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| FCPO Newsletter and Bible Study |
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The
"thin blue line
" covered by the
blood of Christ.
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This week's e-newsletter and police-focused Bible study finds us in Holy Week 2017. My hope and prayer, of course, is that (1) you're making plans to attend church this coming Easter weekend and (2) you will invite a friend and/or colleague to attend with you.
So speaking of: if you're in the Denver metro area, please consider joining us for our Holy Week "Cop Church" (FCPO Chapter #217) fellowship this Thursday at Calvary Aurora. We'll be in
Room 138 this week and we'll both share communion together AND dig into what God has for us in
Acts 16. Bring your spouse, invite a colleague and join us -- we'll start at 7 PM (also generally the only way to get a
FREE
Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry t-shirt).
Secondly, if you're in the south Denver metro area and not already planted in a solid, loving fellowship (church) with outstanding worship and where the Word is taught relentlessly and without compromise, consider joining us at
Truth Church Calvary for our very first ever
Resurrection Sunday (Easter) service. We meet in the Denver Seminary chapel starting at 9:30 -- see
Resurrection Sunday at Truth Church Calvary. Regardless of where you're at, I can't encourage you enough to get planted.
Finally, please take a moment to scroll down and review the new
prayer requests (you are always encouraged to let me know if you have a prayer request I can post for you here...of if you just need prayer in general), fresh new
resources and the 411 about
upcoming events around the country.
Again, stay safe and proactive on the street while being radically bold ("Code 3" sense of urgency) in sharing the hope we have in Christ with others. Have a blessed Easter (praise the Lord, He is risen!).
MC
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RESOURCES
(1) In these perilous last days, I continue to have a "
Code 3" (lights and siren) sense of urgency in sharing the hope we have in Christ with others (and our own in particular). Sometimes the toughest part of that is just starting the conversation. Author and fellow cop and speaker
J. Warner Wallace has a terrific, short resource that gives us the "how." Here's
The Best Question to Ask When Starting a Conversation About God.
(2)
Kristi Neace has published a new 4-week Bible study for cops' wives! Check out "
Above the Fray."
PRAYER REQUESTS
(1) Please be in prayer for Philly PD Sgt. Kevin Bernard reference his upcoming knee replacement surgery (rescheduled for tomorrow, April 11th).
(2) We appreciate your prayers reference our upcoming outreach to our own in DC during Police Week 2017.
(3) I've been visiting and praying with Wichita (KS) Officer
Brian Arteburn
(
critically injured in the LOD
) who is here in Colorado for rehab. Brian underwent a successful but major reconstructive surgery last Friday and both he and his bride (also a WPD officer) covet your prayers. YES, they both know Christ as Lord and Savior!!
(4) Pray for a law enforcement couple who have lost their unborn child. Gut-wrenching loss.
Have a prayer request or announcement you would like included here? Need prayer?
Email me
! I also post prayer requests on my Facebook page ("friend" me).
UPCOMING EVENTS
(3) The
2017 Breaching the Barricade Law Enforcement Conference and
National Peace Officer Appreciation Day events are set for October 6 and 7 in Elkhart, IN. This year's outstanding lineup of speakers are J. Warner Wallace, Stacy and Martha Ettel, Brent and Vicki Newman, and Kristi Neace. Jim Bontrager will have more 411 soon -- stay tuned!
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The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
is a 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 on social media
(
Facebook
and
Twitter
)
pages. Feel free to adapt these messages for your own individual or group use and please share them with others.
In addition, I regularly speak at both law enforcement and civilian conferences and events around the country -- please shoot me an email if I can be of service to your church, agency or organization.
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Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers
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FCPO-USA exists to provide biblical support ("backup"), accountability and iron sharpens iron fellowship to Christian officers first in the U.S. and throughout the world as well. My chapter -- FCPO #217/-((FCPO Metro Denver and Aurora), typically meets every 2nd and 4th Thursday at Calvary Aurora (High School Room, 7 PM) for "cop church" Bible study, prayer and servant-warrior fellowship
. Spouses are both welcome and encouraged to attend with their LEO! Our next meeting is set for this Thursday, April 14th (we will be in Room 138 again for this meeting before moving back to the High School Room on April 27th). Hope to see you there!
Information on the other
FCPO chapters
meeting around the country (including the new chapter in Arvada, CO) can be found on the
Chapter Locator
pages on the
FCPO-USA
website.
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Serving Under Authority
..."I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith."
Matthew 8:10
The Roman centurion of Matthew 8 -- both the namesake for this ministry and of course a ranking "police" supervisor of Jesus' day -- came to the Lord seeking help for his paralyzed and suffering servant. He came to Jesus because he believed (had radical faith) the Lord could heal him. Amazingly, and while Jesus was willing to come with the centurion, this 1st century "cop" understood that, like himself, Jesus was also under authority and as such had but to order his servant's healing.
Our Savior under authority? Yes! Jesus, while God the Son, still submitted to the Father's supreme authority. The centurion understood this kind of authority and the power that came with it. He understood that he himself had certain rights and powers based on his rank and position (essentially life and death power over situations and people). Like us, he too was a man both with and under authority. Likewise, the centurion understood Jesus' position of authority and the power that came with it...the power to heal his servant if He chose to exercise that Divine authority in accordance with the Father's will.
When Jesus saw that the centurion understood this principle of authority and that He did not have to visit the servant to heal him, He acknowledged the centurion's great faith. Jesus knew it took such faith to understand authority and whether He had the authority to do what was being asked.
God has placed a system of authority in our world that requires faith in to operate under its boundaries: Fathers over sons and daughters, supervisors over employees, ranking police and military officers over subordinates, law enforcement and government over the people (albeit all with a mandate from the Ultimate Authority to lead as servants) and church leaders over church members (but also with a biblical call to serve and shepherd the flock). These are authority structures God has placed in our lives to protect and guide us to His will. Some confuse position with worthiness or qualifications of that position, but it is the position of authority that God works through. The fact that an authority may not be a born again believer may have no bearing on whether God can work through that authority (Romans 13:1-7).
Today, we find few who genuinely understand this God-ordained system of authority and the faith it requires to work properly. Yet Jesus said that when we understand this, we demonstrate a most rare kind of faith. Accordingly, let me encourage you to be a person of rare and radical faith -- one who (1) sees the authorities God has placed in your life as those our Lord is using to guide, grow and protect you, and (2) understands and biblically serves in our role as men and women with authority.
That said, if you are a person to whom God has granted authority (whether it be as an officer, business supervisor or church pastor/leader), let me again encourage (plead, even) you to be obedient to God's call for you to be a genuine SERVANT-leader (as detailed in last week's Bible study: Servant-Leadership). Truly serve -- lead, mentor, shepherd, feed and comfort -- those under your authority and care. Protect, serve, mentor and disciple your flock (your kids, officers, troops, employees and congregations). Extend grace and mercy to those whom God has placed in your care. Shape and grow those who will one day also hold positions of authority. In doing so, we can be agents of change both in this world and that to come.
And HOW can we accomplish this as God intends? Only if we are serving and leading under the authority and power of the Holy Spirit. That power, of course, is available ONLY to those who are first born again in Christ. Is that you? It can be! Consider the following:
(1) Jesus' first words in His earthly ministry were: "
Repent and believe in the Good News
" (
Mark 1:15
). To
repent
is a 180 -- a radical change of mind and heart as it relates to our sin. To
believe
as God intends it to
completely and radically surrender to Him in
faith
("believe" and "faith" have the same Greek root meaning) in the same way you have faith that your body armor will stop the rounds it is designed to stop! The two words are synonymous in meaning and intent. And the Good News? That is the Gospel!
(2) In
John 3:1-21, Jesus said, "...
you must be born again." Note our Lord's emphasis on
must (not "may" or "should"): this is the
life-saving/life-changing personal relationship (not "religion") with Christ that I stress so often. See
What does it mean to be a born again Christian.
AND then...
(a) Take the
Good Person Test and see how you do (as shown in this study, you can't ever be "good" enough without Christ). Then go to...
Let's step out in radical faith to be the servant-leaders God has called us to be!
MC
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