Welcome to the GMAF Newsletter! We pray it will encourage you in your Martial Arts and Outreach for Christ.
"No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven."
Jesus Christ
"For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence."
The Apostle Paul
"Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth; That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me."
Psalms 108:5-6
The more I study and practice T'ai Chi Ch'uan, the more I understand why someone would have called the exercise "Grand Ultimate." It is a wonderful Internal exercise for health and self defense that meets the broad needs of the human body and mind. However, while T'ai Chi is an excellent form of whole body movement with great personal benefits, there is something much grander and truly the ultimate for every human.
Our "Grand Ultimate" is the Lord Jesus Christ!
"Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven." Colossians 1:15-20 (KJV)
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven, and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities: all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firsborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." Colossians 1:15-20 (NIV)
The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is above all others. No one is like Christ. He is the Grand Ultimate. He is the "image of the invisible God." He is the "firstborn over all creation." By Christ "all things were created." That includes things in heaven, and on earth, visible and invisible. Look around you. Everything you see Christ created. He created the Universe. He created the Sun and the Moon. He created the sky and seas. He created the mountains and the valleys. He created humans and animals. He created trees and plants. He created birds and fish. Christ created all things and holds together all things. Someone said of Christ that He is the "Cosmic Glue." Everything has its beginning, middle and end in Him. Christ also created everything you and I cannot see. He created angels and spiritual beings. He is above them all. He is the Grand Ultimate of Heaven, the heavens and the earth. Christ has supremacy, pre-eminence, in His Body, the Church, because of His supremacy in Life, Death and Resurrection. God was pleased "to have all his fullness dwell in him." Christ is not part-God, He is God. He is the Fullness of God. He is the Image of the Invisible God. We know God, see God, hear God because of Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Greek word for "supremacy, pre-eminence" is proteuon . It means "to be first, chief, to hold the first rank." Christ is First. He is Chief. He holds the First Rank. He is Number One. No one can be higher than Christ because Jesus is First, Highest, Chief, the Grand Ultimate.
It is God's desire to reconcile to Himself "all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven." He has done this "by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." Peace is available to all people of the world through Christ Jesus. Christ is All, has done All and will be All forever and ever. We have nothing more to do but believe, receive, relax and enjoy Christ. Everything we need is in Christ. We add nothing to Him. He adds everything to us. We can add nothing to our salvation. He is our Salvation. What we can do is practice the Presence of Christ every day as we pray, obey, study, love, forgive, share, teach, submit, lead, show mercy, and make a difference.
May we today enjoy our Grand Ultimate: Jesus Christ the Lord!
"In a real baseball game, it takes a certain amount of skill and strength to reach first base, but in the "Game of Life" we attain this position not by skill, but by the sacrifice of our Savior on our behalf. God, in His mercy and grace, has provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16
Through believing (faith) and receiving Christ, our sins are forgiven. His Holy Spirit comes to dwell in our hearts, and our spirit is made alive with Him."
"Jesus answered, Truly, Truly, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. marvel not that I say unto thee, 'Ye must be born again.' The wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." John 3:5-8
When we respond to God the Father prompting our hearts to receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, His Holy Spirit gives us life! We are born again by the Spirit of God Who actually comes to live inside of us.
This new birth, or spiritual birth, is accomplished by the marvelous work of the Holy Spirit imparting eternal, spiritual life to us. At the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit creates a new man which, after God, is created in righteousness and true holiness: "and that you put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4:24) This new man is "born of the Spirit," according to the Bible (God's Word). This is the only way a person can enter the Kingdom of God, and this can only be done through the Lord Jesus Christ Who died in our place and rose again to provide us eternal life. This spiritual birth is a completely free gift to us from God and is available to all mankind regardless of their past or present condition in life. This free gift is not based upon our age, education, nationality, or financial resources. It is not dependent upon what we have - or have not - done in the past. Nor does it depend upon our abilities or performance in the present."
(Next month: Whosoever Calls Upon the Name of the Lord)
GMAF is pleased to announce three new video tapes in its Hwa-Yu T'ai-Chi series. We have added "T'ai Chi Rooting," "T'ai Chi Warm Ups," and "One Yin Circle Palm Internal Art" to the instructional series with Master Robert Xavier. That brings the total of GMAF tapes to 12. You can read more about them at http://www.gmaf.org/video.html .
If your organization has video tapes available for purchase, please let us know and we'll announce them in future newsletters.
You'll find every GMAF newsletter at http://www.gmaf.org/gmaf_newsletters.html . These newsletters are a gold mine of information about Christianity and the Martial Arts.
Many GMAF members have told us their favorite part of the monthly newsletter is Fellowship News. It's wonderful to see Christian martial artists praying for each other across the United States and around the world. No distance is too far for Christians. The instant we pray, God hears. We can impact the lives of our brothers and sisters through our prayers. God answers prayer. It is pleasing to Him. Thank you for caring so much for each other!
Here is a note we received from Bill Pitcher just before we uploaded this newsletter.
"Thanks for praying for us throughout this trip. I arrived in Albany safely about 8 PM Sunday night. My flights home were uneventful and restful; and even though my checked bag disappeared for a while, it showed up on time in Albany. After landing, Peggy, Jeff and I had a quiet Mother's Day dinner in Albany, and headed for Johnstown. It was great to get home. It continues to be tougher for me to be away. Quite likely it's because I know that Peggy truly wants to be there also.
Shortly after arriving in Albany, Peggy reminded me that I had neglected to send a promised update between our time in Guatemala City and our departure for Honduras. Unfortunately, that will make this letter a bit longer, but here is the news:
Sunday was a Police Appreciation
service at a large church in Guatemala City. At least 60 or 70
officers were there, as were a couple of very high ranking government
officials. A few officers came forward at the
invitation, but I never found out if it was to pray for salvation,
rededication, or just to deal with the Lord on some issue. For
me, the high point of worship time was when I realized that I
was singing a totally unfamiliar song, in Spanish, and understanding
exactly what I was singing. God is answering prayer in that regard
(the Spanish, not the singing :-)).
On Monday and Tuesday, we worked with about 1000 recruits at the Police Academy in Guatemala City. They were broken in to three groups of roughly 350 each; we had each group for two hours each day. That's not a great deal of time to teach the skills we wanted to give them, but we pray that the few techniques we taught and had them work on will be effective for them when they go out on the street.
At the end of the second day training each group, we passed out Bibles, gave the Gospel and our testimonies. Over half indicated that they had received the Lord.
During our time in Guatemala,
we were joined by Raul Abrego, a police captain from El Salvador.
He is the man who has arranged for us to teach at the Police Academy
in San Salvador in September. He was a great
addition to the team.
On Wednesday, we travelled to LaPaz, Honduras. On the second flight of that trip, I sat with a lady who is the Director of Natural Resources for Honduras, essentially the head of their EPA. She spoke no English, but with my (pocito) Spanish, we were able to carry on a limited, yet enjoyable conversation. One of our team members--Office Manager Sonja Blea, was seated behind me and helped translate for a while, but finally told me I was on my own and took a nap, leaving me to fend for myself. I actually enjoyed the time trying to talk in what is becoming a more familiar tongue.
Upon landing in Tegucigalpa,
we were met by a contingent of Honduran police, who transported
us to LaPaz, where the Police Academy is located. Living in that
area is like a dream. LaPaz literally means "the
peace" and lives up to its name. It's a sleepy, dusty town
that looks like it belongs on a movie set. Mangos and coconuts
grow in just about every yard. We stayed in a small hotel, had
breakfast brought to us each morning by a lady who runs a local
restaurant (where we also had lunch each day), trained hard with
the recruits at the Police Academy, and had dinner in nearby Comayagua
each night. We were something of a local attraction--our training
team happening to consist of mostly big, light skinned guys
wearing black tee shirts, black BDUs and black boonie hats, being
hauled around by the Policia Nacional; and most of the town took
an extra trip past us for a better look. School kids would walk
past us to practice their English, and folks would drive by, wave,
and shout "hola, hueros." (I'm not sure of the spelling
on that, but it means "Hi white guys!" without the somewhat
negative connotation of "gringo.") Outside of the town,
donkeys, cows and goats roam pretty much at will. They generally
stay off the pavement, but not always.
We trained recruits at the
academy for two solid days. They are a tough, disciplined group.
At the end of the training, we passed out New Testaments, gave
the Gospel, and saw the overwhelming majority of them
indicate that they had received the Lord. We were then asked to
give New Testaments to another group of about 30 students and,
of course we did. Randy gave them the Gospel also, and over 20
of them indicated that they had trusted the Lord.
We had planned to do some live
fire training with some of the instructors of the academy on Saturday.
In all the hub-bub of packing, we had forgotten to bring a supply
of disposable ear protectors for ourselves and
the folks we were going to teach; though we had a few sets, we
didn't have enough for everyone. One of our police contacts in
the area, Colonel Mirna Suazo, a district commander, had arranged
for us to get on the local military base for a tour and dinner.
Part of the base is a US helicopter base with about 900 US personnel.
Our tour took us to the US helicopter maintenance area where we
met a few young American servicemen just finishing up some work
on a Blackhawk chopper. They were about ready to start it up.
Jet helicopters are VERY loud, so before starting it, they gave
each of us a set of disposable ear protectors! Now we had enough
for the next day. Just one example of how God works out even the
smallest of details.
Saturday we did our live fire work with the instructors. It is painful for us to see the skill level of those who teach. The skills are deplorable, the condition of the guns just as bad, but they want to learn and get better. We work from there.
We travelled back to Guatemala Saturday afternoon and arrived to find that Sonja's home had been burglarized. She lives with her mother, (a missionary with VERBO Ministries) who was not home at the time. The burglars did an efficient job, taking everything of any monetary value in the home.
We praise God for the souls saved during our ministry. HE is truly pouring out HIS spirit in Latin America now. Your prayers and support have been a part of this. How long this will last, we don't know, but we do know that continued prayer is necessary.
Please pray for more workers in our ministry. The addition of Charlie and Pat Reynolds is an answer to many prayers and will make POFCI's work better, but more local workers are needed;
Pray for additional team members for future trips. Most of the recent trips have been only two or three officers from the US. Though the results are great, it's a lot of work and more members would make it easier.
Pray for God's continued protection on the team members and our families.
Pray for Sonja and her mother as they make decisions concerning a place of residence. Pray for encouragement and strength. (You can send her a note of encouragement at <Oficiales@hotmail.com>.) Also pray for Sonja's financial support as she serves as our office manager without pay, but as a missionary with very little support.
Please pray for a new supply of Bibles. We had been given several thousand some time ago. They are just about gone now.
Please pray for Mirna Suazo, the police commander who has been so good to us. Another missionary told us that Mirna made a profession of faith some time ago, and she supports us fully and generously, but we have not had any conversations concerning Godly things with her. Please pray also for a situation she is dealing with: She spent well over an hour unburdening herself about a community under her jurisdiction. The situation involves an excommunicated Roman Catholic priest who is a pervert and child abuser; a town divided because of him; and political leaders who won't do their jobs. The whole story is far too long to tell, but pray for wisdom for Mirna and for a political system that is willing do its job
Please pray for continued ability in the Spanish language--each new word and phrase is a triumph, but it is a very slow process. Peggy and I are talking and praying about attending a language school in Antiqua, Guatemala for a week next summer. It would bring her skills (college was a long time ago) back up to speed and give me a more solid base to work from. The school is inexpensive, under $250 per person for a week.
Pray for future trips. September
will take a team to the academy in San Salvador. I would like
to be on that trip. Randy will be making some exploratory trips
to Mexico. New contacts and opportunities develop
frequently.
Please pray for our continued support. Each trip costs about $1500 for each person.
Finally, please pray as Peggy and I begin to make long range plans. I can retire in less than six years, and the time is flying. If the retirement laws change, it may be as little as two. Jeff will be out of school by then and we will have few things (other than family) to tie us here. We are looking to the Lord for what he would have us do.
Sorry it has been such a long letter, but so much happens so quickly on these trip. All the details and stories would take volumes to tell.
Thanks again for the continued prayer, encouragement and financial support. God continues to meet our needs as he has promised.
In HIS service,
For the Pitcher family
Bill"
Here is a note from our friend Jeff McLaughlin. It is a reminder of how much we need to pray for one another. We have a powerful enemy, but a more Powerful God.
"I want to apologize for neglecting to maintain the INCMA recently. Once you hear my prayer requests, I think you will understand. It has been a rough week, but God still answers prayers.
1) My son had emergency surgery this week. He had an appendectomy. Please pray for a quick recovery.
2) My 12 year old daughter was sexually assaulted at the public skating rink a few weeks back by a 47 year old man. We have been having to deal with the arraignment in court this week. She needs your prayers.
3) Jonathan, a 15 year old boy in our kenpo karate class, called us on Monday night with some bad news. He had found out just an hour earlier that his brother and cousin was killed in a car crash. The funeral is tomorrow. Jonathan & his family needs your prayers.
4) I have a very important unspoken request for a very dear friend of mine.
I have been planning some great things for the INCMA and will get to workon it as soon as the dust settles from everything. Please keep in touch.
Thanks & God bless you all.
Your brother in Christ and in the martial arts,
Jeff McLaughlin
International Network of Christian
Martial Artists"
Here is a question from Mark Newman about Christian instruction in Nashville. Please let Mark know about anyone you are familiar with in that area.
"I am looking for an instructor in the Nashville, Tennessee area. Any of the sword or blade fighting skills would also be of interest (i.e. silat). It is hard to find a christian instructor in these. Would you mind putting a listing up on your board? I noticed that several people were listed who were looking for instructors.
Thanks,
A. Mark Newman"
Another inquiry is about Christian martial arts instruction in the New York City area. If you know of someone, please write to us and we'll pass along the information.
(I know you will join us in praying for each of these Christian martial artists and their ministries.)
No new members this month. We thank each one of you who are members for your prayers and support for other members of GMAF. It is wonderful to share with great brothers and sisters in the Cause of Christ!
Please let us know if you have moved, changed jobs, received a belt promotion, started studying a new martial art, started a Christian martial arts ministry, etc. We want to be sure your listing in the GMAF Internet Directory is all you want it to be.
We appreciate your Fellowship in the Gospel of the Grace of God. We are praying for you and your opportunities to serve Christ. Please let us know about ways GMAF can help you in your service. If you know of anyone who might be interested in receiving this monthly newsletter, please ask them to e-mail Mark McGee. We'll be glad to put them on our monthly mailing list.
You are invited to read previous GMAF Newsletters.
If you would like to join Grace Martial Arts Fellowship ©, contact Mark McGee.
Grace Martial Arts Fellowship is a service of GraceLife Ministries.
Taking God's Grace to the World!