A Warrior's Narrow Way

This week's newsletter and Bible study has gone out to our worldwide list of email subscribers (and posted on Facebook as well) but here it is again in this format: "A Warrior's Narrow Way." What road are you on (narrow or wide)?

Staying the course!

MC

Blessed are the Peacekeepers?

This week's Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry/FCPO newsletter and devotional -- Blessed are the Peacekeepers? -- has gone out to our worldwide list of subscribers but, as usual, I've posted it here as well.  Lots  of news, announcements, resources and an important devotional that will come as a surprise to many of you.  Check it out and send me your feedback. 

Tomorrow I will be chartering the new Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers chapter in Castle Rock, CO (Capstone Ministry/FCPO-Castle Rock) -- prayers appreciated for this dynamic new law enforcement outreach (and please join us if you're in the area).

Speaking of Capstone, here are some pics from of our 1st joint law enforcement baptism service (pictured are Nicole Gerlach -- wearing my shirt, no less, Officer Wes Body, Lt. Adam Reeves, Officer Martin Toetz -- who forgot his shirt -- LOL).

PRAYER REQUESTS:

** The following is from Inv. Tom Stanton in MA.  Please pray.  Their son is also a LEO.


I haven't been feeling well the past few months and the doctors discovered that I developed a second form of leukemia as well as my primary leukemia had returned - virulent and deadly.  I am due to be admitted to Farber/Brigham & Women's hospital in Boston. I will be there for as long as a month and so will Eileen and son Tom. Making arrangements, it’s been hectic! Eileen has been relentless networking, filling out form after form and caring for me.  The treatment which is very dangerous, complicated, intense and will last at least a year including isolation (no visitors)' frequent treatments and check-ups, etc., etc. I will let you know more in a while. Please keep Eileen, Tom and I in your prayers and God willing next year at this time we will meet at church and go for lunch after services.



Don't forget to follow us on Facebook:  The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry/FCPO-Denver.

Stay safe on the street and bold in Christ..

Michael "MC" Williams
Police Det. Lieutenant and Chaplain
Director, The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
Nat. Board Vice President, Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers - USA

To Serve & Protect

We had outstanding attendance at last week's pre-Easter study where I shared a message entitled, "Cops Pounding Nails." As usual, I've posted my recap below -- feel free to use/adapt to your own studies and devotions.

This week our own James "Jimmy" Wattles will be teaching a Bible study he's entitled "To Serve & Protect." Invite your spouse and a colleague and join us if you're in the Denver area. I'll of course post Jim's recap in next week's newsletter for our national and world-wide readership. We start at 7 PM at Calvary South Denver in Littleton (not sure which room yet -- just follow the signs).
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Cops Pounding Nails -- An Easter Message

Last week I gave my annual profession-relevant Easter message via an expository, inductive study of Mark 15 that followed my obligatory viewing of The Passion of the Christ. In addition to our primary text in Mark, I strongly encourage you to take the time to review the related passages in the other three gospels (Matthew, Luke and John).

What is the application for us today? It was a 1st century SWAT team that came to arrest an innocent Jesus on a trumped-up warrant (no probable cause), after which our Lord faced false-charges, perjury and abuse before "courts" in three different jurisdictions; 1st century LEOs inflicting excruciating torture (imagine being sent to a training or academy class that certifies you to inflict maximum punishment -- scourging -- to a point just short of death); and finally cops nailing our Savior to a cross where He would take on the sins of the very officers who placed Him there.

That there was a man named "Jesus" who was tried, tortured and executed on a cross and placed in a supposedly "escape proof" tomb that was found empty three days later is a historical FACT that is not in dispute even by the most "learned" (sic) of skeptics (see Is the Story of Easter Really True). However, this rock-solid EVIDENCE (as LEOs we're all about the evidence) is a matter of history and not of faith. On this S. Michael Houdman of www.GotQuestions.org writes, "There is a big difference in stating that Jesus of Nazareth was put to death by Pontius Pilate in the first century and his body is still missing to this day, and saying that Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, through the predetermined plan of God died a substitutionary death for humanity, and was resurrected to restore spiritual life to dead, helpless sinners so that they may have eternal life. The first statement is history, the second is the gospel. And the latter requires faith to believe."

The bottom line? It was us -- peace officers/warriors -- that nailed our Savior to a cross. He allowed us (yes -- you and I and not just our counterparts in AD 33) to torture and murder Him so that He could bear our sin and shame on that humiliating instrument of pain and death. God's love, grace and patience for those of us He has called to serve and protect (Romans 13:1-4) is nothing short of miraculous and a testament of God's love and mercy. Moreover, it was a police officer of Jesus' day -- a Roman Centurion standing at the foot of the cross and exclaiming his faith in light of overwhelming evidence -- that is generally considered to be the first Gentile convert to what we call "Christianity" (Matthew 27:54)!

California officer Michael Asplund wrote an outstanding piece that is the perfect accompaniment to this study: Pounding Nails. Please take the time to read and apply it to your life. The message of Easter is truly, "Three nails, three days, ONE WAY (the ONLY way) to God."

Like the Centurion (a cop and the namesake for this ministry) at the cross, my hope and prayer is that you too will examine the evidence and respond in faith. How? Scroll down the left side of this website to links under How Can I Be Saved (aka True "Officer Safety". I implore you -- repent of your sin and turn to the ONLY One who can save you. As we say on a felony stop, "DO IT NOW!" The consequences of saying "yes" or "no" to Christ are both sure and eternal! Feel free to contact me if I can assist in any way.
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National News, Prayer Requests & Announcements...

...are posted here on our website (scroll down to next post) and updated regularly. This newsletter will also be re-posted on our Facebook pages (Links to same on left side -- don't forget to "LIKE" and share with us there). That said, here are just a few more pressing announcements.

(1) Apologetics (aka "defending the faith with sound biblical doctrine") Corner:

Our website lists a host of excellent apologetics resources (scroll down left side to "Defending the Faith/Defending the Truth". That said, there is an excellent video documentary on the false/heretical "Emergent Church" movement that I highly recommend. Click on The Real Roots of the Emergent Church.

(2) On Tim Tebow and Living our Faith:

Retired officer-turned-pastor Bill Rhetts has put together an excellent short video teaching that he's entitled The Tim Tebow Hysteria, the Media Frenzy & the Rev 3:20 Church. Check it out!

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DENVER AREA NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

(1) Denver-Area Meeting Schedules and related events for both POFCI-CO and FCPO-Denver are posted here on this website (left-hand side near the top) and are updated regularly.

(2) The SEAL of God Event:

Chad Williams, a former Navy SEAL who became a born-again Christian during his time of service, will be speaking at Calvary South Denver in Littleton on May 19th, starting at 7 PM. Chad has authored a book entitled SEAL of God and is now serving as the high school ministry leader at Greg Laurie's church in Irvine, CA.

Chad will share his powerful testimony and experiences as a SEAL along with a message of salvation and the truth of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross.

The event is FREE and we encourage you to bring your unsaved family members, friends and colleagues (LEOs and combat military personnel in particular).

More details to follow (or just contact me for further).


(3) "SamKwanDo and the Dojo of Truth"

Yes, a little humor there in reference to Pastor Sam Park (a Korean-born martial artist) and our powerful Tuesday night TRUTH services at Calvary South Denver. Highly recommended! Quite a few officers and their spouses who are a part of our TCLEM/FCPO fellowship also attend this service and both Diana and I serve there weekly. Great worship, powerful Bible teaching and an opportunity to say "yes" or otherwise get right with Christ every week. The teachings are also available online (email me for details).

(4) Men's Prayer Breakfast! Calvary South Denver, 8 AM, April 21st, 2012.

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Time to go "10-42 and hit the sack! Let's continue to stay battle focused and fully engaged in "the fight" while at the same time always training hard and exercising solid officer safety in the field.

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)

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.
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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


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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.

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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)