January 15, 2026

Today's Reading: Catechism: First Commandment

Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 37:15-28; Romans 6:1-23

“You shall have no other gods. What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” (The Small Catechism, The First Commandment)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

One of my favorite exercises in Confirmation is having the confirmands noodle on the question of how many commandments you can break at one time with one sin. It is always interesting to see how they think through the process because we so often think we can reduce that number to one, but we have to sin on a Sunday to break the Third Commandment!

The point of the exercise is to make it clear that the Commandments are so intertwined that it doesn’t matter how many Commandments you break; breaking any single one of them is a damnable offense. And the reason you break Commandments Two through Ten is because you’ve already thrown the First into the trash.

Why do you despise God’s Word and His preaching? Because you decided you didn’t want to hear from God that day. Why did you want to throat punch someone? Because you know better than God that he really deserves it! Why did you ignore Mom’s request to take out the trash? Because you know better how your time should be spent, not her.

All of these sins have one thing in common: you are the one who knows best, not God your Father. You decided that you know better than God how to live your life. You have made yourself God, then. It may not seem like it, but that is the truth of the matter. Any time you decide that you know better than Almighty God how to live your life, you have replaced Him as God.

The blessing in all of this is that once you realize how you try to game the system, you can dial back the idolatry of self (which is what this behavior actually is) and see how you can react positively to God’s Word and commands. You can take comfort in the forgiveness given you in Christ, and resting in that peace, you can fear, love, and trust in God above all things.

No, you never will be able to keep the Commandments properly. But by striving in faith to love and trust in God as He desires to be loved, by following the examples of faithful Christians around you, and by gladly receiving the Gifts God freely gives, you begin to learn how you can live faithfully: with a repentant heart and trusting that His forgiveness is yours, because He loves you more than you will ever know.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

I know my faith is founded On Jesus Christ, my God and Lord; And this my faith confessing, Unmoved I stand on His sure Word. Our reason cannot fathom The truth of God profound; Who trusts in human wisdom Relies on shifting ground. God’s Word is all sufficient, It makes divinely sure; And trusting in its wisdom, My faith shall rest secure. (LSB 587:1)

Author: Rev. Duane Bamsch, pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Wichita Falls, TX.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Richard Heinz, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lowell, IN.

Better understand difficult and overlooked Old Testament passages in this new book by Authors R. Reed Lessing and Andrew E. Steinmann. Their conversational yet academic writing style makes learning about the Old Testament accessible to those at all points in their Bible reading journey. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter invite you to think more in-depth about what you just read and record your answers. To stretch your understanding, a list of resources for further reading is also included at the back of the book.