The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
Newsletter & Bible Study
|
Fellow officers, sheepdogs, servant-warriors/leaders, spouses and all:
I realize that many of us -- myself included -- are incredibly busy at this time of year. Accordingly, I'll be brief (with perhaps one of my shorter Bible study messages -- scroll down to "A Cop's Christmas").
This being said, this is also my opportunity to wish you all a blessed celebration of our Savior's birth and mission. And thanks again to all of you who support us in this vital ministry to our own. God bless you all.
Looking for a past newsletter and Bible study? I always re-share them on our social media feeds (Facebook, MeWE [new] and Twitter) and eventually on our website as well. I also strongly encourage you to share these newsletters with others (with a "Code 3" sense of urgency, mind you) as part of our Great Commission "call for service" to WIN the lost to a saving faith in Christ; DISCIPLE the born again believer and SEND the trained-up Christian back out to "repeat."
Merry CHRISTmas!
MC and Diana
____________________
RESOUCES
I give away lots of copies of Lee Strobel's outstanding "The Case for Christmas" this time of year -- an evidence-based resource that is now on sale for less than a dollar at Christian Books. This little book is a great gift for the unsaved skeptics in your world.
Secondly, Lee has put together an outstanding, 4-week video Bible study series that goes with his book -- for FREE (just sign-up). Again, highly-recommended for all.
PRAYER REQUESTS
(1) Please pray for those battling and/or being impacted by this pestilence (COVID-19). God is ultimately the Cure for all that ails us.
(2) Pray for our government -- that all who have been placed in authority will come to know Christ as Lord and Savior and will then govern biblically. And ask God to intervene against all who seek to destroy our miracle of a Republic.
(3) Pray for one another -- including all who will be on duty this Christmas Eve and Christmas (it is going to feel weird for me to be off -- my first Christmas since retiring the uniform in October).
How can I pray for YOU? Just reach out and I'll share your requests here (or not -- just let me know what and how much you want me to share).
UPCOMING EVENTS
The next meeting (yes, in person) of our Colorado Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry (FCPO Chapter #217) fellowship and Bible study will take place "next year" (I love saying that): Tuesday, January 5th at Calvary Chapel Castle Rock from 6:30-8:00 PM. We meet in the 4th and 5th grade classroom (follow the signs). Shoot me an email for more info. As always, our "cop church" meetings are open to all current, former and future officers and their spouses.
*Have a prayer request, event or announcement you would like included here? Need help/prayer? Email me and I'll include them here.
|
|
A "COP'S" CHRISTMAS
With application for ALL!
____
|
So the first question many might ask is what does Christmas have to do with us as law enforcement officers (LEOs)? Well the answer is "plenty."
My goal for our annual Christmas message is to focus your attention on the fact that the real message of Christ's birth has very little in common with our modern celebration. What is typically depicted as a "warm and fuzzy" holiday is so much more than that.
Our text is Matthew 1:18-24 through 2:1-22. The passage includes the name "Immanuel" which in the Hebrew consists of two words -- El, meaning "God" and Immanu, meaning "with us" (or "came to us" in some usages). That God is "with us" is indeed part of the true Christmas message that this sin-sick world needs to hear, and it is also a message that we in law enforcement must cling to.
But then there is the other side - a proverbial "the rest of the story." Continue in Matthew 2:1-22 (yes, open your Bible) with the underlying context of Jeremiah 31. Here we see an exceedingly wicked and paranoid ruler -- Herod "the Great" (he was not very "great") -- sending his "secret police" to carry out an unethical, wicked order to savagely murder every male child born in the Bethlehem region during the previous two years. No warrants, no court of appeal, no stay of execution, no announcement of any kind. And the price they would pay for refusing to carry out this directive? A slow, painful death! Then imagine those officers going home to their own wives and kids after their "shift from hell" and hearing a Hebrew version of, "What did you do today, Honey?"
Amidst the joy of Christ's birth is the reality that He came into a very wicked world under the humblest of circumstances to carry out the ultimate "call for service" from God the Father. In the fullness of time and in accordance with the Father's perfect will, the Christ-child who was born in a feeding trough would stand as a grown man before Herod's son, Herod Antipas, before horrendously shedding His own innocent blood to save both the children who were murdered after His human birth (those children are ALL in heaven today), the "cops" who murdered those kids (all who would "repent and believe" -- Mark 1:15) and then all (you and I) today who elect to surrender to Him in faith!
Again, Matthew 1:21 tells us that Jesus came to "save His people from their sins" by dying in our place on the cross (the true "Christmas tree") of Calvary. And who are "His people"? Again, all who decide to say "yes" to His offer of salvation by being born again in Him alone (John 3:1-21 and 14:6).
Yes, the birth of our Lord was and is a joyous occasion but it was that same birth that would later result in cops being sent out to slaughter innocent children and "peace officers" who would ultimately torture and nail our innocent Lord to a "tree" some thirty-three years later. This is the reality of "A Cop's Christmas."
Many of us will say that we are NOT the same kind of cops -- that we are "good," better and more "righteous" than our predecessors. Really? Not by God's standard! I again strongly encourage you to take the Good Person Test and see how you do.
Friends, we must understand that we are no less guilty before our Lord and King than those officers who slew innocent children in the wake of Jesus' human birth, or those who later tortured (horrifically excessive force to be sure) and nailed an innocent Man to the cross. Again I implore you, turn (repent) FROM your sin and TO the only One who can save you. Like the command we give on a felony stop ("Do it NOW!"), I bring that same "Code 3" (lights and siren) sense of urgency in telling you that tomorrow may very well be too late! There are no second chances and for those who perish in this life without the assurance that comes from a right relationship with God in Christ, and we most assuredly will not be able to "badge" our way into heaven or out of hell. I want to spend eternity in paradise with my fellow warriors worshiping our true King. Please - I beg you - turn to Him today (just scroll down to the "Know God?" section below).
Wishing you all a safe and blessed CHRISTmas (and -- God willing -- a better New Year).
MC
______________
KNOW GOD?
(1) Do you continue to hold to an utterly false hope that you can "earn" or otherwise "badge" your way into heaven and escape hell because you consider yourself to be a "good" cop or a "good person"? That you can be "good" enough without knowing Christ as Lord and Savior? That mere "belief" is enough to "save" you (as our Lord, through James, tells us, "...even the demons believe, and tremble" -- James 2:19)? That you somehow "deserve" heaven because of your so-called "good" and honorable service in law enforcement? Take the Good Person Test and see how you do!
(2) Jesus' first recorded words in His earthly adult ministry included, "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 to our sin (as God defines it). To "believe" (pisteuo in the original Greek -- a different word than James used in James 2:19) as Jesus intends it here is to wholeheartedly trust and surrender your life 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 in against criminals intent on destroying us or others; or that our parachute will open when it is supposed to on a combat jump (we stake our very lives on it)! For more, see What does it mean to believe in Jesus?
(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" or even "someday"). Friends, this is ultimately the life-saving AND 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.
(5) Need more? Then check out this powerful, short video message from Maj. Travis Yates: Cops and Salvation
(6) Have you now said "yes" to Jesus as Lord and Savior but are wondering what to do next? The "now what" is also vital in dealing with the issues that contribute to police suicide, PTSi and more. Click on, Now what?
MC
|
|
ABOUT US
The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry is a national, FCPO-affiliated, non-denominational, evangelical Christian outreach to our own in law enforcement. These newsletters and profession-focused Bible studies are part of this effort and past editions can be found on our website and social media feeds. Our desire is (1) to be used of God to WIN the lost in our profession to a saving faith in Christ; (2) to DISCIPLE the Christian officer; (3) SEND out discipled (trained) officers to "repeat" 1 and 2; (4) to SUPPORT police marriages; (5) to transform our God-ordained profession by infusing it with all-in Christian officers; and (6) to IMPACT (reduce) police suicides and PTS with the Cure found in Christ Jesus alone. In keeping with these 6 points, please feel free to adapt these messages for your own individual or group use and share them with others.
The Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers (FCPO-USA) exists to 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 Denver-area FCPO chapter (FCPO Chapter #217) is a Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry affiliate. Locally, we generally meet every 1st and 3rd Tuesday evening of the month at Calvary Chapel Castle Rock starting at 6:30 PM for profession-focused, uncompromising Bible study, prayer and "iron sharpens iron" fellowship (and spouses are both welcome and encouraged to attend with their LEO). Contact me for further details.
The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry is led by veteran police officer, chaplain and evangelist Michael "MC" Williams. MC is an active State Criminal Investigator, retired Police Detective (after 34 years) and sought-after instructor and speaker at churches (including the popular Centurion Church Security Seminar), retreats and both police and civilian training conferences and seminars around the country. Contact MC via email for details on how to book him for your event.
Finally, we covet your prayer and financial support for this vital ministry outreach. Reference the latter, you can give in two ways:
(1) Send a check to the address posted below.
or
(2) Go the the FCPO Giving Page, select "Donation to a Local Chapter" from the drop-down menu, enter the amount, click "SUBMIT" and then designate "FCPO #217" or the "Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry" in the box. All donations are tax-deductible.
The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry, P.O. Box 630854, Littleton, CO 80163 | Email Address | (720) 371-1022 | Website
|
|
See what's happening on our social sites: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
