I grew up in a Catholic home and was raised Catholic all of my life. As I entered university, the reality is that I wasn’t living a Christian life. I believed in Jesus and who He said He was, and I believed that the Bible was the inerrant Word of God, but my actions just didn’t match my beliefs. I wasn’t a “bad guy” by the world’s standards; I was sort of what one would expect from a young university student.
My life was focused on Kenpo, higher levels of education, physical fitness, and partying with the guys. Somewhere Jesus fell into the group, but mostly only in my thoughts. Several years later, I reunited with a past girlfriend named Chantel, and she is now the love of my life, and wife of almost 6 years.
In 2002, around the time of the birth of our first daughter, we decided to get real about Jesus. So, after driving by a local Pentecostal church called Glad Tidings Assembly (GTA) in London, Ontario, and reading their really cool signs, we decided to check it out. The first sermon was about a Perfect Savior for a Perfect Storm, the Perfect Savior of course being Jesus. Now lets not forget – I am man, and like many men, we are strong and shouldn’t show our emotions (don’t worry, I really don’t believe that). But after listening to the sermon, and having had a few tears roll down, I knew a lifelong journey with God was about to begin.
While I always felt the Holy Spirit calling me to more, or should I say, to obey His commands, this church wasn’t going to let me off the hook. No, they don’t condemn anyone and say, “you’re bad”, since in reality we are all “bad”. We have all got a “past”, and God’s standard is perfection. But for the first time in my Christian walk, I felt cared for, not just lectured to. I soon came to realize the importance of Christian fellowship, of being held accountable for actions, and for using God’s gifts that He has provided us for His glory. Fortunately, God never consults my past to determine my future.
So what in the world does this have to do with Kenpo? Well, as I stated earlier, Kenpo has always been who I am. I live this stuff, and have so for the past 22 years. But now, as I try my best to live a Christ-centered life, my focus is on using my skills to help others in their growth, not just as a martial artist but also as a person. Let me put it another way. If you’ve got good presentation skills, it’s easy to stand up and teach a class of 20+ students at one time and teach about honesty, humility, courtesy, integrity, and self-control. But as an instructor and role model, do you live it? If you answer “yes”, by whose standards are you judging this? I am choosing God’s standards, and even though I fall down, I don’t stay down. I get back up and fight the good fight of faith.
I know a lot of people read my blogs. One only needs to check out the tracker to be aware of this. I also know that being a Christian isn’t easy from a world standpoint. But one thing I can assure you is that being a Christian has changed my life. I believe that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13). I don’t hide from success because I am afraid that I will fail. I don’t fear ANYONE EXCEPT GOD. I choose to rejoice by choice. Most importantly, I now have ultimate peace, because my mind is constantly on the Prince of Peace.
God Bless everyone.
