Undeniable Evidence (TCLEM Newsletter) and FCPO-Denver Chartering Announcement

Fellow Warriors:

Despite another incredibly rough week/Easter weekend for us in law enforcement (we're now up to 63 LODD so far in 2011 -- 30 from felonious gunfire), our hope -- our ONLY hope -- is in Christ and as such I hope you had a glorious celebration of our Savior's resurrection (He has risen -- He has riden INDEED!).
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MESSAGE RECAP: The Cop at the Cross

What is particularly noteworthy for us in law enforcement as it relates to Easter is the huge role police officers played in Christ's torture, crucifixion and resurrection. Yes -- police officers. Both those who arrested our Lord and those who crucified Him and then guarded His tomb fulfilled the role of police officers in Jesus' day. The Roman centurions and those under their command were both soldiers and peace keepers. Moreover, the Bible reveals a number of points that leads us to an inescable conclusion: that a number of the police officers present for Christ's death on the cross came to believe (life-changing/life-saving belief) in who He truly was -- God in the flesh. To support this position, check out the following eight main pieces of scripture-based EVIDENCE leading to the conversion of the centurion (cop) at the cross:

(1) Luke 23:23 and Matthew 27:24: Pilate (judge) declares Christ innocent but has him tortured and killed (murdered) anyway! The centurion who witnessed Christ's death was also very likely present for this miscarriage of justice and took note that condemning someone that the supreme "judge" of the land pronounced as innocent was was an exceedingly unusual event even in light of "typical" Roman chacanery.

(2) Luke 23:28: The centurion and his officers witness the concern that the unrecognizable (due to the extreme torture Christ was subjected to at the hands of other soldiers), condemned man displayed for a group of women. Given the totality of circumstances, they were undoubtedly dumbfounded by the repeated evidence that our Lord showed more concern for others -- and women in particular -- than he did for himself.

(3) Mark 15:23 reveals the fact that Christ refused to drink the wine mixed with myrrh (a strong narcotic) which would have certainly dulled his extreme pain (our Lord had work to do on the cross and would not allow Himself to be dulled by drugs). Anyone else would have begged for that relief. Again -- compelling EVIDENCE!

(4) Luke 23:34-43: Christ forgives the officers who have brutalized Him and then forgives the thief who repents and turns to Him as they both hang in agony on their crosses! This would have been shocking to the centurion and the offices with him -- such things had never occurred before (it is estimated that the Romans had already crucified some 30,000 men during the time of their occupation in Palestine).

(5) Luke 23:44 reveals the darkness that suddenly envelops them when it had only moments before been broad daylight (the "sixth hour" is NOON)! Again, the evidence was clear, overwhelming and undeniable.

(6) In Matthew 27:46 we learn that the centurion and his men hear our Lord cry out to the Father -- a clear fulfillment of David's prophesy in Psalm 22 revealing that Jesus was expressing the agony of separation with God the Father -- yet another powerful piece of evidence.

(7) From John 19:30 and Luke 23:46, we see that the centurion hears our Lord deliver a shout of completion. Not the expected "...I am finished" but rather a commanding, "It is finished!" Those present had never heard anything like that before or since.

(8) Finally, the centurion and the other peace officers experienced the violent, rock-splitting earthquake described in Matthew 27:51. In Jewish culture, earthquakes were a well-accepted sign of the presence of God and a Roman centurion's training would have prepared him in advance for such beliefs.

The evidence presented to the centurion and his men was overwhelming and undeniable: the man they had tortured, mocked and murdered (what we today would clearly interpret as an illegal order to kill an innocent man) was the Son of God (Matthew 27:54)! Note that the context in the Greek is exceedingly clear -- not "a son of God" or "a son of a god" but rather that Christ WAS God.

Based on the evidence, we see that it was a Roman peace officer(s) who is the first Gentile convert to Christ after His death. Note further that the evidence does not end there -- the resurrection reveals even more insurrmountable evidence (a message for another day...stay tuned)!

What about you? In the face of undeniable evidence, are you ready to finally say "yes" to the risent Savior? If so, go to the left side of this page and scroll down to the "Are you a TRUE Christian (How to be RIGHT with God)?" links.

* Special thanks to Dr. Stephen Davey for notes taken from his sermon on this topic.
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DENVER-AREA NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS:

(1) As previously announced, our Denver-area fellowship group will become an officially chartered Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers (FCPO) chapter this Thursday (April 28th) starting at 6:30 PM at Calvary Chapel South Denver (www.calvarycsd.org) in Littleton. A free dinner (to you guys anyway :) will be served and FCPO Exec. Director Lamar Moore from Tennesee will be sharing with us. All are invited but do me a huge favor and shoot me an RSVP to fullarmor911@yahoo.com if you're coming.

(2) The latest PRAYER REQUESTS and the FCPO-Denver MEETING SCHEDULE have been posted here on the website (scroll down) and are updated on a near-daily basis -- please check back frequently.
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That's it for this week's newsletter but I'll likely have another "APB" that I'll send out later this week as part of testing out our pending new email system...stay tuned.

Be safe out there and watch your brothers' and sisters' backs while at the same time carrying out the Great Commission (command, not suggestion) to the mission field of law enforcement.