The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry: Do you "BELIEVE" in God?

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Do you "BELIEVE" in God?

First off, sorry for the typos in this week’s emailed newsletter. That’s what I get for doing my writing at the end of a very long day. Hopefully, I’ve caught them here (feel free to let me know if I missed something).

Secondly, I wanted to again remind our locals and visitors that we will be meeting at Calvary Aurora this weekend in an effort to reach out to our brother and sister LEOs in that neck of the metro area. Refer to the February 9th entry (below) for details!!

We had a great time of study in God’s Word last week albeit on a most sobering topic, to wit, what it means to be “lukewarm” about our faith (lukewarm Christians, lukewarm churches, etc.). Our Lord is most upfront about how He views the matter! Revelation 3:16 reads, “So then because you are lukewarm I will vomit (or “spit”) you out of My mouth.” In essence, Christ rejects the half-hearted efforts of self-satisfied Christians. Jesus was not half-hearted or “lukewarm” about going to the cross for us and we MUST not be that way about how we live your faith. Francis Chan taught a great message in which he details eighteen signs of a “lukewarm” Christian (http://bethelgrace.wordpress.com/category/francis-chan/) and I strongly encourage you to read the text and watch the short video. Most of us would have to say “ouch” more than a few times! Is that you? Seek God’s forgiveness and ask Him to light a fire in your heart for Him!

The Super Bowl connection I alluded to last week? If you want to see a great example of someone who is anything but "lukewarm" about his faith in spite of tremendous pressure to do otherwise, take a look at Cardinals QB Kurt Warner. Splendid behavior! See www.kurtwarner.org for more.

This week we will build on these concepts further by digging into what it truly means to BELIEVE. Many say that they “believe” in God. Well, so does the devil and he is anything but saved (and makes it his business to drive a wedge between us and our Savior)! On the contrary, the Greek word for “believe” and its true Biblical context has EVERYTHING to do with what it really means to be “saved” (a “Christian”). Join us on Saturday in Aurora and we’ll explore this all-important topic together.

PLANNING CALENDAR

We will have a Thursday evening study on Feb. 19th in place of our normal Saturday meeting. Again, our goal is to reach as many as possible as not everyone can get free on a Saturday morning (I have training all day on Saturday the 21st, for example). We will meet on the 28th as usual.

PRAYER REQUESTS & PRAISE REPORTS
As always, send me your prayer requests or, if local, join us in person for group prayer – God DOES answer according to His will and truly wants us to come to Him with our needs and requests.

(1) PRAISE REPORT!! Rochester NY Officer Tony DiPonzio, who was recently shot in the head and very close to death, has been upgraded to stable condition!! He still has a ways to go but the plan to is to move him to a brain rehabilitation unit within the next few days. Let’s keep him in prayer folks (and thanks to all who have been praying for him – we serve a mighty and loving Father)!

(2) PRAISE REPORT #2! I heard that Las Animas County Sheriff James Casias has been improving and is gradually being taken off a respirator. He is still in a Denver hospital and JeffCO Detective and Chaplain Ralph Gallegos has visited and prayed for James and his family. Please continue to keep our brother in prayer for complete recovery.

(3) Continue to pray for our elected representatives and government officials. God CAN change the “unchangeable.”

(4) Please pray for the new law enforcement Christian fellowships starting up in Arvada and Westminster (CO). I don’t have any current info yet but feel free to contact Deputy Mike Dye (author of The PeaceKeepers – a tremendous resource that is a regularly part of our own studies) at info@christiancop.com for more information. Looking for a study in your part of the world? Go to www.christianlawenforcement.com and click on the “Study Locations” link or the guest map button. Also check the links on this website for additional options.

(5) Please pray for two colleagues that I work with: one has just lost a grandparent and another is dealing with some serious health issues.

(6) Finally, please pray for me as I embark on weekly pastoral training sessions despite an already tough work and ministry schedule. I also ask that you continue to hold me accountable as I seek to lead and serve from a biblical perspective in accordance with His will and purpose for my life.

I’ll leave you with a passage from Psalms that goes right to the heart of what and who we are as "centurions" (servant-warriors/sheepdogs). "Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." Psalm 82: 3-4

Our Core Verses

COPS -- God's ministers for good and a terror against evil. We do not bear the sword in vain.

(Paraphrase...for full text, see the Bible in Romans 13:1-4)

Psalm 82:3-4

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

Isaiah 1:17

Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.ressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.he widow.

Colorado Law Enforcement Ministry Meeting Schedules

The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry (FCPO-Denver)

On the local front (meaning Colorado Front Range) we typically meet for iron sharpens iron fellowship and Bible study every 2nd and 4th Tuesday evening of each month at Calvary Castle Rock. Email me for details at thecenturionministry@gmail.com or give me a shout at 720-371-1022

Men of Courage Law Enforcement Ministry

Buena Vista (CO) PD Sgt. Dean Morgan is leading a law enforcement fellowship/Bible study in Chaffee County and the surrounding area. Contact Dean at interceptor@policeone.com for more info.

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TCLEM Mission Statement

The mission of The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry (TCLEM), is to educate law enforcement officers (police, deputies, troopers, investigators, parole/probation, corrections, military, etc.) about God's unique call on their lives as outlined in God's word (Bible) and to lead officers and their families to a saving knowledge of and close personal relationship with our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. Through same, we also seek to positively impact our profession by raising up Christian servant-leaders and reduce our historically high rates of divorce, alcoholism, depression, suicide and related issues.

Law enforcement is a God-ordained ministry of service and protection for our society as outlined in the Bible in Romans 13. Inasmuch as our very authority as peace officers is given to us by God, TCLEM seeks to affirm our calling as servant-warriors ("sheepdogs") and leaders while at the same time developing the our spiritual, family and personal lives through Bible study, peer fellowship, and group accountability along with active involvement in a solid Christ-centered/Bible-based church. We also seek to infuse our profession with godly leaders who will in fact LEAD (serve) from a biblical world view.

What We Believe (Statement of Faith)

(1) WE BELIEVE the only true basis of Christian fellowship is Christ's sacrificial agape love, which is greater than any secondary differences we possess, and without which we have no right to claim ourselves Christians.

(2) WE BELIEVE in all the fundamental doctrines of orthodox evangelical Christianity as detailed in God's word (Bible).

(3) WE BELIEVE the sixty-six books of the Bible (i.e. Old and New Testament) comprise the totality of Holy Scripture and is inerrant in the original text, and remains God-breathed/God-inspired and infallible in all its substance, and therefore, it is the supreme and final authority in faith, theology, and life. 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 119:11, 89, 105.

(4) WE BELIEVE that our Lord has called us to share the Word of God in such a way that its message can be applied to an individual's life and, in particular as it relates to our service in the God-ordained calling of law enforcement. We also believe that it is the responsibility and privilege of every Christian to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and to seek to make growing disciples. Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8.

(5) WE BELIEVE there is only One true, eternally existent God. He exists in three co-equal persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The triune God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and is worthy of worship and obedience. Deut. 6:4-5; Genesis 1:31, Luke 3:21-22; Matthew 28:18-20, Rev. 4:11.

(6) WE BELIEVE in one God who is Creator of heaven and earth, Spirit, personal, transcendent, sovereign, life, love, truth, almighty, simple (i.e. one without parts), timelessly eternal, unchangeable, wise, just, holy, relational, dynamic and infallible in all things.

(7) WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human, possessing two distinct natures which are co-joined in one person, that He was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless and miraculous life, provided for the atonement of our sins by His vicarious substitutionary death on the Cross, was bodily resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit, physically ascended back to the right hand of God the Father in heaven, and lives to make intercession for us. After Jesus ascended to Heaven, He poured out His Holy Spirit on the believers in Jerusalem, enabling them to fulfill His command to preach the gospel to the entire world, an obligation shared by all believers today. John 1:1-3,14; Matthew 1:18-25; Philippians 2:5-9; Colossians 1:15; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Acts 1:11.

(8) WE BELIEVE that all people are by nature separated from God and responsible for their own sin, but that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are freely offered as a gift by the Lord Jesus Christ to all based on His grace alone. When a person sincerely repents of their sin and enters into a life-saving/life-changing personal relationsship (not "religion") with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, they are immediately born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit, all their sins are forgiven, and they become a child of God -- changed, and destined to spend eternity with Him. John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-10; 2 Corinthians 5:21.

(9) WE BELIEVE in all the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Scriptures, and that they are valid for today, and should be exercised within scriptural guidelines, seeking to exercise them in love that the whole Body of Christ might be edified. John 14:16-19; 16:7-15; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 8:9,11; Titus 3:5.

(10) WE BELIEVE in the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, and we believe that the physical second coming of Christ with His saints to rule on the earth will be personal, premillennial, and visible. This motivates us to holy living, heart-felt worship, committed service, diligent study of God's Word, regular fellowship, and participation in the two ordinances the Lord gave the church - adult baptism by immersion and Holy Communion. Revelation 3:10, Thessalonians 5:9.

(11) WE BELIEVE there is a real personal devil of great evil, cunning, and power, who seeks to tempt, kill, steal, and destroy, yet his power is limited by God to only what God permits him to do; that the devil has been defeated positionally at the cross of Christ, and will be defeated practically at Christ's glorious second coming which will ultimately eventuate in the quarantine and punishment of the Satan (aka the Devil, Beast, and False Prophet, etc.) in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone where they will be tormented day and night forever (what has been traditionally called "Hell"). Luke 10:18; Matthew 4:10; John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11, etc.

(12) WE BELIEVE that our Lord is clear that there is ONLY ONE WAY to Christ and that is through a life-changing personal relationship with the Risen Savior. Jesus told his disciples, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). He did not merely point the way to God. He himself claimed to be the only way to the Father and the source of eternal truth and life. The way to God is through personal faith in Jesus Christ. Intellectual acceptance of Christ is not enough. You must come to him determined to turn from what displeases him, with a total trust in Christ's saving power for you.

Are you ready to receive Christ today? If so, scroll up towards the top of this page to the links under How Can I be Saved (AKA True "Officer Safety"). Please feel free to contact me if you need help in this area -- it would be my honour to lead you "home" to Christ!

If you sincerely put your faith in Christ, God promises not only to forgive you, but also to receive you into his family. It's the greatest discovery you will ever make!

Donate to the Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry

We do accept donations to support our ministry and outreach, including but not limited to leading officers to Christ, support for wounded officers; "officer down" outreach; chaplain and counseling services; speaking engagements; website expenses; ministry apparel, etc. Donations can be made out to The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry and mailed to

P.O. Box 630854
Littleton, CO 80163

That said, support your church first...and then donate if the Holy Spirit inspires you to do so. Thanks in advance for your support.