Law enforcement officials respond to calls every day in their communities, but on Monday night at the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team‘s National Law Enforcement Retreat, Pastor Andrew Columbia encouraged members of the Thin Blue Line to heed an important cry: The stirring of the Lord.
As Columbia invited attendees to come forward and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, Baylor University Officer Rudy Resendez’s heart started beating out of his chest. He told his wife Noemi, a Waco police officer. She urged him to go forward.
“This [altar call] was meant for you,” she whispered.
Resendez, eyes glassy and heart racing, stood up from his back row seat at the retreat, a three-day respite held in Horseshoe Bay, Texas. He walked forward for a time of prayer with Columbia. The room erupted into applause after he prayed to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
>> Get details on the Rapid Response Team’s next National Law Enforcement Retreat, to be held in Asheville, N.C., this October.
“I’ve kind of played this in my head for a long time, just giving myself to God and letting Him take control of my life because I’m just tired,” Resendez shared later.
Columbia understood as well as anybody in that room of 180 law enforcement officials and spouses. His attempts at dealing with the stress of the job wore him out over the years and only served to fuel the rage building within him. He’d punch a hole in his wall if he didn’t like a question his wife asked. After work he’d knock back several drinks with his fellow officers. Five years into his career with the New York Police Department, he found himself on a rooftop, angrily waving his firearm at God, demanding an answer. That’s when he said he felt God touch his life.
Everything changed for Columbia that day, and as he matured in his walk with Christ, he became more perceptive to the spiritual warfare law enforcement officials face day in and day out. Now as a pastor, one of his primary ministries is serving the law enforcement community.
“You can’t see the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places,” Columbia said, citing Ephesians 6:12. “But the Bible tells us very clearly they’re there. The Bible tells us we have to put on the armor of God.”
During his message, Columbia worked through Ephesians 6:10-18 in which the Apostle Paul details what that means. Columbia told the officers they need to equip themselves with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of peace, a shield of faith, helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit—the Bible.
“How are you going to grow if you’re not reading the Word of God?” Columbia asked. “Meditate on the Word of God so you will be ready and your armor will be on fully.”
Lean on God’s truth, Columbia stressed on Monday night—the second night of the three-day event. He also urged law enforcement officials and their spouses to come forward and surrender whatever they’re harboring to Christ. Dozens of attendees met Columbia at the altar to stand for a time of prayer.
Alex Faulk and his wife Morgan prayed from their seats for those standing. Morgan is due any day now with their third child, and they’ve had their share of hurdles adjusting to life in law enforcement. Faith and communication are key, they said.
“People look at us [law enforcement officials] to take control, but who guides us?” Alex said. “That’s what people gotta realize, is if you let God guide you, you can guide other people. If I don’t have something to fall back on, it can be detrimental to any officer and any spouse. That poison can go down root deep and destroy everything.”
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