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The "thin blue line" covered by the blood of Christ. |
As usual, not enough hours in the day but important that I get this week's newsletter and Bible study off to you. As always, I've included a selection of resources, new prayer requests and announcements about upcoming events around the country -- check it out! Beyond that, this week's Bible study/devotional is a powerful dose of biblical "medicine" and encouragement for dealing with tough circumstances and discouragement -- scroll down!
Speaking of these newsletters, if you missed last week's, here again is "A Cop's Power." Don't forget that I also re-post them on our
Facebook and
Twitter
feeds (and on our
website
as well).
Here on the "local" (Colorado) front, our
FCPO-Aurora chapter meets this Thursday, July 27th, for a time of
iron sharpens iron fellowship, prayer and Bible study (and we have a blast doing so). 7 PM,
Calvary Aurora, High School Room (top floor on your right). Bring your spouse, invite a colleague and join us.
On the national (FCPO) side,
July 15th marked the 43rd anniversary of the Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers' incorporation. To commemorate this occasion, we are asking our friends and supporters to consider a one-time gift of at least $43.00 to FCPO-USA (separate from donations to the Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry/FCPO-Aurora).
When HQ receives your gift of $43 or more, we'll show our appreciation for your support by sending you an autographed copy of Stories of Faith and Courage from Cops on the Street, authored by
former FCPO-USA Executive Director Grant Wolf (and I have 3 stories in the book).
This groundbreaking devotional demonstrates the vital difference men and women of faith make in law enforcement. It offers a glimpse in to what it's really like to serve in our God-ordained profession while demonstrating the spiritual side of the law enforcement community. Visit
www.fcpo.org/donate
and be sure to mark your donation as a one-time gift and designate it for our 43rd anniversary.
Let's stay front sight focused on Christ and radically bold in sharing the hope we have in Him with others.
MC
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RESOURCES
(1) Shared before, but
Got Questions Ministries is an excellent resource for your Bible studies, getting answers to your Bible questions and growing in your faith (but as with any resource, can't encourage you enough to go directly to your Bibles and seek the Holy Spirit's guidance. Please reach to me if you have questions or concerns about anything you find there.
(2)
Law Officer is a highly ethical and solid resource for LEOs (and anyone else seeking insight into our profession).
PRAYER REQUESTS
(1)
I am once again seeking prayer for wounded Wichita Officer Brian Arterburn. He is having some serious complications as he tries to rehab from head injury he sustained when he was run down in the line of duty.
(3) An officer in MO needs prayer for a serious medical condition. God knows the details -- please pray.
(3) TX Officer Ann Marie Carrizales seeks prayer for her husband Chris who is also dealing with a serious medical condition.
(4) My fellow officers from all over the U.S. are in need of prayer, but let's lift the men and women of the Minneapolis PD up in prayer this week...they are dealing with some very tough issues.
(5) Pray for the couples who attended this past weekend's law enforcement marriage seminar in KS (that their marriages will be strengthened and that the Gospel message would be received).
(6) I know many of us have teen or adult kids who either don't know Christ as Lord and Savior or have walked away from the faith. Let's be Code 3 (lights and siren sense of urgency) proactive in praying for them!
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) Updated Sheepdog Seminars schedule (outstanding training for cops and sheepdog civilians alike): Sheepdog Seminars. I know the speakers -- 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/law enforcement instructor, Travis Yates' latest seminar,
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 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 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,
July 27th
.
Information on the other
FCPO chapters
meeting around the country (including the new chapter here in Arvada, CO) can be found on the
Chapter Locator
pages on the
FCPO-USA
website.
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God is With Us in the Battle
Going through a tough time? Discouraged? Take heart -- God is with you!
How many of us today are dealing with discouragement? Going through a tough time? Illness or the ravages of age (including line of duty injuries)? Unsaved (or prodigal) kids? Marriage issues? "I'm good" you say? Well then stay tuned! Praise God, for those of us who have genuinely turned (repented) of our sin and placed our trust in Christ for our salvation, we have His promise that He will be with us in our trials and discouragement (and bring us to ultimate victory).
With this in mind, I'm pressed to share two major biblical events (there are many more) with you that will point us to "the Cure" for all our troubles and pain. The first deals with Paul awaiting his execution in a horrendous Roman dungeon the second involves the circumstances of Joseph being sold into slavery by his own brothers. Let's open our Bibles and dig in!
If you visit Rome, you can see the dungeon that once housed the Apostle Paul. You can stand within the same solid walls that once formed his cell and look up through the hole in the center of the ceiling from which he received food and water (also the only way in or out).
There are no windows, no doors, and no way of escape; and yet, for Paul, it was not a place of defeat or fear. Rather, it was a place of both victory and hope. Though Paul was confined physically, he was free spiritually because of the sure hope he had in Christ.
We don't know for sure how long Paul was in this environment (thought to be approximately two years). However, we do know that it was from this prison that he was taken to the place of execution. Yet even in death, Paul did not face defeat. The moment after he drew his last earthly breath, he was embraced by the Lord (and so will we if we are first born again in Him).
There are times when we view our circumstances from the wrong perspective. We face difficulty and wonder how God can be glorified. We suffer through loss and heartache and can't imagine how He will turn our circumstances around.
When we set our focus on the problem instead of on Christ, we miss what Dr. Michael Youssef termed "the infusion of God's power." Accordingly, what we find in Scripture is that Paul's spiritual gaze was a "front sight focus" on Christ and an eternal goal versus his earthly problems (and thus that same application for us).
Secondly, understand that God has a purpose for us in our trials. We see this clearly in the story of Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers (after first conspiring t murder him). Where was God when this happened? Growing and developing Joseph for his future mission! He clearly used Joseph's time in prison as an "academy" to prepare him to become Egypt's "deputy chief" (the prime minister and second in command to Pharaoh himself -- Genesis 45:1-8). And one of the outcomes? Joseph was placed in a position to ultimately save the lives of his family (including his same brothers who sold him into slavery)! Joseph could not see God's purpose in the midst of his trial, and neither can we most of the time. Yet Joseph knew the Lord's character and trusted Him. Do you?
As I shared in last week's study, when we come to a saving faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit becomes our ever-present comforter and source of power. Moreover, because our heavenly Father knows each of His children intimately, He provides whatever is needed in a given situation (the battles of this life). The Lord wants us to be mindful of His constant presence so we'll know we are never alone. Our Lord also understands what it is like to suffer and be rejected. He also fully comprehends the temptations and obstacles we face. In fact, He assigned Himself the task of carrying His children's burdens (Psalm 68:1-9), offers peace for our hurting hearts and gives us a Spirit of power and victory instead of fear and defeat (Matthew 19:26).
Yes, especially for the believer, this life will involve times of sorrow, pain, hopelessness, loss, grief, and discouragement. Yet, praise God, we can trust that He will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) in the midst of life's battles. There is therefore never an occasion to give in, give up or otherwise surrender to the enemy or quit the fight. So long as we are sealed in Him, He is our ultimate defender, and His purposes for our lives will come to fruition so long we don't take our eyes off Him (Proverbs 19:21).
So do you have that? Understand again that God's power, protection and comfort are ultimately available only to those who have come into a right relationship (not "religion") with Christ. Nor can we "earn" it or be "good enough" for it (and it is certainly not given automatically). So do you have that? You can! Here's how:
(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/dependence on Christ that I stress so often. See "
What does it mean to be a born again Christian?" and then go to:
(a) Think you can "earn" heaven (or escape hell) by simply being a "good person?" Then take the
Good Person Test
and see how you do. Then go to...
*Special thanks to Pastor
Ed Taylor
for his own teachings on discouragement (as a cop's dad who lost his own son, Ed is not just blowing smoke on this issue). Also for more on the "Why God?" or "Why would a good God..." question, go to "Where is God when it hurts?".
Need prayer or more info? Feel free to
contact me
! Don't forget to pass these newsletters on to others in keeping with our Great Commission mandate.
MC
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