<p><em>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.</em></p>

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<description>&lt;img loading="lazy" width="80" height="80" src="https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-80x80.jpg" class="wp-image-30208 avia-img-lazy-loading-30208 attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-80x80.jpg 80w, https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-36x36.jpg 36w, https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-180x180.jpg 180w" sizes="(max-width: 80px) 100vw, 80px" /&gt;In Luke 3, John the Baptist says to you and to me, “Repent for the forgiveness of your sins.”</description>

In Luke 3, John the Baptist says to you and to me, “Repent for the forgiveness of your sins.”

Military Devotion – About-Face! – December 6, 2024

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<div  class='avia-video av-lp7brtdb-26045efdeae9fbba85155f6fa8a3d39e avia-video-16-9 av-no-preview-image avia-video-load-always av-lazyload-immediate av-lazyload-video-embed'  itemprop="video" itemtype="https://schema.org/VideoObject"  data-original_url='https://vimeo.com/1033487329'><script type='text/html' class='av-video-tmpl'><div class='avia-iframe-wrap'><iframe loading="lazy" title="November 29, 2024 – Military Devotion – Thankful" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1033487329?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></script><div class='av-click-to-play-overlay'><div class="avia_playpause_icon"></div></div></div><br />

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<section  class='av_textblock_section av-5bd59d6-8fb417576da5b616239b6ac5cb6af4b9 '   itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/CreativeWork" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop="text" ><blockquote>
<p><strong>Based on Philippians 1:3-6</strong></p>
</blockquote>
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<div  class='hr av-287z8j-7309da680e738cb9cd5c7124a9150723 hr-default'><span class='hr-inner '><span class="hr-inner-style"></span></span></div><br />
<section  class='av_textblock_section av-lv58ap8r-58524477537134426f07433d5766c0bf '   itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/CreativeWork" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop="text" ><p>This is Thanksgiving weekend, and I wanted to take some time to express thanksgiving for all the things God has blessed me with and the ways I’ve seen him bless you in your lives and your vocations.</p>
<p>To do that, I’d like to look at the apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians. In chapter one, in the first few verses, he says this: “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:3-6).</p>
<p>The things that the apostle Paul shares with this congregation in Philippi are the things that I want to share with you—that every time I think of you, as Paul says, I thank my God for you. For the partnership that we enjoy in the gospel, the fact that we are united by one Baptism in one Lord Jesus Christ, in that one true faith, united by that one hope of eternal life in heaven and having the sure certainty of that resurrection from the dead.</p>
<p>And the unity that we enjoy, that partnership in the gospel that we have as believers in Christ, is shown in the way that we worship together, the way that we pray together and pray for each other, the way that we encourage one another, the way that we study God’s Word together, and the ways that we love each other.</p>
<p>I’ve written out a list of things that I’m thankful for from this past year, and I want to share those things with you. First of all, I’m thankful for the number of people that God has put into my life this past year through personal visits, phone calls, e-mails, and video chats. I started to count, and I lost track.</p>
<p>I’m thankful to God for the number of active duty, reserve, and National Guard troops; veterans and civilians; and lay people who have been trained as distinctive religious group leaders and religious lay leaders. I’m thankful that you have the strong desire to make sure that God’s Word is provided in places that I can’t go and that our WELS pastors can’t go. You’re making that happen.</p>
<p>I’m thankful for the number of parents who have filled out referrals for their children through our website, because that says to me that you desire Word and sacrament to be provided for your child as they begin their vocation as a warfighter in our nation’s military. And I’m thankful for the number of high school seniors that have filled out that referral for themselves because that says to me that you want to stay connected to Christ as you go through basic training, through your individual training afterwards, and wherever God leads you through the military.</p>
<p>I’m thankful for the number of warfighters who update their contact info when they PCS, when they deploy. Because, again, it shows me that you are concerned about the spiritual care that you receive. By updating your information through our website, that helps us keep you connected to our WELS pastors or to other WELS members to stay connected to Christ. I’m thankful for that.</p>
<p>I’m thankful for the number of veterans who have reached out who are thankful for these devotions. I didn’t know this, but there’s a group of veterans who meet regularly for coffee in a restaurant, and they either watch the devotions or print them off and they discuss them as part of their group encouragement to one another. I’m thankful that these devotions are being used that way.</p>
<p>I’m thankful for you, the warfighters and spouses who have trusted me enough to share your story with me and have shared your weaknesses and your failures and your joys and your victories. And I’m thankful for the number of families who have let me in and have made me part of your family.</p>
<p>I’m thankful for the number of single warfighters who have brought me in as part of their life and have entrusted their story to me, so that we might enjoy mutual encouragement through the Word of God.</p>
<p>I’m thankful for the number of spouses who have sacrificed their careers to support their spouse during their military career and have found joy in the honorable and often overlooked and underappreciated vocation of homemaker. My prayer for you is that you continue to find strength and joy in that honorable vocation.</p>
<p>I’m thankful for the number of veterans and warfighters who have been so patient with me, taking me by the hand and patiently instructing me so I can better understand the military mindset, so I can better serve you and equip our pastors and our congregations to better serve you with Word and sacrament.</p>
<p>I’m thankful for the number of doors that have been opened for me, for our pastors, and for our congregations to reach military members and their families on post, on base, and in our communities.</p>
<p>I’m thankful for the number of military chaplains who have opened doors for me and our WELS pastors and our congregations, so that again, our people can be better served by Word and sacrament.</p>
<p>I’m thankful for the number of gifts that have been given by thankful hearts, not only to our ministry but even to me personally—like the Rangers coffee mug that I recently received as a gift. Every time I use it or other gifts that I’ve received, it gives me the opportunity to pause and pray for this person and the people that support this person. So thank you for those gifts.</p>
<p>And thank you also for the number of prayers that have been spoken on behalf of this ministry, that have been spoken on behalf of me and my family, that have been spoken for our pastors and for our congregations.</p>
<p>I’m thankful for the number of letters and e-mails and texts. They are so encouraging, and I thank you for them.</p>
<p>I’m thankful for the number of experiences that God has allowed me to have this past year. There are too many to list, so I’m going to pick just one. It’s jumping from 12,500 feet with the U.S. Army Golden Knights in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I thank Larissa and her pastor, Pastor Glende, for making that happen.</p>
<p>I’m thankful for the number of people that you have introduced to me—people whom you’ve identified as people who need to hear about Jesus. And I’m thankful for the number of people that you have led to Jesus—the number of spouses and battle buddies and children and parents and friends that you have brought to hear about Jesus. I pray that you continue to scatter that seed of the gospel so that many more souls might be touched by the gospel, and I pray that God would make those seeds grow.</p>
<p>And finally, I’m thankful for our Commander-in-Chief, Jesus Christ, who continues to lead us in spiritual battle, who continues to lead us through spiritual battle, who will continue to lead us until we reach those peaceful shores of heaven.</p>
<p>I want to close this devotion today with the words of the apostle Paul.</p>
<p><strong>Prayer:<br />
</strong>“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11).</p>
<p>Lord Jesus, this weekend we also celebrate the birthday of our nation’s Civil Air Patrol. From before their official creation in 1948 and continuing through today, members of the Civil Air Patrol have carried out emergency services and disaster relief missions around our nation. Keep these citizen volunteers faithful and safe as they search for and find the lost. Provide comfort in times of disaster and work to keep our homeland safe. In your name I pray. Amen.</p>
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<section  class='av_textblock_section av-1xndci2-6914dcc6b6db809895d70d83d4e42bff '   itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/CreativeWork" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop="text" ><p><em>Written and recorded by Rev. Paul Horn, WELS National Civilian Chaplain to the Military, San Diego, California.</em></p>
<p><em>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.</em></p>

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<description>&lt;img width="80" height="80" src="https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-80x80.jpg" class="wp-image-30208 avia-img-lazy-loading-30208 attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-80x80.jpg 80w, https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-36x36.jpg 36w, https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-180x180.jpg 180w" sizes="(max-width: 80px) 100vw, 80px" /&gt;During this week of Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for? How has God blessed you?</description>

During this week of Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for? How has God blessed you?

Military Devotion – Thankful – November 29, 2024

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<div  class='avia-video av-lp7brtdb-3ca69854880d04ba1e8cad30b3595d3e avia-video-16-9 av-no-preview-image avia-video-load-always av-lazyload-immediate av-lazyload-video-embed'  itemprop="video" itemtype="https://schema.org/VideoObject"  data-original_url='https://vimeo.com/1032345136'><script type='text/html' class='av-video-tmpl'><div class='avia-iframe-wrap'><iframe loading="lazy" title="November 22, 2024 – Military Devotion – Eyes on the Skies" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1032345136?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></script><div class='av-click-to-play-overlay'><div class="avia_playpause_icon"></div></div></div><br />

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<section  class='av_textblock_section av-5bd59d6-8fb417576da5b616239b6ac5cb6af4b9 '   itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/CreativeWork" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop="text" ><blockquote>
<p><strong>Based on Jude 20, 21</strong></p>
</blockquote>
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<div  class='hr av-287z8j-7309da680e738cb9cd5c7124a9150723 hr-default'><span class='hr-inner '><span class="hr-inner-style"></span></span></div><br />
<section  class='av_textblock_section av-lv58ap8r-58524477537134426f07433d5766c0bf '   itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/CreativeWork" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop="text" ><p>As I’ve listened to our war fighters, those who are both deployed and preparing to deploy, one of the things they’ve shared with me is that there’s a sort of pivot when it comes to battle planning—that training for battle and planning for battle looks a little bit different than it has in the past. We’ve seen this in the war between Russia and Ukraine, between Israel and Iran and the Houthi rebels in the Gulf of Oman with drone warfare.</p>
<p>This has changed the way we plan for battle. While our Marines and soldiers pound the ground, our Air Force and Navy and Space Force look to the skies. How do we deal with this new threat of drone attacks?</p>
<p>All this talk of war and preparing for war reminds us of Jesus’ words that in the end times there will be wars and rumors of wars. But he says this should not alarm us. He says instead to use these events as reminders to keep our eyes on the skies, not looking for incoming drone attacks, but looking to the skies for his salvation, for our salvation for eternal life. To look to the skies for Jesus to come with his angels and bring us to everlasting life, where there will be no more wars and no more killing and no more death, but only peace and to be with Jesus forever.</p>
<p>The way we keep our eyes on the skies is by keeping ourselves busy with those things that remind us of that great day that is to come. Our encouragement today is from the book of Jude, and I encourage you to read the entire book. It’s only 25 verses, but I want to focus on just two of the verses, verses 20 and 21. There Jude tells us, “Keep yourselves in God’s love” (verse 21).</p>
<p>You might ask the question, “Well, how can I keep myself in God’s love? Does God love me less at times? Are there things that I need to do so God might love me more?” Is that what Jude is saying when he tells us to keep yourselves in God’s love? Not at all. God loves you unconditionally, and that is seen in his Son on the cross.</p>
<p>But sometimes we forget that. So keep yourselves in God’s love, Jude tells us. And he tells us to do that by doing three things: by building, by praying, and by waiting.</p>
<p>First of all, he says, keep yourselves in God’s love “by building yourselves up in your most holy faith” (verse 20). You see, your enemy, the devil, loves to dive into your world just like an enemy drone would dive in from the skies so he might bring chaos into your life. And as you focus on that chaos, your eyes are distracted from Jesus’ love for you. So Jude says to build yourselves up in your most holy faith. How do we do that? Read the Word, listen to the Word, study the Word, sing the Word, share the Word, remember the Word. For it is in the Word that God reminds you again and again of his unconditional love for you in Christ Jesus.</p>
<p>Secondly, Jude says, keep yourselves in God’s love by “praying in the Holy Spirit” (verse 20). God speaks to you in his Word. Respond to him and talk to him in your prayers. Are you anxious about wars and rumors of wars? Then pray about it. Pray to him in confidence. Pray knowing that you pray to the King of kings and Lord of lords, the God, the Lord who loves you unconditionally, who will come again in the skies with his angels to bring you home to heaven, who loves to listen to your prayers and to act on your behalf in response to your prayers.</p>
<p>So keep yourselves in God’s love by building, by praying, and finally, by waiting. Jude writes, “Wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life” (verse 21). It often feels that this world is careening toward self-destruction, from the awful things that we as human beings do to each other to the destructive forces of natural disasters. It doesn’t feel like there’s much we can do to stop any of it.</p>
<p>So, Jude says, just wait. Wait for God’s love for you. Wait for that day when he comes from the skies in his love and mercy to bring you home to eternal life in heaven. Keep your eyes on the skies by building, by praying, and by waiting.</p>
<p><strong>Prayer:<br />
</strong>Lord Jesus, we pray that you use your almighty power to bring an end to the conflicts around the world—between Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Iran and Hezbollah, to the countries in Africa, to Haiti, to the threats from China and North Korea.</p>
<p>But Lord, in your wisdom, we know that you have used nations and leaders in wars and conflicts to advance your kingdom of grace. And so in the midst of these conflicts, we pray, open doors for your people to bring the hope of Christ to those who are suffering the ravages of war.</p>
<p>And now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.</p>
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<p><em>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.</em></p>

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<description>&lt;img width="80" height="80" src="https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-80x80.jpg" class="wp-image-30208 avia-img-lazy-loading-30208 attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-80x80.jpg 80w, https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-36x36.jpg 36w, https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-180x180.jpg 180w" sizes="(max-width: 80px) 100vw, 80px" /&gt;Wait for that day when Jesus comes from the skies in his love and mercy to bring you home to eternal life in heaven.</description>

Wait for that day when Jesus comes from the skies in his love and mercy to bring you home to eternal life in heaven.

Military Devotion – Eyes on the Skies – November 22, 2024

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<div  class='avia-video av-lp7brtdb-5ef4821c79df4e62759d97a4951ec13e avia-video-16-9 av-no-preview-image avia-video-load-always av-lazyload-immediate av-lazyload-video-embed'  itemprop="video" itemtype="https://schema.org/VideoObject"  data-original_url='https://vimeo.com/1029293621'><script type='text/html' class='av-video-tmpl'><div class='avia-iframe-wrap'><iframe loading="lazy" title="November 15, 2024 – Military Devotion – You Know the Outcome" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1029293621?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></script><div class='av-click-to-play-overlay'><div class="avia_playpause_icon"></div></div></div><br />

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<section  class='av_textblock_section av-5bd59d6-8fb417576da5b616239b6ac5cb6af4b9 '   itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/CreativeWork" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop="text" ><blockquote>
<p><strong>Based on Daniel 12:1-3</strong></p>
</blockquote>
</div></section><br />
<div  class='hr av-287z8j-7309da680e738cb9cd5c7124a9150723 hr-default'><span class='hr-inner '><span class="hr-inner-style"></span></span></div><br />
<section  class='av_textblock_section av-lv58ap8r-58524477537134426f07433d5766c0bf '   itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/CreativeWork" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop="text" ><p>I’m writing this devotion on November 5th. And since this devotion will be sent on November 15th, you probably voted in the recent election. And either you went in person or, like me and my wife, voted a couple weeks early. We received our ballots in the mail and dropped them off in a box in San Diego County.</p>
<p>So you know the outcome of the election already since it’s now November 15th. How do you feel about the outcome?</p>
<p>I was in Washington, D.C., a couple of weeks ago, and I asked a senior officer that same question about the election. I said, “Can I ask you a question? Don’t feel that you have to answer it.”</p>
<p>And he said, “No, I’m glad you asked it because, yes, I do pay attention to the election because of my job in counterintelligence and the assets that we have in near-peer competitor countries. We need to let them know what’s going on because this determines troop movement, and it determines where our people are because other countries react differently to different administrations in the White House.”</p>
<p>You know the outcome already. How do you feel about that?</p>
<p>You might have mixed emotions, depending on which side of the aisle you are on, depending on if you watch a lot of Fox News or CNN or MSNBC. Or maybe you try to stay in the middle and find a news agency that just reports the facts, which doesn’t lean one way or the other—but then that’s hard to find.</p>
<p>How have you reacted? This is what I do. The month before a major election, I read the book of Daniel, because it reminds me that God already knows the outcome. As you read the book of Daniel, you sit back in amazement and see how God moves and shakes and shapes nations to do his will. Daniel reminds me that no matter who is in charge—or who thinks they’re in charge—it is our God, the King of kings and Lord of lords. He uses his faithful people in his service in government to help carry out his will and serve faithfully in that vocation in the government.</p>
<p>Allow me to share the reading for this coming Sunday, Daniel chapter 12: “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever” (verses 1-3).</p>
<p>What God tells us in the book of Daniel is that things will be bad for God’s people. They’ve always been bad. Since the time of the Garden of Eden, there’s been animosity and enmity between God’s holy people and those who oppose God’s holy people.</p>
<p>And you’ve experienced this in your own family, among your friends, among the people that you work with, even in our government. There will always be people who oppose God’s will and God’s people.</p>
<p>But in the end, God knows the outcome. He tells us that in the end, the archangel Michael, the commander of the angel armies of heaven, will arise and protect his people. He will deliver us.</p>
<p>God’s got his angels watching over us and protecting us, no matter what happens in an election year. But here’s the other thing. It says, “There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then” (verse 1a). This shouldn’t alarm us when these things happen, because God has told us they will right in his Word.</p>
<p>But here’s the thing. God knows the outcome. He says, “At that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered” (verse 1b). That’s you, and that’s me. You know your name is written in God’s book because he has told you so, and you believe it, and you trust it. Because in the waters of your baptism, God has taken your name and has written it down in his family ledger.</p>
<p>It reminds me that a couple of generations ago, it was very popular to have a family Bible. And in the front of that Bible was the family tree. When a new infant was born, that name was written in the front of that family Bible and then passed on to the next generation. Your name was part of the family<br />
tree.</p>
<p>God has done that for you, but in his book, in heaven, that is you. And everyone whose name is found written in that book will be delivered. And here’s what he says: “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life” (verse 2). That’s you. You already know the outcome of what’s going to happen to you. Your body will rise from the dead, and then he says that you will shine like the brightness of the heavens, like the stars forever and ever. You know the outcome.</p>
<p>You already know the outcome of the election as I sit here and write this devotion on November 5th. You already know the outcome with what’s going to happen to nations at the end of time. You already know the outcome of what’s going to happen to you. So rest in those promises. No matter how you feel about the outcome of this election, rest in those promises.</p>
<p>And my encouragement to you is to go back and read the book of Daniel this month. And if in reading the book of Daniel with all of the visions, you’re trying to figure out what it all means, then I encourage you to order the <em>People’s Bible</em> commentary on the book of Daniel from Northwestern Publishing House. Go to <a href="https://online.nph.net/daniel.html">nph.net</a> and search for the <em>People’s Bible</em>: Daniel.</p>
<p>Read Daniel this month, and rest in those promises that God knows the outcome.</p>
<p><strong>Prayer:<br />
</strong>Lord and ruler of nations, you tell us not to trust in mortal princes but to place our faith in you. By your most holy and powerful Word, strengthen our resolve to do that more and more. Help us to be mindful, as your children, of your desire that we pay proper respect and honor to our nation’s newly elected officials because they draw their authority from you. Guide them with your eternal wisdom and use them for your holy purposes. In the name of Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords. Amen.</p>
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<p><em>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.</em></p>

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<description>&lt;img width="80" height="80" src="https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-80x80.jpg" class="wp-image-30208 avia-img-lazy-loading-30208 attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-80x80.jpg 80w, https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-36x36.jpg 36w, https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-180x180.jpg 180w" sizes="(max-width: 80px) 100vw, 80px" /&gt;You already know the outcome of what’s going to happen to you.</description>

You already know the outcome of what’s going to happen to you.

Military Devotion – You Know the Outcome – November 15, 2024

<img width="80" height="80" src="https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-80x80.jpg" class="wp-image-30208 avia-img-lazy-loading-30208 attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-80x80.jpg 80w, https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-36x36.jpg 36w, https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-180x180.jpg 180w" sizes="(max-width: 80px) 100vw, 80px" />
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<div  class='avia-video av-lp7brtdb-ba1e0923cfd6591943e2a61ac001b088 avia-video-16-9 av-no-preview-image avia-video-load-always av-lazyload-immediate av-lazyload-video-embed'  itemprop="video" itemtype="https://schema.org/VideoObject"  data-original_url='https://vimeo.com/1027701609'><script type='text/html' class='av-video-tmpl'><div class='avia-iframe-wrap'><iframe loading="lazy" title="November 8, 2024 – Military Devotion – Startling Generosity" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1027701609?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></script><div class='av-click-to-play-overlay'><div class="avia_playpause_icon"></div></div></div><br />

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<section  class='av_textblock_section av-5bd59d6-8fb417576da5b616239b6ac5cb6af4b9 '   itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/CreativeWork" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop="text" ><blockquote>
<p><strong>Based on 2 Corinthians 8:1-9</strong></p>
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<div  class='hr av-287z8j-7309da680e738cb9cd5c7124a9150723 hr-default'><span class='hr-inner '><span class="hr-inner-style"></span></span></div><br />
<section  class='av_textblock_section av-lv58ap8r-58524477537134426f07433d5766c0bf '   itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/CreativeWork" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop="text" ><p>It’s a story of startling generosity.</p>
<p>The apostle Paul had been traveling around what is modern-day Greece and Turkey, visiting the Christian churches there and presenting an opportunity for them to be generous. You see, the Christian churches back in Jerusalem were suffering, and these gifts were being gathered to help them in their physical needs.</p>
<p>The apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Christians in Corinth to encourage them to put their faith into practice and to practice the spiritual gift of giving. He wrote this: “And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us” (2 Corinthians 8:1-5).</p>
<p>How were these Christians able to be so generous, when by all human standards they were so poor?</p>
<p>Well, because they had put their trust in a heavenly Father who promises to provide daily bread. They put their trust in their Savior, Jesus, who promises that when his children seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, that all the things they need will be given to them as well.</p>
<p>So it is true for you and me that we have received generosity from God—startling generosity. God, who is so gracious as to forgive us for our stinginess and greed and selfishness. So we are people who know that we have been set free from these sinful attitudes of our heart. We’ve been set free to be generous to others.</p>
<p>I’ve witnessed this startling generosity in you, our active duty service members and their families, and in our veterans and their families, and in civilians who support ministry to the military.</p>
<p>Years ago when I served a church in Kentucky, I traveled once a month to Evansville, Indiana. I was the closest WELS pastor to a man who was a World War II veteran. Once a month, I brought him the Lord’s Supper and had a devotion and prayer. And every month, he slipped me a $100 bill and said, “Use this to pay for your rental car and for gas.”</p>
<p>I did this once a month for a year and a half. Then God called him home to heaven. About six months later, I received a letter in the mail with a check for several thousand dollars. It was from a church in Wisconsin. This man had officially been a member of this church in Wisconsin, and the letter said, “You probably don’t know this, but the man that you had been serving was very wealthy, and he left quite a substantial amount of money to our church and school. We’re actually going to be able to build a gymnasium for our grade school children. But we wanted to send a portion to you and your church to thank you for your generosity to this man.”</p>
<p>I recently traveled to the East Coast and spent some time with some members of a congregation there that’s full of veterans and active duty service members. Many of them are leaders in the congregation. One of them shared with me that they’ve been blessed with the gift of giving in that congregation—so much so that at the end of the year, they have extra money from offerings. And they don’t keep it for themselves. They look for a need in the churches in their area, and they give it to them. Or they’ve given to our WELS Christian Aid and Relief organization that is assisting with flooding relief efforts in the Carolinas.</p>
<p>Or I heard that the Organization of WELS Lutheran Seniors, or OWLS, has recently given $58,000 to support the European chaplain ministry, through which my counterpart, my brother in the ministry Chaplain Rob Weiss, travels to the military bases in Germany and Italy and Spain, serving our warfighters and their families with God’s Word and sacrament.</p>
<p>It’s through stories like the Lutheran Military Support Group. It was started nine years ago by veterans who saw a need to serve veterans and active duty members and their dependents. And one of the ways they raise funds for this is through their Ammo Can Campaign. If you reach out to them on their website, they’ll ship you an ammo can for free, and they ask that you put it out at Veterans Day weekend or Memorial Day weekend. The funds that they raise through that Ammo Can Campaign are used to host events like a spiritual retreat for Christian warriors and their battle buddies.</p>
<p>They also use that money to support my ministry, so I can travel around the United States and build up our pastors and our congregations as they seek to serve our military members and their families. They use those generous gifts to support the training of Lutheran pastors who serve near military installations.</p>
<p>How has God been generous to you? How might he use you to be generous to others to support their physical needs? And how might he use you to be generous to them so that their spiritual needs might also be met?</p>
<p>My encouragement to you today is this. Spend some time in God’s Word this weekend and read 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9. And through prayer and prayerful consideration, ask God how he might use you to give with startling generosity.</p>
<p><strong>Prayer:<br />
</strong>Almighty and ever-living God, you have given exceedingly great and precious promises to those who trust in you. Grant us so firmly to believe in your Son, Jesus, that our faith may never be found wanting.</p>
<p>This coming week, the United States Marine Corps will celebrate its 249th birthday. Lord Jesus, the Marine Corps has served to fight our country’s battles in the air, on land, and sea. Continue to raise up faithful men and women to serve in the Corps, so that we might enjoy the freedoms of our great nation and live our lives in peace and safety.</p>
<p>As our nation pauses this week on November 11th to honor our veterans, we thank you for raising up brave men and women who were willing to engage our enemies, who have provided humanitarian aid for those who suffer, who attentively protected our borders.</p>
<p>Bring healing to those veterans who still carry unseen scars of trauma through your lifegiving promises. Use us to show the love of Christ to them when days are difficult. I pray this all in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.</p>
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<p><em>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.</em></p>

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<description>&lt;img width="80" height="80" src="https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-80x80.jpg" class="wp-image-30208 avia-img-lazy-loading-30208 attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-80x80.jpg 80w, https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-36x36.jpg 36w, https://wels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/842x347-MilitaryDevotion-2022-180x180.jpg 180w" sizes="(max-width: 80px) 100vw, 80px" /&gt;How has God been generous to you? How might he use you to be generous to others to support their physical needs? And how might he use you to be generous to them so their spiritual needs might also be met?</description>

How has God been generous to you? How might he use you to be generous to others to support their physical needs? And how might he use you to be generous to them so their spiritual needs might also be met?

WELS Military Devotions

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