This is PART 5 in our Armor of God series where we have not only been learning about what it means to put on the armor of God, but also looking at stories about giants who who fell at the hands of ordinary people serving an extraordinary God!

God wants us to succeed in battling life’s giants! And He has supplied us with the armor we need, the habits we need to practice in order to take down those giants you may be facing today in your own life.

What does it mean to put on the WHOLE Armor of God? And more specifically, what does it mean to lift up the SHIELD of FAITH? Take a listen and find out!

#ArmorOfGod #SpiritualWarfare #StandFirm #ShieldOfFaith
ColumbiaLifeChurch.org, YanceyValdez.com

This particular piece of God’s armor can be an absolute game changer in our relational health; in our relationship with God; our relationships with others; and in the relationship we have with our self. 

Without that peace the comes from God alone, a divine peace which the world cannot give, the battles we face in life can become that much more difficult to bear, and much less see the victory!

In PART 4 of our current “Armor of God” series we are going to continue our quest to discover what it means to put on the WHOLE Armor of God for the battles God calls us to fight. 

It doesn’t matter if the battle you find yourself in today seems like you’re going up against a giant. In fact, some of you may be going through the toughest battle you have ever faced in life! But God wants you to know that the battle you may be fighting even right now, will not outlast the victory Jesus already secured for us almost 2,000 years ago on the cross!

What does it mean to put on the WHOLE Armor of God? And more specifically, what does it mean to put on the SHOES of PEACE? Take a listen and find out!

#ArmorOfGod #SpiritualWarfare #StandFirm #ShoesOfPeace 
ColumbiaLifeChurch.org, YanceyValdez.com

Some of you may be going through the toughest battle you have ever faced in life, but God wants you to know—the battle you’re facing today will not outlast the victory Jesus already secured for us almost 2,000 years ago on the cross!

Jesus’ death and resurrection, His victory over sin, hell and the grave means a victorious outcome over all things in heaven and on earth. It’s a new beginning, a fresh start for all who would put their faith and trust in Him. 

This is PART 3, in our current “Armor of God” series in which we are learning what it means to put on the WHOLE Armor of God as we face life’s daily battles; how to stand firm in the victory God has already secured for all of us through His Son, Jesus Christ!

Just like the Kingdom of God, the season of spring is at hand. Winter is already giving away to new life and a new harvest. And new opportunities will be springing forth! 

The challenge of entering into this new season, however, is that we will often find giants that need to be defeated along the way; giants that can only be defeated in God’s power; giants that can only be defeated as we learn how to put on the WHOLE Armor of God!

What does it mean to put on the WHOLE Armor of God? And more specifically, what does it mean to put on the BREASTPLATE of RIGHTEOUSNESS? Take a listen and find out!

#ArmorOfGod #SpiritualWarfare #StandFirm #BreastplateOfRighteousness 
ColumbiaLifeChurch.org, YanceyValdez.com

Some of you may be going through the toughest battle you have ever faced in life, but God wants you to know—the battle you’re facing today will not outlast the victory Jesus already secured for us almost 2,000 years ago on the cross!

Jesus’ death and resurrection, His victory over sin, hell and the grave means a victorious outcome over all things in heaven and on earth. It’s a new beginning, a fresh start for all who would put their faith and trust in Him. 

This is PART 2, in our new “Armor of God” series in which we will be learning how to put on the WHOLE Armor of God as we face life’s daily battles. It’s about learning how to stand firm in the victory God has already secured for all of us through His Son, Jesus Christ!

Just like the Kingdom of God, the season of spring is at hand. Winter will be giving away to new life and a new harvest. And new opportunities will be springing forth! The challenge of entering into this new season, however, is that we will often find giants that need to be defeated along the way. 

As God calls us to Himself, to pursue and take possession of those God-given dreams He gives birth to in our hearts, there will always be giants to face that can only be defeated in God’s power; giants that can only be defeated as we learn how to put on the WHOLE Armor of God!

What does it mean to put on the WHOLE Armor of God? And more specifically, what does it mean to put on the BELT of TRUTH? Take a listen and find out!

#ArmorOfGod #SpiritualWarfare #StandFirm #BeltOfTruth 
ColumbiaLifeChurch.org, YanceyValdez.com

Some of you may going through the toughest battle you have ever faced in life, but God wants you to know—the battle you’re facing today will not outlast the victory Jesus already secured for us almost 2,000 years ago on the cross!

Jesus’ death and resurrection, His victory over sin, hell and the grave, means a victorious outcome over all things in heaven and on earth. His victory means a new beginning, a fresh start for all who would put their faith and trust in Him. 

Today, we begin a new series for a new season in which we will learn how to walk in the victory God offers us in Christ! Spring-time is coming. Winter will be giving away to new life and a new harvest. New opportunities will be springing forth.

The challenge is that there will be giants all of us will face along the way. As God calls us to Himself, to pursue His calling and those God-given dreams He gives birth to in hearts, there will always be giants that can only be defeated in God’s power!

How are we to confront these giants that stand opposed to all that God seeks to accomplish in and through our lives? What does it mean to put on the WHOLE Armor of God? Take a listen and find out!

#ArmorofGod #SpiritualWarfare #StandFirm 
ColumbiaLifeChurch.org, YanceyValdez.com

It’s Resurrection Sunday!! . . . On this day, about 2,000 years ago, it was first announced, “He is risen!” That proclamation changed the course of world history. It has touched and transformed countless lives, has been restoring health, renewing life, and filling people with hope for the future ever since it was first uttered. There is no other message like it. It’s Good News meant to still ring out to those who have yet to hear!

It’s been just over a year since our kidney transplant surgery. My brother needed a kidney and we were fortunate enough for me to be a suitable donor. 

Six months prior and up to the day before the surgery, my brother was on all kinds of medications and going through dialysis treatments every other day just to keep him alive. Everyday things were laborious for him; walking, showering, running errands, trying to sleep. It was a lifestyle in which no matter what he did, he would always end up feeling exhausted and emotionally spent. 

But after the surgery, the very next day, after he got his new kidney it all changed! All the medications were gone and his dialysis treatments became a thing of the past. A brand new life began! It was a new beginning; a new life born out of a life that was dying!

When I think about all that God did to orchestrate this miracle for my brother, to provide a kidney to reverse the ill effects of a life that didn’t have much longer to live, how much more has Christ provided for all of us by donating His entire body?

How much more has Christ provided for our own health, healing and well-being? How much more has Christ given us through His death and resurrection the promise of eternal life for all who would put their trust in Him? Take a listen and find out!

#EasterSunday #ResurrectionSunday #KidneyTransplant 
ColumbiaLifeChurch.org, YanceyValdez.com 

Some studies have reported that the average person will meet upwards of 10,000 people in their lifetime. Not every encounter will be good. Some people you will love, others not so much. Some will capture your attention, make you laugh or cry, while others may leave you scratching your head and wondering, “Why?”

But then there will be some encounters that are divinely appointed by God; people God sends into your life at specific points in your journey. I’m talking about those fully God orchestrated moments, life-altering encounters, revealing an epiphany type event in your life in which you realize that was God! 

Encounters with people in which we look back and say, “God just showed up,” or “that was a God-thing” are some of the most defining, life-shaping, trajectory-driven moments we will ever experience in life. Why? Because it’s God showing up to defend, guide, direct, enable and empower of lives in a way that will bring about His greatest glory in our lives and in the world we live in! 

How do we prepare ourselves for those God strategically sends into our lives? Take a listen and find out!

#TheRoadToRome #Godof2ndChances #DivineAppointments #RelationalHealth ColumbiaLifeChurch.org, YanceyValdez.com

Is your preparation complete in regards to facing tomorrow, whatever it may bring? 

Paul was there when Stephen was stoned to death. . . . The early church was in its infancy. After Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension into heaven, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon those first followers of Jesus and the church was born. The Holy Spirit came in divine power upon those who believed, and there occurred a new birth, new life and a new beginning!

As more and more people heard and believed the message about Jesus Christ, those first disciples, His apostles, became busier and busier. It was increasingly becoming harder to devote time to prayer and the Word.

So the Holy Spirit led those early church leaders to choose deacons, people who could help them better serve the needs of a growing church with even more people coming to faith in Christ. And one of those deacons, was a man named Stephen. He was a man of good reputation, prepared by God’s Word, filled with the Sprit, and fully confident about God’s plan for His life!! 

It wasn’t a cockiness, but a divine confidence in WHO God was in his life, WHAT God’s plan was for his life, and WHERE his life was ultimately headed, even when going through the midst of brutal trial. 

How confident are you about God’s plan for your life? Is your preparation complete welling up into complete confidence in regards to facing tomorrow, whatever it may bring? How can we increase our confidence in regards to God’s plan for our lives? Take a listen and find out!

#TheRoadToRome #JesusChristIsLord #HolySpirit
ColumbiaLifeChurch.org, YanceyValdez.com

This is PART 8 in our current series entitled, “The Road to Rome,” where we have been walking alongside the Apostle Paul through his letter to the believers in Rome.

Paul has been trying to make the most out of the 2ND chance he has been given in life. It hasn’t been an easy journey, but the Holy Spirit has been walking with Paul the whole way.

As Paul finishes up a masterful work in Romans 8 regarding how the Holy Spirit personally ministers to the Christ-follower, we land on an amazing portion of Scripture that begs the question: What does it mean to put your HOPE in the One who loves you like no one else? 

What does it mean to stake your entire future in the One who loves you more than anyone else? Take a listen and find out!

#TheRoadToRome #Hope #Love
ColumbiaLifeChurch.org, YanceyValdez.com

A New York Times article published in Aug 2008, shared how the National Archives had just released a list of names found in declassified records, some 750,000 pages, identifying a vast network of military and civilian operatives at work during World War 2. These declassified files identified nearly 24,000 people who formed the first centralized intelligence effort by the United States. 

These spy operatives were soldiers, actors, historians, lawyers, athletes, professors, reporters. They studied military plans, created propaganda, infiltrated enemy ranks and stirred resistance among foreign troops. But for several years during World War II, they were known simply as the OSS.

They gathered intelligence; anything that would give them an edge for every battle that needed to be fought or mission that needed to be accomplished in order to win the war. 

The Apostle Paul was given a second chance in life and he would also need an edge in facing a new world of uncertainty. It wasn’t an uncertainty in that God didn’t have a plan for his life, but that that the Lord would be calling Paul out of his comfort zone; to be His witness, carrying the Gospel to wherever the Holy Spirit led him; even if it meant to the ends of the earth.

This meant Paul would need to learn how to follow and trust God even more deeply. Every new challenge meant perhaps facing things he wouldn’t even know how to pray about; things in which he would need God’s peace and knowledge to also gain an edge and move across the borders of his own comfort zone. 

How do we pray about something, we don’t even know how to pray for? How can you gain the edge in the battle you may be facing today? Take a listen and find out!

#TheRoadToRome #Godof2ndChances #HolySpirit
ColumbiaLifeChurch.org, YanceyValdez.com