Have you ever used the secret menu at some of our fast-food establishments? Are you even aware they have “secret Menus”?
Like many of you, I’ve often pondered about the existence of secret menus and how one comes to know about them. My role as a youth pastor has been an eye-opening journey, and it was during my four years at The Rock, I stumbled upon this intriguing concept, much like uncovering hidden truths.
It was on these trips with youth that I learned about the “In-N-Out Flying Dutchman,” the “Starbucks Medicine Ball,” and the life-changing “Chipolte Quesaito.” At this point in my Blog, I want to give you a few moments to click on those items and read what they are because I know your mind is going a thousand miles an hour wondering what they are. When you are done, you can read the rest of the Blog.
Here is the issue: If you do not ask, you will never know about these items; all fast foods have them. Some restaurants have a cult-like following just from their secret menu items. Other places tried to create them in an effort to find this following and create a buzz like In & Out Burger has. This idea has been around since the ’60s. Panera failed at this in 2013 when the public saw it as a corporate launch and not driven by customers’ creativity; thus, it was not a secret at all.
As I was pondering the Well this month and the theme of “Peace,” I could not help but reflect on secret menus. Peace naturally occurs when we walk with the Lord. Many of these secret menus were created by customers or employees experimenting with items on the menu. Maybe you stumbled upon the Lord’s peace in bible study, after baptism, or even after a powerful time of repentance. But I genuinely believe that just like the secret menu, we might need to ask the Lord for peace in our lives.
James 4 says What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
What can we learn from this passage? We see that arguments come from within. We find ourselves enamored with the things of this world, and it causes us to want possessions, not peace. We have to choose between the world and all its spoils and Jesus. But the big standout to me is much like the secret menus at fast food restaurants. We don’t have because we do not ask.
Tonight, August 29th, at 6 PM, at The Well, you will have a chance to look deeply at Shalom, the peace of the Lord, and the things that cause us to lose this peace. The older I get, the more Shalom I want to rest on my home, kids, marriage, and all my problems. Join me tonight as I seek and ask the Lord to remove anything that might disrupt peace in my life. I, for one, will be on my knees, asking the Lord for more peace.
In Him,
Pastor Chris