Follow the Clues - Christ is Born!

When I got hired as a Deputy Police Chief, I was responsible for overseeing the Investigations Unit. One cold, winter night in late 2003, I was called out to a property in a very rural area of Monterey County. A group of suspects was using this remote location as a chop shop for stolen cars. It was a clear, cloudless night. Only the moon and flashlights provided illumination. The temperature was in the 40’s. COLD!

The hideout was spread over acres – it was so remote that the bad guys used a stolen generator to power the main house. There were a number of large storage containers everywhere each holding dozens of engine blocks. We found stolen cars, construction equipment, a Bobcat tractor and, get this, a six foot high, plastic rooster in the front yard. It is amazing what people will steal.

In addition to all the stolen property, there were animals everywhere. Pigs, horses, a cow and a long horn steer. As the sergeant gave me the rundown, we heard someone yell from up the road, “PIG!” I looked over my shoulder and watched as a hog weighing 300 plus ran down the road in my direction. I had to move out of the way or get plowed over. I looked at the sergeant, laughed nervously and immediately, another warning rang out, “HORSE!” I heard the sound of a large animal at a trot and turned just in time to see a horse running toward me. I am 6’2” and the top of the horse’s head was well over mine. I just stepped out of the way. I was clearly out of my safe, municipal, urban policing environment. I remember thinking, “This is definitely not Santa Barbara.”

About two thousand and ten years ago, three wise men had a very different experience on a cloudless night in Bethlehem. I was following leads left by criminals; the Wise Men were following clues left by God. I searched for suspects; they searched for a Savior. I drove to the scene of the crime in a heated police car for twenty minutes; they traveled on camels over days.

As we move into the Christmas season, read through Matthew 2:1-12. Consider that these early Bible detectives discovered and followed evidence they found in scripture. (Micah 5:2-4, “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”) They set out on a journey and interviewed witnesses. (Matthew 2:1, “Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”) They followed a lead and found the savior. (Matthew 2:9, “After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.”) They became God’s secret agents when they left for home without revealing where the Savior was to King Herod. (Matthew 2:12, “And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”)

The Wise Men followed a clue in the form of a star to discover the Savior of the World. They found the “body” except this one was alive. God, who became flesh, would die on the cross for the salvation of all. Hebrews 2:1-4 says, “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”

Merry Christmas! The Savior is born!

Alter Call

If you are a fan of Christian literature, you will recognize the names C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. You probably know that Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings. You may not know that both men were professors and close friends at Oxford University in 1931. It was September of that year when Lewis converted to Christianity. He wrote that Tolkien and Professor Hugo Dyson, “were the immediate human causes of my conversion.” Tolkien and Dyson planted the seeds on a late night walks on the Oxford campus. Lewis would accept Christ as his Lord and Savior during a motorcycle ride to a zoo! (The Question of God, Dr. Armond M Nicholi, Jr., 2002, pages 91-92)  

An alter call does not have to be during an evangelism meeting, after Sunday service or at church summer camp. The alter call can be anywhere. I have had the privilege of being the “immediate human cause” of praying with people to accept Christ in my living room, the weight room of a police department, in front of a court house and even in a police car. The key is to be ready to ask and pray when the Holy Spirit prompts your heart to speak. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6 to put on the full armor of God. This includes, “your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”(v. 15) Readiness means you are trained to act.

On one particular day, the date escapes me, I was working as a day watch patrol officer and got assigned a reserve officer partner. Chris was a good guy and I could trust him to make good decisions as a backup officer. We would work together for 10 hours. Day watch was not particularly busy and we had some time to chat as we drove around out beat. The conversation turned to faith, imagine that! We got around to talking about the doctrine of creation in between a drunk in public arrest, writing speeding tickets and car burglary investigations. It turned out that what held Chris back from accepting Christ as his Lord and Savior was evolution versus creationism.

“I believe in God,” he told me, “I just believe he created the world through evolution.”

“So the only thing holding you back from becoming a Christian is that you want to believe God created the world through evolution?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Ok, I will agree with you that God created the world through evolution. The key is that God created the world. Do you want to pray to accept Jesus?”

“Ok.”

I pulled the car to the curb and Chris became a Christian.

We all have opportunities to be the immediate human cause of someone’s conversion.  The alter call might be on a motorcycle ride to the zoo, on the way to jail with a drunk in public arrest or anywhere the Spirit moves a lost soul to respond to the free gift of salvation. You don’t have to be an Oxford professor or a police officer. You can ask for the world, they can say yes!

JDLR

There are cops that always seem to be in the right place at the right time. Over time, I learned that it was more about reading people and acting on hunches. The secret: JDLR. Just don’t look right.

Police text books might define it as reasonable suspicion. Not enough to detain or arrest someone, but enough to ask a question or two. My rule, “You can ask for the world, people can say no.”

One of my better JDLR moments happened when I was sitting in an auto repair shop and saw two guys walking up the sidewalk across the street from the business. One man was carrying a shoe box size container in his right hand. He glanced to where I parked my police car and quickly switched the item to his left hand and tried to hide the box using his body. JDLR

I was able to make it across the street and stand on the curb ahead of the men. As they approached I said, “Hey guys, how’s it going?” Without hesitation, the man holding the box handed it to me and said, “It’s not mine, I just found it!” He gave me a brand new ratchet set, still in the box, sealed in shrink wrap.

I started asking a few more questions and the men told me they “found” the tool set next to a dumpster in a nearby parking lot. A block away was a Pep Boys auto parts store. I had the dispatch center call the manager and ask him to walk over to me. He took a look at the ratchet set and told me it was stolen from his business. Now the only way I would be able to arrest these guys for stealing was to get a confession. How to do it?

I asked the store manager, “Do you have a security camera system?”

“Nope.”

“Do you sell video tapes?” (That would be a DVD for those that don’t know about video tape.)

“Yes.”

“Can you do me a favor and bring back a video tape out of the packaging?”

“Sure.”

The manager went back to the store and I interviewed the suspects. I told them that the manager was going to get the security video tape. (This would be the one with nothing on it.)

“Well you have the video tape so there is no reason to lie,” one guy says, “We stole it.”

Two IN CUSTODY!!! Good cops are not just at the right place at the right time, good cops “see” things differently and take action when they do.

Living your faith out daily is like that. There are JDLR moments every day where God calls us to action. We can “see” when people are struggling. It might be a tone of voice, a subtle change in body language or even a feeling you get that something “Just Don’t Look Right.” The key is to act. You can ask for the world, people might say yes.

“Hey, are you all right?”

“Can I buy you something to eat?”

“Can I pray for you?”

You will be amazed at how open people are to respond.

Matthew 25: 35-40, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

The Director

A few months ago, I was invited to meet the Director of the FBI. It turned out that I was the only second in command participating and I found myself in the company of police chiefs, district attorneys and department heads. I wore my best suit, white dress shirt and conservative tie. I arrived at the meeting and was ushered into a small conference room that had 15 or so chairs around a table with additional seating along the wall. I took a chair against the wall near what I thought was the back of the room with a group of FBI agents. 

Minutes later, the Director walked through the door nearest to my seat. So much for staying out of the way! We sat down and the Director asked for everyone to introduce themselves, the agency they represented and what FBI National Academy class they attended. He started with the people sitting at the conference table and then moved to those of us sitting along the walls. Looking in my direction where I sat with other FBI agents he said, “I already know all of you,” and passed me over!

HEY!!! I got left out! Here I was all ready to tell the Director of the FBI who I was and he skipped me! My ego was hurt for a moment and I realized that I was, after all, part of a small group that got to spend time with the top law enforcement officer in the United States. He would likely not remember me anyway after he left the room.

The briefing lasted for about 40 minutes and when it ended, an aide to the Director asked if he had time to take photographs. The Director said yes and people began lining up. I waited in line and stepped up for my turn. I extended my hand and the next thing I know, the Director takes a firm grip and pulled me in close. He looked at me and said, “Don’t you work for me?” The Director thought I was an agent stepping in for a picture at a time intended for police chiefs.

“No Sir, my name is Michael Aspland and I am a Deputy Chief with the City of Monterey Police Department.”

The Director looked intently at me for a moment still grasping my hand and said, “I’m sorry. I thought you were one of mine.” Well how about that! I was mistaken for an FBI agent by the Director himself.

The experience got me thinking about my relationship with God. God knows me by name! His Son died on the cross for my sin! His Spirit dwells with me always! The same is true for you! Consider these versus that give us confidence that God will always know us by name, care for us and will dwell with us forever.

Psalm 55:22 “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”

Matthew 10:29-31 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Luke 11:9-10   “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

John 10:14-15 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

Revelations 2:17 “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.”

You ARE The Pronoun

One of my responsibilities as a deputy chief is to work with members of the United States Army Garrison - Presidio of Monterey. I am part of a team that develops multi-jurisdictional exercises to prepare military and civilian personnel to react, respond and recover during disaster events. This past year, I helped plan a regional, full scale earthquake drill for the Monterey Peninsula. The event happened last month on a day when I was returning from a conference in Maryland. That is probably why the drill went so well.

It turns out that the planning group I worked with got nominated to receive an award for our efforts. My Army buddy told me to show up for the award ceremony and said it was, “No big deal.” Turns out it was a bigger deal than he let on. I was the only non-military civilian receiving recognition. I was dressed in Friday casual and, looking around the room, Friday casual was a little too casual. Good thing I had a suit coat in my car to put on for the presentation.

A Colonel presented the awards and before he handed them out, he shared a few words with the group. He said that we ARE the pronoun when people talk about the great work that THEY do at the Presidio. It does not matter the role you have in the organization, we are all part of the THEY. I had never thought about it that way before.

I find it entertaining when people complain about THEY. You know: THEY made the decision to cut overtime. THEY don’t give us credit for all the work we do. Why aren’t THEY doing anything about it?

I suppose the good thing is the people I work with are willing to tell me what THEY do. I point out that THEY is me because I am a member of the command staff. What follows is a quick back pedal to assure me that THEY does not include me. Confused yet?

This got me thinking about who THEY are in the church. In 1 Corinthians 12:27, Paul says, “You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” In Ephesians 2:19-22,  he writes, “…you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

My take away is that we are the THEY in the church. It does not matter what branch: Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Calvary Chapel or Shoreline Community Church in Monterey, California. It does not matter where you serve: pastor, priest, Sunday school teacher, worship leader, choir member, parking lot guide, hospitality coordinator or janitor. It matters that when people reach out to you, you represent THEY in the body of Christ.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Jesus – Matthew 5:14-16

You Can Ask For The World - People Might Just Say YES!

A big part of law enforcement training focuses on the rights of individuals. The right of unreasonable search and seizure, the right to remain silent, when we can detain, when we can arrest and so on. There are always new laws and court decisions that redefine what probable cause means, what constitutes a waiver of rights or when a search warrant is necessary. It can be a challenge for a street cop to keep all of this in mind when standing on a street corner at two in the morning, trying to figure out the legal basis to search a suspected drug dealer in a high crime area. For every law or court decision there are always exceptions. The big exception is to get permission. I tell new officers all the time: "You can ask for the world, people can say 'no'."

I have made more arrests than I can count asking (and getting) permission to search a jacket or a car or a motel room. In fact, I am still amazed that a suspect with a pocket full of dope would give me permission to search. I always ask the question, "Why did you let me search you when you knew you had drugs?" The response: "I didn't think you would do it."

As Christians, we have a training manual for living out our faith. In the Book of Matthew, Chapter 7: 7-8, Jesus says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; and to him who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." This is the reverse of a crime fighting strategy. Ask, seek and knock for the Glory of God - Not to search and arrest!

This past summer, my family and I traveled to Big Bear, California to visit a niece and her husband. We arrived on a Saturday for a four day visit. The couple live in a beautiful home (10,000 square feet!). The property is enormous. It was our first visit and I was amazed that when we drove into Big Bear, I could see the house from across the valley! They have five dogs, three horses, two chickens, a cat and who knows how many rabbits. They also rent a room to man named Kenny. 

Kenny is one cool dude. He is tall, skinny, soft spoken and sports a long, white beard. Not Santa Claus style but rock star style. Kenny was a long haul truck driver and got sidelined by a stroke that took part of his vision. He was from the south, but somehow ended up in Big Bear, living on a couch in a trailer. He responded to an ad for a roommate from my niece and now gets room and board in exchange for working on the property and helping out around the house. I enjoyed meeting Kenny. We talked about his life and his adventures on the road.

After dinner we made plans for our visit. My niece told us that they started attending a neighborhood church and invited us to go along. Margie and I thought it would be great and I turned to Kenny and asked, "You want to go to church with us to?"

"Sure." Kenny replied back.

My niece jumped into the conversation saying, "You never went with us before!"

Kenny looked back and said, "You never asked me."

Turns out that Kenny had not been to church in decades. He was concerned that lighting would strike as soon as he walked in the door. I told him not to worry, with his long, white beard, I would introduce him as Moses and tell the congregation that he would part Big Bear Lake after services. We shared a good laugh.

I sat next to Kenny at church the next day. Watching from the corner of my eye, I was blessed to see him pray and sing. When church was over, I asked him what he thought. He said it was great and continues to attend today. 

I did not have to ask for the world, I asked if he wanted to go to church. Kenny said yes. 

I Do

Last Saturday, I had the honor of performing my first wedding ceremony. The cop story is that it was for a police sergeant (Marty) and his wife (Maribel). The journey to the altar began when Marty told me a few months ago that the person they wanted to officiate their ceremony was not available. I told Marty that I would be happy to perform the wedding. Marty and Maribel thought it would be a great idea. A few weeks ago, I took the oath to be a Deputy Commissioner for one day and one purpose. What follows are the words I shared with the couple. It was a blessing to be part of such a wonderful event. It is also amazing to me how God brings us to moments when we can testify of His love for us and how it is reflected in our lives. All the best to Marty and Maribel!!!

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The Song of Songs is an Old Testament book that is a poem about the love between a man and a woman: He says, “How beautiful you are my darling! Oh how beautiful! Your eyes are like doves.” She says, “How handsome you are my beloved! Oh how charming!” and later it reads, “My beloved spoke and said to me, ‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me. See! The winter is past and the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth and the season of singing has come.’”

In the Book of John, Jesus performed his first miracle when he was at a wedding where he turned water to wine. It is significant that Jesus’ first miracle was at a wedding. The Bible says that the marriage of a man and a woman is a reflection of the relationship between Jesus Christ and the Church. Jesus died on the cross to reconcile God and man. Likewise, the vows you have taken signify that you are dying to yourselves to join together as one. Together, you are complete as a husband and wife. Your marriage is a testimony to the world of a love that surpasses all understanding.

Your foundation is love. It is not a feeling, it is a commitment. The miracle that Jesus performed at the wedding 2,000 years ago signified a new beginning. The same is true for you. Life as you know it, is changed. You are both called to serve one another selflessly. The definition of love is found in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13:1-8

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails."

My charge to you is to love one another unconditionally. It does not matter how right or wrong, rational or irrational, if it makes sense or not. As husband and wife, you are called to stand by each other forever. 

Love is forgiveness. How many times do you have to forgive? Jesus was asked that question. Peter guessed seven times. Jesus told him 70 times 7. Forgiveness is exponential, forgiveness is infinite.

Love is faith. Have faith in God to lead you and have faith in each other. Your call is to walk together as husband and wife, to hold each other up in times of adversity and to celebrate together in times of triumph.

You will face storms during your marriage. If you have faith, you will stand firm through the tough times. Jesus and the disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee when a terrible storm began. The disciples panicked thinking they were going to drown. They turned to Jesus who, with a word, calmed the storm. Remember that the Holy Spirit dwells with you and even in times that you feel alone, God is with you. Your faith in Him and your faith in each other will see you through.

God gave to Adam the gift of Eve because it was not good for man to be alone. It is in the second chapter of Genesis that God calls the Man to leave his mother and father, unite with his wife and they became one flesh. In a moment, you will exchange rings. You will be joined together as one. Celebrate your new life. Have fun. Laugh. And grow old together. 

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The funny part of this story is that the word got around at the police department that I performed the wedding. On Monday, I was returning from lunch and a police officer said to me "Good Afternoon, Reverend! I was waiting all day to say that to you!"