{"id":7847,"date":"2020-03-20T18:04:50","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T22:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/?p=7847"},"modified":"2020-03-28T11:46:08","modified_gmt":"2020-03-28T15:46:08","slug":"the-fight-for-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-fight-for-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fight for Peace"},"content":{"rendered":"

What are the components that make up a Big Mac?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you grew up before or around my time,\u00a0your\u00a0mental needle probably just dropped on the dusty record of McDonald\u2019s brilliant marketing campaign jingle:\u00a0\u201ctwo all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles\u201d\u00a0\u2013 you get the point\u2026\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Being no stranger to the Bic Mac myself, I have come to find that what makes that the\u00a0burger\u00a0of burgers\u00a0for me is the\u00a0special sauce. I\u2019m not sure what it is (and if you know, please don\u2019t tell \u2013 it will probably only discourage me), but that sauce places the Big Mac a notch above the rest of the burgers in my book.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A\u00a0Monopoly on Peace\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

What are the components that make up peace?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just like all the burger chains seeking to stand out, vying for their place at the top \u2013 so it is with the many beliefs and their promises\u00a0of peace. The Buddhist calls it Nirvana and claims it is attained through the absence of all desire. The Atheist calls it\u00a0indifference\u00a0and claims it is attained through\u00a0acceptance (at least, according to Dawkins).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But we are not talking about burgers, where opinion matters. We are talking about peace, and you either have it or you don\u2019t \u2013 even if you are clinging to a false knock-off, claiming it\u2019s the real deal.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus is not the only One to promise peace, but He\u00a0is\u00a0the only One who can deliver on that promise. He says it this way in John 14:27,\u00a0\u201cPeace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives\u00a0<\/span>do<\/em><\/span>\u00a0I give to you.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/span>Yes, everyone (\u201cthe world\u201d) is trying to replicate what Jesus alone can give, but (if I may be so bold) Jesus alone is the Big Mac of peace.<\/span><\/p>\n

Secret Sauce<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

What\u2019s different about the real thing? How does the peace that Jesus supplies stand out from the \u201cpeace\u201d the world gives? One of my favorite passages concerning this peace is found in Philippians 4.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rejoice in the Lord always;\u00a0<\/em><\/span>again<\/em><\/span>\u00a0I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.<\/em><\/span>\u00a0\u2013 Philippians 4:4-7\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Much like the Big Mac, this passage has its\u00a0special sauce\u00a0(or as I like to call it, \u201csecret sauce\u201d).\u00a0Were you able to identify it\u00a0as you bit into the passage?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We are first commanded to not be anxious, but to instead bring our requests before God. To most of the world, those\u00a0are\u00a0as basic to peace as a bun and patty\u00a0are\u00a0to a burger. But where the world tries\u00a0mixing in\u00a0different secret ingredients like entitlement or numbing or escape, The Lord\u2019s recipe calls for\u00a0thanksgiving.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes \u2013 stop being worried. Yes \u2013 bring all your requests before the Lord. But\u00a0rejoice\u00a0and\u00a0give thanks! And what is the result? PEACE that surpasses\u00a0even\u00a0comprehension!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Peace in All Seasons<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cGive thanks in\u00a0my\u00a0circumstances?\u201d you may be asking. You need the right environment to cook a good burger (a hot grill).\u00a0 Do you need the right environment to whip up a hearty helping of peace?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The command is quite terse \u2013\u00a0\u201cbe anxious for\u00a0nothing, but in\u00a0everything\u2026\u201d\u00a0There is not much room for exception in that clause.\u00a0Paul would go on in his letter to say that this peace\/contentment even transcends circumstance (4:11-13)!\u00a0The heat of our circumstances can be way down or off the charts, but\u00a0both peace and thanksgiving are possible in either.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1 Thessalonians\u00a05:18 reinforces this point:\u00a0\u201cin\u00a0everything\u00a0give thanks; for this is God\u2019s will for you in Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Practice Peace<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

So, have you been fighting for peace and found it to be as\u00a0fruitless as biting into a burger straight out of the freezer? Why not try out Jesus\u2019 recipe in Philippians 4! Put down your worry, turn to Him in rejoicing, talk about all the things that you have been anxious about, and start listing off all the things you are thankful for. The result will be peace that surpasses any circumstance or understanding.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

McDonald\u2019s marketing sure worked on me.\u00a0I can remember that little ditty before\u00a0I even remember\u00a0my own name when I\u2019m hungry. Perhaps you need to do the same with Philippians 4:4-7\u00a0by committing it to memory, but instead of combatting hunger you are combatting worry. You are fighting for peace.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just don\u2019t forget the secret sauce.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What are the components that make up a Big Mac?\u00a0\u00a0 If you grew up before or around my time,\u00a0your\u00a0mental needle probably just dropped on the dusty record of McDonald\u2019s brilliant marketing campaign jingle:\u00a0\u201ctwo all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles\u201d\u00a0\u2013 you get the point\u2026\u00a0\u00a0 Being no stranger to the Bic Mac myself, I have come… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":7850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11809,94,1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Fight for Peace - Faith Church Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-fight-for-peace\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Fight for Peace - Faith Church Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What are the components that make up a Big Mac?\u00a0\u00a0 If you grew up before or around my time,\u00a0your\u00a0mental needle probably just dropped on the dusty record of McDonald\u2019s brilliant marketing campaign jingle:\u00a0\u201ctwo all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles\u201d\u00a0\u2013 you get the point\u2026\u00a0\u00a0 Being no stranger to the Bic Mac myself, I have come... read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-fight-for-peace\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith Church Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-20T22:04:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-03-28T15:46:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/20200320180135\/BigMac.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1501\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"843\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stefan Nitzschke\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Stefan Nitzschke\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-fight-for-peace\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-fight-for-peace\/\",\"name\":\"The Fight for Peace - Faith Church Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-20T22:04:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-28T15:46:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#\/schema\/person\/6c171c214cdd7701886c382026e477cd\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-fight-for-peace\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-fight-for-peace\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-fight-for-peace\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Fight for Peace\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/\",\"name\":\"Faith Church Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#\/schema\/person\/6c171c214cdd7701886c382026e477cd\",\"name\":\"Stefan Nitzschke\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/20200408121025\/NitzschkeStefan.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/20200408121025\/NitzschkeStefan.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Stefan Nitzschke\"},\"description\":\"Stefan Nitzschke serves on the pastoral team at Faith Church. 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