"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." (1 Timothy 2:1-2 NIV)
Several children from our community were talking to one another at one of our Wednesday night "pot-luck" dinners recently and I overheard them refer to our police chief as "Chief Bubba". That sounded so nice to hear children speak with colloquial admiration for a good man who serves our community with honor. We have also overheard folks call Charles Castell "Mr. Bubba." Tell the truth, don't you just love living in a town where we hear such kind expressions toward people who deserve respect?
This past Saturday was another eventful day for our community as we officially dedicated our Fire House. A large crowd of people came out, and we all enjoyed a time of being better acquainted with each other as well as the very nice fire station. We had some nice finger foods and a delicious cake to help mark this important achievement for Cedar Key. It is also worth mentioning that this new fire station would not have become a reality if it had not been for the donated time and labor of our volunteer firefighters. The high moment of the ceremony was the unveiling of a plaque honoring long-time firefighter and Mayor Quitman Hodges.
It is proper and a duty of Christians to pray for those who are in positions of authority over us in civil matters. In addition to rulers, this includes those who wear the police badge and those who wear the firefighter's badge. These people deserve our prayers because they are involved with work that is for the public good and they place themselves in life-threatening situations.
Good police work requires constant vigilance while maintaining a sense of goodwill with members of the community. We expect people in law enforcement to keep our community free of crime. When that is not possible, we expect our town to be nearly crime free. Both police and firefighters must often "fight fire with fire" in order to eradicate the source of the problem.
The NBC today show of June 25, 2002 carried an interview with a firefighter from Show Low, Arizona. This town north of Phoenix suffered from a runaway forest fire that destroyed 350,000 acres and over 400 homes. Jim Paxon, a spokeperson for the fire department explained that they helped save the town further destruction by setting fire to cactus bushes that surrounded the town. This fire wall helped to dramatically reduce the danger to the town. Jesus explained the principle of using strong measures against the destructive nature of sin. "And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." (Matthew 5:30 NIV) Firefighters know they must sometimes literally fight fire with fire, and police understand that they too must use drastic action to reduce the level of perpetrators of crime. The less criminals and otherwise rebellious people there are walking the streets, the more peace and safety citizens can enjoy. The idea of having a community where the only people living there are law-abiding, God-fearing citizens is only a dream since we live in a world full of sinners. Anything we can do individually to help turn a young person away from a path of crime will help solve this problem. Many young people choose a path of laziness and crime because no adult ever shows them that there are people who truly love and care for them. We can all help our community by teaching our kids that there are wonderful freedoms in our country, and at the same time we have individual responsibilites to work and help make things better for others. Police and firefighters often must risk their lives to save the life of another human. What motivates a person to offer their life up for someone – when perhaps a few minutes earlier, they said, "those are the laziest people I`ve ever seen?" God teaches us that love is the greatest force in the universe. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8 NIV) Some people in police or firefighting work might go through the motions with the motivation of professionalism. They may just want to be recognized as the best cop or the best fireman.
Our hearts are touched again and again when our memories are awakened to those awful events on 9/11. However, even through all that death and destruction we remember the images of many police and firefighters doing everything they possibly could to help save lives. Many of these people literally gave their lives to save others. This kind of willing sacrifice for neighbors and even enemies is the highest form of love.
God is calling us to enjoy the best possible life by devoting ourselves to serve others. Christ made it possible for us to enter the Kingdom of God by accepting the truth that Jesus of Nazareth is truly the long awaited Messiah or Christ. Christ came to save us from the guilt of our sins and furthermore to make it possible for us to stand before God as people who have done no sin. Jesus took our sins upon Himself. We can receive this wonderful forgiveness of sins by believing with all our heart that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross to take away our sins, that He was buried, but on the third day He rose from the dead and now is back in Heaven. Believe and obey Christ for eternal salvation. Confess your faith in Christ Jesus, repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Lord will add you to the church - which is the spiritual Body of Christ. You are invited to the services of the Church of Christ at the corner of 3rd and E Streets. Write me with any questions or comments. David Binkley, Sr., P.O. Box 186, Cedar Key, FL 32625 or E-mail at dgbinkley@aol.com. You may also request to receive the daily WORD OF THE DAY by e-mail. Check out our web site at www.cedarkeychurchofchrist.com. | 