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Based on John 8:31-36

When you ask a Marine, soldier, sailor, airman, Coastie, or Guardian what “freedom” means, you’ll hear answers about rights, choices, and sacrifices. Freedom in our country is cherished—the ability to choose where to live, what to believe, how to worship, and how to serve. Those of you who have served or are serving took an oath to defend those freedoms. Yet, even with those rights, there’s a deeper freedom Jesus wants to talk about—a freedom that no government can give and no enemy can take away.

Most people think freedom means “I get to do what I want.” I’ve met a lot of active duty war fighters who live that when they first leave home—on leave or liberty—no rules, no parents telling them what to do. But that kind of freedom quickly becomes its own prison. What we want to do often isn’t good for us or for others. We hurt people, we hurt ourselves, and we break God’s commands. Jesus tells us this hard truth: “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). The more we chase our own way, the tighter sin’s grip becomes.

But Jesus reveals the secret to true freedom: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). The “teaching” Jesus speaks of is both God’s law and his gospel. The law shows the boundaries God lovingly sets to protect the good gifts he’s given—things like sex, money, alcohol, and relationships. Step outside those boundaries, and that freedom turns into slavery again.

The truth that sets us free is the good news that Jesus never crossed those lines. He perfectly obeyed his Father’s will, lived within every boundary, and then offered himself for every time we didn’t. His death and resurrection broke sin’s hold on us and declared us forgiven and free.

Now we’re truly free—not to do whatever we want, but free to live as God intended. Free from guilt, free from having to earn his favor, free to enjoy the good things he’s given within the safety of his design. “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for setting me free from the guilt and slavery of sin. Help me to hold firmly to your Word and walk in the freedom that you won for me. Let my life reflect your truth and protect the good gifts you’ve given. 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.

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Based on Genesis 32:22-30

One of the stories my wife loves to tell is of a certain Thanksgiving celebration at our home. Our brother-in-law convinced me and another brother-in-law to go on a four-mile run. When we returned, he asked, “Do you guys want me to teach you some combatives?” Keep in mind, he wears a Ranger tab on his US Army uniform. I ended up on my back most of the time, wind knocked out of me, and at times seeing blackness descend over my eyes, needing to tap out. But I learned a lesson: Never give up, even when your opponent is stronger than you.

There is a story about a wrestling match in the Bible. A man named Jacob had been estranged from his twin brother. Jacob had deceitfully stolen his brother Esau’s inheritance. Esau made his intentions clear. He would murder his brother after their father died.

Fast forward 20 years . . . both brothers are married with multiple kids and large estates. Jacob is traveling back home with his entourage when a scout informs Jacob, “Your brother Esau is going to meet us. He has 400 men with him.” Jacob was in great fear and distress and prayed, “Lord, save me! I am afraid! You made promises to me to bring me back to my homeland and to prosper me.”

There he was alone in the dark with his thoughts heavy on his heart, praying to God, when suddenly out of the shadows a man grabbed him and wrestled him to the ground. They sparred throughout the night. You can imagine the sweat, the grappling for an advantage, the grunts, and the muscles straining to gain an advantage. They wrestled until the sun’s rays began to streak over the horizon. The man saw he could not overpower Jacob, so he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it so that Jacob was at a great disadvantage. But Jacob wrapped himself around the man, who finally conceded and said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak” (Genesis 32:26). Jacob refused, in spite of his hip, and said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (verse 26).

In this mysterious story, God manifests himself in human form and allows a human being to overpower him in a sparring match. Jacob wrestled with God not only physically but also spiritually in his prayers and would not let God go unless he did what he promised to Jacob.

I know that you have wrestled in prayer, in the darkness, for God’s promised blessings to you. Continue to spar with God. Wrestle with him. Like Jacob, hold onto him and remind him of the things he has promised you in his Word. God delights to be caught in his promises.

Unsure of what he’s promised you? The Lord’s Prayer is a great place to start. Use Martin Luther’s catechism and pray that prayer using the explanations to remind your Father what he promises you. “Give me my daily bread! Forgive my sins! Deliver me from evil! Guard and keep me from temptation!” Hold him to those promises. Ask for wisdom. He promises it! He will give help in trouble, comfort in grief, guidance when you feel lost, strength when you are weak.

Spar with God. Hold onto him and do not let go, for he loves to be caught in his promises.

Prayer:

Lord God, give me strength and willingness to say with your Son, “Not my will, but yours be done.” Make me cheerful and trusting to bear whatever you let happen to me. From your hand I am willing to take the good and the bad, the joy and the sorrow. Keep me from sin, gracious Father, and comfort me with your kind Word. 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.

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Based on Genesis 8:15-22

To my friends in the Navy, happy birthday! This October 13th you will celebrate 250 years as a branch in our nation’s military!

Speaking of the Navy reminds me of the world’s first sailor; at least he’s the first recorded sailor. He was neither a commander nor a captain, not even an ensign. He was a civilian, just a passenger along for the ride. No one was steering his ship. No one maintained and executed a navigational course for the cruise. He just floated up for a year and ten days and then floated back down again.

God had looked down on the earth and his heart was grieved. He saw the wickedness, depravity, and violence and needed to do something. In love he sent a flood and rainfall this world has never seen. Everything with the breath of life in it died, except for those on the ship. Everything and everyone on it survived. Was it because of the construction of that ship? No. The Lord had made a promise. His undeserved love and generosity preserved Noah and his wife and their three sons and their wives and all the animals with them on that ark.

God also promised to throw a life raft to humankind. His name was Jesus. He traced his ancestry back to Noah and his son Shem.

And what was Noah’s reaction after 375 days cooped up in a massive barge with all those animals and his family? The first thing he did was show genuine gratitude and thanksgiving to God. He offered an animal sacrifice to say thank you.

Martin Luther, the 16th-century reformer, made a connection between your baptism and this ship in the flood. At your baptism you were placed in the safety of the ark of the holy Christian church. God could rightly say to you, “Fair winds and following seas!” Even though the ark of the Church is rocked by storms, winds, and floods—wicked people who attack the words and works of Jesus, wars, controversies, and false teachings—that ship . . . she will never perish. God has promised it.

And one day for you and me this ark will dock at the port of heaven. You will say to the officer of the deck, “Request permission to go ashore.” He will respond, “Bravo Zulu. Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and enjoy all that your captain has prepared for you.”

While we wait for that day when we disembark upon the shores of heaven, we hear God’s promise that he made to that first “sailor” and his family: never again to curse the ground with a worldwide catastrophic flood. His rainbow in the sky is a picture of that promise. Remember that promise every time you see his rainbow.

He also promised this: “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Genesis 8:22).

Your Creator God promises to provide all you need as long as you live. Live in confidence as you sail on, confident in God’s providence for you.

Prayer:

Eternal Father, strong to save, whose arm hath bound the restless wave, who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep its own appointed limits keep: O hear us when we cry to thee for those in peril on the sea. Amen. (Christian Worship: Hymnal 805 v. 1)

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.

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Based on Luke 17:5,6,10

By the time you read this devotion, a war fighter will have redeployed back to the United States. For six months she faithfully served in her AFSC, receiving commendations and the respect of her squadron. When she was switched from night shift to day shift, both groups of coworkers said, “Something is different about her.” She is the kind of gal who brings joy, faithfully serves the needs of others, and finds ways to work with those who are difficult to work with. During her deployment she was also a faithful spouse and mother.

That’s difficult, isn’t it? How do you faithfully serve in the vocations of wife and mother when you’re halfway around the world, ten time zones away?

This is life in our nation’s military. You struggle to be faithful servants in each of the vocations to which God has called you: a married war fighter; a war fighter with kiddos; a single war fighter; your vocation as a member of a church, as a citizen, as a good neighbor, as a friend—it can be overwhelming at times, especially when you’re halfway around the world.

In Luke chapter 17 Jesus spoke to his disciples about their vocations and how to carry them out. After listening to Jesus, they were so overwhelmed that they cried out to him, “Increase our faith!” (verse 5). Jesus replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you” (verse 6).

Your ability to carry out your vocation does not depend on your strength, your management of time, your talents, or even your love for other people. Your ability to effectively carry out your orders to serve others depends on your faith. Notice that Jesus doesn’t point to the strength of your faith. He points to its object. Faith’s object—the thing that it clings to, holds on to, rests upon—is Christ. Faith rests in his forgiveness when we fail miserably in our vocations. Faith finds its strength in Christ’s righteousness for us when we are weak or lazy in our vocations. Faith trusts that Christ will do what he promises when we look to him for faith to move mountains. The mountains in this case are to carry out our duty in whatever vocation God has called us to serve others.

Finally, Jesus says, “When you have done everything you were told to do, [you] should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty’ ” (verse 10). We humbly serve him who in perfect humility served us. With all the strength he provides, let us carry out his orders to serve in faith and duty.

Prayer:

Almighty God, in your bountiful goodness, keep us safe from every evil of body and soul. Make us ready, with cheerful hearts, to do whatever pleases you. As veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom pause to remember the beginning of that campaign on October 6, 2001, we know that this war changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of war fighters and their families. For those who bear on their bodies the scars of combat, and for those who carry in their minds and souls the traumas of war, we call upon your compassion and mercy to provide healing, patience, and forgiveness. Our faith trusts you to do this, for this is the kind of God you are for us. 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.

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Based on Hebrews 13:1

One of the questions I often receive is this: “Chaplain Horn, since you have not served in our nation’s military, do you find it hard to relate to those who do?” It’s a fair question. Sometimes it is challenging to relate to experiences I’ve never had. Yet God has given me you to share your experiences and stories. God has given me experiences through you to help me better understand what you go through as you serve in our nation’s military. I’ve been privileged to spend time out on the range and in the field, in barracks, on ships, at VA hospitals, in military cemeteries, and at military ceremonies.

Through these experiences, I’ve observed the deep brotherhood and sisterhood among service members. This bond is forged through enduring hardships together, relying on each other, protecting one another, and building each other up—not just for the mission’s success but for the sake of the human beings God has placed in your life. This connection mirrors what the writer of Hebrews describes: “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters (Hebrews 13:1).

Here, the family described isn’t limited to the military but extends to the family of Christ. We call each other brothers and sisters not out of formality but because Jesus himself calls us his brothers and sisters. He took on human flesh, suffered, was tempted, died, and rose again—all to make us part of his eternal family. Through him, we share in the blessings of forgiveness and unconditional love, even when we fall short in showing love and kindness.

When the writer to the Hebrews encourages us to “keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters,” it’s more than a suggestion; it’s a reflection of who Christ has made us to be. Through Holy Baptism, we are bound together in a connection stronger than any earthly bond, rooted in Christ’s eternal love.

As you reflect on the camaraderie within your military unit, let it remind you of the greater, eternal bond you share with your brother Jesus and with one another in Christ. Let us keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters until we join God’s eternal family in heaven. Amen.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for the eternal bond we share through Christ, a connection deeper than any earthly tie. Help us to love one another as true brothers and sisters, reflecting your unconditional grace. Today we lift up Gold Star Mothers, whose hearts bear the weight of profound loss. Comfort them with your peace, surround them with loving support, and remind them of the eternal family in Christ. Grant them strength, hope, and the assurance of your abiding presence. In Jesus’ name. 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.

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Based on 1 Timothy 6:6-10

Happy birthday to my friends in the Air Force and Air National Guard! Integrity first, service above self, and excellence in all you do—with a grateful heart I say thank you for your service.

Last month in my daily brief e-mail from military.com, I learned that the national average for your BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) rose almost 5.5 percent this year. I also learned that most military pay increased 4.5 percent with junior enlisted receiving a 14.5 percent raise in their paycheck. I mention all of that to say how grateful I am that our Father in heaven has provided this for you.

I also share because I’ve been in many military homes, apartments, base or post housing, and barracks, and I have to say that you as members of our nation’s military live modestly. God the Father provides your daily bread—as he promises—and sometimes there are stages of life where finances seem not to be a worry at all for you. You don’t think twice about going out to eat with your family, or taking that awesome vacation, or going out with friends every weekend. But there are stages of life where finances seem to always be a little snug. You really have to watch how you spend your income.

It’s no secret that God the Father who gives you your daily bread through your vocation as a war fighter has something to say about your wealth. Through the apostle Paul, writing to a pastor named Timothy, he says to you and me: “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:6-10).

“We will be content with that.” That is a difficult thing to do, isn’t it? Sometimes the devil takes that good thing that God gifts to you and turns it into this: “If I just had a little more, I’d be happier. I could afford a little nicer home in a nicer part of town or get a nicer car . . .” And the list goes on.

Or he takes you in a different direction. Because of the wealth God the Father showers on you, you may be tempted not to take to heart the fourth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us today our daily bread,” because there’s no need to lean on the Father for daily bread since you’re rolling in it.

And then on other hand, when you live modestly, or have to go without, when you’re on the financial struggle bus, the devil holds in front of your eyes all those people who have more than you. He shows you all that you could have, all that you could do if you had more. You’d be happy, at least happier, and not stressing so much about money.

God sends us these warnings about the love of money and addresses the attitude of our hearts toward money and wealth because he doesn’t want it to be the idol that we construct in our hearts. As Paul warns, it is so we do not “wander from the faith.” We will no longer look to our Father with thanksgiving, no longer look to him to provide, no longer look to him to be our Savior.

That’s why God talks about money so frequently in the Scriptures—so that we repent and tear down the idols we’ve erected in our hearts—so that we turn from them and turn to the one who “was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). That’s your Savior Jesus, your priceless treasure, the one thing needed, the one who is the Bread of Life, the one who left the riches and wealth of heaven to be born as a poor human being. He came to live with no idols in his heart, to live with full dependence on his Father for his daily bread. He lived with joyful thanksgiving in his heart toward his Father for his daily bread so that you might be forgiven. And you are forgiven by his perfect life lived for you! So that you might live content lives in Christ, knowing and trusting that in Christ you have all things. So that you might say, “Yes! Godliness with contentment is great gain. I am content because I am in Christ!”

Prayer:

O God, you have told us not to be anxious about what we need for this life. Move our hearts to seek you and your kingdom, that all good things may be given to us as well. Since 1947 the mission of our United States Air Force and Air National Guard is to fly, fight, and win. Through our Air Force and Air Guard you, O Lord, have kept watch from the heavens. You have allowed the power of our Air Force to strike fear in the hearts of our enemies—through this show of force you keep us safe. O Spirit, whom the Father sent to spread abroad the firmament, O wind of heaven, by your might save all who dare the eagle’s flight, and keep them by your watchful care from every peril in the air. 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.

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Based on Luke 15:1-7

“He’s lost.” “They’re definitely lost.” “I think we’re lost.” These are words you don’t want to hear during land nav training. As a war fighter, you need to know exactly where you are at all times, for your own safety, for the safety of your battle buddies, and for the success of the mission. If you don’t know exactly where you are, you have the training to figure it out: “Okay, I see these land markers” or “I can look up at the stars, moon, and sun and figure out where I’m going.”

Not everybody has that skill set. I’m not just talking about orienteering or navigating across the ocean. Sometimes in life people feel lost and honestly don’t know where to go or where they’re headed. I believe that was true after 9/11. For Americans it was unbelievable. Many people in our country were lost—maybe you were among them. When a large-scale attack like that happens, we ask questions—not just of our government, “How did we miss this?”—but deeper questions: “Where was God? Why did he allow this to happen? Can he keep me safe from a future disaster?”

For many of you, this event changed the course of your life, your vocation, your career. You experienced things that human beings struggle to process: trauma, combat stress, failed marriages, failed relationships, addiction, fighting the demons within. At times you’ve had to admit, “I’m lost right now.” Or you know someone . . . and you can tell, or maybe you just know it: “They’re definitely lost.”

If that’s you, Jesus has words for you today. In Luke 15 he told a story about a shepherd who had one hundred sheep in his flock. After counting them he noticed one of the sheep was missing. He only counted 99 sheep. So he left the 99 in the open country and searched and searched until he found that lost sheep. And when he found that one lost sheep, he put it up over his shoulders and marched home. He called his neighbors and friends and said, “Rejoice with me! I have found my lost sheep!”

Jesus is that Good Shepherd. He knows that you are lost. He knows that others are lost. He is concerned. He doesn’t want any sheep to be lost to the wolves, to their depression, to the demons in their minds, to despair. And so he goes after you and the other lost sheep. He wants to bring them back home, back to families who love and forgive, back to church families who love and forgive, back to chaplains and pastors who will listen and love and announce forgiveness and peace and hope in Christ Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who cares for his lost sheep.

Jesus uses people like you and me to search for those lost sheep. When they hear the voice of their Good Shepherd, they can say, “I was lost, but now I’m found by Christ. Now I am found in Christ. Now I am safe with Christ.”

Jesus says that the angels in heaven rejoice when a lost sheep is brought back to his flock. Let’s give the angels an opportunity to rejoice.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Good Shepherd of the sheep, keep a close eye on those who are lost. Send us to go and find them, to speak your words into their ears so that you might touch their hearts. Do as you promise; let none of those sheep whom the Father has given you be lost out of your loving grasp.

As our nation mourns and grieves those lost on 9/11 and those lost because of the war that followed, bring healing and comfort through your Word of promise. Protect our nation. Grant success to the missions of those whose vocation it is to keep us safe from the attacks of our enemies. In your name we pray. 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.

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Based on Psalm 1

“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers” (Psalm 1:1-3).

The author uses the picture of a tree to describe you and your life as a Christian. A tree planted by water will send its roots down and draw sustenance and nutrients from that water and rich soil. The leaves will be green and healthy. That tree will bear abundant fruit.

That water is the promise of God to you. When you plant your tree near God’s promises—receiving his words through active personal Bible study, gathering for worship, receiving the Lord’s Supper, recalling the promises made to you in your baptism—these waters cause your tree to be active and healthy.

But what happens when your tree appears to be withering? The reason I ask this question is because the United States Congress designated September as National Suicide Prevention Month. When we discuss self-harm, we talk about depression and despair—things that make a tree appear to be withering. It’s possible that others cannot perceive this withering because depression and despair have set in at the roots or the trunk of someone’s tree. Depression and despair may have come because of a military training accident, a combat injury, a moral injury, an illness, financial ruin, or a mind and heart plagued by past trauma.

Does this describe you or someone you care about? All of this may cause you to despair of your Almighty Creator’s providence—his ability to provide for your daily bread, to care for your body or mind or family or loved ones—and you see no way out. Perhaps you think life would be better if you were not in it.

Have you or has someone you love thought this way? Have you spoken like this? Then I say to you today, “Do not despair, O withering tree.” You are not alone. Christ suffered too. In spite of planting his tree near streams of water—the promises of his Father—his tree, at times, appeared to be in rough shape. He endured opposition to his message. He suffered abuse and abandonment. Finally, he suffered the cross and the grave. But he suffered so that he might better understand your suffering. He suffered so that you will not suffer forever. God still loves sinners who are suffering. He did something about it in Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, as a Christian, you live under the cross. The same God who provided forgiveness for all your sins by a cross doesn’t promise that he will remove every cross of suffering from you. It’s not that God doesn’t have the ability to remove the suffering that is causing you to despair. In his wisdom he allows you to live under the cross. I don’t know why you are suffering in your circumstance. In God’s Word he does not always reveal suffering’s purpose to us. But he does promise that you do not endure the cross alone. Christ is with you. He provides fellow Christians to be with you.

He does say in his Word that sometimes he allows us to linger under the cross of suffering, depression, and despair so that we might despair of our strength, our ability, and see our weakness, so we might better see how great our God’s grace is for us.

Consider the apostle Paul. He planted his tree by streams of water and meditated on God’s promises day and night. But his tree appeared battered and bruised, inside and out. He struggled with his cross so much that he pleaded with God to take it away. God would answer no. God would not answer the “why” for his suffering, but he promised Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you,” O withering tree (2 Corinthians 12:9).

God chose to make you the object of his undeserved love. In your great weakness you have a greater God who loves you. He proves his love by forgiving all your sins by a cross. He proves his love to you by promising you a resurrection to eternal life with him, where there is no more depression, no more despair.

Those promises are the waters your tree may drink up so that you may have life in spite of your depression and despair. So plant yourself in those promises. Meditate on them day and night. Read this psalm every day this week. As you do, pray that your relationship with God’s Word causes you to be a fruitful tree so that, in spite of your doubts, you will know and believe God will always forgive, always love, always be present, always sustain you. After all, “The LORD watches over the way of the righteous” (Psalm 1:6). That’s you! The righteous! You are declared by him to be right in his sight, for Christ is your righteousness.

So do not despair, O withering tree. Plant your tree near the waters of God’s grace and mercy and compassion. Your God is with you. He loves you. He forgives you. He will not leave you alone.

Prayer:

Use us to reach out to those who are depressed. Give us listening, patient ears and compassionate hearts. Open our lips to speak your words of grace, forgiveness, and life eternal. In your name, I pray it. 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.

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Based on Psalm 51

He was three years into his deployment when he reached out to me. He confessed, “Chaplain Horn, I’m really struggled with pornography. And it’s not just me; it’s my wife too. We’ve never been apart this long. And my battle buddies are struggling with it too, and not just the guys. It’s the gals too!” I asked a Sailor here in San Diego about this, and he said, “Oh, yeah . . . pornography runs rampant in our squadron.”

That first individual and his battle buddies recognized this: “This is not healthy for me, for us, for our spouses.” Why did they come to that realization?

They understood that God created us. God gave us the gift of life, our bodies, and our minds. A holy God wants us to have pure thoughts and pure desires. They also understood that God created us to be sexual creatures, and that’s a good thing. He also gave us the gift of sex within marriage.

They understood that pornography corrupts all of it.

Porn creates in us unhealthy desires. It causes us to have unrealistic expectations about our bodies and about sex and about others. Pornography tells the lie that you can do what you want with your body and with someone else’s body.

When someone falls into its web and is caught in it and struggles to cut free of it, the devil uses porn to convince you that what you have done—that you have sought your own pleasure—and the pure things you have left undone—that these sins are so great and the guilt is so obnoxious to God that there is no possible way God could forgive you. How could God look at you any differently than as a disgusting sinner?

But he doesn’t. God doesn’t view you that way. The proof?

I invite you to look at the words of a man who himself was a war fighter, a leader, the top general, the commander in chief. One evening he allowed his eyes to wander, and his mind and heart followed, and he desired what he could not have. He took God’s gift of his body and gift of marriage and sexuality and chose to do what pleased him.

When a friend confronted him about his sin, he repented. He acknowledged his sin. His friend said to him, “You are forgiven. Your sin is atoned for.” Then this man—known as King David—wrote a beautiful song about it. It’s called Psalm 51. He used beautiful words to describe what kind of God he has, the kind of God you have: a merciful God, a God of unfailing love, the just but compassionate judge. If this is the kind of God you have, how will he act toward you and your sin and your guilt, as great as you believe it to be?

My challenge to you is to grab a journal or notebook and read Psalm 51. Write down all the different words and phrases and pictures David uses to describe how God forgives all of it. And as you read it, remind yourself, He means me. The God of unfailing love forgives me. He sees me forgiven. How can he do that?

Because Jesus is the pure one. Jesus is the one with holy thoughts and desires. Jesus is the one whose blameless life God sees, and when he looks at you, he sees Jesus.

Read Psalm 51 and confess with David. Read Psalm 51 and see Jesus like David did. Read Psalm 51 and find your comfort and hope and strength to live and to use your body and mind, to use the gifts of marriage and sexuality, to God’s glory. Read Psalm 51 and believe, These are God’s words to me. These are God’s words for me.

Prayer:

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.

Watch the Devotion

Based on Hebrews 12:22-24

Where is your name written?

I remember visiting my brother-in-law’s unit when he was a battalion commander. His name was right there—outside the headquarters building—bold, official, permanent-looking.

I recently toured an aircraft carrier with the ship’s chaplain. He made sure to point out—in not one but two places—where the name and picture of a sailor friend of mine, a Chief Warrant Officer 3, were displayed for everyone to see.

Some of you know that feeling. Maybe your name is engraved on a plaque, printed on a door, or listed in an awards case.

For others, it’s your DD214. That document matters. It opens the door to benefits, medical care, discounts. But even more—it says you served your country.

But maybe your name doesn’t show up in places you’re proud of. You didn’t make it a career. You didn’t climb the ranks. Maybe there’s a report or a record with your name on it that you wish no one would ever see.

Or maybe these days the only place your name shows up is on the bills in your mailbox.

But there’s one place your name is written, and it’s the one place that really matters.

It’s not there because you were flawless. It’s not there because you checked all the boxes.

It’s there because of Jesus.

Your name is written in heaven.

Hebrews 12:22-24 says: “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood.”

“Mount Zion”—that’s another name for heaven. “The city of the living God”—the place where God himself dwells forever.

There are thousands upon thousands of angels there. They’re celebrating, praising God because he kept his promises to humankind. Because Christ came. Because sins are forgiven. Because your names are written in heaven.

And that city is the “church of the firstborn”—you are heirs to the mansions Jesus prepared, the streets of gold, the river of life, and most of all—the presence of God himself. You are those heirs. This is your inheritance.

We have come “to God, the Judge of all” . . . but we do not need to be afraid to stand before God. Why not? Because we’ve also come “to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood.”

His blood shed on the cross speaks louder than your failures, louder than your regrets, louder than any accusation from Satan himself. It cries out to the Father: “This one is innocent. I have paid for their sins in full.”

So no matter where your name is written here on earth—on a building, in a service record, even on a document of shame—know this: Your name is written in heaven.

And no court, no commanding officer, no bad decision, no enemy—can erase it. It is written in Jesus’ blood. It is written forever.

Find your comfort there. Find your confidence there. Find your hope there—today and every day. You name is written in heaven.

Prayer:

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.