kchenault

I think what Mark702 may mean is that they withdraw from the world around them, much like monks do. The saying goes, "Be in the world, not of it." I think the argument is flawed in that the person who is involved that way will show their faith and life in Christ by how they live, thereby fullfilling the great commission by just being on this planet. Their life becomes their testimony.

Sorry Radok, some of us have lives that need tending, and that takes a lot of time.

Well folks, don't get to out of hand while I am gone. Going to Terre Haute, IN for 2 weeks and would love it to stay nice on this thread. Go ahead and direct any questions or comments and I will answer them when I get back. Pilsung in Christ!

I watch tv. I make mistakes. I am however saying that those things become less important to you as your faith grows. You aren't going to get ticked off if you miss an episode of your favorite show because you realize there are more important things in life than tv. Moderation is a nice idea, but it is really hard to accomplish sometimes. I was also trying to point out that other activities should not supercede the Will of God. If you constantly put your wants and desires ahead of what God wants from you, then your faith can become weakened and seem to others non-exisitent. Christ was perfect. He had to be in order for Himself to be the perfect sacrifice to pay for mankind's sin. Some Catholics believe Mary to be co-redemptrix, or co-savior. Not true. While being blessed among women, she didnt save anyone from sin or redeem them. I never said to halt things all together. I drink the occasional beer, watch tv and movies, hang out with friends. But if they become my focus, and not God, I lose out. As the old song says, "This world is not my home, I'm just passing through." The things of this world are fleeting and pass away. That's why your car breaks down after time. People are born, they grow old, and then they die and pass to REAL life. This life is the training ground for eternity. We sit in judgement of other believers to help them realize their sins. It's called accountability. We try to help keep each other on the stright and narrow. How can you help someone woth out making a judgment call on what they are doing. Your example throwing the first stone is flawed in that they just wanted to kill a woman for breaking one of their rules, believers should want to help those people live a Godly life, not kill them for messing up. Christ was telling them to look at their own flaws and see that they had them, so we can better understand where that person is at the time they messed up. The people who condemn those who do what they wouldn't do are being legalistic. Grace and Truth must be balanced. Stick with your convictions and when around less mature Christians, don't do anything that may embolden them to do something they normally wouldn't do. Everyone has their own convictions at any given time, and those convictions change with maturity, but they should change to bring you closer to and not further away from God. Convictions come from the Holy Spirit. Listen to Him and you'll be okay. Hope I cleared up my stance a little.

Point taken. Think on this. Look at Christians who spend more time studying their bible, going to church, and fellowshipping with other believers, and then look at a believer who doesn't do all those things and tell me who is a more mature Christian, and will also be more effective for God on this earth. The one who doesn't do those things is more likely to turn away from God and continue living the "old life". The Sunday school teacher was wrong, but we are called as believers to leave the spiritual milk behind eventually and grow. My point is as the "Church" we are called to stand in judgement of one another, for the sake of keeping each other accountable. The ones we are not to judge are non-believers. (1 Corinthians 5: 11-13) Love the interaction, by the way.

The teacher had a valid point....to a point. Questioning someones faith based on time spent doing one thing over another is not the right approach. Take the TV thing for instance. If you watch more TV than studying the Word of God, where does your heart lie? Most in the Christian world, if being truthful, would say the TV. Time spent with God in His word only strengthens the relationship between God and yourself. God wants total commitment from us, nothing less. He is who He is, and His Will be done no matter what. That is His right. Now having said that, no one is perfect, but Christ. So we learn from our mistakes and continue to grow in our faith. As you grow in your faith you will notice certain things taking a backseat to your faith. TV, partying, hanging with non-believers, martial arts, etc... What we can learn from martial arts as Christians is that if we apply discipline to our walk as we apply it to our physical training, we will soar spiritually. Only God can question the heart of someone and find the answer. We as human beings can only guess and make conjecture.

That sounds like a great routine.

Coco, my legs are far stronger than my arms and chest. I can bang out 75 to 100 squats in sets of 25, but I can only pull out about 30 pushups in 3 sets of 10, then my arms start to give out. I follow up with a back bridge to work out the kinks in my back. In about 10-15 minutes, 1 minute rests in between sets, I get a pretty decent workout just doing those three exercises. That is all I have time for. It is really more of a maintenance program.

Monkeygirl is sooooo kind. Thanks for the invite.

I have found that body weight exercises have really helped my chest and legs. I do three different types of pushups and Hindu leg squats. I do the pushups in sets of 10 and the squats in sets of 25. My chest and triceps gained some size and hardness and strength. My legs have increased in size, strength, and definition. They have really helped. I can now hold a side kick for longer than I could before. It has also strengthened my hip flexors and such. If done properly, they increase cardio as well. I walk 2 miles and then do pushups, squats, and then a back bridge to do overall strength and flexibility. This really helps my lower back pain.

Also make sure they use dispsable cups for the ink. Hepatitus is a big concern for people with tattoos. Check out the internet. Put the words tattoos and flash together in the ole search engine and see what comes up. Lots of stuff on the web. Think long and hard before doing. If it's right you will get one and probably want more. If not, you'll be looking for a laser operator inside of a year. Pilsung!

I will pray for him and also offer some advice. I have a cousin who has stomach cancer, his tumor started out the size of a softball. His reatment has only been a good, sound diet, and taking 3000mg of high quality coral calcium a day. His tumor is now the size of a peanut. Just a thought to give your Sensei. May God bless Sensei McNeill and keep him all the days of his life. May the Lord's face shine upon him and heal him in this time of need. Amen.

I don't know about the color purple, but they have co-opted the rainbow. This was a symbol between God and man and the entire Earth that he would never again destroy the world through water.

I always try to wear the serious face when sparring teens or adults. For the kids I laugh and coax them into commiting to a move, thus breaking the freezing aspect that some kids go through when first sparring, just to make it fun for them. They then feel more comfortable sparring others. Sometimes we adults can start having a good time. Want to make a friendly match tough? Compliment them on technique if it is a good one. Tell them way to go when they do score on you. That's when the fun really begins.

I can't imagine North Korea allowing any MA except for the military. Way too Communist.

I did not take my own advice, aggrevated this old injury and now I have chronic pain when I train, sometimes just from sitting too long. Please get help for this, or you may regret it.

Your pubic bone may be out of alignment or your hip joint. I would suggest seeing a chiropractor for it. I had this problem and it can get very painful if left untreated. It can throw your whole body out of alignment. Be warned, the doctor may make you take it very easy when you get it re-aligned, and it may take several visits. It does work though. Also, do the leg strengthening exercises they give you. If you don't, it WILL happen again. Do Hindu squats to strengthen your hips and legs. They work!

Kudos Kicks!

Again, I am just trying to get a feel for their beliefs. It is not personal for me, because I would just ignore them. But, this is, I presume your business and their behavior could affect you bottom line or quality of instruction you give, not to mention, what is most important to me, how you perceive Christ and His followers. PM me whatever info you think I might find pertinent to your situation, and I will PM you back my advice. We can keep this out of the publics view and hopefully help you out in the process. Peace is great, but PC be dam ned. I think I just came up with a bumper sticker slogan. Hmmm......

Can you PM their affiliation? Are they Southern Baptist, Episcopal, Catholic, Universal Church of Christ? That is what I meant, not the exact name or location. Some churches are very "fringe". We have a "church" in Topeka, KS that harasses and bashes gays. While I don't agree with homosexuality, I completely disagree with this church and their methods. Fred Phelps is the pastor and the "church" is made up entirely of his family and relatives. He used to be very big in the '90's for publicity. The media pretty much ignores him now.

What church are they with? That could give some insight.

Give me some time to think about it and I'll get back to you. Okay? I just want to give the best advice I can, and hopefully use God's Word to get them to at least leave you and your students alone, if not change their minds.

My answer would depend on just what the "other camp" is doing exactly. Are they picketing your school? Harassing you in any way? Give me some specifics and I will try and help as best I can.

True. As I said in the article I wrote for KF, I stay away from the spiritual aspects of the martial arts. But that is my conviction. Do I believe I am right? Of course, but I can't make up someone's mind for them. That is the joy and curse, sometimes of bieng a Believer, free will.

One of the keys to interpreting scripture properly is CONTEXT. SOOOO IMPORTANT!