{"id":49060,"date":"2025-01-02T14:24:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-02T19:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/?p=49060"},"modified":"2025-11-04T16:23:47","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T21:23:47","slug":"pictures-of-peace-a-reflection-on-the-new-years-day-tragedy-in-new-orleans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/pictures-of-peace-a-reflection-on-the-new-years-day-tragedy-in-new-orleans\/","title":{"rendered":"Pictures of Peace: A Reflection on the New Year\u2019s Day Tragedy in New Orleans"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our family carries deep affection for New Orleans. My wife, Michele, and I moved there as students at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary when we were 25 years old, and we were captured by the city\u2019s hospitality and warmth. In our time there, we made lifelong friends and welcomed our only son into the world. Over the years, we&#8217;ve returned often, each visit reaffirming just how unique New Orleans is, with its vibrant spirit and incredible people. So, when we learned about the brutal attack in New Orleans \u2014 leaving 15 people dead and dozens injured \u2014 our hearts broke for the families affected and for a city we love.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The grief and tragedy that greeted New Orleans on New Year\u2019s Day \u2014 which will sadly but inevitably be echoed in other places throughout the coming year \u2014 reminded me of the promise Jesus gave His disciples in John 16:33:<\/p>\n<h5><em>\u201cI have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.\u201d<\/em><\/h5>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Imagine someone showing you two photos. In both, the woman at the center wears a soft smile on her face and a steady gaze in her eyes. Her arms and shoulders are relaxed. Her posture is serene. But the similarities end there. In one image, the woman stands in a meadow covered with lush green grass, dotted with swaying wildflowers, the sun streaming down on her shoulders. In the other, she is surrounded by a jagged, rocky landscape. Her footing is uneven. Lightning flashes in the darkened sky above. The horizon is shrouded by a damp blanket of fog.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Which of these pictures represents peace?<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might be tempted to say, \u201cThe one with the sunny meadow.\u201d But Jesus gives a different answer. Based on His words, the more authentically peaceful picture shows someone surrounded by turmoil and threat, yet still calm and confident. <em>\u201cIn the world you will have tribulation,\u201d <\/em>Jesus said, <em>\u201cbut in me you may have peace.\u201d <\/em>Most people experience a measure of superficial peace when the skies are blue and the breezes are gentle, even if they don\u2019t know Christ. But for believers, God\u2019s peace runs deeper, no matter what our circumstances.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bible speaks of God\u2019s peace in three ways:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Peace with God <\/strong>comes when we place our trust in Jesus Christ to forgive our sins and give us God\u2019s gift of eternal life. Paul described this kind of peace in Romans 5:1: <em>\u201cSince we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d <\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong>The peace of God <\/strong>comes when we bring our anxieties to the Lord in prayer. Philippians 4:6-7 encourages us: <em>\u201cDo not be anxious about anything, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong>Peace on earth <\/strong>comes when we lay down our conflicts with one another and surrender ourselves fully to Jesus Christ. This peace, announced by the angels at Jesus\u2019 birth in Luke 2:14, will only come perfectly and universally when Jesus returns to establish His kingdom. Yet it is available to us right now as we place Christ at the center of our marriages, families, churches and other relationships.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you begin this new year, Jesus Christ can give you every facet of God\u2019s peace. Today, you can pray for God\u2019s peace to rest upon New Orleans and on every other place and person facing turmoil. You can thank Jesus for making peace with God possible through His sacrificial death on the cross. While we know the coming year will bring challenges and trials, we can ask God to guard our hearts with His peace. And, through the power of Jesus, we can also pray for God\u2019s grace to live at peace with those around us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our family carries deep affection for New Orleans. My wife, Michele, and I moved there as students at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary when we were 25 years old, and we were captured by the city\u2019s hospitality and warmth. In our time there, we made lifelong friends and welcomed our only son into the world. Over the years, we&#8217;ve returned often, each visit reaffirming just how unique New Orleans is, with its vibrant spirit and incredible people. So, when we learned about the brutal attack in New Orleans \u2014 leaving 15 people dead and dozens injured \u2014 our hearts broke for the families affected and for a city we love.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":49062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[778,19],"tags":[779,966,967,968,781,969],"class_list":["post-49060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dr-rummages-blog","category-news","tag-edt","tag-happy-new-year","tag-new-orleans","tag-reflections","tag-stephen-rummage","tag-tragedy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/124"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49060"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69376,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49060\/revisions\/69376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}