"Trained for Warfare" + Emergency Prayer Request

Fellow Sheepdogs:

I received the following from Ron Leonard after publishing last night's newsletter. Please pray for our wounded brother ("Warfare" folks!).

Sergeant Mark Chesnut is in critical condition at Vanderbilt Medical Center with multiple internal injuries as the result of being shot at approximately 1 p.m. yesterday afternoon while conducting a "routine" (!!! NOT) traffic stop... Chesnut, a 22-year police department veteran, underwent surgery at Vanderbilt yesterday afternoon and additional surgery will be required this morning... Mississippi prison escapee Joseph Jackson has admitted to shooting Chesnut. Jackson said he didn’t want to go back to prison. Jackson will be charged attempted murder, stealing a Mississippi correction officer’s gun, unlawful gun possession by a convicted felon, and being a fugitive from justice. Jackson’s accomplice, Courtney R. Logan of Louisville, Kentucky, has been charged with attempted murder and unlawful gun possession by a convicted felon. Chesnut, who is assigned to the Interstate Interdiction Unit of the Special Investigations Division, stopped a rented Dodge Magnum for a traffic violation and was seated in his police car checking the tag and Logan’s license when Jackson walked up to the police car and opened fire from the passenger side door. Chesnut, who was wearing a bullet resistant vest, received gunshot wounds to his abdomen through a part of his body that was unprotected.

Through the use of detail recorded by Chesnut’s in-car camera, a description of the Dodge Magnum and its license plate was quickly broadcast. Undercover Detective Matt Dixon spotted the car, which evidently quickly exited the interstate after fleeing the shooting scene, and followed it into downtown where it was blocked by other police units."

According to the Mississippi Department of Corrections, Jackson, who was serving a life sentence for two aggravated robberies and aggravated assault, escaped during an optometrist appointment in Greenwood, Mississippi at 8 a.m. yesterday. The escape was aided by an armed accomplice who entered the office, fired a shot in the air, and ordered everyone in the office to get down on the floor. Jackson and his accomplice, presumed to have been Logan, himself a convicted robber in Kentucky, fled Greenwood in a dark colored Dodge Magnum, which was rented Tuesday from Thrifty Car Rental in Louisville. Shackles and handcuffs were visible inside the Magnum when Logan and Jackson were taken into custody by Metro officers. A semi-automatic pistol was also recovered from the car. Logan had two magazines of ammunition on his person when he was arrested.

Any lessons to be learned here? Let's ask God to heal our brother so that he can get back into the fight.

MEETING UPDATES:
I want to update our upcoming meeting schedule for the month of July (note the change from last week). We will in fact be meeting this Thursday (7/2) but are moving the starting time up to 7 PM so that folks can have time to eat and/or spend extra time with their families. I also intend to keep the meeting to an hour (but I will be available afterward for anyone who needs more time). Here is the tentative schedule for the rest of the month -- we'll get back to our Saturday meetings in August (note -- all meetings this month are tentatively set to be held at Calvary South Denver -- http://www.calvarycsd.org/):

Thursday, 7/9, 7-8 PM
Thursday, 7/16 NO MEETING
Thursday, 7/23, 7-8 PM

Last week we dug into what it means to be "RIGHT WITH GOD." Here is the recap for our readers who either missed or do not live in the Denver Metro area:

How are we to live after accepting Christ as Lord & Savior? 1 John 1:5 through 2:6 gives the best answer. The passage describes people who are RIGHT WITH GOD and explains that, although saved, they will still struggle with and/or fall into sin at times. While it is Christ who cleanses us from all sin, the passage qualifies how Believers must first live to apply this promise to themselves through the terms "walking in light" and "walking in darkness." The big issues here are FOUNDATION, MOTIVATION, and CONSISTENCY. If our foundation is the Word of God (the Bible), and if our motivation is is being like Christ, and if we consistently seek to live like Him, then we know that Jesus covers our sins and we are still RIGHT WITH GOD (see also 1 John 5:13). However, if we say that we know Christ as our Savior and yet remain disobedient (walking in "darkness"), then God says that we are liars and the truth is not in us. Bottom line is that when we make to a decision to accept Christ, we need to understand that it is a lifetime commitment toward seeking to be like Christ in everything (the very way we live). That is what staying RIGHT WITH GOD is all about -- becoming more like Christ. Is that you? If not, ask Christ to forgive you and get RIGHT WITH GOD today.

This week we'll contrast our ongoing law enforcement (and/or military) training with our Christian walk and calling. Are you TRAINED FOR BATTLE? Are you prepared to be victorious in terms of spiritual WARFARE? To be sure, we are in fact in a war, both in what we do as peace officers (combating evil and protecting the sheep from the wolves that would otherwise devour them) and in our walk as born again Believers. Our study passage is one of my favorites: Psalm 144 begins "Blessed by the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle." Are you a ROD ("retired on duty") or are you trained for battle/prepared to deal with the enemy? Join us this Thursday as we take on this subject via a great hour of spiritual training, prayer and warrior fellowship!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

(1) Ron Leonard wrote to tell us about the Christian Military Fellowship (http://www.cmfhq.org/) and has asked us to be in prayer for them and our military brothers and sisters (many of whom are also LEOs). With the 4th of July upon us, it is particularly relevant.

(2) Continue to pray for my mother as she grieves the loss of my Dad and works on being the woman God would have her be without my father at her side.

(3) Pray for me as I am working a plethora of extra weekend hours this month (thus all the Thursday evening meetings).

(4) Continue to pray for this ministry and be active in forwarding our newsletters and website info to your friends and colleagues.

(5) Continue to pray for our country and our elected representatives -- many of whom are taking this Republic down a road towards socialism and away from our godly foundations.
Fly your flags this weekends folks! We who serve know all too well that our freedom isn't free.

In honor of what the 4th of July truly means, here is a great little tribute set to Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA:" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65KZIqay4E. See ya Thursday!