Grace Martial Arts Fellowship began in 1990, went online with a website in 1995 and began publishing newsletters to the Christian martial arts community in 1998.
Because of the quality of information found in those early newsletter articles and the fact they are no longer available online, we’ve decided to re-publish many of them in the coming weeks and months. Our hope is that a new generation of Christian martial artists will be blessed by the wisdom of those who were on the narrow path before them.
GMAF NEWSLETTER
JULY 1999
Welcome to the GMAF Newsletter! We pray it will encourage you in your Martial Arts and Outreach for Christ.
THOUGHTS FROM THE MASTER
“I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Jesus Christ
“The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armour of light.” The Apostle Paul
MASTER NOTES
We are pleased to bring you the second installment of the testimony of Dr. Karl Marx, Grand Master of Keichu-Do Karate of Santa Maria, California.
[Dr. Marx passed into the presence of the Lord he loved so much in 2013]
“Then when I gave up on wanting Things, and just wanted to serve God, as His servant my life changed. The things I had coveted meant nothing to me, God was first in my life. Then HE BLESSED me.
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My student Ryan Case won our Ministries first World Championship, in KATA and a 3rd in Grappling.
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God changed the hearts of some of the Worlds leading World Champions, and they inducted me, yes little old mister nobody into the USKA Black Belt Hall Of Fame. WOW! That has to be God because I am not even an Oriental stylist, there was no politics, and some on that board didn’t even like me personally. All odds were against me getting nominated, let alone selected. That Had to be a Blessing from God.
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Then a martial arts magazine in India, “Karate Star” honored me by doing a feature story about Keichu-Do and a full cover picture of me and my son Victor. WOW! God gave me another blessing, I had been wanting for years, but I had to finally realize that I didn’t really need it, and that what I did need was Jesus Christ as the center of my life, not publicity about myself. Then God gave it to me. Ha! All I had to do was want Christ more than personal fame. GOD is that WAY. Not the way Chi, or Do of the Oriental philosophy.
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It seems that the more faithful we are to our Abba (Father) the more faithful He is to us. The more I give the More He gives me back. Blessings after blessings. He has cured my physical problems so many times I lost count. Keeping me humble before His majestic self. He never lets me suffer long or more than I can stand, And I always learn a great deal about myself, others, and God Himself. Suffering does not mean God doesn’t love us anymore. Being in pain or emotionally upset is not a sign of punishment, well at least not always. Sometimes we may need a little nudge, or perhaps a slight warning, or maybe even a kick in the seat of our pants to get our attention. God will do whatever He has to do, to bring us back into His will. Just when I thought there was no hope for me to reach any of my certain WANTS. HE gave ALL that I really NEEDED.
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I remember back in 1974, my family physician informed me that I had a form of arthritis, and according to the doctor if my recollection is correct, I was supposed to be in serious trouble. A life threatening problem? Well, I was told I had five years to live. Something to do with the muscles around my heart being affected to the point of becoming so lax that they would eventually not be strong enough to pump my heart in and out. Is that possible? Talk about a bummer. I didn’t believe him, or it seems to me I would have been or should have been worried. I don’t remember being very concerned. I do remember very vividly 1979. A lot of stress, graduate school, an un-faithful girl friend, teaching undergraduates, taking mid-term and final exams, wow! I really do not understand what happened, I recall losing consciousness and falling in the bath room and dropping over the bathtub, then slumping backwards and ending up between the tub and the toilet. Thank God someone was there who drove me to the hospital emergency room. What did I have? a heart attack? perhaps, but no permanent damage to my heart. About a month later, something else weird happened, I experienced what was considered a possible mild stroke. Was it a Stroke? I didn’t go to the hospital, and after the police left I told my graduate school class advisor, who was also my boss, that I would be at class as soon as the slight paralyses in my lip and left arm was gone. Was the old doctor right five years earlier? Did I really hear him say that my condition was one in which the muscles around my heart would become affected to the point of being to weak to push the heart back when it pumped outward? So what happens next? I’m living in sin with my girlfriend, she has an affair with another man. Do I kill anyone? no sir, I internalize the emotional stress, I swallow my pride, and wake up at 5:00am with an Anxiety Attack, plus a Panic Attack. Talk about a mess. I was so angry, but not killing someone else.What I did to myself by not giving it up to God wasn’t good for my own body. I internalized the anger, and exploded inward. I took the blow for nothing, because I wasn’t intelligent enough to let go and let God deal with my problems. I was too busy living a sinful lifestyle. Well, God in His Infinite wisdom had a plan for me.”
Taking God’s Grace to the World!
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