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Cornerstone Communications
Russia
June 01, 2007

Dear Friends & Family,

Greetings from Kirov, Russia! Considering this is the MAY EDITION, I’m a little behind! So sorry, I have been very busy, and there is only ONE computer in all of Kirov (trust me, I've looked!) that could upload the video for me to attach it.

I have just arrived here, after a busy but wonderful time in Dallas, Texas and Norman, Oklahoma. The weather here is very similar to Dallas, cool and a bit rainy, but those are about the only similarities!

VIDEO MESSAGE

"Such Foolishness!"

I was witnessing to a businessman who was trying to understand WHY someone like me would “waste” his life doing shows for free, “when you could be making a lot of money doing this”. He, first of all, doesn’t understand the mind, nor the heart of Christ. Second, he can’t imagine where I get all the funds to accomplish all that I do (it’s a bit of a mystery to me, too!) . Finally, he can’t imagine why I wouldn’t take advantage of my “talent” and use it to buy a nice house, new cars, and have money. Then, the Lord answered a day later:

“Notice among yourselves, dear brothers, that few of you who follow Christ have big names or power or wealth. God has deliberately chosen to use ideas the world considers foolish and of little worth in order to shame those people considered by the world as wise and great.” I Corinthians 1: 26, 27

Often times, we as Christians spend so much time at work, that we start valuing what the world values. The god of this world becomes alluring, and we find ourselves drawn to worship the god of Mammon, or money. Yet, we are not of this world! We have a different God, and He is THE only God!

God has given us eyes, and I’m thankful for my vision, but He never intended for me to lead my life by what I see. No, I’m to live my life by faith. When Jesus walked on the water, and came out to the boat, the disciples were so afraid! They had never seen such a thing! Jesus called out to Peter to join Him on the water, and I’m proud of Peter! He got out of the boat and at least attempted the impossible. He succeeded for a while by actually walking on the water, but then noticed his situation, took his eyes off of Jesus, and then began to sink.

I think of the other disciples, who, though they trusted Jesus outwardly, inwardly were thinking, “Based on what I SEE, the circumstances are such that I will NOT walk on the water, even though Jesus is calling.” How sad. By the way, I’m not talking about the other 11 disciples. I’m talking about US… you and me. “WHAT?”

Yes, how many times is Jesus calling us to do what seems impossible, and yet, we LOOK at our circumstances and determine what we will do or not do based on what we SEE? If I stood up in a church service and asked people to raise their hands if they believed God was Lord over their life, everyone would raise their hand! If I asked them to raise their hands if they believed that Money was lord over their life, no one would raise their hand.

Yet, many of these same believers think to themselves, “If it’s the will of money, then I will serve the Lord”, “If it’s the will of money, I will give more to missions” “If it’s the will of money, I will help the church with their building program”. What about God’s will? He’s asking us to attempt the impossible, but we say NO based on what’s in our bank account, or based on what events are written on our calendars. “I can’t go on that mission trip, because Johnny has an important Little League game that weekend.”, or “I want to help with the church’s outreach, but little Sarah has a recital.” God, forgive us.

Whatever happened to “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done”? Or, are those just pretty words to comfort us? We’ve got to decide whether Jesus Christ is WORTH living for, and sacrificing some things in our life to help His Kingdom. It’s a walk of faith. King David said, “I will not give God something that I got for nothing” I Chron. 21:24.

My life long prayer is this: “Lord, what is on Your heart? What is Your desire? How can I help You accomplish what You want to do? How can I help You expand Your Kingdom so that more people can know more about You?” When was the last time you prayed that prayer? Let’s stop asking for “New car, more money, more time off, bigger house, nicer vacation, better grades” and ask Him questions that are on HIS heart. Oh, yes, He wants to bless us, because of His amazing love for us, but let’s put Him FIRST this week. Don’t be surprised to find out that He has something wonderful planned for you, that will bless you, and help His Kingdom, too! “It might look like foolishness to the world, but only those who have the Holy Spirit can understand what this all means”. I Corinthians 2:14.

Das Vedania!

That’s Russian for “Goodbye!” As you can see, it’s been a busy month. I have enjoyed traveling and spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ wherever I go, through theatrical productions. After Kirov, Russia, I’m on to Zagreb, Croatia next month.

I hope that this newsletter serves as a powerful tool of what extraordinary things our Lord can do through a very ordinary guy like me. God bless you!

For the Kingdom,
Richard Montez