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 path before them.
GMAF NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2000
Welcome to the GMAF Newsletter! We pray it will encourage you in your Martial Arts and Outreach for Christ.
Thoughts from the Master
“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”
Jesus Christ“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.”
The Apostle Paul
Wisdom Notes
“All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits.”Proverbs 16:2
“Dead or Alive” by Mark McGee
As large and complex as the Bible is, God has a way of getting to the point in a few words. He inspired the Apostle Paul to write in Ephesians 2:1: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” The word “quickened” means “made alive.” Paul was writing to people who had been dead in the past, but were now alive because of the Power of God.
Everyone in this world is either dead or alive. Paul taught that everyone is born into sin and death. Everyone is dead until something makes them alive. That something is God’s Love, Mercy and Grace.
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved).” Ephesians 2:4-5
It’s interesting that with all the knowledge and information that is flooding the world today through high-speed computers, high-tech communication devices, satellites and the Internet, the Truth about people hasn’t changed an inch. People were dead in their sins 2,000 years ago and people are still dead in their sins today. While the world has learned so much, it understands so little. Great advances in knowledge and information don’t change the facts about a person’s spiritual position. They are dead or they are alive.
That is our message today. The Industrial Revolution didn’t change the message. The Computer Age didn’t change the message. The Communications Revolution didn’t change the message. The Information Age didn’t change the message. The world does not have the power or influence to change our Message. The Message remains the same through all time. People are dead or alive. They are dead in sins or alive in Christ.
We don’t need to concern ourselves with what’s going on around us. We don’t have to fear the next scientist’s discovery. We don’t have to worry that someone will learn something that will alter the Truth. Truth is Truth. It has always been Truth and it will always be Truth. People are either dead in sins or alive in Christ. The world will run itself absolutely insane trying to disprove the Truth, but it’s a waste of time. God said it, so it’s True.
Comfort yourself in knowing that the Message you share is True and unchangeable. Your Message of God’s Love and Grace and His Gift of Saving Faith and Eternal Life is what this old world needs. The world does need love. It needs God’s Love. You have it. Share it. Make a difference in someone’s life today. Most of the people you meet in an average day are dead in sin. Share with them that they can be alive in Christ.
“God Said No” by Pastor Howell Osborne
I asked God to grant me patience.
God said, No.
Patience is a by-product of tribulations; it isn’t granted, it is earned.
I asked God to give me happiness.
God said, No.
I give you blessings. Happiness is up to you.
I asked God to spare me pain.
God said, No.
Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.
I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said, No.
You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
God said, No.
I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things.
I ask God to help me LOVE others, unconditional as He loves me. God said… Ahhhh, finally you have the idea.
Taking God’s Grace to the World!
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