The Rob Parks Story -- A Cop's Testimony: TCLEM/FCPO-Denver Newsletter for Week of March 19, 2012

We had a great turnout for last week's monthly foray to Aurora where I taught on the subject of "God, Cops & the Military." My RECAP follows below. As always, feel free to adapt for your own studies, devotions and your life in general.

This week's (Thursday, March 22nd, 7 PM, Calvary South Denver in Littleton) "Cop Church" fellowship will feature Denver PD Officer Rob Parks who will share his unique testimony and a biblical view of police marriages. If you're in the Denver area, bring your spouse, invite a colleague and join us for a great time of profession-relevant Bible study, prayer and outstanding servant-warrior fellowship. I'll of course post a detailed recap for our world-wide readership in next week's newsletter and of course we encourage you to pass on these newsletters to others on your email lists.
______________________________________________

Message RECAP: God, Cops & the Military


When God called me to lead an outreach to share the Gospel with my fellow servant-warriors (police, deputies, investigators, corrections, combat military personnel, etc.), my study of His inerrant Word, the Bible, revealed a plethora of EVIDENCE (as cops we're all about the evidence) that it is unquestionably, among many other things, a military and police "policy and procedure manual." Moreover, the signature passage for The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry -- Romans 13:1-7 -- provides our commission as God's ordained "ministers for good and a terror against evil." In fact, a paraphrase of the first four verses of this passage would rightfully read, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities (which includes but is not limited to law enforcement). For God establishes ALL government and law enforcement authorities, and the police officer is appointed by God. Therefore whoever disobeys the government and its enforcement officers resists the ordinances and laws of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For the police are not a terror to those who obey the law and do good, but to those who do evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the police? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For the police officer is God's minister to you for good and a terror against evil. The officer does not bear the sword (firearms in today's world) in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath (including the death penalty) on evil doers. 1 Peter 2:13-17 conveys a similar message.

Secondly, many wrongly point to the word "kill" as translated in the King James Version of the Bible (Thou shalt not kill -- 6th Commandment, Exodus 20) as a prohibition against law enforcement and military service. However, the correct translation from the original Greek and Hebrew is actually MURDER, not "kill" (see the excellent GotQuestions.org article on same). Accordingly, the whole of Scripture directs God's servant-warriors to righteously stamp out evil and evil doers in accordance with His direction and will (and the law of the land).

Thirdly, is God calling us to obey the government, our supervisors, commanding officers, etc. without question or when asked to do something evil or unethical? Definitely NOT! Yes, Paul wrote Romans 13:1-7 when Roman Emperor Nero -- one of the most vile despots in history -- was in power and killing Christians in the most horrendous of ways. However, the whole context of scripture reveals that we can and even must resist authorities who compel us to go against God's Word (God establishes the government but those in authority still have to free will to govern biblically -- or not (sin). LAPD officer-turned-minister Bill Rhetts has an outstanding short video on this topic that I highly recommend. See Law Enforcement's Misused Verses.

Finally, many in our profession wrongly believe that because God has ordained us as His "ministers for good and a terror against evil," we are somehow granted a "get out of hell" card and a "free pass" into Heaven. WRONG! God is clear in His Word that spending eternity with Him comes ONLY from acknowledging and repenting of our sin and entering into a personal, life-saving/life-changing RELATIONSHIP (not "religion") with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. Accordingly, if you have not yet made a decision for Christ, let me again urge you to do so now. Simply go to the left side of this website and scroll down to the links under HOW CAN I BE SAVED (True "Officer Safety") to learn how you can be obtain the gift of eternal life in Christ.

Please take a few minutes to review the following articles on this incredibly important concept and then prayerfully seek the Holy Spirit's guidance in applying it to your lives as Christian LEOs, military personnel and others in authority:

* God's word on the military

* Christians serving in Combat

* God, Government and Law Enforcement


______________________________________________


News, Prayer Requests & Announcements...


...are posted on here on our website (scroll down to next post) and updated regularly.

Please respond to God's COMMAND ("The Great Commission" -- not "The Great Suggestion") to share the "Good News" of the Gospel by passing on our newsletter emails and website info, inviting a colleague to church or a police Bible study in your area, taking them to lunch or -- as stated above -- to see a warrior-relevant film like Act of Valor. Since it's now out on video, we also strongly suggest passing along the Courageous DVD or other resource available via the Courageous website.

____________________________________________

That's it for this week -- time to hit the sack for a few hours before again going "10-8" and getting back in the fight. Don't forget to exercise solid officer safety out there while at the same time being bold, radical followers of Christ our Captain. As always, please feel free to CONTACT me if I can be of service.

Det. Sgt. & Chaplain M.C. Williams
Director, The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
Vice President, Fellowship of Christiain Peace Officers - USA (www.FCPO.org)