On Caleb, Chris Dewey, and More

Greetings from a very hot/humid (heat index of 110 +) Dallas where I’m finishing up a training assignment. No offense to my Texas brothers and sisters but I’m looking forward to getting home to Colorado with our cool nights and dry air. Many may not know that I started my law enforcement career in the Lone Star state and that I come back frequently to visit family…but Dallas in August??! “Lord have mercy!”

The Latest News on Dep. Chris Dewey -- UPDATED!!

Here is the funeral 411: Deputy Chris Dewey's services will be on Wednesday, August 18, 2010 starting at 11:00 am at the Living Word Christian Center located at 9201 75th Ave North, Brookland Park, MN 55443. The Interment will be at the Crystal Lake Cemetery 3816 Penn Ave North, Mpls, MN. Here is the obit with a page to leave tributes and support: http://carlsonfuneral.frontrunnerpro.com/runtime/77/runtime.php?SiteId=77&NavigatorId=11670&viewOpt=dpaneOnly&ItemId=506891&op=tributeMemorialCandles
I have been asked to participate in the funeral and have my last-minute flight arrangements (keep me in prayer on this). More importanly, let’s keep Emily, the Dewey family, and our brother’s colleagues in prayer.

Many of us are grieving hard for Chris and others who "gave all" and have gone down in the line. However, our loving Savior gives us great assurance and encouragement for those who -- like Chris -- know Him as Lord: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 says, Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

In honor of Chris, Terry Vanderbush sent me the following: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjxJxwHNNlw&feature=related.

We will be meeting as scheduled tonight (Thursday, 8/12/10), 7 PM, at Calvary South Denver in Littleton. Our very own Erv Meyer will be teaching on Caleb -- a true godly warrior in the purest sense. Please plan on joining us if you are in the Denver area. As always, I’ll post a recap for all our readers in next week’s newsletter.

Speaking of which, here is the RECAP of my teaching last Thursday on A Cop’s Testimony:

As peace officers, we understand the word “testimony” from the perspective of what we do when called to the stand in court: we testify to our knowledge of what occurred during a particular incident. Likewise, a Christian’s testimony typically entails a verbal or written narrative of our lives before we knew Christ as Savior, how God saved us, what He has done for us, and how He has changed our lives through a personal relationship with the Son. It is also part of our witness of God’s power in our lives and how the Holy Spirit makes Jesus real to and through us. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in a Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth -- Acts 1:8.

God’s plan in scripture (God’s word as revealed in the Bible) is for us to share with others the Good News that Jesus Christ loves them so much that He paid the penalty for their sins by dying FOR them on the cross and then rising from the dead. Scripture also provides a plethora of testimony “templates” for us. Among the greatest is the story of a pagan king who came to know that the God of Israel was indeed the God of all. King Nebuchadnezzar actually shared a portion of his testimony through an announcement that he sent out to the whole of the known world: I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me -- Daniel 4:2. Like Nebuchadnezzar, we too should seek to glorify God all over the world through our own testimony. 1 Chronicles 16:8 tells us, Oh give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name and make known His deeds among the peoples. Psalm 107:2 reads, Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy.

Clearly, it is a powerful thing when we can testify that God has forgiven our sins and changed our lives through a saving, personal relationship with His Son. Moreover, God wants your testimony to be strong so that you can live unashamed before God and men, and give honor and glory to Him. He wants our lives to show His power by the way we live.

Paul’s own testimony before a pagan ruler provides another set of outstanding templates to use in putting together our own testimonies -- read Acts 26:1-29 and 22:1-21. In addition, we need to remember that our testimony is not about anything we have done, but rather what God has done for us. But God demonstrates His own love towards us, that that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. -- Romans 5:8.

Finally, I pointed out that before we can have an effective testimony, we must insure that we are truly walking in obedience (we cannot be riding the proverbial fence with one foot in God’s Kingdom and the other in Satan’s -- aka “the world’s”): see Ephesians 5:5-6.

Every Christian has a testimony and, as Christian cops, God has called us to an even higher calling and purpose. That said, what is YOUR testimony? 　

ANNOUNCEMENTS!

(1) I’ve posted an updated meeting schedule and the latest round of prayer requests following this post here on our website. Please check back frequently.

(2) Christian Cops on the Radio!

I’ll be on the radio this Friday (8/13) starting at noon CST as part of Tulsa PD Capt. Travis Yates’s (Ten-Four Ministries) new Centurion Radio program. Go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ten-four-ministries for details!

In addition, retired LAPD Dep. Chief Bob Vernon was recently on Focus on the Family radio program . Go to http://listen.family.org/recentdaily/ and check out the August 5th and 6th broadcasts.

(3) The 2010 Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers (FCPO) National Conference will take place September 10-12 in Gulfport, MS. See the FCPO link here on our website for complete details…please join us!

(4) Our inaugural Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry BBQ is set for this coming Saturday (8/14) at our home in Highlands Ranch. I’ll have flyers at this week’s meeting or shoot me an email for details. Diana and I need a head-count so please RSVP by Friday.

(5) Finally, thanks to all who submitted letters and email to the Colorado Parole Board regarding William Graham. That said, can anyone tell me what the outcome was? The results are not yet posted on the DOC website. Let me know and thanks.

Thanks to all who have been praying for me. Let’s stay strong in Christ, my fellow sheepdogs!