If you are in need of pastoral care or if you know of someone that is hospitalized and needs visitation, please call Pastor Scott at the parish office at 701.983.4626.
If you would like to stop by and visit at the office, hours are Monday and Wednesday from 10:00 am to 2:00pm CT or upon request.
Pastor Scott Pierson is available anytime by phone. Office 701.983.4626 or cell 419.341.7491.
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February 2026 Devotional
What is a nation? This is a question that many of our President’s have likely had as they pondered how best to lead this nation. February has a few holidays that we celebrate, and the one to focus on today is President’s day. Every President has had to ask the question “what is our nation?” What are the values and cultures that make it? How should we interact with our international neighbors? What is this nation? We often ponder similar ideas. We will also think about what the Kingdom of God is and how do we best serve God’s Kingdom. The Second Petition of the Lord’s Prayer helps us focus on that very thought.
“Thy Kingdom come.” There isn’t much to work with here. What does it mean for God’s Kingdom to come? What is God’s Kingdom? God’s Kingdom is anywhere that His love and mercy rules. This means that God’s Kingdom is wherever God’s grace is showered upon those who call upon the name of the Lord. Luther points out that this means “The kingdom of God comes indeed of itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come also to us.” God’s grace and mercy are received by faith. Faith that is worked in your heart through the hearing of God’s Word. God is the One who calls you into His Kingdom. His Kingdom comes regardless of what you do. There is nothing you can do that will stop God’s Kingdom from going forth. It will reach wherever God sends it. But you are praying that God would bring you into His Kingdom through this prayer. That God would make you a citizen of His Kingdom of Light.
Luther explains that God’s Kingdom comes to you “when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and live a godly life here on earth and in heaven forever.” Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the word of Christ. You are saved by grace through faith, and not of your own doing. The Holy Spirit works in your heart to change your thoughts and desires. To move you to live a life that is pleasing to your God and King.
This looks like loving the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Looking to the Lord above everything else. Fearing, loving, and trusting God above all other things. Knowing that God and God alone is worthy of praise. Knowing that God is the One who redeemed you through the Blood of Christ. He has claimed you for His own, and you are no longer a lost denizen of darkness. You are also called to love your neighbor as yourself. To live out your life in a way that honors God and lifts up your neighbor. Protecting and serving them to be a blessing from the Lord in their life. It may be hard to answer, “what is a nation,” but the Kingdom of God is wherever His grace and mercy poor out on us lost sinners. And it is in that Kingdom where we find forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. Trust in the God who calls you into His Kingdom.
December Devotional
Every time I see the first snow of the year, I think of Isaiah 55:10-11 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” God, through the prophet Isaiah, reminds us that His word is trustworthy and that He makes good on His promises. A fitting verse to ponder as we begin December, a month that is spent thinking about the promises God has already fulfilled and an anticipation to see the day God fulfills His final promises.
We celebrate both Advent and Christmas during the month of December. Both are important parts of the Church year because of what they remind us of. Advent is the beginning of the Church year. It is the beginning of a new year because the focus of the Church year is Jesus and advent is the season when we look back in thankfulness towards Christ’s first coming and look forward to His second coming with anticipation. We begin the year with the Promise of the coming Messiah and a call to be on the watch for Him. Just as the Jewish people were anxiously waiting for Jesus to be born, we look forward to His return. Advent is a time of joy. Joy as we prepare to celebrate the birthday of Jesus, our Savior King who died for the sins of the world. Joy as we look forward to His second coming where He will call all who believe in Him to His side. To a place where sin is no more and death cannot reach. Where pain and suffering do not exist. A place where we will spend eternity with God. Joy is one of the few emotions I can think of that describes the feeling that comes with knowing what Christ has done for you and knowing that He has prepared a place for you in heaven. Promises that flow throughout Scripture.
Advent is also a time of repentance. The message of John the Baptizer was “repent for the Kingdom of heaven is near” while Jesus proclaimed, “repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The first coming of Christ came with a call to repent. To turn from the sins that so tightly ensnare you and to look at the One who has come into the world to free people from sin. As you look to the first coming of Christ, you are reminded that your sin brought Him to Earth. Your sin is what nailed Him to the Cross. As you look forward to His second coming, you are reminded that God has promised to forgive your sins when you seek forgiveness. Advent reminds you that Jesus came to die for the sins of the world, and that includes your sins. A promise that Christ fulfilled at the Cross. A promise that you partake in through faith in the Son of God who loves you and died for you.
Christmas is the day that we celebrate the birth of Jesus, an event in history that fulfilled so many promises of God. The day that God the Son, the Second person of the Trinity, entered into the world for the purpose of paying for the sins of all people with His blood. We rejoice in the birth of our Savior King because we would be dead without Him. We would have no hope. No hope of eternal life with our God. No hope of the glories of heaven. But He was born. And His birth was a miracle that only God could orchestrate. You can rejoice in the reality that God the Son did enter into history. We do not serve a God who just sits back and watches things play out. He entered the World to redeem you from sin, death, and the devil. He did this because He loves you. All of these are promises from the Word of God. Rejoice in the Lord, for His promises are true!
November Devotional
When I think of November, I think of pumpkin pie and turkey. November always feels overlooked as people begin to prepare for the Christmas season. Yet, we celebrate Thanksgiving during this month. We take time to spend a day to celebrate the things that we are thankful for and the people whom we are thankful to share life with. Remembering to be thankful is a good thing. Being thankful for the many blessings that have been showered upon you is a good thing. The one we are the most grateful for is God, the one who created everything and gives us everything we need.
As we begin looking at the Lord’s Prayer, the introduction stands out with this backdrop of November and Thanksgiving. The Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer is simply “Our Father, who art in heaven.” It is a simple beginning, but it has a deep impact on how we should view God. Luther explains that in this introduction “God thereby tenderly encourages us to believe that He is truly our Father and that we are truly His children, so that we may boldly and confidently come to Him in prayer, even as beloved children come to their dear father.” You may wonder how Luther got all of this out of six words, but it all makes sense when we realize the importance of God as our Father.
It is easy to be afraid of God. Afterall, He created everything, and He could destroy everything just as easily. With a single word He could wipe you and everything you care about off the face of the planet. The God of heaven is mighty and strong; He causes the hearts of His enemies to fear. That is the reality of the majesty of the God of heaven. Why would anyone want to approach someone like that? Moses could not lay his eyes on the Lord for fear of dying. Isaiah declared himself utterly destroyed in the presence of God. Peter begged Jesus to depart from him. The presence of God invokes fear because of His greatness and His holiness. Things that we could never hope to come close to. Why bother praying to someone whose entire being you cannot understand and whose presence would leave you a pile of ash if you stood before Him? We pray to the Lord, the God of heaven, because He has called us to do so. And not as a peasant approaching their king, but as a son coming to their father in need.
That is why God being our Father is so important. In Christ, we are children of God. Children who can with confidence boldly approach the throne of grace and ask God for help. We can bring our cares and concerns to Him no matter what those things may be. Does a child consider the implications of what they ask their parents? No! They ask because they hope their parents will give them what they ask for. It is the parents job to keep their child from things they should not have. Sometimes you need to explain why they can’t have another slice of cake or a new toy. Sometimes you need to explain why they need to do their chores instead of goofing around. But that does not stop the child from asking.
We should approach our Father who is in heaven with the same boldness, because He has asked us to. He does not always give us what we ask for, but He gives us what He knows we need. He listens to all of our requests. From help finding lost keys to help finding lost children. Healing for a pet who has an upset stomach to healing for a loved one with cancer. He hears all of our prayers, and He does not sigh at our requests. He takes them all seriously, and He answers them in His timing and in His way. He knows what He is doing. Approach God boldly with your requests, He wants to hear them.
October Devotional
October can be one of the weirdest months of the year. We never know what the weather will look like. We could see temperatures in the high 80’s followed by temperatures that are below freezing. October seems like it can’t make up its mind about what kind of month it should be. It can feel like we skip right over fall and go straight to winter. It is hard to understand how the weather behaves in October. How this month acts confuses us. In a strange way, we also struggle to understand the Holy Spirit, whom the Third Article of the Apostle’s Creed is about.
“I believe in the Holy Spirit.” This portion makes sense. We just confessed that we believe in God, the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. It makes sense that the third portion deals with God the Holy Spirit. However, this portion of the Creed does not seem to follow the same structure as the other two. Instead of talking about the Holy Spirit, the Creed goes right into “the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.” It seems to skip any discussion of the Holy Spirit and instead goes into what the Christian church and Christian life look like. Yet, that is exactly how the Holy Spirit works in your life.
Martin Luther’s explanation is that this means “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ. The Holy Spirit works faith in the hearts of those who hear the Word of God. No one can come to know God on their own. It is impossible. God is hidden from us, and we only know about Him because He has chosen to reveal Himself to us. The Holy Spirit is the one who helps us understand what He has revealed.
This changes how we view the Third Article. It isn’t just a random list of stuff that the Church does, but it is how the Holy Spirit works in the life of a believer. The holy Christian church is the body of Christ, which all believers are members of. It is here that faith is fostered and grown through the hearing of the word. Members of Christ’s body help one another out with their individual gifts, just as a body is made of many parts that achieve life. The communion of saints is not Holy Communion, but the gathering of believers together to worship the Lord and learn about Him. The forgiveness of sins is given through faith, which is what the Holy Spirit works in the life of believers. The resurrection of the body is the promise and hope of all believers that we will have perfect bodies in Heaven. The life everlasting is our promise to live forever by God’s side in those perfect bodies alongside every other believer who has been called home.
The Holy Spirit works through the Church. He works specifically through the Congregation, because that is where you go to hear the Word of God proclaimed alongside other believers. It is where the Law is preached to convict you of your sin. It is where the Gospel is preached to point you to the Cross where healing is found. The congregation is where you go to be with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ this side of heaven. The Holy Spirit is continually working in you. Building your faith, convicting you of sin, and pointing you to the Cross. All of these are how the Holy Spirit works in your life, and that is what we are confessing in the Third Article of the Apostle’s Creed.
September Devotional
Fall ushers in a plethora of emotions. Sadness that the summer is over. Anxiousness at the coming school year. Excitement at the coming football season. Dread over the winter to come. This jumble of emotions can also hit when we look at the last part of the 2nd Article of the Apostle’s Creed. It reads “He ascended into heaven, and is seated on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From where He shall come to judge the living and the dead.” Christ ascended and seated at the right hand of the Father should give us comfort, but it is not always that simple.
One can find themselves wrapped up in their past, being dragged down by their sin. Hearing that Christ will judge the living and the dead can bring fear to some. Fears that they have not done enough to receive a good judgement. Hope that they will have done enough to be pardoned from Hell. You can find yourself so inwardly focused that you believe that your salvation rests completely on you. That baggage brings all kinds of anxiety and regrets when standing before the God of the Universe. It should cause a lot of fear, because everyone knows that they can’t be good enough to get into heaven. Any thought of “I hope I did enough” shows that you are putting your trust in the wrong thing. All of your works are garbage before the Lord. Nothing you present to Him will work as evidence on your behalf. It will only further condemn you. That is the depth of the taint of sin in your life. Your works are poisoned by sin. But, that is not the end of this conversation. Nothing you present helps your case, but Christ presents something on your behalf.
In Luther’s small Catechism, we see this excerpt from his explanation of the 2nd Article. It reads “in order that I might be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness; even as He is risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.” The “in order that” follows Luther’s discourse on the death and resurrection of Christ. The death that Christ paid, He paid to make you His own. Through faith you are Christ’s. You are a member of His kingdom where you serve Him, not through your strength but through the strength He gives you. His righteousness is yours. His innocence is yours. His blessedness is yours. It is not a matter of “did I do enough.” The answer is no and you can never do enough. Everything of Christ’s is yours through faith. Your sin was crucified with Christ. You are raised to new life through His resurrection. He has prepared a place for you in His Kingdom. Look to the Lord in Faith. Trust in His promise that He died for you. He clothes you with His righteousness, which blots out all your sin. When you stand before the throne of Judgment, God sees Christ and His righteousness instead of your sin. You can have assurance of salvation through Faith in Christ, His life, His death, His resurrection, and the fact that He is seated at the right hand of God the Father. Trust in Christ.
July Devotional
I wrote June’s devotion in the midst of a rather rainy week. As I write this month’s devotion, I am looking out at a lawn that needs to be mowed again. The rain we’ve received over the past month has done its job and breathed life into the grass on my lawn. It is obvious how important rain is for life to flourish. As we begin to look at the 2nd Article of the Apostle’s Creed, we will see how important who Jesus is so that He could accomplish His mission of saving us from sin, death, and the devil.
The 2nd Article begins with “And in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary.” This section of the Apostle’s Creed is something that I think we just fly through. Much like the 1st Article, we say it every week and yet we do not stop to think about what it means for us. What does it mean for Jesus to be God’s only Son, our Lord? Why does it matter that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and Born of the Virgin Mary? The answer to the first question is a good place to start.
Jesus is God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity. Jesus was not simply a man who was empowered by God or the Holy Spirit to do mighty works. Jesus is God. He is “true God, begotten of the Father from eternity” as Luther puts it in his explanation to the 2nd Article. John 1:1-3 shows us that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” Jesus is the Word that has existed into eternity past. Only God is eternal. Only God existed from the beginning. Only God created all that exists. Jesus is the one through whom everything was made. Jesus is just as much God as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus left His place in heaven to be born as a human. No created being could do what needed to be done to redeem the world from the poison of sin. So, God the Son stepped into the world to do what no one else could.
The sections about Jesus being “conceived by the Holy Spirit”, and “Born of the Virgin Mary” go together because they reveal that Jesus was just as truly man as He was truly God. The conception of Jesus was a miracle worked in the womb of Mary. He was not created by biological functions, but by the life giving and creating power of God. Because of this, His human nature was not tainted by sin. No one had ever been born with a human nature as God had designed it in the Garden. Adam and Eve were created with God’s design, but that design was marred by sin and every generation since has suffered from it. Jesus alone was cut off from that generational curse because of how He was conceived. He was born as a human so that He could live the human life that we could not. So that Jesus could become our Savior and someone who understands what we go through. The author of Hebrews puts it well “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) Jesus is 100% man and 100% God. He is the Godman who was born and lived for our sake. Trust in Jesus, who chose suffering in order to save you from your sin.
Devotional 5/6/2025
Headhunting is a practice where one company tries to entice away employees of a different company. It might not seem like that big of a deal, but this practice is done by going directly to the employees and encouraging them to jump ship and join your company. Normally, it would be up to the employee to see a job opening and apply for it. Headhunting is a very intentional attempt to take employees away from their employer. This helps us understand the intent behind the 10th Commandment and why it is different from the 9th Commandment.
Both the 9th and 10th Commandment speak on coveting. The 9th Commandment focuses on your neighbor’s personal possessions, whereas the 10th Commandment focuses on your neighbor’s interpersonal relationships. The 10th commandment states “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.” This covers a lot more ground than the 9th Commandment “Thou shalt not covet they neighbor’s house.” The question is, what does the 10th Commandment mean and how do we apply it to our lives? Luther wrote that the 10th Commandment means “We should fear and love God so that we do not estrange or entice away our neighbor’s wife, servants, or cattle, but seek to have them remain and fulfill their duty to him.” Coveting is not simply the desire to have something, it is the desire to have something so that your neighbor cannot have it. The explanation to the 10th Commandment points to enticing away or causing your neighbor to be estranged from the people and things in their lives. This is something that we actively do. I think of some scenes from shows where two people are arguing over a dog and one of the people rub bacon grease all over their hands to entice the dog to come over to them. This is what the 10th Commandment is talking about. It might not be bacon, though the power of bacon should not be underestimated, but there are things that we can do that hurt how people think about our neighbors. We can use that to cause a rift between our neighbors and the people in their lives. It can take the form of speaking half-truths to break down trust. Bringing up past mistakes to paint our neighbors in a bad light. This Commandment drives home that we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. No one wants someone to try and steal away their spouse, kids, pets, or anyone or anything else that they hold dear. In fact, we are called to help our neighbor and the people in their lives live out their vocations.
The end of Luther’s explanation says “but seek to have them remain and fulfill their duty to him.” Instead of looking for ways to cause a rift between your neighbor and the people they hold dear, you are called to help them grow closer with them. This is a hard one to put in practical terms, but we should encourage people to live out their vocations. Wives and husbands are called to love and respect each other. Parents are called to love and guide their children while children are called to honor their parents. Employers are called to treat their employees well, and employees are called to work hard for their boss. We should encourage people to live out their vocations even when they are struggling. Encourage people to love on another, quash rumors or half-truths designed to hurt people, help each other love one another as they have been called to do.
Devotional 4/2/2025
“The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” This saying is often used by people when comparing their lives with the lives of other people. We see how well other people are doing and wish that we had what they had. Their life, house, assets, toys, there are so many things that can be used as points of comparison with other people. Yet, the horror of this saying is that it is not always true. The grass may be greener, but the house it surrounds could be full of trash and in disrepair. It is easy to think that other people are doing better than you because you don’t know everything they are going through. They may be doing comparatively better than you, but they also may be dealing with some serious and terrible situations that you want nothing to do with. This is why Coveting is such a troublesome sin to deal with. You become dissatisfied with what you have because you see what other people have. You wish for those things to be yours. Their house, their cars, the stuff that they have, all of it can become objects of your desire.
Coveting is a broad subject to cover, which is why the 9th and 10th Commandment both cover coveting. There is a difference between what is coveted in both commandments and so we will be looking at the 9th Commandment. “Thou shalt not covet they neighbor’s house.” Seems easy enough to do. I just need to not desire my neighbor’s house. However, there is more to this Commandment than just their house. Martin Luther explains that this means “We should fear and love God so that we do not seek by craftiness to gain possession of our neighbor’s inheritance or home, nor obtain them under pretense of legal right, but assist and serve him in keeping the same.” Part of this is our neighbor’s physical possessions. We have ownership over many things in our day, and all those things fall under the idea of “home” here. Coveting and stealing tend to go hand in hand. Coveting is the desire to seek something that is not yours while stealing is the act of taking something that is not yours. The difference is that sometimes you can put up a legal defense for why you should have the thing that was your neighbors. I think of inheritance disputes. Someone thinks that they should have been given more after someone passes away, and they threaten to sue the other people for what they think is their rightful inheritance. An example that may be a little closer to home, you know someone who has a gun or car that you really want but your neighbor would never want to sell. The neighbor goes through some tough financial times, and you convince him to sell that thing you want. You’ve taken advantage of your neighbor’s situation for your own gain.
This is where the “but assist and serve him in keeping the same” part of the explanation comes into play. We should be helping our neighbors protect what is theirs. Sometimes that means helping them when they are going through difficult times. Instead of convincing them to sell something that they don’t want to sell, get them some groceries. Help them figure out where to go to get the help they need without needing to pawn off important things to make ends meet. It can be hard to know when to help someone. It can be easy to justify coveting other people’s things because they seem better than what we have. However, we are called to fear and love God and that fear and love moves us to help our neighbors keep what they have, not try and take advantage of them to get what we want.
Devotional 3/3/2025
“Did you hear about…” or “I can’t believe (insert name) did (insert something bad).” It can be easy for us to fall into the trap of gossiping about what other people are doing. However, that trap is a dangerous one for a number of reasons. We don’t always know the full truth of what has happened. When we make decisions and spread things that we’ve heard without verifying what we have heard, we are breaking the Eighth Commandment. “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor” is often shortened to “thou shalt not lie,” because it is a little easier to remember. Yet, there is more to this commandment than just lying.
Luther explains that the Eighth Commandment means “We should fear and love God so that we do not deceitfully lie about, betray, backbite, nor slander our neighbor, but defend him, speak well of him, and put the most charitable construction on all that he does.” Lying and slander go together. Lying is to speak falsely about someone with the intention of deceiving others. Perhaps a kid lies to their father that their mother said they could watch tv. They lied to get what they wanted by lying to their father. Slander is falsehood that seeks to destroy the reputation of another. I recently saw a video of a woman who tried to get a man in trouble because she saw him text “I love you” to two women in his phone. The woman assumed the man was cheating and made a video about it. It turns out that the man was texting his wife and his daughter. Lies and slander are easy to spread when we don’t understand the situation. “Betray” and “Backbite” are interesting because we can use both false hoods and truths to do these.
Someone could confide in us about something that they are insecure about, and we can betray them by spreading that secret. A silly example would be a child telling their friend that they have a crush on someone and that friend telling the crush about it. All truth, but I think we all would see that as betrayal. Backbiting with truth is a powerful blade to wield against people in an argument. Someone hurts you or you feel like you are about to lose the argument and you bring up something they did in the past. Pointing someone to their previous failures to force them to submit to your decision or to hit them back for something that they’ve said to you. The truth can hurt more than a lie, especially when it comes from someone you thought you could trust.
All of this points us to how we should speak about our neighbor. We should defend them. That doesn’t mean blindly believing that they could do no wrong, but not letting others gossip about them. We shouldn’t engage in speaking ill of anyone. It can be hard when you feel justified in saying something because they did something bad, but gossip is still gossip and we are called to speak well of others. We also don’t always understand why people do what they do. We are called to give the most charitable construction on what our neighbor does because we don’t understand their heart or situation. I’ve heard the phrase “don’t attribute to malice what ignorance can cover.” In other words, don’t assume someone intends for bad things when they could just not know what they are suppose to do.
Devotional 2/4/2025
The first few months of the new year are full of reminders about taxes. I have always been someone who likes to get my taxes done as soon as possible each year. Many cry out “taxation is theft” as they look at what they owe or how much they’ve paid throughout the year. It can be easy to agree with that sentiment. Who wants to pay taxes? However, governments are allowed to tax their citizens. That was part of Samuel’s warning to the Israelites when they demanded a king like the other nations, and that right to tax was upheld in the New Testament. It can be frustrating knowing that you don’t get all of the money you have worked for, or you may not be too excited about what your tax dollars are going towards. We don’t know where our money is going specifically, but we are still called to pay our taxes. In a weird way the government taxing us is a working out of the Seventh Commandment, and not because they are stealing our money.
The Seventh Commandment states “Thou shalt not steal.” This is a pretty straight forward commandment. Don’t take what isn’t yours. This commandment gets a little trickier when we think about “what isn’t ours.” That one dollar bill on the side of the road, is it really ok to pick that up? Is it stealing to pick up loose change on the side of the road? It isn’t ours. It had to belong to someone else before we found it. Luther explains that this commandment means that “we should fear and love God so that we do not rob our neighbor of his money or property, nor bring them into our possession by unfair dealing or fraud, but help him to improve and protect his property and living.” I would contend that there is a big difference between picking up a dollar you found on the street and finding someone’s wallet and taking a dollar out of it before returning it. The heart of the Seventh Commandment is just like every other commandment we have looked at. First it is geared toward loving and fearing God which directs us to love our neighbor and make their life better. If you see a dollar fall out of someone’s pocket, you know who the dollar belongs to, and you can return it to them. The heart problem of this sin is a desire to improve our lives by taking from others. It isn’t just stealing but taking things through deception as well. This Commandment calls us to “help [our neighbors] to improve and protect [their] property and living. If I go to sell a chair because I am in dire need of money, you could help by buying that chair at a fair price. However, if you do whatever you can to get the chair at an unfair price, you are breaking the Sixth Commandment.
The idea of helping improve the life of our neighbor that this Commandment puts forth is where we circle back to taxes. It would be really nice to know or have some control over where our taxes go, but it is through those taxes that the Government funds things like the Military and disaster relief. Good things that help protect us and our neighbor. That is just one example of how taxes are used to make good on the Seventh Commandment. Do our taxes always do that? I’m not sure I am in a place to comment on that, but what I do know is that we have been called to submit to those who in authority over us. The Government is one of those entities that God has put over us, and whom God has given the authority to do things like tax their citizens. We might not agree with everything the Government does with our money, but God has called us to submit. If we don’t like it, we can make our voices known through the polls. That is one of the beauties of the Government that is over us. If we don’t like something, we have places to let those frustrations be heard.
Devotional 1/2/2025
The beginning of a new year often comes with new years resolutions. Habits that we want to adopt (like exercising more regularly) or stop (smoking is a rather popular one) are typically the center of these resolutions. For some, treating others better or at least being more intentional with how you interact with others can become a resolution. These new years resolutions become a starting point for us to try and lead a better life than we did the year before. The Sixth Commandment may not seem like it applies to everyone when it comes to this idea of leading a better life in the new year, but we will see just how applicable it is.
The Sixth Commandment reads “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” At first glance, this seems to be a Commandment that only directly affects those who are married. However, as with the other Commandments, we see that there is more behind the heart of this Commandment than just “not cheating on your spouse.” Martin Luther explains “What does this mean? – We should fear and love God so that we lead a chaste and pure life in word and deed, and that husband and wife love and honor each other.” The first part of the explanation revolves around the fear and love of God that we have for everything that He has done for us. Just like the other commandments, this is the heart behind what drives us to do these commandments.
“So that we lead a chaste and pure life in word and deed” is the second part of Luther’s explanation. This focuses on each of us regardless of our marital status. Married people are not the only ones who can commit sexual sins. This Commandment reminds us to be wary of putting ourselves in situations that cause us to sin. The immediate implication of the Sixth Commandment is that of sexual sin. Not watching movies or videos that tempt us in that way. Remember, Jesus was clear that looking at someone with lust for them is the same as committing adultery with them. So, we should be wary of putting ourselves in situations we know elicit feelings of lust. This warning to live chaste and pure lives extends to all aspects of our lives as well. It is good to be mindful of what temptations are around us and how to deal with them. The common example is that a recovering alcoholic shouldn’t go into a bar, and you shouldn’t offer them alcohol either. A chaste and pure life is lead when we look to the Lord for wisdom to see where we are tempted and seek strength to stay away from those temptations.
The last part of the explanation, “and that husband and wife love and honor each other,” naturally flows from the chaste and pure life. You have been called to put the needs of your spouse before your own. You can’t tend to their needs if you are putting your own sinful desires first. Whether those desires be in direct conflict with the Sixth commandment or some other sin, you cannot love your spouse as you have been called to do if you are choosing sin over them. There will be days that you fail. Everyone fails. That is the struggle with sin that we have because of the Fall. However, all of us can look to the Lord for forgiveness. We don’t need to try and hide our failures, because He knows all of them. Christ died to pay for those failures. We continue to live out our lives loving those around us washed in the blood of Christ.
Devotional 11/2/2024
November during an election year can be an exercise in not breaking the 5th Commandment, at least, when we understand the depth that the simple phrase “thou shalt not kill” covers. Hopefully, none of you struggle with the “killing” portion of what this law prohibits. If you do, you might want to get some help. Yet, the 5th Commandment is not simply a prohibition against murder. We see Jesus speaking about this commandment in Matthew 5. He says “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” Jesus is explaining how far God’s command goes. It isn’t just about not stabbing people. It encompasses sinful anger. All of the things that Jesus points to are things that we tend to do when we are angry. Insulting people and demeaning them fall under the 5th commandment because they are things we do out of anger to harm someone else.
This brings us back to the month of November, where half of America is going to be gloating over the other half. Sadly, that is what will happen. People will celebrate that their candidate won the presidential election while rubbing it into the faces of those who voted against them. To be fair, not everyone is like that, but I am sure we all know people like this. People question others’ intelligence and morality because of the candidate they voted for. Thanksgiving will come around and people will inevitably bring up the election. I hope that those of you reading this won’t be partaking in any of the negative things that are bound to happen this month. But, what are we to do in the face of situations that tempt us to break the 5th commandment to some degree? Luther puts it well in his explanation to the 5th Commandment.
“We should fear and love God so that we do our neighbor no bodily harm nor cause him any suffering, but help and befriend him in every need.” There is a reason that Jesus tells His followers to turn the other cheek when struck by someone. We are not called to lash out in anger. We are called to help our neighbor. To seek their wellbeing. To promote their life. When we find ourselves in situations that make us want to seek an alternative, we need to repent. We need to turn to God and admit our sinful mindset. We should then go and love that person that we were tempted to be angry with. It isn’t always easy to do this. It is easy to be quick tempered and attack others when we feel attacked. But we are called to seek their good. To “befriend (them) in every need.” This month, if you find yourself in a situation where your patience is being tested, turn to the Lord. Repent of your bad attitude and seek Him for help in loving and befriending the person who is testing you. That is what this Commandment is here to teach us. To love our neighbor even when we don’t want to.
Devotional 10/1/2024
What does the 4th commandment have to do with politics? How can we gain insight in how to deal with our government from a commandment that says, “Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God has given you.”? Martin Luther didn’t see this as simply a commandment geared toward one’s parents, but one that points toward how God desires us to treat those who have been put in authority over us. When explaining what the 4th commandment means, he wrote, “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise our parents or superiors, nor provoke them to anger, but honor, serve, obey, love, and respect them.” The heart of this commandment is to honor those who God has put over us, whether that’s our parents, our bosses, or the leaders of our government. We see this play out throughout Scripture. From Daniel to Paul, we see faithful people serving God and their nation, despite the nation being oppressive and dangerous for them.
Daniel served as a rather important figure in Babylon. He worked for the good of a nation that was known for their brutality and who had tried their best to wipe out the nation of Israel. We worry about our nation, but Daniel served a nation that literally worshiped their leader as a god. Daniel’s friends were thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to worship the king. Daniel was thrown into a lion’s den for continuing to pray like he always did, despite a new law saying that people could only pray to the king. Imagine working hard for the good of that nation. Yet, that is what God called Daniel to.
Paul was executed by the Roman government for proclaiming the Gospel. All of the Apostles, except for John, were executed for their faith. Yet, we see them encourage their fellow believers to pray for their government and their emperor, the one who wanted them dead. This is the heart behind the 4th commandment. We see this on a small scale in the family, but it extends to all those who have authority over us. Kids are called to listen to and obey their parents, so long as the parents aren’t forcing the child to do something sinful. Daniel was told the way he prayed was illegal, so he prayed the way he had always prayed. Paul was told that proclaiming the Gospel was illegal, so he kept proclaiming the Gospel like he always did.
As we gear up for a rough month leading up to this year’s election, a month where false information and mud are going to be slung from both sides and we sit here wondering how we can serve whoever wins, we are reminded that God calls us to obey our government. We vote because that is part of obeying the government. Regardless of who wins, we are called to honor, obey, love and respect them. We do this because we love and fear God. So long as the government doesn’t try to force us to sin, we need to obey. No matter who gets elected, God will still be on His throne. No matter how we feel about the election, God is still in control. Some days, that is all we can rest in.
Devotional 9/3/2024
I never got to meet my grandfather on my dad’s side. He passed away several years before I was born. One of the things that I’ve heard about him is that he would often say that he felt closer to God out in nature. This is something that I’ve heard others say throughout my life, and I understand the sentiment. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of Good; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” It’s hard to argue with that when staring at a western North Dakota sunset. We should see the hand of God in His creation. I don’t want to downplay marveling at God’s creation; however, we can only get so far in understanding God from nature. There is a reason that so many ancient mythologies revolve around gods who govern nature, harvests, and other important aspects of life. Those ancient people could see that there was someone behind the nature they marveled at, but they were missing a key ingredient to understanding the God who created everything. They only had a general idea that there was a higher power and guessed how everything worked. However, we have the Word of God that reveals the God of Heaven to us. That is why the Word of God is so important, and that is the heart of the third commandment.
The Third Commandment states “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” You may ask, “What does that have to do with the Word of God?” Luther’s explanation of the Third Commandment is “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise His Word and the preaching of the same, but regard it as holy and gladly hear and learn it.” The heart of this commandment is to rest, as you are able, from physical earthly works and focus on the Word of God. This is done through meeting together as believers to hear the Word read and preached. It is done through partaking in the Sacraments, where the Word of God works through the water in baptism and the bread and wine of Communion to bring faith, grace, and forgiveness of sins to you. From the beginning, Christianity was a faith that was practiced in community. The first Christians met in houses and often ate meals together. The author of Hebrews even warns those who don’t feel the need to gather. Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” We are meant to live out our faith in community with each other, encouraging each other to look to Christ. We can’t do that by ourselves in nature. There is a time and place for personal quiet time, but that isn’t what we are called to. We are called to be a blessing to others and to be blessed by others. We can’t do that if we neglect to come together for worship. We are called to gather to hear the Word of God and love one another. The greater our love for God and neighbor, the greater our desire to be with one another. That is the heart of the Third Commandment.
Devotional 8/2/2024
The Second Commandment reads “Thou shalt not take the Name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh His Name in vain.” Martin Luther gave this explanation in his Small Catechism ‘What does this mean? – We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, conjure, lie, or deceive, by His Name, but call upon Him in every time of need and worship Him with prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.” An example of this commandment in action is in the court room. We’ve all seen t.v. shows or movies that have a witness place their hand on a Bible and swear to “solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” With the added statement “So help you God.” The point of the oath is that you are swearing to tell the truth by God’s name and help. Swearing to tell the truth, and proceeding to tell the truth, is a good example of using God’s name rightly. Those who lie after swearing this oath commit perjury, which is illegal and a big deal. There should be a weight behind how we use God’s name and an authority to His name that we respect.
Our culture has slowly drifted away from this weightiness and respect for God’s name, though some my think it has happened quicker than they could ever imagine. Phrases such as “Oh my God” or simply the name “Jesus” are often used to denote displeasure or indignation towards something. I’ve heard stories of children who grew up believing that “Jesus” was a swear word said when you were reaching your boiling point. What damage to we do to peoples understanding of the Great God that we serve when we engage in flippant use of these “culturally acceptable” uses of God’s name? We are called to be lights on a hill and we do so by lifting God’s name up in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.
We honor God’s name when we worship Him. When we sing of His praises and give glory to His mighty works. We honor God by honoring are promises. If we have made a vow before God or in His name, like the courtroom oath or your wedding vows, we honor Him by honoring those vows. When we pray for people in Christ’s name and assist them for the sake of Christ, we honor God’s name. We should be intentional in how we act and talk. We should be careful with how we speak about our Lord and savior, King Jesus. If we do fail, we can come to Him and seek forgiveness. He has promised in His name that our sins are forgiven through Him. We may fail to honor our promises made in God’s name, but God does not fail.
Devotional 6/3/2024
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you,” – Psalm 56:3
This was our theme verse for VBS this year, and one that I think serves as a good reminder of how good our God is amid fear. What fears can we come to God with? Is there a limit to how much we can lean on God? The answers are simple. We can bring all our fears to God and there is no limit to what we can bring to Him. Verse 3 doesn’t make its declaration in a vacuum. It isn’t some simple philosophical statement. The two verses that precede it show us what kind of fear David was dealing with.
Psalm 56:1-2 “Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly.” David’s fear is born from the reality that his life was in constant danger. Enemies lurked around every corner, and they all wanted to see David fail. Most people would either buckle under the pressure of these enemies or become paranoid of everyone’s intentions. David walked through what many would consider a “hell on Earth” for years, yet he continually put his trust in God.
We don’t have kings and armies vying for our heads on a pike, but we do have enemies that encroach on our lives. Sin, death, and the devil are three of the clearest enemies that we face. Our sin weighs our hearts down. It drags us away from the Lord who reaches out to us, and part of us wants to sink further away God. Death is an ever constant reality for us as humans. Many a person fears death, either because they are staring it the face or they are simply terrified of it. The devil prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour. One of these foes alone can leave you paralyzed in fear, yet all three of these are constantly knocking at our doors. It is easy to be afraid. It is easy to give into our fear. To run away and hide from anything that may threaten us. But King David points to the reason why he does not fear in verse 4.
“In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid, what can flesh do to me?” The reason that David does not fear is simple. His trust is in the Lord, the God of the Universe. What can man hope to accomplish against the Lord of the Universe? Those enemies that wished for David’s death couldn’t do anything to him unless the Lord allowed it. Man cannot fight against God. Our enemies might not be just men. But God defeated them at the Cross. Jesus delivered us from sin, death, and the devil at the Cross. We do not need to fear them because Jesus has won. It isn’t an ongoing war whose end is up in the air. Jesus has won, and we can trust in Him when fear creeps into our lives. His arms are open wide to comfort us and remind us that we are His and He is ours.
Devotional 5/6/2024
I’m a week late posting this here, but here is the devotional for May.
This month we celebrate Confirmation here at Trinity Lutheran Parish. We have 7 teens being confirmed between the two churches! This rite of passage has been an important part of the Lutheran tradition for a long time, and it serves as an important milestone in the life of a young believer. They’ve spent the last two years studying Luther’s Small Catechism and learning what we believe as Lutherans. Reflecting on this past year, I am reminded of the answer to the first question in the “Explanation of Luther’s Small Catechism” found in the back of our AFLC Catechism. Martin Luther didn’t write the explanation, it came later and serves to flesh out the teaching of the Catechism, but the first question reaches the heart of the Gospel and the heart of the Catechism.
The first question is one that most of us have probably asked in some way shape or form. “What is God’s will concerning man?” The answer given is a direct quote from 1 Timothy 2:4. “[God] wills that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” The truth of Scripture is that we are dead in our trespasses and sins. We have nothing to offer God, nothing to remedy our deadness. But Christ still came to Earth to die for the sins of all mankind. God desires for everyone to hear the good news that Christ died for their sins and rose from the dead to give them victory over sin, death, and the devil. We do not serve a malicious God who is waiting in anticipation to punish us for our sins. He takes no pleasure in our suffering. Hebrews 12:2 reminds us that Jesus “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.”
That joy comes from the fact that His death paid for our sins. God is a loving God and not some demon in disguise. His heart is for the lost and broken. Through Christ, we can come to the Father and seek forgiveness of our sins. We are reminded that we are Children of God through faith and that God loves His children. We can come back to Him no matter what we’ve been through. We can run to His open arms when life has broken us. Truly, God desires for all mankind to be saved. Rest in the truth that God loves you and Christ died for you.
Devotional 4/2/2024
Matthew 6:25-27 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
“Spring always comes.” A friend of mine often says this when they are tired of winter, especially on those days cold enough to freeze car batteries. This winter has been mild, pleasant even, yet we still canceled church a few times because of the weather and I am sure we all are ready for spring to truly start. It is easy to get caught up in the winter weather and feel like things will be cold and snowy forever, but Spring always comes. The temperatures rise and the snow melts. Flowers bloom and it is socially acceptable to wear shorts again. The bitter cold of winter is forgotten as our bodies thaw out. “Spring always comes” is a great reminder that things will get better.
Our day-to-day lives can go through seasons of winter. Times where everything seems to be going wrong and we don’t know if things will ever get better. Every day seems to be worse than the last as the worry, anxiety, and fear pile up like falling snow. It is hard to believe that things will change when there is six feet of snow and blowing wind, but “spring always comes.” Just as winter comes to an end, so do our personal winters. Spring isn’t always pretty, it can be mucky and a little chilly, but it isn’t winter. It gets warmer. It gets better. The Matthew text that we started with reminds us that God provides for us. Our lives are in His hands. We shouldn’t let worry and fear control us because our comfort is in the God of the Universe.
We may not know how our winters will end or how much of it will remain in our springs, but we do know that God is with us. He is by our side through it all. This doesn’t mean that everything will be sunshine and lollipops, we will still face hard times, but God is with us. If God can provide food for birds, how much more does He provide for His children? The seasons of our lives are marked by God’s continued presence and blessing. If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t last long. The brutal winters of our soul would end us if it wasn’t for God. He brings us through them in His love and power. Our winters may come often and last a long time. But when we are called home, we will say goodbye to those personal winters. Eternity will be sunshine and lollipops, a place where it is always great. Our eternal Spring will make all the seasons of this life feel pale and fleeting. Spring will come.
Devotional 3/5/2024
March this year ushered us into second winter with a spectacular snowstorm. Seeing that caused me to think of Isaiah 55:10-11. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” It can be frustrating to see more snow arrive in March, but it does play an important role in our lives. I don’t know much about farming, but a dry and snowless winter means that there isn’t any water melting into the ground. The snow that we get is important for helping provide water to the soil when the time comes for the plants to try and grow again. We may not like the snow when it happens, but life would be a lot worse without it.
Just like how we may not like the snow, or the rain for that matter, the Word of God isn’t always easy to hear. There are many things in the Word that hurt or rub us the wrong way. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and “There were none righteous, no not one” are only two examples of passages that remind us of our sinful state. The Ten Commandments and other Law passages show us our sins and convict us of our sinfulness. It isn’t fun to have our sins pointed out. It isn’t fun to become convinced that something we’ve enjoyed is sinful. But that painful and uncomfortable experience is needed for the seed of faith to grow. The water from the snow seeps into the ground to feed the seeds of plants, and the Word of God seeps into our hearts to feed our seed of faith. The Law breaks down the walls that we put up around our hearts that keep the good news of the Gospel out. The reality is that Christ died for your sins, that He doesn’t leave you nor forsake you. We are reminded that we are justified by his grace as a gift. The free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Those painful and uncomfortable moments with the Law pave the way for the Gospel to do its job. Both work together to water your faith seed, so that it may grow into a beautiful flower in the garden of God. The garden where all who believe in Christ are called God’s children.
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Devotional 2/14/2024:
Lent is upon us. As we begin the season of Lent, some may wonder what it is and why we do it. The season of Lent has been practiced since the Church was still young, and it serves as a time of repentance and reflection. In the Old Testament, the use of ashes in repentance was common. You see the refrain “they repented in sackcloth and ashes” often throughout the Old Testament. Job 42:6 declares “Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” This is why Lent starts with Ash Wednesday. When people are marked by ash and reminded of their need to repent. Ash Wednesday ushers in a time of forty days (Sundays aren’t counted because those were ‘feast’ days in the Church) where we focus on the impending crucifixion of Jesus for our sins and His resurrection from the dead. As we look forward to Good Friday and Easter Sunday, we take time to recognize why we celebrate those days. We reflect on our sinfulness and we repent. We may not wear sackcloth and ashes, but we repent with a heart that is turned to the Lord.
These times of repentance in the Old Testament were often matched by a time of fasting. Doing away with or limiting one’s consumption of food to focus on the Lord. People would repent and fast in faith, trusting in the Lord. That is why people often “give something up” for Lent. We rarely give up food completely for any length of time like the people of old would, but there are things that we can fast from today. Is there anything that takes away from your time with the Lord? Things that take up more time than you realize and leave you saying, “I just don’t have time to read Scripture”? I encourage you to think of something that you can give up this Lenten season, whether it is Social media, television, chocolate, or whatever you feel led to give up. Lent is a time for spiritual reflection and seeking the Lord. So, seek the Lord while he may be found.
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Devotional: As we enter into November, I am struck by the beauty of the snow. It might not always be welcome. The snow and the cold can be dangerous for livestock if it gets bad quickly. The roads become endless hazards that you may not notice until you’re in the ditch. Snow, and winter for that matter, may not incite the same sense of awe in all of us. However, there are few things more beautiful than a fresh snowfall. There is something about the pure white snow that creates a beautiful scene wherever it falls. There may be things about snow that we don’t like, but the beauty of it doesn’t change.
Thinking about snow reminds me of Isaiah 1:18: “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” The Lord first compares our sins to scarlet and crimson. The color of blood. A reminder of how devastating sin is. The Israelites had to sacrifice animals for their sins, and that blood was a constant reminder that they had failed the Lord. The nation of Israel also struggled with protecting the weak and marginalized of their society. Throughout their history, they would make sacrifices, sometimes human sacrifices, to the gods of the surrounding nations. They would fight and betray one another because of sinful desires. The color of blood was something that stained every Israelite from head to toe.
We may not offer animal or human sacrifices like the Israelites did, but we are still guilty of sinning. In the Gospel of Matthew, we see Jesus tell the crowds “If you look at your brother with anger, you are in danger of judgment.” Looking at your brother, or any human, with anger and hatred deserves the same punishment as murder. How many of us are guilty of this? This is only one sin that we as people can struggle with. Pick a commandment and there isn’t anyone who hasn’t struggled at some time with it. We are dead in our sin. Bloody corpses laying on the ground. We are in just as much need of our sins being made white like snow. And that has happened, by the blood of Christ.
It is interesting that the Lord chose to use the imagery of blood to describe the Israelite’s sins when it is the blood of Christ that washes away those sins! It’s as if the blood of Christ overcomes all things and erases those very sins, which it does! Our sins don’t go away, but they have been dealt with. The Lord describes the sins as going from red to white. It isn’t like our sins never happened. We still have real-world consequences that may come from our sins, but they no longer condemn us before the Lord. The blood of Christ flows to wash those sins because they flow from the wounds He took to pay for your sins. Christ’s death and resurrection takes you and your bloody corpse, washes you clean, and breathes new life into you. That which was dead is alive. That which was stained red by bloody sin has been redeemed to be beautiful like a fresh snowfall.