The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry Newsletter
&
Bible Study
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Dear fellow officers,
sheepdogs,
servant-warriors, spouses and supporters:
While last week's
Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
Bible study explored the meaning of being tested and refined in the heat of God's crucible (see updated version of "
The Crucible
" if you missed it), this week we'll dig into a different kind of "fire." I can't encourage you enough to scroll down to "
Warriors in the Furnace: Standing Strong in the Flames of Compromise
."
Again, let's continue to stay front sight focused on Christ our Captain as we serve and protect under His leadership and authority.
MC
_____________________
RESOURCES
Re-sharing some highly recommended resources for officers and our spouses (
more
next week):
PRAYER REQUESTS
Please pray for:
(1) Pastor and retired Officer
Jimmy Meeks
as he starts
Sheepdog Church
on August 13th in Hurst, TX. Additional "411" is posted in the
Upcoming Events
section below.
(2) R
etired Dearborn (MI) Officer
Jim Wroblewski
is asking for prayer for his wife Ann, who was recently diagnosed with ALS.
(3) Buena Vista (CO) Police Sgt.
Dean Morgan
is asking for prayers for his dad,
Bob Morgan
, who has been diagnosed with cancer. Please pray.
(4) God's will and favor for my bride
Diana
regarding a potential new opportunity for her.
(5) For the best police leader/supervisor I've ever known in NMSP Dep. Chief
Pat Mooney
(retired) who is having surgery next week. Pray for Pat, his medical team, etc. Fairly common procedure but the recovery/rehab sucks (God knows the details -- just pray).
UPCOMING EVENTS
(1) As an extension of our own FCPO/Centurion outreach, we're partnering with
Gracie Parrish
(widow of slain DCSO Dep.
Zach Parrish III
) and
The Shelter Foundation
to reach cops and their spouses with the Gospel. Friday,
August 23
, 7 PM, Mission Hills Church, Littleton, CO. Click on
Anchored!
for more. In addition, watch
Gracie share her story
. Please be in prayer over this as well.
(2) The
2019 Breaching the Barricade & Officer Appreciation Day
events are set for
October 18-19
in northern Indiana. This provides incredible, uplifting training for cops and a "bucket list" (as in a huge "bucket" of
FUN
)
event for officers and their families. Mark your calendars and plan on joining us in Indiana this October. Also please be in prayer for
Jim Bontrager
and his team...the effort is massive and the challenges overwhelming ("but God..."). I'll be serving there as well.
(3)
Jimmy Meeks
of
Sheepdog Seminars
, a friend, pastor and recently retired cop, has started
Sheepdog Church
in Hurst, TX. Their first service/event is coming up on August 13th. Here's the 411:
Sheepdog Church
.
*Have a prayer request, event or announcement you would like included here? Need help/prayer?
Email me
!
I also post prayer requests on
my personal Facebook page
("friend" and message me).
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Warriors in the Furnace:
Standing Strong In the Flames of Compromise
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“Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like the Son of God!”
(
Daniel 3:25
)
God, through the Bible story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and their fiery furnace experience, gives us powerful application for Christian cops (servant-warriors, sheepdogs, etc.) in particular and all Christians in general today. It is a story of uncompromising faith and integrity even in the face of unlawful orders and severe persecution. Open your Bibles to
Daniel chapter 3
and let's dig into what God -- the ultimate
servant-warrior
-- has for us here!
For their refusal to obey the unlawful orders of the powerful Babalonian king (
Nebuchadnezzar II
) to bow down and worship a golden idol (likely an image of himself), charges were brought against these young men. Refusing to compromise on God's law (
Exodus 20
), they ignored the king's ILLEGAL commands to serve and worship the false, pagan Babylonian "gods," including the golden statue the king himself had set up. The penalty for their actions was death but their response to the king was both profound and courageous:
"
O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up
" (
Daniel 3:15-18
).
Especially given the "age of compromise" we live in today, we cannot but be amazed by their faith in the one true God. At the very outset, their response in the moment of trial confirmed three things: (1) their unswerving
love
for and conviction of the God of the Bible, (2) their complete
trust
(the saving kind) in the God who is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do, and (3) their
uncompromising
faith
as revealed by their reliance upon the only One who had the power to deliver them (or us) from evil. Their acknowledgment of God over the world’s most powerful king resulted in God’s supreme power being revealed to unbelievers. Playing it forward, their faith demonstrates that God is able to deliver us from our own problems and trials, including but by no means limited to those we face in law enforcement.
As born again believers (Christians as only God gets to define the term), we know that God is able to deliver. However, we also know that He does not always do so (in this life anyway). As I shared in last week's Bible study,
Romans 5
tells us that God may allow trials and difficulties in our lives to build our character, strengthen our faith, or for other reasons unknown to us. We may not always understand the purpose of our trials, but God simply asks that we
trust
and
obey
Him—even when it is not easy. Job, who endured incredible pain, almost insurmountable agony, and suffering, was still able to say, “
Though He may slay me, yet will I hope in Him
” (
Job 13:15
).
We also know that God does not always guarantee that we will never suffer or experience death (
even today, Christians are being tortured and killed for their faith
), but He does promise (repeatedly) to
always be with us
. We should learn that in times of trial and persecution our attitude should reflect that of these three young men: “
But even if He does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up
" (
Daniel 3:18
). Without question, these are some of the most courageous words ever spoken and a powerful example for us today!
Jesus Himself said,
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell
” (
Matthew 10:28
). Even if Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had to suffer a horrible death in a burning oven, they refused to compromise by disobeying God and worshiping an idol. Playing it forward (what a God-honoring legacy), such faith has been seen innumerable times throughout the centuries by believers who have suffered martyrdom for the Lord.
Nebuchadnezzar was astonished that the fire did not consume Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He was even more amazed when he saw not three, but a
fourth
person with them:
"Look!" he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God
" (
Daniel 3:25
). Folks, the "
Son of God
" in the furnace with our young heroes was the
pre-incarnate Christ
Himself!
The point here is that, when we “
walk by faith
" (
2 Corinthians 5:7
), there may be times of fiery persecution, but we can be assured that He is with us (
Matthew 28:20
). He will sustain us
(
Psalm 55:22
;
Psalms 147:6
). He will ultimately deliver us. He will save us...eternally (
Matthew 25:41
,
46
).
Noted 19th century pastor and author Charles H. Spurgeon, whom I quote often in my messages,
rightly observed that God’s people are often in the furnace, and though there are different kinds of furnaces, they serve similar purposes in our lives:
(1) There is the furnace that man prepares.
(2) There is the furnace that Satan prepares.
(3) There is the furnace that God prepares.
Which are you in?
17th century Bible commentator John Trapp -- no stranger himself to persecution and suffering for his faith -- quotes an English martyr who said this as he was burnt at the stake for refusing to convert to Catholicism: “O ye Papists, behold ye look for miracles; here now you may see a miracle; for in this fire I feel no more pain than as if I were in a bed of down; but it is to me as a bed of roses.” AMEN to that!
The chief lesson from the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is that, as Christians, we will never be able to bring the world to Christ by becoming like it (compromise). As did these three men, so should we in revealing to the world a higher power (the Highest power), a greater (greatest) purpose, and a superior morality, than the world in which we now live. If we are put before the fiery furnace, we must -- in Christ -- reveal the only One who can deliver us from it.
On this, take note of the powerful,
God-breathed
and incredibly comforting words written by Paul in
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
:
“
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eterna
l”
As Christians (Is that you?), our hope when experiencing illness, injury, persecution, or pain in general lies in knowing that this life is not the end—there is an incredible, eternal future for us after this life ends. That is His promise to all those who trust, love and obey Him as Lord and Savior. Knowing that we will have eternal life with God enables us to live above the pain and suffering we endure in this life (
John 14:23
).
And what about those of us serving as cops (sheepdogs, servant-warriors)? As I've shared so often, we who serve in our God-ordained profession (
Romans 13:1-4
,
Psalm 82:3-4
, etc.) of law enforcement are in fact in an
all-out war
with the forces of evil and those being influenced by "the enemy" (Satan). Perhaps not since the Civil War has our nation been so divided against all things God calls "good" (
Isaiah 5:20
). Friends, we know all-too-well that even when we do the right thing, we are very likely to face persecution or worse for doing so. We are also likely to be faced with decisions that are not unlike that of the three young heroes of our study.
How will you respond to an illegal order? In the face of termination or prosecution for standing firm on God's standards, our oath as cops and even our
Law Enforcement Code of Ethics
(yes -- God is in that document as well)? Praise God Almighty,
if
we are born again in Christ (scroll down if you don't know what that means), we can KNOW that, just as Christ was with
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in their "fiery furnace," He will be with us in ours! Amen?
So where do YOU stand today? On the Rock of Christ or in the quicksand of the lost/unsaved? Better be sure (scroll down)!
_____________________
KNOW GOD?
(1) Do you falsely believe that you can "earn" or otherwise "badge" your way into heaven and escape hell because you consider yourself to be a "
good
" cop or "good" person? That you can be "good" enough without God? Take the
Good Person Test
and see how you do!
(2) Jesus' first recorded words in His earthly ministry were and remain, "
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 to our sin (as God defines it). To "believe" (
pisteuo
in the original Greek) as Jesus intends it here is to wholeheartedly trust and
surrender
your life to Him in faith in the same way we have "faith" that our body armor will do its job against the rounds it is intended to stop; that a well-maintained weapon will function properly when used in defense against criminals intent on destroying us or others; or that our parachute will open when it is supposed to (we stake our very lives on it)! For more, see
What does it mean to believe in Jesus?
(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
." Again, note our Lord's emphasis on the word "
must
" (not "may" or "should" or even "someday"): this is ultimately the life-saving AND life-changing personal relationship (and NOT "religion") with Jesus Christ that I stress here every week (see
What does it mean to be a born again Christian
? [hint -- there is no other kind]).
(5) Need more? Then check out this powerful, short video message from police servant-leader
Travis Yates
:
Cops and Salvation
(6) Have you now said "yes" to Jesus as Lord and Savior but are wondering what to do next? The "now what" is also an important part in dealing with the issues that can lead to suicide and sin in general. Click on,
Now what?
MC
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ABOUT US
The
Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
is
a national, FCPO-affiliated, non-denominational,
evangelical
Christian outreach to our own in law enforcement. These newsletters and profession-focused Bible studies are part of this effort and past editions can be found on our website and our social media feeds. Our desire is (1) to be used of God to
WIN
the lost in our profession to a saving faith in Christ; and (2)
DISCIPLE
the Christian officer; (3)
SEND
out discipled officers to "repeat" 1 and 2; (4)
SUPPORT
police marriages; (5) transform our God-ordained profession by infusing it with all-in Christian officers; and (6)
IMPACT
(reduce) police suicides and PTSD with the Cure found in Christ Jesus alone. In keeping with these 6 points, please feel free to adapt these messages for your own individual or group use and
share
them with others.
We also seek both your prayers and your
financial support
for this ministry as the Lord leads.
The
Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers
(FCPO-USA)
exists to provide biblical support ("backup"), accountability and
iron sharpens iron
fellowship for Christian officers first in the U.S. and throughout the world as well. Our Denver-area FCPO chapter (
FCPO Chapter #217
) is a
Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
affiliate. Locally, we meet approximately twice a month in the south Denver-Metro suburb of Highlands Ranch for profession-focused and life-relevant Bible study, prayer and servant-warrior/sheepdog fellowship. Spouses are both welcome and encouraged to attend with their LEO.
Contact me for details!
You can also give to our ministry by designating "
FCPO Chapter 217
" on the
FCPO donation page
.
The
Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
and FCPO-Metro Denver (Chapter 217) are led by veteran Police Officer, Chaplain and Evangelist
Michael "MC" Williams.
MC is an active (32-years and counting) sworn police officer/investigator and sought-after instructor and speaker at churches (including the popular
Centurion Church Security Seminar
), retreats and both police and civilian training conferences and seminars around the country. Contact MC via
email
for details on how to book him for your event.
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