The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry Newsletter
&
Bible Study
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Fellow officers,
sheepdogs,
sp
ouses and supporters:
Yes, I'm aware that you didn't get a newsletter/Bible study last week -- I was crazy busy with work and getting ready for a training conference. That said, your break (LOL) is over and I can't encourage you enough to take in what God has laid on my heart for us this week: scroll down to
Making a Lasting Difference.
Miss the last edition? Here again is
The TRUTH
(and
nothing but the truth,
so help me God). And don't forget that these studies are also re-posted for you on our
social media
feeds (
Twitter
,
Facebook
) and (eventually) on our
website
as well.
As always, please reach out if you need anything!
MC
_____________________
RESOURCES
I might be "slightly" biased, but my own pastor's last message at
Truth Church
is a "must hear" that goes right along with this week's Bible study. Click
James 2:14-17 (faith and works).
PRAYER REQUESTS
(1) Pray for our hurting and divided nation, but do so with the understanding that the enemy is afoot seeking to do just that -- "divide and conquer."
(2) I covet your prayers concerning some upcoming speaking/teaching opportunities.
UPCOMING EVENTS
(1)
The Shelter Foundation
's Bible studies (1 for cops, 1 for their spouses) will be starting again in the coming weeks. Great resource to boot.
(2) Planning has already begun for our
2020 Police Week
mission in Washington, DC this May. Stay tuned and hope to see some of you there (and please begin praying for us)!
(4) I continue to teach my
Centurion Church Security Seminars
but I also recommend the
Sheepdog Seminars
as well (much more than a church security seminar). Here's their
schedule
and also feel free to reach out to me if I can be of assistance on my end.
*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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Making a Truly Lasting Difference
Didn't we get into law enforcement to make a difference? Here's how we can make it count -- for eternity.
Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.
(2 Corinthians 13:5)
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Most of us answered the call to serve in our
God-ordained profession
of law enforcement because we wanted to make a difference. That was (is) most certainly the case for me. But how can we make what we do have a truly lasting impact (by "lasting" I mean for eternity)?
Understand this: as I've shared so often, unless we are serving in a genuine, life-saving/life-changing personal relationship with God in Christ (a Christian as only God gets to define the term), our service will ultimately have
no lasting impact (no real difference).
And where is that in the Bible? For starters, consider just the following passages:
Our life is like a vapor; it appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
(James 4:13-14)
The world is passing away and also its lusts – earthly glory, fame, and worldly recognition is all fading and will pass away.
(I John 2:15-18)
Do not lay up treasures on earth because rust and moth destroy them. Earthly wealth will not last, so lay up your treasures in Heaven.
(Matthew 6:19-24)
Let me start by again re-emphasizing that our so-called
"good works" can't save us
(see again the
"Good Person Test"
in the
Know God?
section below) while at the same time stressing that if we are truly of the faith (a genuine, born again Christian), it will be EVIDENCED by good works that WILL leave a
lasting difference:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
(Ephesians 2:8-10)
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good[
b
] is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
(James 2:14-17)
Likewise, it is vital to understand that
ONLY those
who have been
born again
in Christ
(John 3:1-21, 14:6)
will
"rest in peace" (RIP)
once this life ends.
Friend, the whole counsel of Scripture reveals that it is ONLY through the power of God in the life of a believer that we can truly make a lasting difference, and having access to that power comes ONLY through a wholly surrendered life-changing/life-saving personal RELATIONSHIP (not "religion") with God in Christ. Once that is in place, God will empower us to
make a difference
that will last for eternity (something we as Christians will see when we stand before the Lord at the
Bema Seat Judgement).
Likewise, when we obediently step out in faith to be used of God to lead someone to salvation in accordance with our
Great Commission
"call for service," we will also be making a truly
lasting
(eternal)
difference.
So...
Are you really a Christian?
And are you making a
lasting difference?
I opened this study by sharing
2 Corinthians 13:5
through which God calls us to
"examine"
(test) ourselves to see if we are in fact
"of the faith"
(Christians as God defines it -- the ONLY definition that truly matters). Accordingly, it is again with a
"Code 3"
(lights and siren) sense of urgency that I implore you to dig into the links in the
Know God?
section below (and please
reach out
if you need help or have more questions).
I'll close with this quote from the character Maximus (an unsaved pagan) in the film
Gladiator
that actually has a biblical basis starting in
Psalm 112: 6 --
"
For the righteous will be in everlasting remembrance"
("the righteous"
being
only
those made so through a genuine, saving faith in Christ):
WHAT WE DO IN LIFE ECHOS IN ETERNITY!
MC
____________________
KNOW GOD?
(1) Do you hold to an utterly false hope 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? That you "deserve" heaven because of your so-called "good" service? Take the
Good Person Test
and see how you do!
(2) Jesus' first recorded words in His earthly adult ministry included, "
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 on a combat jump (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 that also comes to us from
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; (2) to
DISCIPLE
the Christian officer; (3)
SEND
out discipled (trained) officers to "repeat" 1 and 2; (4) to
SUPPORT
police marriages; (5) to transform our God-ordained profession by infusing it with all-in Christian officers; and (6) to
IMPACT
(reduce) police suicides and PTS 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.
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, sound (uncompromising) Bible study, prayer and servant-warrior fellowship (and spouses are both welcome and encouraged to attend with their LEO).
Contact me
for complete details.
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.
Finally, we covet your prayer and financial support for this vital ministry outreach. Reference the latter, you can give in two ways:
(1) Send a check to the address posted below.
or
(2) Go the the
FCPO giving page
and designate "
FCPO #217
" or the "Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry."
* All donations are tax-deductible.
The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
, P.O. Box 630854, Littleton, CO 80163 |
Email Address
| (720) 371-1022 |
Website
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