Community Calendarby Melanie Lekocevic / December 2, 2022Related Posts
Living on Purpose: Are we dedicating or hesitating?
By Dr. William Holland
For Capital Region Independent Media
I attempt to keep my eyes and ears open to learn about the Holy Spirit and human behavior. In my spiritual journey, the situations I’ve encountered through counseling and teaching have graciously allowed me to see the importance of walking in humility through the awareness of God’s presence.
I’m not implying that I’ve arrived at a spiritual plateau where God and I float through the clouds together, but I do believe we can be as close to Him as we desire to be.
To be honest, the more I discover about His written and specific will, the more I realize I have hardly scratched the surface of pleasing Him. I’ve learned that our rebellious human nature loves being independent while God is constantly trying to reveal to us how the meaning of life is doing His will. He desires that we snap out of our defiant trance and allow Him to transform our thinking so that He can use us to accomplish His desires.
I’m sure some of you comprehend what I mean when I declare how difficult it is to keep our carnal will under subjection to God’s still small voice. Even though many do not have a clear understanding, there is a huge difference between religiously knowing about God and knowing Him personally.
We realize it’s possible to drift away from God and fall into a backslidden state, but it’s also a reality that we can be deceived about what it means to be born-again. Most everyone has a knowledge of Bible stories but many do not have the burden or discipline to pray, have never studied the Bible, nor have they witnessed or shared their testimony with anyone. These individuals appear to have everything under control until they are facing a serious crisis and their world is turned upside down.
When someone contacts me for prayer and counseling, the first question I ask is if they can remember a specific time when they surrendered their life to Jesus. Most responses are related to being baptized or attending church as a child. It seems some individuals are ashamed and avoid talking about how they have never lived for Him and now feel guilty to call upon Him because they need His help.
Yes, there are times when even the strongest follower of Christ is shaken to their core, but generally speaking, the reason why people do not have spiritual security and discernment in times of tragedy is because they have drifted away from Him. If we communicate with Him in the good times, we will also be more likely to know what He is saying when facing a battle.
If we do not have an intimate relationship with Christ in our daily prayers and worship, how can we expect to know what to do when the bottom drops out? When we are constantly talking with Him, praying and worshiping Him every day, when adversity comes we will not need to search for Him. We are already with Him.
There are levels of advancement with God and He desires that we keep moving closer to Him throughout our earthly existence. Following Jesus includes the responsibility of being a soldier who fights a spiritual war against the kingdom of darkness. If we are not brokenhearted about the world’s blatant disregard for the Bible and the lack of a reverential fear of God, then we have already fallen into a state of lukewarmness.
Yes, it’s hard to be different from the culture and to separate ourselves from sin, but learning how to develop a passion to obey Christ is the only way to be filled with His hope and joy.
If we refuse to nurture our holy covenant vow with God while we are living on the mountaintop, we will not have enough time to build an intimate relationship with Him when we find ourselves in a dark valley. This is the danger of not taking advantage of making Him our highest priority today because when we are knocked down to our knees tomorrow it’s too late to start building a foundation of faith.
The majority of those who are in shock from a crisis become so overwhelmed with confusion and fear they cannot concentrate on anything except their agony. Today is the day to know God personally so that when troubles come (and they will) we can trust Him and hear His voice within the peace and confidence of the Holy Spirit.
Read more about the Christian life at billyhollandministries.com.
No charges for police in death of man who caught on fire after being Tasered
By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
CATSKILL — Catskill police officers have been cleared by the state attorney general in the death of Jason Jones, who died in December 2021, six weeks after being struck by a Taser by police and catching on fire.
New York Attorney General Letitia James’s Office of Special Investigation released a report Friday that concluded a prosecutor would not be able to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the officers had committed a crime, and criminal charges will not be pursued.
The report also concluded that officers should be sufficiently trained in the safe use of Tasers and similar weapons.
Jones died six weeks after he was Tasered in the Catskill Police Department on Main Street.
Police responded Oct. 29, 2021, to a 911 call reporting an unruly customer at a bar in Catskill, according to James’ report. Jones was escorted outside the bar and then fled from police, running towards the Catskill police station.
“When Mr. Jones entered the stationhouse, he pounded on the windows, overturned a table, and removed some of his clothes,” James said. “The officers spoke to Mr. Jones for 25 minutes in the lobby of the stationhouse, repeatedly asking him to calm down and suggesting that they take him home. Eventually, Mr. Jones picked up a bottle of alcohol-based hand sanitizer and rubbed it all over his head and bare upper body.”
The officers took Jones into custody under Mental Hygiene Law, determining that he was a danger to himself and others, according to James.
“When the officers told Mr. Jones that they would take him into custody, his actions indicated that he would not comply, so one officer deployed a Taser to temporarily disable him, with the objective of putting him in handcuffs,” James said. “The Taser ignited the hand sanitizer on Mr. Jones’ body, and the three officers ran out of the room to look for a fire extinguisher.”
The fire was put out and Jones was taken to a burn unit at a hospital. He died six weeks later on Dec. 15, 2021.
James said that under New York law, prosecuting a charge of reckless manslaughter “would require proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers were aware of and consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk. Prosecuting criminally negligent homicide would require proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers failed to perceive that risk.”
James’ investigation concluded that could not be proven in a court of law.
“In this case, the CPD officers attempted to subdue Mr. Jones with a device that is not usually lethal to take him to a hospital, believing he was a danger to himself or others,” James said. “The video from the stationhouse lobby shows their shock when the hand sanitizer ignited, and the investigation showed that their training did not warn them against using a Taser around hand sanitizer.”
“Based on the investigation and the law, OSI (Office of Special Investigation) concluded it could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officers committed reckless manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide, and that criminal charges therefore could not be pursued in this matter,” James added.
The state recommended that officers undergo training in the safe use of Tasers and similar weapons in the basic training courses officers undergo, including a review of all flammable substances that could potentially ignite. Typically, officers only attend training in the use of Tasers provided by the weapon’s manufacturer.
