Mom has today off; we will just be puttering around the house.  I have to type up some recipes for Mary and get them sent off.

One of those blah days as far as weather goes, everyone in the house hold is just taking it easy today.  A good day to sit by the fire with a hot cup of cocoa and let the world go by. 

I got one of those how are we doing calls from an outfit that was surveying patients.  They always ask what my race is, and then go through a list, Mexican, White, Black, etc. I always say ‘Human.’  Sometimes I get a reaction, sometimes not.  When they say that they need one of the named, I tell them to put it in other.  

1 Peter 3:15-16 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

¹⁶ Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

As a Police Officer one of my favorite duties was that of training officer.  Most people that go into law enforcement have some idea of what the profession is all about.  “To help people” is a common response I would get when interviewing potential officers and deputies when I asked them why they wanted to get into law enforcement.  They aren’t entirely sure how, but they do want to make the world a safer and better place for others.

Most either know someone in law enforcement or have had some exposure to the profession by being a reserve or some other emergency provider.  But they do not know the nuts and bolts, just the general duties; and many times they just ‘think’ they know.

We had a training manual to work with to help guide us in teaching the nuts and bolts.  It had three columns to be checked off on each item we were training in; told, demonstrated by the TO and performed by the recruit.  The manual was to be completed over a year’s period of time and then turned into the State Board showing it was done.  To be certified as an officer that manual had to be completed.

Once they put the uniform on they had the full authority of an officer that had been on duty for years.  There was no difference in authority, just experience, knowledge and training.  While it is better now, it was not unusual in smaller agencies to put the uniform, badge and gun on the officer; put them in a patrol car by themselves and send them out after a day or two of orientation.

Even in our department, way back in the early 70’s even, many of us were sent out with little training and the admonition to not get into trouble; easier said than done.  Then over a period of time the manual would be completed.  BUT, I remember seeing my manual for the first time when it was time to be sent into the Board.  We sat down for an entire shift and went over it.  I had done everything, but couldn’t give the exact dates, etc. of when I had done them; and of course the sergeant that signed off had not observed all of it since he hadn’t been with me all that long.

In between times I had gone to the academy – at that time it was the first five week academy, prior to that it was a four week academy – now it is several months.  I had handled many cases as either the primary or covering officer so while we had not used the manual as it was designed to be used, I had done most of the things in it.

Some things just couldn’t be completed in a small community; one of the things in the manual was murder investigations.  We don’t have many homicides in this area, so we just had to show we understood the basics as to what a Patrol Officer would do at the scene.  For the responding officer it is basically securing the area and making sure no one disturbs the evidence while waiting for trained and experienced officers to arrive to process the scene.

When I became a training officer I tried to be more diligent in going over the manual with my trainees.  I started the practice of having the recruit be responsible for the manual – found that they were more interested in getting it filled out than I was; we would then go over what they had done every week or so and fill in the boxes that applied.

As a training officer I had to be up on the current laws, the ten-code, used to dispatch officers in a shortened code, and in the policies and procedures of the department.  By training someone else, I retained more information than an officer that wasn’t training.  For instance the 10-code had over 80 codes, of which only 15 or 20 were regularly used; most of the others were forgotten.  If a code, other than those few, was used we had to pull down the visor and check it out – a recruit, and therefore the trainer, was expected to know them without having to do that.

Throughout my career I enjoyed watching officers/deputies improve; going from raw recruits to veteran officers capable of doing almost anything in the field.  You learn techniques to help them along and challenge them to do better.  You watch them and critique their work, to help them do better.  The whole goal of a training officer was to help, not hinder the recruit, and determine whether or not they will make a good officer.

Attitude, training and experience are what makes an officer.  How they use these things separates an average officer from a good one.  Natural skills in observation and dealing with people can go a long way in utilizing the training to do the job well.  But even if they don’t possess the natural skills if they have the right attitude towards the job they can still do well.

While I recommended permanent status for many, I also recommended we do not extend that to others and they were terminated.  As in any profession, not everyone is cut out to do the job.  That is why an extensive process is used to hire someone and a long probationary process is used to be sure they can handle the pressures of the job.

But the only requirement God has to become a Christian/disciple, a recruit, is to accept His Son as our Savior and serve Him. 

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

He accepts all comers, rich, poor, educated or not, literate or illiterate, pretty or plain, old or young – it doesn’t matter to Him.  What He wants is a change of heart and a desire to serve Him.

Mark 16:15-16   And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

¹⁶ He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

The disciples walked with Jesus for about three years, intimately learning from Him.  Privileged to observe, and given the opportunity to practice what they learned while He was with them.  Even Paul, who was very familiar with the Word of God as written in the Old Testament, had to spend time with a mentor before he went into the world to preach Christ.

God expects us to be ready to proclaim our faith immediately upon accepting Christ.  One of the most critical jobs in the world, telling others about the salvation through Christ – with the person’s very future on the line is given to new born Christians.

John 8:30-32 As he spake these words, many believed on him.

³¹ Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

³² And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

A disciple is one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another.

How can that be?  How can God expect the new Christian to perform as a ‘veteran?’  He doesn’t, but He does expect us to always share what we know with sinners.

A new born Christian has the experience to lead others to Christ because he knows what has happened to him when he accepted Christ.  He is not expected to know all the intricacies of the Gospel, but he can still proclaim the love of God.

But God wants more of His people, He wants us to grow in Him, to learn the Word so we can better explain who He is and what He represents.  There are always those out there that have some information from God’s Word who either wish to try and prove it false, or looking to see if it is true.  It takes spending time and studying God’s Word with an open heart to Him to answer those questions.  – and even then it may have to be referred to someone with more knowledge and wisdom than we possess.

The Church – body of people – is designed, by Him, to help people grow in Him, to learn and share their information with others so that they participate in the helping of others grow in Him.  

All too frequently though we rely solely on the church to help us grow.  We have Sunday Schools, Sermons and maybe special programs in the church to teach people – and there are those that learn a lot by using that information.

I can remember one young man who went to Bible College and on the first break came home.  He was asked to give testimony to the church as to what he had experienced thus far – the first thing he said was if I had been listening to all the sermons Brother Cook had been preaching, I would ace all my tests.

A good teaching Pastor is a boon to the disciples.  A teacher who does more than just read the Bible and the teacher’s guide but gives personal experiences and relates the teaching to today’s people can be a boon to the disciples.

The bottom line, though, is each disciple has the responsibility to learn.  To study, to put into practice what they have learned.

Christians’ study guide, their training manual, is the Word of God.  We relate to people by relating to them, talking to them, demonstrating in our daily lives who we are in Christ.  By learning how to speak of our faith, to answer questions and the full value of that ability comes from growth in our faith and relationship with God the Father, God as the Son and God as the Holy Ghost.

Yes, we can learn from commentaries and examples, but to be able to translate what we know to others takes an understanding of God and that understanding comes from His Word and our relationship with Him; a relationship which comes from walking with Him, from mediation and prayer.

Mathew 28:19-20  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

There are basically two kinds of teachers, those that teach from theory and those that teach from experience.  Both may have access to the same information, but the teacher who has the experience makes the teaching relevant to life and can give a better understanding of what they are teaching  really means.

While we have the experience of God’s Love through Christ, by using the Word of God as the manual for successful living in Christ we can become better and more effective teachers for Him.  May we truly study to make ourselves more valuable to Him.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again