While rummaging through old family photographs, my Dad showed me the pocket bible that was issued to him as a soldier in the U.S. Army.

I could hardly read the words "New Testament" on the time-worn hard cover. But inside, an introduction written on March 6, 1941 was still legible on the yellowed pages. It read: "To the Members of the Army: As Commander-in-Chief I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States. Throughout the centuries men of many faiths and diverse origins have found in the Sacred Book words of wisdom, counsel and inspiration. It is a fountain of strength and now, as always, an aid in attaining the highest aspirations of the human soul." It was signed, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

No doubt, countless young men like my father carried that small but powerful book on the battlefields and beaches of World War II. The Word of God was needed then, and it is needed now. Not only in the barren deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, but in the deserts and battlefields of our own daily lives.

The scriptures contain solutions to every human onslaught: fear, anger, lust, greed, doubt, impatience, guilt, hatred, grief, discouragement, sickness, and sin. The "Sacred Book" instructs and guides us; it is a source of faith, wisdom and strength, and it contains the spiritual ammunition to combat adversity.

God's Word is his Living Will for our lives. The psalmist David wrote, "Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee" (Psalm 119:11 KJV). David studied the scriptures, realizing the only way to know God was to read what God said. The same is true today.

On the last page of my father's New Testament were these words: "A soldier who knows the Word of God and honestly tries to observe His laws is a man of power and influence among his fellows and exalts his military service to the high level of religious faith, courage, and loyalty."

The Scriptures define Christians as soldiers, too—Believers engaged in a spiritual battle.

"…Your strength must come from the Lord's mighty power…Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan…In every battle you will need faith….the helmet of salvation and the ‘sword of the Spirit' which is the Word of God" (Ephesians 6:11,16-17).

The enemy of our souls fights to destroy us on the battlefield of our hearts and minds. Are you at war? Then lift up the "Sword of the Spirit," the Holy Word of Heaven's Highest Commander-in-Chief, and begin to win.

For as one president affirmed," It is a fountain of strength and now, as always, an aid in attaining the highest aspirations of the human soul."