 |
| FCPO Newsletter and Bible Study |
|
 |
|
|
The "thin blue line" covered by the blood of Christ. |
Fellow
Sheepdogs (servant-warriors)
& Supporters:
Having just celebrated Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday (aka, Easter), this week's Bible study places a front sight focus on our (law enforcement's) involvement with the events of that first Easter 2000 years ago and their importance for us today. Scroll down to "
A Cop's Easter."
Here on the local front -- "front" being the Colorado Front Range -- our twice-monthly FCPO chapter #217 meetings (a time of
iron sharpens iron fellowship, corporate prayer and Bible study) has moved to the
1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month starting this month. At least initially, we'll be meeting at our home in Highlands Ranch (much like the early church did --
Acts 2:42,
Colossians 3:16, etc.) starting at 7 PM. Our first meeting in the new venue, and the start of a new Bible study series, will be
April 17th (mark your calendars). As always, this "cop church" fellowship is for current, past and future officers and their spouses (who are strongly encouraged to attend with their LEO).
Email me for the address and other 411.
Finally,
I'm led to share a short Easter video testimony from Texas Police Officer David Massey and his wife Lisa. It starts at the 12:30 mark. Their story has striking similarities to many of our own (and mine in particular). Take less than 5 minutes to watch the Massey Testimony.
MC
|
|
|
EASTER RESOURCES
(for you to use and share with others)
(1) Fellow Detective and speaker/author,
J. Warner Wallace,
a redeemed atheist, has done some excellent work on Holy Week and Easter. Check out "
Investigating Easter
" (like this week's Bible study, it's all about the EVIDENCE).
(2) Acclaimed journalist Lee Strobel was also an atheist until presented with the overwhelming evidence that demanded a right verdict. Lee's "
The Case for Easter
" is highly recommended.
PRAYER REQUESTS
(1)
Please be in prayer praying now for our
Police Week 2018 FCPO Mission Team
and the outreach in general. We will be heading to DC on May 12th to minister to our own and the need is very great.
(2) All around us, officers are being wounded, killed or suffering. Take the time to pray for our injured, sick and families of our fallen. More importantly, ask God to place you in the proverbial "line of fire" to bring the gospel to our hurting and lost!
(3) Pray for an officer who is dealing with with some serious, painful and debilitating kidney issues (management and healing).
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)
Police Week 2018
is fast approaching (May 12-16) and we seek your prayers as we again plan for our national outreach in DC to serve/minister to our own. Stay tuned for more details.
(2) Colorado Springs PD Officer Nick Ryland is hosting the 2018 First Responder Retreat this coming June 13-16 in the mountains near Wheatland, WY. Sweet!
(4) FCPO-Canada is hosting their 2018 National Conference in Newfoundland & Labrador on August 3-5. You'll get to see a special part of Canada while hanging out with a great group of brother and sister servant-warriors.
(5) The Sheepdog Seminars put on by my friends Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, Officer/Minister Jimmy Meeks and fellow church safety expert Carl Chinn are outstanding and highly recommended!
|
|
|
|
|
The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
is a national, 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 our social media
(
Facebook
and
Twitter
) feeds. As always, feel free to adapt these messages for your own individual or group use and please share them with others.
The Centurion Ministry is lead by Police Officer and Chaplain/Evangelist Michael "MC" Williams, a 30-year law enforcement veteran and sought-after instructor and speaker at churches [including the well-received Centurion Church Security Seminar], retreats and both law enforcement and civilian conferences and seminars around the country. Contact MC via email for more.
|
|
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. Our metro-Denver chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers -- (aka FCPO Chapter 217) -- is a Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry affiliate. Starting in April, we'll begin meeting most 1st and 3rd Tuesday evenings in Highlands Ranch (email me for details) for profession-focused (and life-focused)
Bible study, prayer and servant-warrior/iron sharpens iron fellowship. Spouses are both welcome and encouraged to attend with their LEO.
Our next meeting at the new location is therefore set for Tuesday,
April 17th.
Hope to see you there!
|
|
|
|
|
A Cop's Easter
The "cops" at the Jesus' trials, at the cross and later at the empty tomb personify the message of Easter.
I've repeatedly taught that Easter places a front sight focus on two of the three (3) most significant events in human history: Christ's death on the cross (Good Friday) and His resurrection (Resurrection Sunday).
Interestingly enough, our law enforcement counterparts of Jesus' day -- the Roman military civil "peacekeepers" and the Jewish Temple "police," etc.-- ) -- all played key roles in these events. Accordingly, let's open our Bibles and explore this life-changing and thoroughly profession-relevant concept through the following points:
(1) The
Police at Gethsemane
(
Luke 22:52-71):
Here the Temple Guard -- the Jewish "municipal cops" of Jesus' day -- arrested, beat, and mocked our Savior.
(2)
The Police at Jesus' Trials (
Luke 23:6-11
and the other Gospel accounts): After His initial arrest, Jesus endured 6 trials (3 civil, 3 criminal). There were "police officers" (the Jewish Temple Guard, Herod's "secret police" officers, and the Roman military "peacekeepers" who were the "Feds" of that time period) at each, and all treated our Lord with contempt and cruel, excessive force.
(3)
The Police at Christ's Scourging and Torture (
Matthew 27:25-31): Without any doubt, the Roman "feds" (federal police and corrections officers) were responsible for the unimaginable scourging and torture Jesus endured because of OUR (yours and mine) sin.
(4)
The Police at the Cross (
Luke 23:33-47): It was the Roman federal police who nailed our Savior to the cross, mocked him and gambled for his clothing. But it was also a
Roman centurion -- a respected, ranking officer (a police Sergeant or perhaps a Lieutenant) and the officers with him who, when faced with the overwhelming evidence of what they witnessed, praised God and exclaimed Christ's innocence (v. 47) and Godhead (
Matthew 27:54 -- "
Surely this is the Son of God."). Many believe that these "cops at the cross" literally surrendered in faith to Christ. On this, a career military chaplain wrote the following that I'm pressed to re-share with you here: "
A Centurion's Perspective."
Now understand, without the Cross, the Resurrection would not have any real impact, and without the Resurrection, the Cross would have just been another Roman execution. Dr. Michael Youseff rightly (biblically) points out that the cross served (serves) four key purposes for us both then and now:
(a) Jesus died on the cross to satisfy His own Divine sense of justice. God's Word says that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). When we break God's Law, there is a just penalty (the DEATH PENALTY) that MUST be paid. Jesus, the only Sinless One, paid that just penalty on the cross for OUR (yours and mine) sin!
(b)
Jesus died on the cross to redeem His children. He delivered us from sin and death. Every one of us is born into enmity with God, but God has provided the way back to Him through the Cross.
(c)
Jesus died on the cross to justify believers. It was an act of gracious justice. God does not excuse our sin as a minor concern, but He forgives and restores us when we come to Him in repentance and humility through faith in Jesus Christ. God gives us salvation from sin and death as a gift-a very costly gift.
(d)
Jesus died on the cross to reconcile us to the Father. Sin creates a wall between us and the Father, and ONLY Jesus can tear down that wall. When we are reconciled with God, it transforms us from being God's enemies to being His children:
"For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life" (Romans 5:10).
And finally...
(5)
The Police at the Resurrection (
Matthew 27:62-66: Matthew
28:11-15): The officers assigned to guard Christ's tomb were likely no ordinary lot but rather part of an elite, military "SWAT" unit who understood that failure meant death. They had to have major muscle to roll a stone weighing up to 2 tons down into a depression in front of the tomb entrance. They then applied an official "seal" (likely using a Roman invention -- cement) that would not have been easily broken (and to do so was a death penalty offense). Falling asleep while on duty was also a death penalty "IA" offense and thus out of the question (stay with me here).
Why the resurrection?
As LEOs, evidence is everything and the evidence pertaining to Christ's resurrection goes hand-in-hand with what occurred on the cross (again, the cross has no lasting value without the resurrection). Here are but three indesputable evidence-based facts for your consideration:
FACT #1: The 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. As I stated above, the consequences of breaking the seal were extremely severe. When an official Roman seal was broken, the "FBI" of the Empire would be called into action to conduct an investigation to find those were responsible and punish them accordingly -- typically automatic execution by being crucified upside down. In the case of Christ's tomb, it was likely sealed using a Roman invention -- cement -- and no one dared break it!
FACT #2: The Two-Ton Stone is Rolled Away
On that Sunday morning the first thing that impressed the people who approached the tomb was the unusual position of the two-ton stone that had been lodged and sealed in a depression in front of the tomb entrance.. All the Gospel writers mention it. Those who observed the stone after the resurrection describe its position as having been rolled
up a slope away not just from the tomb entrance, but away from the entire massive sepulcher as well! 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, break the seal, roll the stone up hill, and then 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 (most likely hammers and chisles to break the seal and ropes, tackle and horsepower to roll the stone out of the depression and up the slope).
FACT #3: The Tomb Guard Goes AWOL
The "watch" (
coustodia in the Greek and from where we get the word "custodian") guarding the tomb fled their post! How can their attrition he explained when Roman military discipline was so exceptional and that failure meant a horrendous death? One way in which a soldier who failed in his duty or disobeyed an order was executed was by being stripped of his clothes and then burned alive in a fire started with his own garments. If it was not apparent which soldier had failed in his duty, then lots were drawn to see which one would be punished with death for the entire unit's failure. Would they have all therefore just fallen asleep and then go AWOL ("Absent Without Leave") 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."
Folks, the indesputable EVIDENCE presented both to the cops of Jesus' day and to us here today, is "Evidence that Demands a Verdict" (an incredibly powerful resource from renowned athiest-turned-Christian, Josh McDowell)! And in light of this evidence, where
do YOU stand today? The Centurion, and those with him, made a decision based on the evidence before them. What about you? If you have yet to surrender in faith to Christ for your salvation, I beg you to consider the following:
(1) J
esus' first recorded 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 He intends it here is to cry out to God for your salvation and wholeheartedly
surrender in faith to Christ
in the same way we have "faith" that our body armor will do its job against the rounds it is intended to stop, that our brakes will work when running Code, or that a solider's parachute will open when it is supposed to (we stake our very lives on it)! And the "Good News" that Jesus refers to here is of course His Gospel and plan of salvation.
(2) Again, understand that you can't "earn" or otherwise "badge" your way into heaven (or out of hell) by your worldly "goodness" or by being a "good cop." Without first embracing Christ and his redeeming blood He shed for you on the cross, you can NEVER be "good" enough to make it into heaven or escape the righteous and just consequences for our crimes (sin) in a very real and inescapable place called hell. Still don't believe that? Take the "Good Person Test" and see how you do!
(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." Note our Lord's emphasis on the word "
must" (not "may" or "should"): this is ultimately the
life-saving/life-changing personal relationship with Christ that I stress here every week (see
What does it mean to be a born again Christian?).
So now then, with this "target" in place, see:
and
If you've made a decision for Christ and don't know what to do next, see, Now what?
My prayer is that the message and evidence of the Cross (Good Friday) and the Resurrection -- collectively what we call "Easter" -- will impact and resonate with you both in this life and the next (heaven for the genuine Christian).
MC
|
| * Sp |
|
|
|
|
|
|
