The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry Newsletter
&
Bible Study
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Dear fellow officers,
sheepdogs,
servant-warriors, spouses and supporters:
This week's newsletter and Bible study comes to you on the
National Day of Prayer
, with prayer being the focus of our Bible study. Scroll down to "
Cops and Prayer
."
Miss last week's "radically" important Bible study? Here again is the updated,
Radical Christians, Radical Cops
. As always, these newsletters are re-posted for you on our social media feeds (see the buttons below) and
website
as well.
Finally, please take the time to review the latest resources, prayer requests and upcoming events I've posted for you here below.
Get home safe while being radically bold in Christ.
MC
_____________________
RESOURCES
PRAYER REQUESTS
Three quick requests:
(1) Pray for
Jim Bontrager
who is speaking at an event in Indiana.
(2) For me as I speak and lead prayer at a National Day of Prayer event tonight (5/2).
(3) For our
FCPO Police Week Mission Team
as we prepare to minister to our own in DC May 12-17.
UPCOMING EVENTS
(1)
Highly recommended for police officers and their spouses:
"
Worthy of the Calling" Law Enforcement Conference
--
July 20th
in Lenexa, KS. If you're a LEO or spouse of one and you're marriage is in trouble, this is the conference for you. Likewise, if you're marriage is great, this will help you make it even better!
(2) Will you be joining us in DC for
Police Week
? Be sure to stop by our
Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers
space in
Tent City
for a FREE cup of coffee, prayer if you need it and a plethora of
FREE
(well, for you) resources! And please pray for us!
(3) The
Sheepdog Seminars
are not just about church security but provide outstanding training for all "sheepdogs" -- civilian and law enforcement alike. I know the instructors! See their website for their upcoming schedule and other resources.
(4) The
2019 Breaching the Barricade/Officer Appreciation Day
events are set for
October 18-19
in northern Indiana. This provides incredible 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, and pray for
Jim Bontrager
and his team...the effort is massive and the challenges overwhelming ("but God"). I'll see you there!
*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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"Cops and Prayer "
With this being the National Day of Prayer, what is the nexus to those of us serving in law enforcement?
|
..how can we kn
With today being the
2019 National Day of Prayer
, it is so important that we be in prayer for our nation and for one another. We who serve in law enforcement are direct representatives of both God and government (we ARE government), and we must acknowledge our need for prayer and God's covering over what is in fact a God-ordained profession (
Romans 13:1-4
).
First, what is "prayer" (biblically speaking, of course)? It is simply talking with God. "But wait...there's more!" Consider just these forty verses:
40 Top Bible Verses on Prayer
.
Secondly, what and whose prayer does God listen to? Friends, unless you either born again in Christ (a Christian as God defines it) or crying out to Him for your salvation, God is in no way obligated to hear or respond to your prayers. See
Does God hear/answer the prayers of unbelievers?
(so important that we get it right).
Then finally for tour study, open your Bibles to
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12.
What is the focus here?
K
eeping your arms raised for a period of time might not seem like a difficult task—until you try it. No matter how strong you are, you’ll eventually find it impossible to hold them up, as if a 20-pound weight were strapped to each one.
In
Exodus 17:8-16
, Moses was faithfully
praying
on a hill while his soldiers were below, fighting the Amalekites. As long as his arms were raised, the Israelites prevailed. But he couldn’t maintain this posture on his own for very long. He needed "backup" -- and Aaron and Hur provided just that in holding up his arms.
The Lord never expected Moses to do the job by himself. Nor is He going to let any one of us be absolutely independent (a "Lone Ranger" if you will). That isn’t how He operates. God has built His church in such a way that the world will recognize Christians by their
love
(love being the theme of the
2019 National Day of Prayer
) toward one another (
John 13:35
). As we ultimately depend on God, we likewise inter-depend upon each other for backup (mutual aid).
Everybody needs an Aaron and a Hur—people who can hold up our tired arms and help us in our intercessions before the Lord. That said, we don’t need helpers who react with judgmental comments or platitudes. Rather, our prayer partners should simply come alongside and intercede with us and for us. This is of course part of why we regularly come together at our FCPO chapter meetings, church, Bible studies, etc.
Ask God to bring people into your life who can faithfully and lovingly lift you up in prayer. And if you’re not in Moses’ situation right now, ask God to show you those you can bring backup to (to be someone else’s Aaron or Hur).
And yes, please pray for me as I carry out my own calling to being "backup" of the eternal kind to our own.
________________________
With that, I'll close this study with the same invitation I give each week (again, life-saving "
backup
" that carries eternal ramifications). If you're reading this and have never surrendered in faith (been "radically" born again) to Jesus Christ, please consider the following:
(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 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]). Folks, it is only through this miraculous event that we can be made "righteous" before a just and Holy God and thus become part of His family.
(5) Need more? Then check out this powerful, short video message shared by my fellow "radical," Maj.
Travis Yates
:
Cops and Salvation
.
Have you now said "yes" to Jesus but are wondering what to do next? Then click on,
Now what?
Questions? Need more backup? I'm here to
serve
--
contact me
.
"Radically" Yours!
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; and (5)
IMPACT
(reduce) police suicides and PTSD with the Cure found in Christ Jesus alone. In keeping with these 5 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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