Cornerstone Arts :: Newsletters :: Cornerstone Presents December 2008

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Dear Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas from Kiev, Ukraine! We did it! Cornerstone has finished her 16th World Tour! I get to go home and enjoy being with family for the holidays. The Lord blessed our production in Croatia with a beautiful show, and with hundreds praying the sinners prayer. Christmas is a great time to become a Christian! Let me show you all that the Lord did in Cakovec, Croatia.

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DECEMBER TEACHING

The Battle For Christmas

Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year! It allows all of us to outwardly display the love for God that’s in our hearts, and we do it through Nativity sets on our front lawns, Christian Christmas cards and singing well loved Christmas carols about Jesus birth! During this time, people are warm hearted. They are more open to giving and receiving that they are at any other time. They are the most open to receive spiritually.

There is a battle that we are in the middle of: many retailers and the media are trying to take Christ out of Christmas. I am proud of the efforts that are being made by everyone to say CHRISTMAS and not HOLIDAY, and to get retailers to do the same. However, it is easy to lose sight of what this season is all about! We are so upset with who is and is not saying what about the Christmas season, that it is US who are missing the point!

Remember that Love and Faith are the two most important ingredients as you reach out to loved ones. Luke 2:13,14 says And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to all men. Notice the angels were praising God for a particular reason. They were praising God because peace was being declared between God and man, between heaven and earth. Hold on!

They were making this declaration at Bethlehem when Jesus was only a newborn baby at that time. How could peace be declared between God and man before Jesus had faced one test, before He had gone through even one temptation, before any spiritual battles for men had been fought, before one person was ever healed under His ministry? How could God send the angels to say such things when the battle for mans redemption was still 33 years away? BY FAITH!

As Romans 4:17 tells us, God calls those things that are not as though they were. He had already set His faith on mans redemption. So, as far as He was concerned, It was done! He began treating men like they had never sinned. He reached out to them in His great love. He totally offered Himself to man as though Jesus had already gone to the cross. Because of Gods faith and love, everything turned out perfectly. Jesus won every battle and took man away from Satans authority and dominion.

Now, with all that said, I want you to ponder this: If God acted as though the work of the cross was already completed before Jesus ever went to the cross, how do you think He is acting now? He is acting as though we were already in Heaven. He is saying that we’ve been raised up together and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. As far as our heavenly Father is concerned, you and I are already there!

We need to start living that way! We need to start enjoying the Spirit of Christmas, and living out our faith more now than at any other time. Christmas has been given to us as believers. Let us enjoy it! Let us show the world the JOY there is in celebrating Christ’s birth. Let us live as if the battle over Christmas was already won. Yes, we must still be vigilant to support Christian causes and Christmas events, but not lose focus that OUR main job this Christmas is to enjoy CHRIST.

Let us begin to look at one another in Christ Jesus and treat one another like we were already in Heaven. After all, we all look a whole lot better in Jesus than any other way. This can be the greatest Christmas any of us ever had, if we will really make Christmas wonderful for our loved ones instead of focusing so much on the battle, that Jesus is left neglected at this very important time of year. After all, we are celebrating Jesus birth and not our own.

II Corinthians 10:3 says, For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war in the same way. The weapons of our warfare are not man made, but they are powerful through God for pulling down spiritual strongholds, casting down arguments and everything that (tries to) exalt itself above the knowledge, or focus on God, and bringing every thought under the obedience of Christ.

In a nutshell, that is the battle this Christmas. Are we going to get so distraught over what the world is trying to do, that we let Jesus celebration suffer because we are so busy being upset with the media that we do not give the Lord the praises due Him?

Please take some time and read the Christmas story found in Luke chapter 2. Read it once for yourself and once to your family. Let it come alive in your heart, and not just be some dry tradition or worse, some Christmas fable. Make giving a priority and give, give, give! Do not just give things that can be bought. Give Joy and Peace and Love. And go out of your way to give them! If there is a separation with a friend or relative, regardless of who is at fault, forgive them and take the season to make things right.

Finally, take on the spirit of joy! And spread it around everywhere you go. AS you do these things, you will begin to realize that your needs are being met, not just financially, but emotionally as well, even though that is not your primary goal. That is the way to win any battle this Christmas!

VIDEO TEXT

It was wonderful to be back in Croatia, and we went right into auditions. The workers were eager, and due to the success of past productions, we had a willing crew ready to work on everything from doing the woodwork to create the sets, to making curtains for the new space we would be using, to making recordings for the soundtrack we would use for the performances.

There was a press conference held for the television and newspapers to help us save time from going from one interview to another. Ken and Marjorie Bell arrived with all the beautiful costumes, and they went right to work. Soon, promotions were seen everywhere, and posters were hung around the city. Ken Bell divided his time to help Marjorie to helping us put finishing touches on the sets.

It is important for the actors to remember WHY they do what they do, so we spend a considerable amount of time in prayer. Rehearsals were going well, and so were the decorations. Soon, the curtains for the stage were on the rise, as was our excitement. I had a radio interview to promote the show followed by another. I use the time to promote the Lord and the production.

Rehearsals continued, and sets were being finished in record time. Opening Night came, and we were ready! The actors did a wonderful job, and the audience continued to rave about the beauty of the production. Best of all, each night, hundreds of people would pray the sinners prayer. Thank You, Lord, for using this musical to bring You glory.

After the show, I was able to address the audience and to encourage them to have a relationship with Jesus. After all, who do you honor for their birthday, but the person with the birthday? We were created to have a relationship with Jesus, so I encouraged everyone to spend time with the Lord this Christmas.

Ken, Marjorie and I were taken sightseeing for the first time on the last day of the show by actor and dear friend, Daniel Behin. We went to beautiful Zagoria, with it's rolling hills, and exquisite rivers and bridges, and at the top of the hills is adorned with a charming castle dating back to to 1382. We came back to Cakovec, and finished our final day with two beautiful performances, and more importantly, more salvations.

We finished the evening with photos of the cast and crew for Two from Galilee. I am so thankful to so many people, especially Bratko and Carmen Horvat for single handedly overseeing the colossal work of creating and hanging all curtains. Also, to Vlado Hoblaj for inviting me back again to watch the Lord do another miracle! But most especially Ken and Marjorie Bell for their wonderful help to make this show the beautiful show it is.

The next day, I said goodbye to everyone, and flew on to Kiev, Ukraine to meet pastors who would take an overnight train from Dneperpetrovsk just to meet with me about a possible show in 2009 and 2010. I enjoyed meeting Pastor Ruslan Andreyev and assistant to the pastor Alexander. What two great men! I also had a chance to see good friends Ruslan Kuharchuk and Gleb Kotovitsky, as well as stay with dear friends Egor and Luda Egorov. It was a relaxing time in the two days I was there. I then would leave for Dallas, Texas to fly back just in time for a wonderful Christmas with my family.

Bog Tebya Lublyu!

That is Ukrainian phrase meaning GOD LOVES YOU. So, now that the 16th World Tour comes to a successful end, I am going to relax, and gear up for the 17th World Tour, which begins in January in Lima, Peru. To my FAITHFUL partners who have given this year, I am so grateful to you for your generosity to make 2008 a blessed year filled with fun, with shows, and with thousands coming to Jesus Christ around the world. I go to the Lord, and credit YOU for all the good that Cornerstone enjoyed this year, because without you, we would not have seen souls saved in 14 countries this year! God bless you, and have a blessed Christmas and a properous New Year!