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| FCPO Newsletter and Bible Study |
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The
"thin blue line" covered by the
blood of Christ.
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Springtime in the Rockies means digging out from under two feet of heavy, wet snow at our place -- thus the reason for the delay in getting out this week's newsletter and Bible study recap.
I am typically hesitant to ask for financial support (I ask just a couple of times a year) but with Police Week and our other outreach activities fast approaching, please consider a tax-deductible donation to "the cause." How? Just send your checks to
The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry (or
FCPO-217), P.O. Box 630854, Littleton, CO 80163. Please pray for us regardless.
Finally, please take the time to review this week's resources, prayer requests, events and of course this week's
Bible study that I've posted for you below. Let's be safe on the street but radically bold in Christ.
MC
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RESOURCES
(1) The
"Unchanged" PTSD Bible study
begins April 19th at Calvary Aurora in Room 136 (for the locals). For those outside the area seeking resources and for those here seeking more info, contact Randy at 303-503-7504 or via email at
frschofield@gmail.com
. Jesus is the ultimate answer to PTSD!
(2) Those following me on Facebook know that I'm answering the challenge to bring awareness to the issue of police and military suicides. Please consider doing the same (I have made it a ministry op). See 22PushUp Challenge.
(3) Law Officer Magazine is a free, online law enforcement training and news resource. Highly recommended!
PRAYER REQUESTS
(1) Former FCPO Nat. Board member and retired Chicago PD Officer
Ray Bell asks that we be in pray for his wife Khani (health -- God knows the details).
(2) Pray for a fellow Christian servant-warrior (Philadelphia PD) who is facing knee replacement surgery.
(3) Pray for a colleague who is battling PTSD and for his father (health issues) as well.
(4) Pray for CHP Motors Trooper
Mike Erickson who was intentionally run over on a traffic stop and is in critical condition (horrendous injuries). Suspect is in custody.
(6) Pray for Idaho C.O. Dave Garcia who is battling cancer.
(7) Pray for those of us making up the FCPO ministry team headed to DC and VA next month (Divine appointments, Holy Spirit power, health, finances, etc.).
UPCOMING EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
(1)
Sheepdog Seminars
is coming to a location near you!
Go to
Sheepdog Safety Seminars
and click on the "
Seminar Schedule
" button. This is great training for cops, military and civilian sheepdogs alike. Moreover, Jimmy Meeks is partnering with us (FCPO) in a number of chapter locations, including here in Colorado this June. See FCPO and Sheepdog Safety Training for more! Our prayer is that we will have many "Divine appointments" to share the Gospel with a captive audience while also building their sheepdog/servant-warrior ethos.
(2) Our Centurion and FCPO team will once again be taking part in Police Week activities in Washington, DC with a "Code-3" (lights and siren) sense of urgency to share the hope we have in Christ with our own. We'll have our tent(s) set up in FOP Tent City from May 12-15 and the
RISE Christian Law Enforcement Conference is set for Monday,
May 16th. Stop by/join us if you're coming but please pray for us regardless.
Have a prayer request or announcement you would like included here?
Email me and I'll do what I can to post it!
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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 and we encourage adapting our studies for your own individual or group use and sharing them with others.
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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 own FCPO chapter -- FCPO #217 - Denver-- generally meets every 2nd and 4th Thursday at Calvary Aurora (High School Room, 7 PM) for "cop church" Bible study, prayer and iron sharpens iron fellowship. Spouses are both welcome and encouraged to attend with their LEO!
Our NEXT fellowship MEETING is set for Thursday, April 28th.
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LAW ENFORCEMENT BIBLE STUDY
In teaching through the
Book of Acts
, I struggled with the choice of teaching Chapter 7 in multiple lessons or a single one. Ultimately, I felt led by the Holy Spirit to tackle Stephen's sermon in the same way Dr. Luke presented it -- in a single study. Let's dig in with a "front sight focus" on the application of "A Champion's Testimony" that left an eternal legacy.
In the opening verses, we find that three charges were leveled against Stephen by the Jewish religious court: (1) blasphemy against God; (2) blasphemy against Moses and "the Law"; and (3) blasphemy against the Temple. Rather than answer the charges directly, Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, instead gave his highly educated accusers what is perhaps one of the best overviews of Old Testament history ever given (and one they could not deny).
Stephen's message can be summarized in three main themes:
(1) Israel's history reveals God's sovereign, abundant grace.
Stephen demonstrates clearly that God initiated the process of calling a people unto Himself and that He continued to pour out His grace on them in spite of their rebellion. Stephen refers to Yahweh as "the God of glory" in showing His majesty and separateness from sinful humanity.
God's sovereignty and grace are seen in the way He protected the fledgling nation of Israel during their 400 years of captivity, trials and tribulation in Egypt. Sadly, in spite of this grace, God's chosen people still
rebelled against Him and His servant Moses in the wilderness. They turned back to Egypt in their hearts (7:39) and worshiped the golden calf. God gave the nation up to their idolatry in their worship of the false Canaanite gods (7:42-43). Even so, in His grace God gave them the tabernacle, and later the temple, as the place where He met with them (although as Stephen reminds them by quoting
Isaiah 66:1-2
, God is not bound by a man-made dwelling). Thus all through his message, Stephen emphasizes God's sovereign, abundant grace shown to the nation of Israel in spite of their repeated wickedness (Do you not see the parallels in what is happening in our own nation today?).
(2)
Israel's history reveals our sinful propensity to reject God's grace and mercy
.
Note the repeated pattern of the nation's rejection of the champions God sent to them. Joseph's brothers (the patriarchs of the nation) at first wickedly rejected him, but later found him to be their "savior" from death by starvation. Israel -- in slavery in Egypt -- at first rejected Moses as their champion, but later it was this very man whom God raised up to be both ruler and deliverer (7:35). The parallel with these wicked men to whom Stephen was speaking is obvious: they rejected the very One whom God had sent as Messiah and Savior. Despite this, and like Joseph's brothers and Israel under Moses, God was offering them yet another chance to repent and follow Jesus!
(3)
Israel's history reveals our tendency to focus on "religion"
vs. "relationship" with the God in Christ
.
The Jews in Stephen's day were fiercely loyal to the land, to Jerusalem, and to the temple as the only center for worshiping God. Instead, Stephen correctly showed them that God revealed Himself to His servants in Gentile territory, apart from the temple:
God revealed Himself to Moses in the foreign land of Midian through the burning bush and spoke directly to Moses on Mount Sinai (verse 38). By calling the Law "living oracles," Stephen provides irrefutable evidence that the charges against him were utterly false and that the issue was (and is)
not the place where of worship but rather having a right heart before the Person of Jesus Christ (God in flesh).
Sadly (sinfully), the Jewish religious authorities (not the servant-leaders God called them to be) falsely believed that their piety in worship and service in the Temple gave them a special blessing even through their hearts were wicked and far from God. In effect, Stephen indicted the Jews with the same false charges they leveled against him (and enraged them in doing so). Finally, Stephen reveals that it is possible to
go through the impressive outward motions of worship (7:51) and knowledge of God's Word without obeying it (verse 53). As Jesus said, to
offer worship to God when we have not repented of our sins is an offense toward Him (
Mark 7:6-8
, 20-23).
The Law of Moses states that the sin of blasphemy carried the death sentence, usually by stoning (
Numbers 15:30-36). Just before these arrogant, unredeemed but religious and self righteous Jews began stoning Stephen, verses
55-56 record his final moments of earthly life before the Lord took him home: "
But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing [not sitting, mind you]
at the right hand of God. 'Look,' he said, 'I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.'" God's champion indeed!
The words of
Colossians 3:2-3, though applicable to all believers, also point us to the life of Stephen: "
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." Stephen testimony and death serve as an example of how every genuine believer should strive to live under the power of the Holy Spirit -- committed to the Lord even in the face of death; faithful to boldly preach the gospel; knowledgeable of God's truth; and willing to be used by God for His plan and purpose. Stephen's testimony still stands as a beacon of light to a lost and dying world -- and one that left a lasting impression on one of his accusers and witness to his death -- Saul of Tarsus, who would go on to be transformed ("born again") by the power of the Holy Spirit as Paul the Apostle (ironically, the author of Colossians and much of the New Testament).
I would encourage you to dig deeper by following along with noted commentator and pastor, David Guzik: Acts 7.
So where do you stand today? What is your testimony? Is there enough evidence to convict you of being a genuine believer? Or like so many in our God-ordained profession, are you holding on to your "religion" of "good works" and service in law enforcement thinking you'll be able to "badge" your way out of hell and into Heaven? Again, religious platitudes or being a "good person" by the world's standards will not save you. On the contrary, Jesus made it very clear that you must
repent
of your sin and be
born again
in Him in order to be saved (no "other" way) and live a life that truly counts for something (an eternal legacy).
(a) Think you're already "good enough" to "deserve" heaven? Take the "
Good Person Test" and see how you do.
More questions? Need prayer? Please
reach out
!
MC
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