All are invited for tacos tomorrow night (Tuesday, March 13) at 5:30 pm, leading into our family night lesson on the Last Supper, followed by Evening Prayer at 7 pm!
March 12, 2024
Dear Friends,
If you think back to science class, you may remember the physics concept called inertia. It’s described in Newton’s First Law of Motion: an object in motion tends to stay in motion, and an object at rest tends to stay at rest.
Understanding inertia is not just important in physics, but also in your life as a Christian. You can think of it in terms of habits. Things that are not habitual tend not to happen, while things that are habitual tend to keep happening.
Think about exercise. The person who starts the new year with resolve to exercise may go for a jog on January 1st. And maybe again on the 2nd. But then work or family stuff or last night’s Kung Pao Chicken throws a wrench in things, and suddenly it’s the 10th, and then it’s March 10th, and your resolution to exercise consisted of two jogs that one time months ago. No habit was formed, no inertia was gained, and the object at rest stayed at rest.
Imagine a different scenario, where the resolution is not about exercising today or tomorrow, but building into every day a specific plan to exercise. Every day I wake up and drink a cup of coffee, and right after my coffee’s gone, I’m going to exercise — just a little bit to begin, and then more and more. Every day during lunch, I sit in the break room and scroll on my phone, so before I scroll I’m going to exercise, just a bit to begin, and then more and more. Every evening I brush my teeth before bed, so I’ll build in some exercise right before I brush my teeth, first a little bit, and then more and more.
And just like that, there’s inertia. There’s a habit. It happens every day because there’s a place for it every day. It happens every day and soon something feels off if it doesn’t happen. And the object is now in motion, and it will tend to stay in motion.
That little move – from doing nothing, to doing something deliberately and with a plan and an anchor point in your life – it would most often be regarded as a simple productivity hack.
But, think about it in terms of your life as a Christian. Think about inertia and discipline and the wiles of the devil. Just about the worst thing the devil can imagine, I’m sure, is that you would spend time daily reading the Bible and praying and weekly going to church. He knows Newton’s First Law as well as anyone. He knows that once you start saturating your life with God’s word, you’re unlikely to stop. It’s easier for him to keep God’s Word out of your life than it is for him to get it out of your life once it’s there.
And so it’s no wonder that he tempts us to think that the small things don’t matter. Why bother with 5 minutes of the Bible a day? Why bother with a simple prayer before you eat or when you wake up or when you go to sleep? Why bother with those little things, he asks — that won’t make a difference in your life.
Of course, you should know that the devil is a liar to beat the rest. And it’s no wonder that he would focus such attention on keeping you from doing the little things. He knows how big they actually are. He knows what a difference a little bit of God’s Word makes. He knows what a difference a little prayer makes. He knows that just a little bit of God’s Word and a little bit of prayer start a ball rolling that leads to more and more and more, and he will do anything to keep you from getting started.
So – take the opportunity to make the devil miserable. Do the little things. Set that object in motion. Find the time every day to read the Scriptures and pray. Do it with your family, and make it even worse for the devil. The more of you there are, the more momentum you have. Make the choice now to be in church every Sunday. Schedule everything else around what’s happening at 9 am in the sanctuary. Do it and see what a huge difference the little things can make.
God bless and keep you,
Pr. Buchs
COMING EVENTS:
Wednesday, March 13
9:30 am – Chapel
10:00 am – Bible Study
5:30 pm – Family Night (Tacos!)
7:00 pm – Evening Prayer (Midweek Lenten Service)
Thursday, March 14
6:00 pm – Elder’s Meeting
7:00 pm – Council Meeting
Sunday, March 17
9:00 am – Divine Service
10:30 am – Sunday School/Bible Study
Wednesday, March 20
9:30 am – Chapel
10:00 am – Bible Study
6:00 pm – Small Catechism Bible Study
7:00 pm – Evening Prayer (Midweek Lenten Service)
Sunday, March 24
9:00 am – Divine Service
10:30 am – Music Rehearsal for Holy Week