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| FCPO Newsletter and Bible Study |
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The "thin blue line" covered by the blood of Christ. |
In this week's Bible study we'll dig into another tough but very important subject that has become front and center in today's world and in our country in particular. In law enforcement, we often talk about doing "
the right thing." But by whose standard? Interesting enough, this is not a new issue: scroll down to "
Doing the Right Thing."
Did you miss last week's study (the last in our current series on "getting it right")? Here it is again along with the others in the series:
As always, I
re-post past editions of these newsletters on our
website
,
Twitter
and
Facebook
feeds, and don't forget to
check out the latest batch of
resources, prayer requests
and
announcements
that I've posted for you below!
Brothers and sisters -- we're at war! Let's armor-up and be safe on the streets while asking God to help us be radically bold for Him with a Code 3 sense of urgency for the lost.
MC
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RESOURCES
Fellow cop, chaplain and trainer,
Jim Bontrager, is a dear friend and brother whose ministry website has a wealth of resources and carries my highest recommendation:
Warrior on the Wall.
PRAYER REQUESTS/PRAISE REPORTS
(1) 2019 has not been a good year for us in law enforcement in terms of our killed and wounded. Please pray for the families (both "blue" and natural) of our slain and for our wounded who are suffering. Reference the former, see the
ODMP website. In particular, pray for the family and colleagues of slain Davis (CA) PD
Officer Natalie Corona whose police funeral will take place tomorrow.
(2) Again, pray for our country and our leaders. Not since the Civil War have we been so divided.
(3) Pray for a colleague who has been forced to retire because of his faith.
(4) Our
FCPO Police Week 2019 planning is underway. Please pray for us (leadership) team as we seek the Lord and His help in making everything come together.
Have a prayer request or announcement you would like included here? Need help/prayer?
Email me
! I also post prayer requests on my Facebook page ("friend" me).
UPCOMING EVENTS
(2) Time to start getting the word out about the
2019 Breaching the Barricade/Officer Appreciation Day
events. Incredible training for cops and a "bucket list" event for officers and their families. Mark your calendars and plan on joining us in Indiana in October, and pray for Jim Bontrager and his team...the effort is massive and the challenges overwhelming ("but God").
(3) The annual Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers national fundraiser dinner is set for March 4, 2019 in Chattanooga. Obviously, you don't have to attend to support FCPO. Click on Behind the Blue.
(4) Minister and retired officer Jimmy Meeks of Sheepdog Seminars (also highly recommended) is starting a new outreach specifically for police officers: New Covenant Cops. Their first seminar will be in Texas on January 19th.
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The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
is a national, FCPO-affiliated, evangelical Christian outreach to our own in law enforcement. These newsletters and Bible studies are part of this effort and past editions can be found on our
website
and our social media
(
Facebook
and
Twitter
) feeds. As always, feel free to adapt these messages for your own individual or group use and please share them with others.
The Centurion LE Ministry is lead by Police Officer and Chaplain/Evangelist Michael "MC" Williams, a 32-year (and counting) law enforcement veteran and sought-after instructor and speaker at churches [including the well-received Centurion Church Security Seminar], retreats and both law enforcement and civilian training conferences and seminars around the country. Contact MC via email for more.
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Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers
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FCPO-USA exists to (1) be used of God to lead the unsaved in law enforcement to a genuine, saving relationship with God in Christ; and (2) provide biblical support ("backup"), accountability and iron sharpens iron fellowship for Christian officers first in the U.S. and throughout the world as well. Our metro-Denver chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers -- (aka FCPO Chapter 217) -- is a Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry affiliate.
We currently meet approximately twice a month in the south Denver-Metro suburb of Highlands Ranch for profession-focused and life-focused
Bible study, prayer and servant-warrior/sheepdog fellowship (the iron sharpens iron kind). Spouses are both welcome and encouraged to attend with their LEO. Contact me for details!
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"Doing the Right Thing"
Are you doing the "right thing?" By whose standard?
Judges 17:6, 21:25 "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes."
Proverbs 14:12 "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."
Those of us who serve in law enforcement live in a world that is all about "
doing the right thing." But just what is the "right thing" and by whose/what standard? Especially in a time in our nation and the world when
Isaiah 5:20 ("
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil...") is being played out before us, understanding and "doing the right thing" has never been more important.
That said, this is not a new concept. As we see in our signature verses above, God reveals to us that even His chosen people repeatedly turned against His way (did their "own thing") -- with dire but appropriate consequences. Accordingly, let's dig into what God has for us on this incredibly vital subject.
In the Book of Judges, we find the nation of Israel in a very dark place. Despite the fact that they had God Himself as their King, they rejected His lordship, leadership and direction. Does that not sound familiar?
Today as then, our nation has turned its back on God and His way (THE Way --
John 14:6). Just as Israel did 2600 years ago, American culture today says that "the right thing" can't be God's way and that we must embrace those who decide for themselves what is "
right
in their own eyes," including but by no means limited to sex outside of biblical marriage (one man, one woman), alternative lifestyles, addictions run amok, rejection of biblical manhood and womanhood, and lawlessness in general.
Folks, let me be crystal clear in relaying God's message:
The book of Judges is absolutely and overwhelmingly relevant for us today (personally, professionally and nationally).
To understand its application for us today, we need to get a little insight on the relationship between God and the nation Israel at that time.
God chose His people to be a light in a dark world. To shine so that as they lived and obeyed the Lord they would show just who God was to a world that was mired in idolatry and spiritual darkness! The Israelites were to be the way the whole world would come know God and worship Him! God promised to bless them so greatly, IF THEY OBEYED HIM, that all the world would wonder who the great and benevolent God of the Jews was.
But God also promised the people of Israel that if they turned away from Him (disobedience) and set a bad example for who He was to the world, He would punish them (read
Deuteronomy 30). Not because God was mean or spiteful, but because of His righteous judgement.
God reveals to us in His Word that every evil act (evil being His standard) has a consequence. He p
unished the Israelites as a way of waking them up so they would turn from their evil ways and turn back to Him. And in turning back to Him the Israelites would again show the world who the real God is.
Sadly, then as today, God's people turned away from Him
and "did what was evil in the sight of the Lord" (repeated seven times over 300 years in
the book of Judges). As a consequence, God punished
them for their disobedience. Finally, when things finally got bad enough, they cried
out to the Lord for mercy and forgiveness. Sound like many of us today?
And why did the nation of Israel sink into this downward spiral of disobedience and judgement? It was a matter of
their eyes!
The Hebrew language is very literal. It use lots of concrete words to define abstract ideas. The word "eye" in the context of Judges means "sight or perspective or arrogance". During the time of Judges the people did what they THOUGHT was right... not what WAS right.
Folks, I believe that the United States has been the most blessed nation on earth -- a nation that has been truly blessed by God with His intent that we be a light to the world for His glory. Sadly, we have fallen far short of that and, frankly, that He has so far refrained from imparting His just wrath on us is nothing short of a miracle! "
But wait! There's more!"
In his commentary, the late Chuck Smith (founder of the Calvary Chapel movement), wrote the following concerning these passages in
Judges (over 20 years ago, mind you):
"Look at the consequences in our society.
We cannot build prisons fast enough to accommodate all those who are being sentenced for their criminal activity. M
ore children are being raised in a home with step parents than at any time in history.
Thousands of children feel unwanted, unloved, and in the way, more than ever before.
It is becoming a rare thing for children to be raised in a home with both of their parents.
One in every five teenagers is infected with a sexually transmitted disease.
More babies are being born to unwed mothers than at any time ever. A
bortions are killing off the next generation.
You have to wonder just how long God will allow these things to continue before He steps in and brings His judgment upon America. '
America, America, God shed His grace on thee,' but He is about to pour His wrath on thee! G
od declared, 'Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.' (Proverbs 14:34)"
Amen! Chuck went on to say,
"Are you doing what is right in your own eyes, or are you seeking to do what is right in God's eyes?
The Bible tells us that it is appointed unto man once to die, and after that the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Yes, there is life after death, the Bible speaks much about it.
It tells us that one day every man, small and great will stand before God to be judged.
What will be the standards for judgment in that day?
They will be the standards that God has established, which means that many of you will be in big trouble.
The nation of Israel was in a state of moral free fall. There was a lot of confusion for everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes. They had rejected God as their king. Likewise, I
see America today in that same moral free fall. We also have rejected God from reigning over us, and people are doing what is right in their own sight."
As Solomon (sadly, a man who also often did things his own way instead of God's) rightly said in Proverbs 14:12, "there is a path that seems right unto men, but the end of the path is death."
Are you sure you are on the right path today?
Are you doing things the right (God's) way? Are you prepared to stand before God and give an account to Him for how you have spent your life?
Here is where the gospel of Jesus Christ comes in, He says, "Turn your life over to Me, and I will make those changes for you. I will set you free from the power of sin, and give you the ability to walk the path of life. Follow Me, for 'I am the way, the truth and the life and no man can come to the Father but by Me.'" (John 14:6)
Brethren, the cure for what ails us individually, as a profession and as a nation (world) is found through a life-saving/life-changing
front sight focus on Christ alone.
Hebrews 12:2 puts it wonderfully: "
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Fixing (or "fixin" if you're from the south -- lol), having that front sight focus on Christ Jesus, is THE way to FIX our eye problem and
do the right thing God's way! Then imagine, if you will, the difference we can make in our families, agencies, communities, states and the nation when we are doing the right thing, God's way and for His glory! Amen?
And how do we do this? By bowing our knees to the authority and kingship of Jesus in our lives. By living for Him and not for ourselves! By accepting His free gift of salvation and becoming a disciple of His and His alone! By repenting of our sin both individually and collectively and boldly living "all in" for Him under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Clearly, the ability to do the right thing is ultimately found in Christ alone as revealed in His Word, the BIble. Do you know Him? Are you sure? If so, are you following Him wholeheartedly? If not, keep reading!
(1) Still think you can "earn" or otherwise "badge" your way into heaven and escape hell (a just and unending "death sentence" for your wickedness -- aka "sin") because you are a so-called "good" cop or person? Because you "did the right thing" in "your own eyes?" Take
the
Good Person Test
and see how you do!
(2) J
esus' first recorded words in His earthly ministry were and remain, "
Repent and believe in the Good News
" (
Mark 1:15
).
To
repent
is a "180" -- a complete, radical change of mind and heart as it relates our sin (wickedness as God defines it). To
believe
(pisteuo in the original Greek) as Jesus intends it here is to cry out to Him for your salvation and wholeheartedly
surrender to Him in faith
in the same way we have "faith" that our body armor will do its job against the rounds it is intended to stop, that a well-maintained weapon will function properly when used against criminals intent on destroying us or others, or that a parachute will open when it is supposed to (we stake our very lives on it)! And the "Good News"? It is simply the the gospel of Jesus Christ!
(3) This same concept of "
believe
" (the saving kind) is further revealed in
John 3:1-21
where Jesus says, "...
you must be born again.
" Again, note our Lord's emphasis on the word "
must
" (not "may" or "should"): this is ultimately the
life-saving/life-changing
personal relationship (and NOT "religion") with Jesus Christ that I stress here every week (see
What does it mean to be a born again Christian? [hint -- there is no other kind]
). Folks, it is only through this miraculous event that we can be made "righteous" before a just and Holy God and thus become part of His family.
(5) Need more? Then check out this powerful, short video message by my friend, fellow officer and noted trainer,
Travis Yates:
Cops and Salvation.
(6) Have you now said "yes" to Jesus but are wondering what to do next? Then
click on,
Now what?
Understand that the "Now what?" MUST include regular "iron sharpens iron" fellowship with other believers, including (for us cops) other mature Christian officers who can help support you, encourage you, disciple (help you grow) you in the faith and yes, hold you lovingly accountable. Message me for how you can do that!
Now let's go out and
"do the right thing" God's way!
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