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Cornerstone Communications
Ukraine
January 20, 2007

Dear Friends & Family,

Greetings from Kiev, Ukraine! I have been here since the first of the year, getting a musical production ready. It's going to be a fruitful year, and I'm excited about all that the Lord wants to accomplish through Cornerstone.

VIDEO MESSAGE

Production Update

Pastor Henry Madava, pastor of Victory Church in Kiev and my dear friend, has once again invited me to come to Kiev to do an encore performance of our November musical. Now back the cast has been working trying to remember all their lines and dances, and I've been busy making sure everything is in order as we prepare. Please keep the cast and crew in prayer as we open our first production for 2007. It will be a blessing, but we need your prayers!

Worry…. Me?

A message on "worry". It's time for me to step on some toes…. Am I talking about you? The Lord loves to provide for His children. In fact, He's promised to provide for the birds, and He's been pretty faithful to them. You know, He's a great provider! A great place to study God's provision is the entire chapter of Matthew 6.

So, I want to ask you. Why do YOU worry? Could it be because you're not living in the revelation knowledge of God's amazing goodness? You may say, "Well, of course, who doesn't know that God is good and that He provides for me?" Okay, then WHY are you worrying, instead of simply receiving? I mean, everyone knows that God is good, but I'm not talking about what you know in your head, but what you know in your heart.

What is a revelation? It's when God takes something that has been in your head (head knowledge) , and makes it so real, that it becomes a part of your life. You act on it, instead of just storing it in a mental folder somewhere.

It's natural to worry. The hardest part is that we live in a world of paradox. We work to provide, but have to trust God for provision? How tough is that? It's easy to see why the world thinks, "Hey, I worked for this. I did this. I deserve it. I provided for myself" As Christians, we have to choose to put our dependence on Him, even when we're the ones working to make the money that's going to keep us and our families alive.

However, we're not natural… we're SUPERNATURAL! We have the Holy Spirit living within us when we're born again, and we choose to trust the Lord. I have had to learn not to go by what is natural, and go by what is supernatural. I had to learn to NOT worry. One way is by learning one great scripture on worry, "…casting down vain imaginations, and every high thing that (tries to) exalt itself against the knowledge of God, and take captive every thought to the obedience of Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5.

I've learned that whatever you FOCUS on, will be what becomes real to you. If you allow the busy-ness of this world to get you caught up in the daily cares of worries it brings, then you won't find the necessary time to balance it out. You've allowed the "everyday worries" to dim your focus on the Lord. Mark 4:18, 19 says "…And these are they which hear the word, but the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word…"

Watching, reading or hearing the daily news can fill you with bad news, fear and despair. What I try to do is to balance it with the Word, or even spend MORE time with the Lord than in the news. It's whatever your FOCUS is that becomes the reality. Romans 10:17 says, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God…" How about you? Are you meditating on all that's bad in the world, or meditating on the goodness of God? You are replacing worry with believing God's promises. You choose to not worry.

"Cast your cares on the Lord, because He cares for you." When the enemy comes to start lying to you, RUN to God's Word! Read Matthew 6 when the cares of the world are overwhelming you. Put your focus on the Lord, and not on your circumstances, and watch the peace of God wash over you.

Nehai Blagoslovyt' Vas Gospod'

That is Ukrainian for "God bless you!" It is a joy to be able to start doing videos, because they allow you to experience more of what I'm doing (even though this particular newsletter relates to my 10 day-ANNUAL holiday!) . I pray that your 2007 is off to a spectacular start, and that the Lord will continue to bless you during the rest of the year. God bless you, my friend.

For the Kingdom,
Richard Montez