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| FCPO Newsletter and Bible Study |
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The "thin blue line" covered by the blood of Christ. |
This week's newsletter comes to you in the wake of Deputy
Zackari Parrish's "celebration of life" service on Saturday. In my 30 years of law enforcement service, I've attended perhaps 100 police funerals. Only a small handful of those officers died with a saving faith, and thus the Gospel was rarely shared. Praise God Almighty, such was not the case with Zach's service. Indeed, it was the most God-honoring and wholly Gospel-focused police funeral of my career. Accordingly, this week's Bible study/devotional focuses on our Lord through the lens of Zack's service, life and death through his "life verse." Scroll down to "
A Life Strong and Courageous" (and then share it with others).
Here on the local front, our first FCPO-Denver (
FCPO Chapter #217) meeting of 2018 is set for THIS Thursday,
January 11th. Bring your spouse, invite a colleague, and join us for time of
iron sharpens iron fellowship, prayer and Bible study:
Calvary Aurora, High School Room (top of the stairs), 7 PM. There might just be pie!
Miss a past issue? I always re-post them on our website, Twitter and Facebook pages, but here again is last week's -- "Resolved!" (great introduction to the Bible study/devotional below).
Again, happy New Year.
MC
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RESOURCES
(1) In my posts and discussions about a warrior's status (and subsequent destination) at the time of his/her death (and the reason for what must be a Christian's "Code 3" [running "Code" -- lights and siren] sense of urgency to share the hope we have in Christ with others), I've again received some kickback about "judging." Folks, the horrendous misuse/misapplication of Matthew 7:1 ("Judge not...") requires that I re-address it again. With the understanding that CONTEXT is everything, here, via His Word, is God's response to this oft-misquoted passage: What does the God mean when He tells us not to judge others? (great resource to have available when unbelievers and others throw "Judge not!" at you).
(2) Great series of resources for us in this past week's edition of Law Officer Magazine, including my latest article.
PRAYER REQUESTS
(1) Pray for the families and colleagues of our fallen, including but by no means limited to Dep. Zack Parrish's widow, children and family -- both blue and natural.
(2) A Pierce County (WA) deputy has been slain overnight and (at last report) a manhunt is underway to find his killer. Please pray.
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
(2) In addition to my own Centurion Church Security Seminars (again, contact me for details), here's the updated
Sheepdog Seminars
schedule (outstanding training for cops and sheepdog civilians alike -- especially in the area of church safety/security):
Upcoming Training Calendar
. I know the speakers personnally: Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, Officer Jimmy Meeks and Carl Chinn (all rock solid and you'll come away blessed).
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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 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 churches (including teaching the well-received Centurion Church Security Seminar), retreats and both law enforcement and civilian conferences and seminars 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. Our metro Denver chapter -- FCPO #217((aka FCPO-Denver/Aurora, a Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry affiliate) -- meets most 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month at Calvary Aurora (High School Room at the top of the stairs) starting at 7 PM for
Bible study, prayer and servant-warrior/iron sharpens iron fellowship. Spouses are both welcome and encouraged to attend with their LEO.
Join us this week on January 11th for our first fellowship and Bible study of 2018!
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"A Life Strong and Courageous"
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
" (
Joshua 1:9)
I am going to be relatively brief in my words here today so that you can set time aside to watch (and then share with others) the "celebration of life" service of slain Douglas County (CO) Dep. Zachari Parrish. Frankly, I can't say it better, but let me set the stage for you. Zack's life verse was (is) Joshua 1:9 and his life epitomized it. As you take in this most powerful police service of my 30-year law enforcement career, pay particular attention to the message shared by Colorado State Patrol Trooper Troy Kessler (staring at the 1:50:30 mark) and then that shared by Zack's former pastor, Mike Romberger, at the 3:49:00 mark.
Now before you watch the service, let me give you 3 short points about Zack that provides us with essential context:
(1) Both in life and death, Zack's was a genuine example of "Blessed are the peacemakers" (Matt. 5:9). As I've shared frequently, that verse is NOT about us as cops unless it is a Christian officer who is actively sharing the hope and peace found in a genuine, right relationship with God in Christ. Zack did just that, and his service continues that legacy. See "What does 'Blessed are the peacemakes' mean?"
(2) In his death, Zack also points us to John 15:13 -- "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." Again, this verse is not about cops unless it is a Christian peace officer who dies pointing others to the Savior. When Zack was cut down trying to help his killer (yes, he was seeking to do just that), I believe that his sacrifice saved his partners' lives. Then -- at his service -- Zack pointed them (and us) to the ONLY One who can save them (John 14:6). Ultimately, this verse is about how, by dying on the cross, Jesus provided the ONLY way for those who would "repent and believe" (Mark 1:15) to be saved. This is the ultimate expression of love (John 3:16) and Zack most certainly played it forward.
(3) Now in heaven with the Lord, Zack's desire is that the lost (the unsaved) would repent and come into a genuine, life-saving/life-changing personal relationship with God in Christ. Indeed, the greatest way for us to honor Zack's life is to know Christ as Lord and Savior (to be born again in Him), live "all in" for Him and carry out our Great Commission mandate to share our hope in Christ with others.
Again, Zack's "life verse" was Joshua 1:9. The context for us here, as Zack showed us, is the "courage" to love and obey God and then love others! No doubt, Joshua was very
aware that leading the Israelites out of the wilderness would be a daunting task and responsibility. Yet, like Zack, he was determined to obey God no matter what.
The Hebrew people were a difficult, rebellious (sinful) bunch. Not only did they grumble about food, water, safety, and rules (the Law); they also questioned Moses' leadership and, almost as soon as his back was turned, rebelled against God. Now Joshua -- a man they once threatened to stone to death (
Num. 14:10) -- was poised to lead these wayward desert nomads safely home to the land God had promised them (a most God-sized task).
Ultimately, however, Joshua took up the mantle of leadership with God-imbued strength and courage. Any uncertainty was replaced by Holy Spirit empowered boldness and resolve. He placed his whole trust and faith in God, the One who has never let His people down. Joshua fully expected the Lord to be true to His word again and deliver them to the Promised Land (and He did just that).
I don't know what challenges you are facing today, but, like Zack and Joshua, I do know that God will enable you to tackle it bravely and victoriously if you will first place your whole trust in Him for your salvation. In the wake of Zack's "graduation to heaven," God is saying to you and I, "
Be strong and courageous!" Both Joshua's and Zack's
courage was based upon years of seeing God's faithfulness under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Whether you've been a Christian for five minutes or 50 years, you can have that same confidence. As Zack showed us in his life and death, the Lord is sufficient to meet our needs and see us safely through until -- like Zack -- we to can reach heaven (
Phil. 4:19
).
So now here then, in its entirety, is...
So do YOU, like Zack, truly know Christ as Lord and Savior? Simple "belief" (English definition) is not enough to save you. Religion is not enough. Being "good" in the world's eyes is not enough, and being a cop is most certainly not enough (again, we can't "badge" our way into heaven or out of hell). So then, you may ask, "
How can I be saved?
" Consider the following:
Jesus' first words in His earthly ministry were, "
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 your sin. To
believe
as He intends it here is to
completely and radically surrender in faith to Christ for your salvation
in the same way you have faith that your body armor will stop the rounds it is designed to stop or that a skydiver's parachute will open when it is supposed to (we stake our lives on it)! The "Good News" of course is the Gospel of Christ. Moreover, the words repent and believe are literally two sides of the same coin in meaning and intent. Here's a great stand alone study on this issue: Repent and Believe.
The same concept of "
believe" is further explained in
John 3:1-21 where Jesus says, "...
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 (again, NOT
"religion") with Christ that I stress so often (see
What does it mean to be a born again Christian?). It is also the relationship that Zack had with Christ at the time of his death (and the sole reason he is in heaven today).
So now dig into the following:
If you don't know Christ as Lord and Savior, honor Zack by turning to Jesus in faith today. If you do know Him (are a Christian as God defines it), then honor Zack by following his example by boldly living a life "strong and courageous" for Christ. I echo Pastor Craig Smith's closing prayer (3:31:00 mark of the video) for you all. God bless.
Questions? Made a genuine decision for Christ today? Please
contact me
!
MC
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