The Centurion Law Enforcement
FCPO Newsletter and Bible Study
The "thin blue line" covered by the blood of Christ.
Fellow  Sheepdogs  & Supporters:

I've made every effort to be sure this week's  Resurrection Sunday (aka Easter) newsletter and Bible study reaches you on Easter proper. Moreover, understand that what we celebrate and remember this weekend has so much significance and meaning for us as law enforcement/peace officers. Scroll down, open your Bibles and dig in to what God has for us on this holy and joyous of day (but principles that ring true 365 days a year).   

Here on the local front, if you're in the south Denver metro area and not already planted in a solid, loving fellowship (church family) with outstanding worship and where the Word is taught relentlessly and without compromise, consider joining us this morning 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. But regardless of where you're at, I can't encourage you enough to attend services this morning and regularly thereafter (here's a listing of trustworthy churches with great worship and solid teaching: Calvary Chapel Church Locator).  

Miss one of our studies? I always re-post them on our  Facebook , Twitter  feeds (and our website as well), here again is   Servant-Leadership (God's Way) .

Finally, please take a moment to scroll down and review the new  prayer requests (you are always encouraged to send me yours for posting here...of if you just need prayer in general). In addition, I've posted a fresh set of resources and the 411 about relevant  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.  Diana and I wish you all a most blessed Resurrection Day (praise the Lord, He is risen -- He is risen indeed!).  

MC



 b
RESOURCES

(1) Cops are all about the  evidence. The new movie, The Case for Christ, presents that evidence loud of and clear (based on Lee Strobel's his best selling book by the same name). And today being what it is, Lee's book, The Case for Easter, also comes highly recommended. 

(2)  Great resource: Questions about Easter.


PRAYER REQUESTS
 
(1)  Please lift Arson Investigator Peter McElvaney in prayer as he dealing with limited sleep and a lot of pain in the wake of his shoulder surgery.

(2)  Philly PD Sgt. Kevin Bernard underwent knee replacement surgery last Tuesday. As you can imagine, he's in a great deal of pain. Please pray.

(3)  We appreciate your prayers reference our upcoming outreach to our own in DC during Police Week 2017.  

(4) 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 has undergone two major reconstructive surgeries...please put keep this brother in prayer. Praise God, they both know Christ as Lord and Savior!!

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 upcoming   Sheepdog Training Seminar Schedule.   Recommended! 

(2) Here's the Police Week 2017 Schedule.  In addition, our RISE colleagues will be hosting a night of prayer and worship on Friday, May 12: RISE Night of Worship Honoring Law Enforcement.

(3) Cop's wife Heidi Hogan and Badge of Hope Ministries are hosting the 3rd Annual Badge of Hope Law Enforcement "Mind and Marriage" Seminar this coming July 22nd in Lenexa, KS.  The keynote speakers will be my dear friends Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and Chaplain/Marine, Jim Bontrager.  

(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. Contact Jim Bontrager at warrioronthewall@gmail.com for more info.



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.  
 
Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers
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 Thursday, April 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.

.

The Resurrection Crime Scene

Luke 24:1-12
The Resurrection
 
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb,  taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found  the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold,  two  men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were  frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you,  while he was still in Galilee, 7  that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise." 8 And they remembered his words,9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

Read also Matthew 27:62-66 and  Matthew 28:1-15.
 
Looking back at the both Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday (Easter) through a criminal investigator's lens, the entire Easter weekend consisted of a series of crime scenes:  
  • False testimony, false arrest
  • Perjury
  • Three bogus trials
  • The horrendous torture (excessive force) and execution of an innocent man.
  • And now to the empty tomb!
The officers assigned to guard Christ's tomb were likely no ordinary soldiers but were likely the elite "federal Special Agents" of Jesus' day (especially given the serious concerns the Jewish leaders had about Jesus' followers taking his body). Moreover, this elite "peace keeping" unit thoroughly understood that failure meant a horrendous death.
 
And the stone used to seal the tomb? Up to two tons in weight rolled down into a depression in front of the tomb's entrance (specifically designed to not come back out). Once in place, the stone was sealed with the application of an official Roman "seal" (likely using a Roman invention now commonly referred to as cement).  
 
As law enforcement officers, evidence is everything and the evidence pertaining to Christ's resurrection goes hand-in-hand with what occurred on the cross (the cross has no lasting value without the resurrection, and to have the resurrection you must first have the cross). Accordingly, here are but four, irrefutable evidence-based facts for your consideration:   
 
FACT #1: BROKEN ROMAN SEAL  
The first obvious fact was the breaking of the official Roman seal that stood for the power and authority of the Empire. The consequences of breaking the seal were extremely severe. When an official Roman seal was broken without permission, the Empire's "Feds" would be called into action to find those were responsible for this crime. Once caught (and someone -- even it not the actual offender -- was always caught), there was only one penalty: torture and a most painful death (more on this in a moment). Again, our Lord's tomb was very likely sealed with cement and would have required massive efforts to remove it (a very loud, hammer and chisel kind of effort).
 
FACT #2: LARGE STONE MOVED 
On that Sunday morning, the first thing that impressed those who approached the tomb was the unusual position of the two-ton stone that had been lodged in a depression in front of the doorway. All the Gospel writers mention it (another important fact). Those who observed the stone after the resurrection describe its position as having been rolled up a slope and away the tomb's entrance. It was in such a position that it looked as if it had been picked up and carried away. Now, I ask you, if the disciples had wanted to come in, tiptoe around the supposedly sleeping cops, and then roll the stone away and steal Jesus' body, how could they have done that without the officers being aware?  It would have taken more than just human muscle to be sure (again, hammers and chisels to break the seal and ropes, tackle and horsepower to roll the stone away).
 
FACT #3 : ROMAN GUARD GOES AWOL 
The "watch" (coustodia in the Greek - where we get the word "custodian") guarding the tomb fled their post!
The Roman guard was a sixteen-man unit that was governed by very strict rules: Each member was responsible for six square feet of space. The guard members could not sit down or lean against anything while they were on duty. If a guard member fell asleep, he was beaten and burned with his own clothes. Moreover, often he was not the only one executed. Rather, the entire sixteen-man guard unit could be sentenced to death even if only one of the members fell asleep while on duty. Or, should an offender not confess or otherwise be identified, another victim could be selected by the drawing of lots (in much the same way that lots were drawn for Jesus' clothing). If you've been through military basic training or a para-military police academy, you know how unit peer pressure works!  How then, can going AWOL or "falling asleep" be explained when Roman military discipline was so exceptional and the penalty for failure so horrendous? Could they have all therefore just fallen asleep with that kind of threat hanging over them? Dr. George Currie, a student of Roman military discipline, wrote that fear of punishment "produced flawless attention to duty, especially in the night watches." Beyond that, are we also to believe the guards just slept through an earthquake? No! Just as it was cops who arrested, tortured and executed our Savior, it was also the police officers of Jesus' day who were eyewitnesses to His resurrection! (see also: Cops at the Tomb).  
 
FACT #4:   POST-RESURRECTION EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY  
Christ appeared alive on several occasions after the cataclysmic events of that first Easter. When studying an event in history, it is important to know whether enough people who were participants or eyewitnesses to the event were alive when the facts about the event were published. As we know, unsubstantiated eyewitness testimony can be unreliable at best. But here we have overwhelming, replicated, documented and identical eyewitness testimony. If the number of eyewitnesses is substantial and their testimony essentially identical, the event can he regarded as being irrefutably factual. Two additional points to be considered here:
 
(a) 500 witnesses giving identical testimony ( 1 Cor. 15:16 -- After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.):  Paul appealed to his audience's knowledge of the fact that Christ had been seen by more than 500 people at one time. He reminded them that the majority of those people were still alive and could be questioned. Paul says in effect, 'If you do not believe me, you can ask them.' Such a statement in an admittedly genuine letter written within thirty years of the event is even more irrefutable evidence (and evidence that stands true more than 2000 years later)! Now let's take the more than 500 witnesses who saw Jesus alive after His death and burial, and place them in a courtroom. Understand that if each of those 500 people were to testify for only six minutes, including cross-examination, you would have an amazing 50 hours of irrefutable, firsthand testimony. Add to this the testimony of many other eyewitnesses and you would well have the largest and most lopsided trial in history.
 
(b) Hostile witnesses: Another crucial factor to consider is that Christ also appeared to those who were hostile or unconvinced. Over and over again, we hear people comment that Jesus was seen alive after His death and burial only by those who had been his friends and followers. Using that argument, they attempt to water down the overwhelming impact of the multiple eyewitness accounts. But that line of reasoning is so pathetic it hardly deserves comment. No author or informed individual would regard Saul of Tarsus as being a follower of Christ. The facts show the exact opposite: prior to his conversion, Saul despised Christ and persecuted His followers, and it was a life-shattering experience when Christ appeared to him on the Damascus road in Acts 9.
 
Beyond this, perhaps the most telling evidence of all were the lives of those early believers who (as we're seeing in our study through Acts) went all over the world to carry out the Great Commission (and laying down their lives in the process). From this detective's standpoint, the evidence of Christ's bodily resurrection is not just compelling, it is an overwhelming, indisputable FACT!  
 
That said, the Resurrection is not just an event and the evidence to support it, but it is also a WHO! What did Jesus tell us in John 11:25-26? "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" Again (as I've taught many times), the Greek word for "believe" used here means complete surrender in faith and not just simple belief (stay tuned for more on this).     

Folks, ALL of us are guilty before a just God and each of us deserves to die and spend eternity in hell for the sins we've committed. But our loving Savior, wholly without sin, showed the ultimate in love (John 15:13) when he chose to take our place on the cross and become our substitute. Isaiah prophesied correctly when he said, " He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our inequities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him and by His wounds were are healed ." ( Isaiah 53:5 ).

In addition to Christ's birth, His death and resurrection are the two most seminal events in human history. Christ came to set us free from the bondage of sin and make a place for us with Him in heaven for eternity. Having said that, our salvation is not automatic, nor can we earn it by our service or so-called "good" works.  Rather, the reason for Christ's substitutionary, atoning death is that, by God's standard, NONE of us are good enough (Romans 3:10)!

* Special thanks to Josh and Sean McDowell for their own work on this subject (God's Word aside, one of my primary resources for this study): Evidence for the Resurrection.

With this in mind, 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 or that a skydiver's parachute will open (we stake our lives on it)! 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
 
Then see:
(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...
(c)  Cops and Salvation (a powerful, short message from police Commander Travis Yates of Ten-Four Ministries and Law Officer Magazine ).
(d) Got saved?  Now what?

More questions? Please contact me!

Folks, what we celebrate at Easter is the most significant set of events in the history of mankind. My prayer is that you will live you lives in a way that honors and exemplifies Christ's death and resurrection on our behalf. Praise God, He is risen...He is risen indeed!  Have a blessed Easter.

MC
f`