LHM Daily Devotion - June 16, 2017 "D-Day"

The anniversary went by without much in the way of hoopla or hoorays.

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries

By Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour

"D-Day"

June 16, 2017

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

~ 1 Corinthians 15:57 (ESV)

The anniversary went by without much in the way of hoopla or hoorays.

That's not the way it was 73 years ago on June 6. When the Allies landed in Normandy, it was a very big deal indeed. Although the term "D-Day" is a generic military term for the day any project is to be launched, the European invasion was so big, it has taken the name as its own.

Of course, there are those in my generation -- and younger -- who wonder just how big was this offensive? Well, I can tell you

a. it was the biggest sea-launched invasion in the history of the world;
b. it had 156,000 Allied military playing a part in the invasion;
c. it included solders from Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, the Netherlands, New      Zealand, Norway, and Poland;
d. it ended up with 10,000 Allied soldiers being killed, captured, or missing;
e. it was also a great turning point in the war; it was the beginning of the end.

Sadly, about 850 veterans of World War II are dying every day. That has led some to guestimate that the last of those who participated in the War will probably pass away around 2038. Maybe that helps explain why the anniversary celebrating Europe's deliverance went by without much in the way of hoopla or hoorays.

Having said that, let me add that there is another D-Day the lost need to remember.

Understand this ancient D-Day was not marked by great movements of troops and planned coordination between various branches of the military. No, this D-day involved only one Individual.

But there's more.

Although the statisticians estimated there would be many casualties in the 20th-century D-Day, they also promised most men involved would survive. That was not the case 2,000 years ago when Jesus, God's Son, was born to take our place under the Law, and carry our sins to His cross.

The mortality rate for that ancient D-Day was 100 percent. It had always been 100 percent.

And there is one more difference between the two D-Days. If you go to the beaches of Normandy, you will see the graves of those who gave their lives. To a person, they are all there. But if you go to Jerusalem, look as long and as thoroughly as you wish, you will never find the place where Jesus Christ is entombed.

He is not there because He has risen. This is God's truth, which we dare never forget.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, may I always remember those who have given their lives so I might be delivered from earthly tyranny. May I always rejoice in the forgiveness and salvation the Christ has won for me in His life, death, and resurrection. In His Name I pray. Amen

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