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The "thin blue line" covered by the blood of Christ. |
This week's Bible study centers on a much-misunderstood subject that God laid on my heart in my own devotions this week: meekness. In English, the word "
meek" does not sound very exciting (especially to us as cops) but if you'll dig into this study with me, you'll find God has "
power-full" application for us in law enforcement (I think you might be surprised). Scroll down to "
Blessed are the Meek?".
Here on the local front (meaning Colorado Front Range), we're set for our next Centurion/FCPO-Aurora "
cop church" fellowship where we'll continue our new verse-by-verse study through
2 Corinthians.
We'll meet this Thursday, August 24th at
Calvary Aurora
, starting at 7 PM in the High School Room (there will be signs at the lower church entrance). Invite a colleague, bring your spouse and join us! As always, I'll recap our study for all our readers in NEXT week's newsletter.
As a reminder, the Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry and our Colorado FCPO chapter (#217) are affiliated with the
Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers - USA. Here then is the
official FCPO national newsletter for the month of August: the
FCPO Dispatch. If you're not a member, now is a great time to get signed up (your membership supports FCPO-USA and our national outreach to our own).
As always, take the time to review the latest batch of
resources
,
prayer requests
and
event announcements
I've included for you below. Please reach out if you need prayer or other assistance -- we're here to serve you.
Finally,
if you missed last week's edition, here again is the well-received "Never Surrender" newsletter and Bible study. While email is the best way to get them, don't forget that I will always re-share our newsletters for you on our
website
and social media (Facebook and Twitter) feeds (and don't forget to "play it forward" in keeping with our Great Commission mandate).
Stay safe on the street but radically bold in sharing the hope we have in Christ with others -- and our own in particular -- especially in light of the ongoing "War on Cops."
MC
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RESOURCES
(1) Hackett (AR) Chief
Darrell Spells story is a "must read" and a great fit for what we do here. Check out, "
Grace Under Fire."
(2) Are you a Christian single and seeking to understand God's plan for courtship and marriage? Have a teen or young adult in the "world's" dating "game?" God's plan is very different (something I had to learn as well). YES, living together and sex outside of marriage are always unacceptable (sin) to God. With that, here's an insightful 7-part series that addresses
Biblical Dating.
PRAYER REQUESTS
(1)
Praise report! Thanks to all who have been praying for my bride Diana. We believe God is very much directing her path -- she got the job (praise the Lord)!
(2) Christian -- pray for your pastors and ministry leaders. We endure much spiritual warfare that is rarely voiced.
(3) Cop's wife Heidi Hogan in KS sends the following: (a) an officer's spouse is undergoing breast cancer treatment. Pray also for their salvation (God knows the details -- just pray); (b) a law enforcement couple is in need of prayer over the loss of their baby...coming home from the hospital without their newborn is a kind of grief that only those going through it can fully understand.
(4) While the mainstream media is not reporting much (go figure),
SEVEN of our brethren were shot or stabbed over the weekend. Two of our FL brethren are dead (no, I don't yet know where they stood with Christ). Pray for the wounded, and pray for the families and colleagues of our fallen (and be sure you're sharing Christ with our own).
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
(1) Here's the updated Sheepdog Seminars schedule (outstanding training for cops and sheepdog civilians alike): Sheepdog Seminars. I know the speakers (including Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, Officer Jimmy Meeks and Carl Chinn) -- rock solid and you'll come away blessed!
(2) As you know, writing, speaking and teaching on leadership (and SERVANT-leadership in particular) in law enforcement is a big part of what I do both in ministry and "on the job." Accordingly, I give strong support to Law Officer editor, friend, and fellow cop/trainer, Travis Yates' new seminar offering,
Courageous Leadership
.
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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 churches, 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. My metro Denver chapter -- FCPO #217((FCPO-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, August 24th.
Information on the other
FCPO chapters
meeting around the country (including the new Chapter #242 here in Arvada, CO) can be found on the
Chapter Locator
pages on the
FCPO-USA
website.
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Blessed are the Meek?
"
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth
." (
Matthew 5:5
, added emphasis)
On the surface, a Bible study for cops (add combat military, genuine
sheepdogs, etc.) on the subject of meekness probably does not sound very exciting. But stay with me here -- I think you'll be both surprised and challenged!
One of the challenges of translating the Bible into English from the original Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic texts is that, frankly, it does not always come out as God (the author) intended. That's also part of the reason that He has called solid Bible teachers to provide proper context and sound, exegetical interpretation for you. The verse that God has pressed me to teach on here today is one of those that requires this kind of explanation.
As with some of the other passages from Jesus' "
Sermon on the Mount" that I have taught on ("
Blessed are the peacemakers" in
Matthew 5:9 is
NOT about us as cops, for example, unless they are Christian cops sharing the peace found only in a right relationship with God in Christ), a proper biblical understanding of the Greek words translated into English (the word "
meek" in today's verse) -- and their corresponding context -- is essential. In this case, the biblical understanding of "
meek" also provides "
power-full" application for us in law enforcement. Let's dig in!
In Matthew 5:5, the ancient Greek word that Matthew used in sharing what Jesus taught in the Beatitudes is "praus" (prah-oos). Frankly, it is nearly impossible to translate praus with just one English word (meek). Biblically understood, it carries the concept of the proper balance between anger and indifference, of a powerful personality that is humbly and properly controlled by God Himself.
Literally, and in t
he vocabulary of the Greek language of Jesus' day, the "meek" person was not passive or easily pushed around. On the contrary, the literal interpretation of "
praus" was used to define a wild horse broken and trained for battle -- a cavalry war horse. In that time, wild horses were brought down from the mountains, broken for riding and trained for various tasks. Some were used to pull wagons or other labor; some were trained for racing; but the very best were trained for warfare. They retained their fierce spirit, courage, and power, but were disciplined to respond to the slightest nudge or pressure of the rider's leg or tug on a war chariot's reins. A well-trained cavalry horse could charge into battle at 35 miles per hour and carry an armored warrior to a sliding stop with a word or touch. They were not easily frightened by arrows, spears, or fire. In short, a properly BROKEN war horse was said to be "meeked."
Over the centuries, the secrets of "meeking" (breaking/training) such animals were passed from the Mongols to the Greeks, the Romans, the Moors (Muslims), the medieval knights, the Spanish conquistadors, and finally to the Austrian Empire. We see a few war horse descendants today in the famous Lippizanner stallions of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna.
Today, we also see this kind of trained "meekness" in select police mounted units such as the one I worked with in New Mexico (Albuquerque PD Mounted Unit): highly disciplined and immensely powerful draft horses that can quickly quell riots, disperse unruly crowds and be used to control the worst offenders (they can pin a violent suspect against a wall or another horse and make them completely powerless without injuring them). Of course, we can also see this kind of meeked power in certain K-9s and in sheepdogs (see the sheepdog link in the first line in this and every newsletter -- borrowed from my friend, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman).
To be meeked, then, was to be taken from a state of wild rebellion and made completely loyal to/dependent upon their master. This concept of biblical meekness also includes being made fearless and unflinching in the presence of danger. War horses were trained to run full speed into enemy spears and shield walls. Later they charged into the face of cannon and gun fire (as Lord Tennyson famously expressed in his poem, "The Charge of the Light Brigade" at the Battle of Balaclava) through as late as WWI.
Like these "meeked" war horses, Jesus is calling His faithful to be submissive but not spineless; to embody what pastor Samuel Whatley describes as "power under control and strength with forbearance." Likewise, when Paul speaks of the "... meekness and gentleness of Christ..." in 2 Corinthians 10:1 (ESV), he is describing this same kind of obedient, loving and controlled power. This same call for believers to submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit and demonstrate power under control -- to "meekly" love, defend and deliver the weak and powerless, to rebuke the oppressor -- is also found in Psalm 82:3-4 and Isaiah 1:17 (among other passages) and provides powerful application for us who serve in law enforcement.
On the other end of the spectrum, Samson (for example) disobediently failed to embrace God's call to meekness (as I shared here in a recent Bible study -- "Hero to Zero"). Sadly, Samson's prideful disobedience ultimately resulted in his untimely death and waste of his tremendous, God-given potential.
Teaching on the the subject of meekness, noted 16th Century Bible teacher and commentator Matthew Poole wrote, "The meek, who can be angry, but restrain their wrath in obedience to the will of God, and will not be angry unless they can be angry and not sin, nor will they be easily provoked by others." Does this not sound like our role as well-trained, disciplined police officers?
Pastor and Bible teacher David Guzik adds to Poole's sound exposition when he writes, "To be meek means to show willingness to submit and work under proper authority. It shows a willingness to disregard one's own 'rights' and privileges. It is one thing for me to admit my own spiritual bankruptcy, but what if someone else does it for me? Do I react meekly?" He then adds, "They are meek before God, in that they submit to His will and conform to His Word. They are meek before men, in that they are strong -- yet also humble, gentle, patient, and longsuffering." Sounds like a well-trained (meeked) cop/sheepdog to me!
And in his devotional on this topic, Dr. Michael Youssef said, "True meekness comes as a result of sincere devotion to the Lord. It is a fruit of the Spirit that He wants to develop in each of our lives. However, there is only one way to begin this journey, and that is through prayer and personal dedication. It may also require facing a time of testing. Before Peter could effectively carry out his calling, he had to learn how to be meek and humble."
The whole context of God's Word revealed that Peter, and most of the men and women who were Biblical heroes of the faith, had to learn meekness. Let me be "real" with you here for a moment: while I'm no "hero," I can relate to Peter. Meekness was not my strong suite as an unbeliever or "make-believer" serving in law enforcement and the military, and it was not something that came naturally for me, even after I was born again in Christ. Instead, like a wild, stubborn horse, God had to break me -- to bring me under submission -- in order to meek me into a useful "war horse" or His Kingdom and glory. And I continue to seek ongoing "training" (growing in the Lord -- the biblical process of a believer's sanctification) today.
Let me tell you -- that breaking (at least in my case) -- was a long and painful process. Praise God, we who are "in Christ" have the Holy Spirit -- the Paracletos -- to help train us, discipline us, guide us, intercede for us, and yes (praise God), comfort and encourage us! I'm betting there are more than a few of you with similar stories (if not, stay tuned...).
And Peter? When he first met Jesus, Peter was not meek. He had his heart set on selfish ideas, but life (training and yes, breaking) under the servant-leadership of our Savior changed that, as did Peter's ensuing sanctification under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Understand that Peter did not lose his sense of courage or confidence when he grew in meekness. Rather, God broke and re-molded Peter's heart so that he began to reflect the love, strength and mercy of God (power under control and quiet confidence in Christ).
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rethren, God is training (if need be, breaking) us for war (spiritual warfare) behind Christ our Captain so that we can charge into battle behind Him against the forces of this world (the devil) and yes, even against our own flesh. May God train us up to be as meek as war horses!
So where are YOU today. Are you still running wild (rebellion against God)? Our loving Father longs for you to submit to His Son and be radically transformed into the biblical "war horse" He has called you to 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 complete, radical change of mind and heart as it relates 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 or that a skydiver's parachute will open (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 (see the "Are you really a Christian" link below for more).
(2) In
John 3:1-21, 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 (not "religion") with Christ that I stress so often. See "
What does it mean to be a born again Christian?" Then go to:
(a) Perhaps you think you can "earn" heaven (or escape hell) by simply being a "good person" (or a "good cop")? Then take the
Good Person Test
and see how you do.
Need prayer, counsel or more info? Feel free to
contact me
! Finally, don't forget to pass these newsletters on to others in keeping with our Great Commission mandate.
MC
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