A Police Officer's Father's Day

Getting caught up on posts here (again, best way to get these is via email -- thecenturionministry@gmail.com -- and/or my social media feeds).  Here then is...
"A Police Officer's Father's Day"

A Cop's (Warrior's) Father's Day

This study is applicable to not only those of us serving in law enforcement but father's in general: A Cop's (Warrior/Sheepdog) Father's Day.  Pass it on.

MC

God, Cops and Dads

Here's your special Father's Day (dad-focused) Centurion newsletter and Bible study: God, Cops and Dads.

Courageous Fatherhood

Here's our most recent newsletter (as always, they go out first by email and social media): Courageous Fatherhood.

A Cop's Father's Day

This week's newsletter and devotional/Bible study brings with it the sad news that our Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers Executive Director, Lamar Moore, has gone home to be with the Lord after being hospitalized for the past two months. Yes, God has heard your prayers -- Lamar is no longer in pain and is rejoicing in the presense of our One true Father -- talk about a great Father's Day! I've posted Lamar's funeral arrangements in the newsletter for those close enough to make it. Meanwhile, please be in prayer for his widow (Miss Vicky) and family.

Click on "A Cop's Father's Day".

Blessings!

MC

Happy Father's Day from MC and The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry

Happy Father's Day, fellow-servant warriors!  The RECAP of my Father's Day Bible study at last week's FCPO-Denver fellowship is in this week's NEWSLETTER & Devotional.  This week (Thursday, June 21), we'll be at Calvary Chapel AURORA where I'll be teaching a message entitled "God's SWAT Team."  Bring your spouse, invite a colleague, and join us.  For the rest of our worldwide audience, I'll post a RECAP of that message here with next week's newsletter.  Stay tuned! 

Courageous Cops, Courageous Fathers: TCLEM/FCPO Newsletter

Here's the link to this week's newsletter and law enforcement devotional/Bible study (for all those who have not signed up to receive it in your email):  Click on  Newsletter for Week of June 10, 2012.  I've also updated the local (Denver-area) meeting schedule (look left) and the prayer requests that came with last week's newsletter (previous post -- scroll down).  Please feel free to email  me your prayer requests, group announcements, etc. -- will post them here as appropriate.

If you're in the Denver-metro area, please join us this Thursday, June 14th, at Calvary South Denver   starting at 7 PM in the Multi-Purpose room (straight ahead as you come through the doors -- right next to info counters).  I'll be teaching a special Father's Day message directly aimed at both fathers in general and more specifically for LEOs who are also dads.  Bring your spouse and invite a colleague!  Finally, don't forget that we'll be at Calvary Chapel Aurora on the 21st!

Happy Father's Day!

I just wanted to take a moment to wish all my fellow dads out there a very happy Father's Day. I know that a great many of us had to work today but I also pray that you MADE time to spend with your kids and families. Way too many of us -- myself included -- made our work the be all-end all (essentially a "god" and certainly a form of SIN) of our lives and have paid dearly for doing so. Yes, our God-ordained (Romans 13) profession is a calling from the Lord. However, it should NEVER be first in our lives. The proper, biblical order of things is God first, family second, ministry third, and then our work. Law enforcement is indeed a form of ministry but it does not replace being in fellowship with other believers (church, corporate Bible study like ours, etc.) or even involvement with other ministry. Praise God -- it is NOT too late to change and allow Him to restore what the "locusts have eaten" (Joel 2:25). Turn (repent) TODAY, ask our heavenly Father to forgive you, and adopt a biblical worldview. If you don't already know His Son as your Lord and Savior, then do so today (see the "How to be Saved" and related links to your left).

Speaking of law enforcement dads, the makers of Facing the Giants and Fireproof --Sherwood Baptist Church in Georgia -- are working hard to complete their latest film, Courageous. Sherwood Pastor Michael Catt said that his congregation is making Courageous because they believe, "as fathers go, so goes the family, and so goes the church, and so goes the nation. The nation's future depends on responsible fatherhood. If we do not address the issues of fathers, we can never see revival in our churches, we can never see men live up to the roles that they are supposed to live up to, and we will lose this generation forever."

Courageous is the story of four police officers (sheriff's deputies) and their relationships with their children. "Through a series of events these men realize that it's not enough to just 'be there' -- they have to be godly fathers, committed fathers, fathers who invest time and energy into the lives of their children," explained Catt.

I encourage you to learn more about Courageous by checking out their website (I've added a link on our site): http://www.courageousthemovie.com/. The movie will be out next year -- make plans to see it.

I'll post the latest e-newsletter later this week but please check back here frequently for the latest meeting updates (yes, we're "on" again this Thursday -- 1900 hours at Calvary South Denver in Littleton) and prayer requests.

I'll leave you with the following NIV Bible verses dealing with fathers and fatherhood (they make for a great end-of-Father's Day devotional):

1 Chronicles 29:17
I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity ...

Deuteronomy 1:29-31
Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place."

Joshua 1:9
...Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Malachi 4:6
He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.

Psalm 103:13
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.

Proverbs 3:11-12
My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

Proverbs 3:32
For the LORD detests a perverse man but takes the upright into his confidence.

Proverbs 10:9
The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out. (NIV)

Proverbs 17:24
A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

Proverbs 17:27
A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered.

Proverbs 23:22
Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

Proverbs 23:24
The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him.

Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Hebrews 12:7
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?


Stay the course!

As Iron Sharpens Iron -- A Lesson in Accountability

Fellow Paladins:

So how goes the “battle” (biblically speaking of course – see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL7cL_p5_84)? Rest assured, the battle we face in law enforcement goes hand-in-hand with the spiritual warfare we are engaged in daily. That said, part of girding (preparing for combat) ourselves for the battle should be regular fellowship with other believers – both with fellow Christian officers and as part of your local fellowship – aka “church.” Last week’s study centered around that very topic and the issue of biblical accountability. Here’s the recap:

Our foundational text was Proverbs 27:17 -- As iron sharpens iron, so one man (or woman) sharpens another. God’s infallible and inerrant word, the Bible, calls us to be accountable both to Him and to one another (fellow believers – aka those who have turned from their sin and trusted Christ as Lord and Savior – the definition of a “Christian”). Moreover, the concept should not be lost on any of us who have been through a military boot camp and/or a police academy. The issue is also central to what we do as a ministry and fellowship. One of the major reasons we should be meeting regularly with fellow Christian law enforcement personnel is so that we can be lovingly accountable to one another. Of course, accountability involves both the willingness to be held accountable and trusting those we are accountable to.

Finally, let’s not forget that we are ultimately accountable to God above all else: Hebrews 4:12-13 (NLT) says, For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the one to whom we are accountable; Romans 14:12 says, So then each of you shall give an account of himself to God. Of course, knowing that we must one day answer to a just God should be a powerful incentive for holiness and obedience -- For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each may one day receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10).

The following links provide for a very solid overview on biblical accountability and make for an outstanding individual devotional study on the topic:
(1) http://www.middletree.net/accountability.asp
(2) http://encouragingbiblequotes.com/verseshonestya.html
(3) http://www.gotquestions.org/accountability.html
(4) http://www.intouch.org/site/c.cnKBIPNuEoG/b.4944113/k.9535/Life_Principle_25__What_the_Bible_Says__Accountability_Relationships.htm
To whom are YOU accountable?

This week we will dig into our next chapter on Christian law enforcement leadership using veteran Marine and police officer Col. Ray Fairman’s Are You Destined to Lead? Mission Ready Leadership Essentials from the “Ol’ Gunner” as a template. If you are local or visiting, please join us and invite a friend or colleague for this thoroughly biblical and profession-relevant series. As always, I’ll post a recap in next week’s newsletter and here on our website for all those outside our area. Stay tuned!

TRAINING OP:

Chief Jake Shirk, the Monument (CO) PD, and a number of faith-based organizations are sponsoring a one-day church safety and security seminar on Saturday, June 19th, from 0800-1600 at 8710 Lexington Drive in Colorado Springs, CO. Yes, you'll discover it is a LDS church but this is not a LDS event (and perhaps you’ll have an opportunity to witness the true Gospel to our LDS friends). Visit the Monument Police Department website at http://www.monumentpd.org/ for more information and RSVP Chief Shirk at jshirk@pd.townofmonument.net or 719-481-3253. If you plan on attending, simply advise that you are with The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry or your local church when you check in. Don’t forget to “carry” when you’re off-duty -- especially when at church!

MEETING SCHEDULE updates & latest PRAYER REQUESTS are posted and updated regularly here on our website. In fact, the latest post is here now -- immediately follows this one (below). Check back frequently and please time the time to pray for our hurting brothers and sisters.

Finally, let me take this opportunity to wish all the father’s out there a very special Father’s Day. As some will remember, my Dad went to be with the Lord just before Father's Day last year so don't forget to wish your own dads a happy Father's Day. Moreover, strive to be the loving and godly dad that our own heavenly Father has called you to be. I’ll have more on this next week but, for now, check out: http://christianity.about.com/od/prayersverses/qt/fatherbiblevers.htm and http://www.christianitytoday.com/holidays/father/. Spend the day with your families if you can.

Let’s be sure to wear both our physical and spiritual body armor (Ephesians 6:10-18) so that we can stay in the fight and finish strong!