TWO VITAL THINGS...

1.  THE PEACE KEEPER'S PRAYER               

(LIFE IS ARBITRARY AND CANNOT BE AVOIDED...
Our Commander-In-Chief is merciful to us,
He makes provision…
WHEN WE REQUEST IT AS WE ARE INSTRUCTED TO DO!)

(Amplified and expanded from Matt.6:8-13 by DRS)
Our Commander-In-Chief, Creator of us all, I give this, my life,
    back to you... So that I can truly be your Peace Keeper...
        and not just your property...
Fulfill your needs, of all you need to receive from me,
    by giving to me the following...
Give me your kingdom's rule and reign right here inside me...
    and all around me...
Give me your will... Your plan in operation inside me...
    and all around me...
Give to me all I need for this day... My daily provision...
    all I need to cope with the arbitrariness of life in this world...
        and all I need to be successful in this assignment upon which
            I am about to embark...
Forgive me where I have fallen short of your desires and
    instructions for me, and to me, in exactly the same manner
        that I forgive others who have fallen short in relation
                to me...
Lead me, guide me, so that I not fall into temptation...
    teach me about temptation and traps so that I can recognize
        them and avoid them...
Deliver me, keep me free from evil in all of it's forms...
    teach me about evil so that I can recognize it... Avoid it...
       put it down... And eliminate it...
Enlarge my territory... Your affect upon me... Your affect
    upon this world through me... And keep me in your company
        so that I not cause unnecessary pain...
For the kingdom, the rule and reign is yours... Not mine...
The power, the can do for all things is yours...  Not mine...
The glory, all success and all credit for goodness, is yours...    
    not mine...
I have nothing that you did not give to me already...
I will not receive anything good unless you give it to me...
    for you are the source of all things good and useful...
It has been this way forever... and it will continue to be this way forever!!!   
So let it be as I have spoken it,
    your will performed in this life you have given to me!!!...
        keeping me safe and successful in the process of it!!!
                    Amen!!! (So let it be!!!)

When we pray this way, we should follow it with a positive confession...

2.  A PEACE KEEPER'S CONFESSION

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue..."
Proverbs 18:21a (NAS)

To "confess" means to acknowledge. When you confess the Word of
God (what the the Bible says), you are acknowledging the power (the can do)
and truth (the reality) of that Word in your life. The following is a 'confession' of
faith for Peace Keepers!  The scriptures it was taken from are noted
within the text. It would be good material to always have with you, in
your thoughts and in your heart.  Think on it... Use it to be a help to you in
what you have to face...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A PEACE KEEPER'S CONFESSION

I am a PEACE KEEPER for Almighty God! God has called me and
placed me in this position of authority. He is my COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
because I work as His servant for the good of all people (Romans 13:1-4).

I have confidence in my ability to carry out my duties because God
has given me His Spirit as my Instructor and Guide, and the mind of
Christ, my Eternal Captain, so that I may know His will (1 Corinthians
2:10-16).  I call upon God and He gives me wisdom to know how to
handle every situation that I encounter (James 1:5).

My God is my protection. He guards me as I come and go from my
assignments and patrols (Psalm 121:7-8). His faithfulness is my shield
and buckler (wrapping, wrapped in Him) (Psalm 91:4).
The Word of God (which is the Sword of the Spirit) is my primary weapon
for attacking evil (Ephesians 6:17); when I speak it, it protects my life
(Proverbs 18:21a)(Mark 11:23-24) and brings good results. No harm will
come to me, for God's angels protect me as I work (Psalm 91:10-11) and
I am more than a conqueror through Christ (Romans 8:37-39).

My God is the defense of my life, so I fear no one (Psalm 27:1).
He trains my hands for when I have to fight (Psalm 144:1). I
will not be afraid of ambush during the night or the weapons that
come by day (Psalm 91:5-7). When I come upon trouble, God will be
with me and rescue me (Psalm 91:14-15).

If anyone attacks me, they will be defeated. No weapon that has been
made to be used against me shall succeed (Isaiah 54:14-17). When I
call upon Almighty God, the Lord, I am saved from my enemies
(Psalm 18:3). He empowers me to fight against a group of
assailants and to leap over walls during a chase (Psalm 18:29)!

 I WILL return to my place of rest, (Psalm 23), at the end of every tour of
duty, for I shall not die. I will LIVE and tell of the works of the Lord, my
Lord, my Almighty God, my COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF (Psalm 118:17)!
With a long life He will satisfy me (Psalm 91:16)!  AMEN!
(Original written by Denise of CopDevotionals, Amplified by Chaplain
D. R. Staton, VBPD and Blackwater Tactical Weekly.  Amplified and
used by permission of Denise the original author.  You may subscribe
to CopDevotionals at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/copdevotionals.)
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I am currently reading "MARINES IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN" by Richard S. Lowry.
All week I have been reading reports of the deaths and injuries of law enforcement officers.  I have been reading the news of the deaths and injuries of military personnel.  I have read the atrocious reports of how military personnel have been treated in a medical center near our nation's capitol.  I spend time daily gathering information on all Peace Keepers and their current status at home and on foreign fields.  I long to be with you; to speak with you; to give a pat of appreciation on the back;  to share a firm handshake of comradeship; to salute you and convey my thankfulness for your being there.  Physically this is not possible for me so I have been blessed with the opportunity through the electronic medium of e-mail and the internet to write and tell you how I think and feel.

The Prayer and the Confession have been running through my mind all week as I have gathered the news and as I have meditated upon your service, your sacrifices and the costs that have been extracted from you.  In the daytime I think on you often.  In the night time I am with you on the field often.  I am never far from you even if you are in Iraq or someplace else on the globe and I am in Virginia Beach.

No one that I know understands what it is like to be in my position of care for all Peace Keepers; concern for all Peace Keepers; and my desire to be present with all Peace Keepers.  Even if there were other things that I wanted to do my heart and mind keep me close to you and all that all of you do for all the rest of us.  It is a priceless privilege to be one of you and to be among you... even as I sit here pounding on this keyboard experiencing forced retirement from duty and service.  O, I still do all that I am allowed to do... but that will never be enough because it can never again be the same as it was... and so I look, listen, see, read, meditate and dream... always with one goal in mind...
Writing to you again the next week... and learning all that I am able to learn concerning all of you in the times between the messages.

Monday night we will be graduating four new chaplains from Basic Training into their field training phase.  One of the group of chaplains for which I am responsible is deep into a battle with cancer... but he is still here 18 months longer than the doctors thought he would be.  I have just had to discuss a physical deficiency with another of the group and he decided to retire... Several others of the group are on Medical Leave hoping to recover and return to duty.  We in our chaplain corp are all volunteers.  Some of us work two or more jobs just to live and be able to meet obligations and to be able to volunteer to serve as chaplains.  I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the chaplain program, the twenty chaplain in it and to see that all calls for service are handled if there is a chaplain available... or handle as many calls as I can handle myself if no one else is available.  Every day I must practice what I write to you... Do the best I can with what I have where I am and leave the rest to God or whomever else is responsible.  Daily I practice the use of the Peace Keeper's Prayer... and the Peace Keeper's Confession.  I am most thankful that the new chaplains will help me to cover those day-to-day obligations more effectively.

Early this morning I reviewed "Black Hawk Down"... Earlier in the week and again a couple of weeks ago I watched "Jarhead"... In my memory I toured Guadalcanal again with the Marine invasion forces...  In my memory I jumped into Europe with the Army Airborne...  In my memory I flew over the south Pacific in a Corsair... flew over Korea in an F86... flew over Vietnam in an A6... flew with the AirCav in troop drops and wounded extractions.

Other times in my memories I am walking a beat... chasing a fleeing felon... tending a wounded victim... dodging bullets in a firefight... parusing a crime scene for evidence...
fighting the gag reflex as I minutely examine a deceased person for evidence of what happened (in the days before on scene coroners and ID Techs)... and upgrading my training and experience for the next time that I will need to be alert and sharp in some difficult place.

I have a very active mind, heart and spirit... Never... I am never far from any or all of these memories and thoughts... because I think on and about all of you in my waking hours... and dream about all of your and my activities in my sleeping hours.  You are my Parish and my heart never thinks on other things for very long without my memory and thinking being invaded by thoughts of what could be happening to any one of you at any time during my conscious moments.  Sometimes I am a Trooper or a Deputy... Other times a Beat Officer.  Sometimes I am a Soldier... Other times a Marine.  Sometimes A flyer... Sometimes a gunner.  Often a Chaplain... no matter what the other activities are... and sometimes I am tending the wounded.  All of these activities cause me to pray a lot for all of you and your loved ones.  You are precious people and nothing I have had... nothing I have now... and nothing that I ever will have could have or would have been possible without you and all of the Peace Keepers that have preceded us in this life.  You are all Peace Keepers.  My heart and my thoughts are never far from you.

"THANK YOU!"... is not enough but it is all that I have at the moment... thanks and the deepest of appreciation.  I have been there for the sights, sounds and the smells... I have seen the blood, gore and torn bodies... I have made and received those knocks on the door where the bearer of bad news lays a terrible burden upon the hearts of the hearers about a loved one who will not be coming home alive again.  All of you experience some of this.  Some of you experience all of this.  All of you make life as we know it possible for all the rest of us... "THANK YOU!"

"BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!"  Be alert, watchful, suspicious and wary.  Take the best possible care of you as you do your duties.  Take the time to see to your spiritual welfare.  It needs to be strong for you to be successful.

Call or write if I may be of any assistance to you.

As it has always Been... So it still is...

"VICTORIOUS WARRIORS WIN FIRST...
AND THEN GO TO WAR,
WHILE DEFEATED WARRIORS GO TO WAR FIRST...
AND THEN SEEK TO WIN."  Sun tzu

ONLY LIVE PEACE KEEPERS SEE THE VICTORY!!!
THEY SEE IT ONLY BECAUSE OTHERS HAVE MADE THEIR ETERNAL
PAYMENTS OF SWEAT, BLOOD, TEARS AND LIFE FOR THAT VICTORY!

WITH THE DEEPEST OF APPRECIATION AND RESPECT...
BE BLESSED (A CONDITION TO BE ENVIED)...
BE SUCCESSFUL... BE SAFE...
[My injunction to be safe means doing all you know to do as you do your job... it means
doing the best you can with what you have where you are using all your faculties to get
the job done well and with good results conquering evil and keeping or restoring peace...
it does not mean to avoid duty and honor... it does not mean to cower or allow anything
to hinder you in the process of duty according to rules, law and ethics...  it means that if
the demand takes your earthly life you destroy as much evil as possible in the process. 
That is my definition of being safe... doing the best you can and leaving the rest to God
or whomever else is responsible... being best employed for the sake and protection of all
the things and people that we hold dear.]

I represent, write for... and give the credit to:
God the Father (my Commander-in-Chief),
Jesus Christ the Son (the Eternal Captain of my life) and
the Holy Spirit of God (my Eternal Teacher, Keeper and Guide).
In Christ I live... with Him and for you I serve...
And I rejoice that you are there whether you are Christian or not...
D. R. (Don) Staton, Chaplain to Peace Keepers, 
VIRGINIA STATE POLICE ALUMNI,
RETIRED Police Officer, Certified Police Instructor,
757-431-2190, chpln1@verizon.net
3709 Beacon Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
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Copyright: CHAPLAIN CORNER (DRS) 2007. All rights reserved.
May not be duplicated without permission, except to be forwarded
with copyright and all source information for any quotation intact.
 
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