All Gave Some, Some Gave All

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

To say that last week’s fellowship meeting and profession-relevant Bible study was outstanding would be nothing short of an understatement. Marine, police officer and chaplain Col. Ray Fairman’s presentation was incredible, memorable, and inspirational. As previously announced, Ray and his bride made a special effort to take time out of their vacation to join us last Thursday whilst en route to cool Idaho from their home in sweltering Georgia. Trust me when I say that Col. Fairman would make a superb choice for any law enforcement and/or ministry conference speaker. That said, I’ll do my best to recap Ray’s message (below).

Speaking of recaps, I opened our meeting with a special Bible-based Memorial Day message I entitled “All Gave Some, Some Gave All” – a phrase I first viewed at the Vietnam Memorial (aka “The Wall”) many years ago in Washington DC. Understanding that it was our Savior who truly gave ALL on the cross for us, how can we best remember and honour those who gave “all” or “some” in service to our country as members of the Armed Forces? Clearly, a fellow sheepdog dying in their sin without a saving, personal relationship with Christ is NOT the way. Rather, we must – MUST do ALL we can to share the Gospel message with our fellow warriors so that they will have every opportunity to say “yes” to Christ before this life ends (thereby assuring their place with Him in eternity). Understand this – there is no such thing as second chance, ”get out of hell” pass for ANY of us who end this life without a saving relationship with Christ (see Hebrews 9:27). On the contrary, we must be ready NOW as tomorrow may very well be too late.

So how can we best accomplish this? Here is a short 3-point answer:

(1) Repent, turn from your sin and accept Christ as your Lord and Savior TODAY (see the “How to Know Christ as Savior” link right here on the left side of this web page).
(2) Dedicate yourself to radically pursue God by growing closer and closer to Christ every day through uncompromising obedience, prayer, study of His word (the Bible) and regular fellowship with other believers.
(3) Decide today to live a life without compromise – to be full-on/sold-out to Christ in spite of whatever circumstances or hardships we might be facing. This also means not justifying our actions (sin) based on what we think or feel is right (http://bible.cc/proverbs/14-12.htm) as opposed to obeying His word. Remember that we can’t “make-up” our own “gospel.” Rather, the God tells us that there is only ONE WAY to salvation. Jesus said in John 14:6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. NO ONE comes to the Father EXCEPT through Me. In short, out goal should be to one day stand before our Lord (rest assured, we will ALL stand before Christ to be judged one way or the other) and hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant…” (Matthew 25:23). In short, BE a living example to others by the way you live for Christ.

I concluded my message by sharing a segment from the book The Good Life written by Chuck Colson in which he provides a biblical perspective from the film, Saving Private Ryan. Specifically, Colson points to the pivotal moment where Captain Miller tells James Ryan, “…Earn this…!” (see http://thepoint.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/14563). Christ most certainly earned it for us -- let's live our lives in such a way as to honour His sacrifice.

The message for us on Memorial Day -- and EVERY day for that matter -- is to live a life worthy of the calling (Ephesians 4:1-6) while seeking every opportunity to share Christ with our law enforcement and military (Armed Forces) brothers and sisters. Remember that just passing-on these newsletters is an easy way to share with othes.

Greg Laurie provides some extremely relevant notes as to how the United States will figure in the “last days” (Revelation): http://www.harvest.org/get_pdf.php/1140.pdf. Be in prayer for our country!

For honour's sake: http://www.resistnet.com/forum/topics/some-gave-all-all-gave-some .


Col. Fairman then followed with an incredibly inspiring presentation in which he blended portions of his personal testimony with the Marine Corps values he lived for “forty-two years, five months and twelve days.” Ray pointed out that those same values should in fact be a central part of our law enforcement code. It should be noted that Ray added the word “Family” to the USMC principles of God, Country, Corps (family follows God in the proper order of things). Ray also revealed that God’s “call” to Adam in Genesis 2:15 to tend and keep it in reference to Eden carries the same Hebrew meaning as our own “serve and protect” ethos of today.

In addition, Col. Fairman shared the following acronym HRSMMA:

Hear about God before you read His word.
Read about God (Bible).
Study God’s word (take notes).
Meditate on His word.
Memorize His word (thereby gaining the ability to wield the Sword of the Spirit as detailed in Ephesians 6:17).
Apply God’s word to every aspect of our lives and profession.

Ray also came bearing gifts, including but not limited to copies of his books Are you Destined to Lead? and Ephesians: God’s Battle Plan for Spiritual Warfare. In return, we gave Ray a Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry polo and I’ll ship him a sweatshirt come winter.

I’ve posted a couple photos of Col. Fairman – scroll down to the bottom. Reference same, one of the photos shows Ray shaking hands with young Kyle Mair, the son of veteran Denver PD Sgt. Jim Mair. Kyle – a "chip off the old block,” was recently credited with helping save the lives of two persons who were pinned under a vehicle involved in a serious traffic accident (Kyle -- being an up and coming sheepdog -- stopped to assist instead of driving on with the sheep). Kyle plans to enter the Marines after high school and Ray spent considerable time talking to this outstanding young man about his options and what that choice will entail.

Ray’s website is the place to order his books and view a plethora of outstanding free resources – go to the SWAT link under “Christian Law Enforcement Sites” on the left side of this page.

I consider Ray to right up there with Col. Dave Grossman (a high compliment indeed) as a speaker. I’ll regularly include much more from Ray via our ongoing leadership series – stay tuned!

THIS week (06/10/10, 1900 hours, Calvary South Denver church in Littleton) I will present a profession-relevant message centered on the importance of ACCOUNTABILITY based on Proverbs 27:17 -- As Iron Sharpens Iron, So One Man (or woman) Sharpens Another. Please join us if you’re in the area and -- for those who are not -- I’ll again present a detailed recap in next week’s e-newsletter and here on the website. Be sure to PASS THE WORD by sharing this newsletter with your friends, colleagues, and others in your email address book.

Finally, don’t forget to frequently check back for the latest announcements, meeting schedule updates, and the all-important prayer requests (see posts below).

Until next week – STAY THE COURSE!