On being RIGHT with God

My Fellow Sheepdogs:

I just want to take a moment to thank all of those who have prayed for us, called, sent cards/emails/texts, etc. regarding my Dad's sudden death. I had the honor of giving Dad's eulogy at his funeral last week and his body (his soul was already with the Lord) was buried with full military honors at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery (see new photo at the bottom of the website). Would make any sheepdog (military, law enforcement, etc.) proud!

A major part of my eulogy message centered on the fact that Dad was RIGHT with God before he died. Now CMSgt. Lonie C. Williams Jr. was probably the most far "right" person I've ever known (he made Rush look like a liberal) but -- far more importantly -- he was ultimately RIGHT with God. Our Lord allowed me the privilege of leading my Dad to Christ some years ago and he recommitted his life just last month. Dad's faith was genuine and we have great comfort knowing that this warrior is now with the Lord. In this life Dad earned a plethora of medals and honors. His 47 years of service to this nation (including 30 in the USAF) included two tours in Vietnam, other missions that he could never talk about (true "Homeland Security" issues), being severely injured by a bomb while loading a B-52, and he was the the last American serviceman to leave Iwo Jima when we -- sadly -- gave it back to the Japanese in 1968. The flag Dad took from the pole on Mt. Suribachi continues to fly daily at my parents' home in San Antonio.

That said, neither Dad's earthly honors or ours earn us a place in eternity with the Lord (what we call Heaven or Paradise)! On the contrary, God's Word (the Bible) makes it clear that it was Christ's ultimate sacrifice on the cross that paid our debt/sentence (sin/death) and there is NOTHING we can do on our own to "earn" eternal glory. Rather, it is ONLY by having a saving, personal relationship with the risen Savior (what the Bible calls being "born again") that we can be RIGHT with God and spend eternity with Him. Simply "believing" in God is not enough -- even the devil and his demons "believe" and "tremble" in that knowledge (see James 2:19). What about you? Are you RIGHT with God? That will be our topic at this Thursday's Centurion Law Enforcement Fellowship meeting -- hope you (locals/visitors) will join us. As always, I have a recap in next week's newsletter (for all those who can't attend or live outside the Denver Metro area).

Speaking of a man with awesome earthly honors, my previous TCM email detailed -- albeit with errors, the death of NM State Police Sgt. Andrew (Andy, Ting) Tingwall. Again, I apologize for not checking my facts first. I would have attended Ting's funeral but I was busy with my Dad's. There is a great short video about Andy on the NMSP homepage that I encourage everyone to check out: http://164.64.161.58/index.php. Something tells me that this former Marine, like Dad, was also RIGHT with God. Our brother is survived by his wife and two daughters and donations are being accepted at any Wells Fargo Bank under the Tingwall Memorial Fund.

PRAYER REQUESTS (as always, send me your prayer requests and I'll post them here as appropriate):

(1) Be in prayer for my mother and our family as we deal with the the loss of my father. My folks were married for nearly 53 years (what an example)!

(2) Pray for Erv Meyer as he deals with a grim medical prognosis.

(3) Continue to pray for this ministry as we strive to reach our brother/sister officers for Christ.

See ya Thursday!