Men have searched for the Treasure in the veins of the deep
While others scratch the surface and remain fast asleep
Rare men proclaim that there is Treasure in the mine
Many say remain where you are and you will be fine

Few men dig through these tunnels though they’ve seen little proof
While simple men laugh and say “we already have truth”
Men hang there and hammer away at the rock
While simple men stay on the surface and mock

The choice is set before us

It’s one that each must make

The Father has been calling

There’s a fruit that you must take

View Video Version or Listen to Audio Version

Message delivered on Sunday February 24, 2008 in the adult Sunday school class at
Trinity Baptist Church,160 Changebridge Road, Montville, NJ 07045.
www.trinitymontville.org

One area that has marked our life together which has also both validated and illustrated the power of the gospel in days gone by has been the decided modesty and the distinctive femininity of the dress and the demeanor of the women in this church, the decided modesty and the distinctive femininity.

However, in the past year or two there has been a marked erosion among us in both of these areas. We have had men come to us vexed in their hearts and in their minds as they struggle to maintain mental purity before God, eyes that do not become the inlet of lust on the basis of what they see.

Have you noticed how hard it is to be thankful when you really aren’t thankful?

Oh, we might think that we are doing a good job convincing ourselves that we are thankful but deep down we know that we really aren’t thankful. We might think that we are doing a good job convincing those around us that we are thankful but in reality they probably know that we are struggling and we really aren’t thankful. We probably even think at times that we can convince God that we are thankful, when we are not, but He cannot be deceived – He knows better.

While we have great cause to rejoice over the merits of Christ’s righteousness being imputed or accredited to us as a free gift by God’s grace, there is yet more to rejoice over grace than the imputation of His righteousness alone.   Paul wrote “How much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man.” What is this “abundance of grace” Paul is speaking of?   It would appear it goes even beyond the scope of the “gift of righteousness” and indeed it does – far beyond.

------------------------------------------------- 

~ Summary Index ~ 
1. Godly Christian Ministries Launched 
2. Godly Christian Music - Site Updates 
3. Godly Christian Music - New Songs 
4. Prayer Requests

--------------------------------------------------

1. Godly Christian Ministries Launched

After several months of work and countless delays, the new 
www.GodlyChristianMinistries.com website has been launched.  There are 
several significant improvements to the site in its breadth of 
material and functionality.  It is much easier to add content to the 
site and as a result, you can expect to see the site steadily grow in 
the future.  As new content is added to the site, it will initially 
appear in the main blog and then it will filter into all the 
categories.  Check it out and find out where a good portion of my time 
has been going over this last season...

--------------------------------------------------

2. Godly Christian Music - Site Updates

There has been several changes to www.GodlyChristianMusic.com in 
the last two weeks.  Though some of the changes are only behind the 
scenes, most of them are quite visible.

New Copyright System 
I have added a much more thorough copyright/permissions system into 
the site which can be customized by each artist.  On a regular basis, 
I receive emails asking questions pertaining to copyright issues and 
receiving permission to use the music for special purposes.  The new 
copyright system that I have set it place should help everyone know 
exactly what they can use the music for and the guidelines they must 
follow.

New Link 2 Us Page 
If you have ever wanted to place a link to Godly Christian Music on 
your website, it has never been easier.  The new Link 2 Us page has 
several different standard banner sized picture links with 
corresponding html codes that can easily be pasted into your website.

Aesthetics and Fixes 
There have been a few bugs in the appears of the site for some time 
which have now been resolved.  In addition, there has been several 
things that have been spelled wrong both on various pages and within 
the database.  I have been taking the time to fix all the little 
things I can find.

Upcoming Updates... 
I am going to be looking into creating a new music player on the 
site and also creating a system to utilize ID3 tags for mp3 file.  For 
those of you who don't know what ID3 tags are, they the things that 
allow your mp3 player and computer to automatically know and sort your 
music by title, artist, album, and genre.  Once the system is in 
place, all the files on the site should have ID3 tags.

--------------------------------------------------

3. Godly Christian Music - New Songs

This last month and a half has been extremely busy when it come to 
add more music up to the site.  There were 6 new artists that were 
added to the site and 4 existing artists have posted more songs as 
well.  Overall, nearly 100 songs were added to www.GodlyChristianMusic.com
since the last update.  The music will continue to come as well, 
because there are artists that are still waiting to post up their 
music and I am building a line of people for the Godly Christian Music 
Recording Studio.  Joe Garrity and Daniel Martin have been in the 
studio and I am currently mixing their music...

Check out the new songs by each of the artists.  They are all very 
talented and each one offers a little different style that may fit you 
just right.

Susan Hawthorne - (9 new songs) 
Company of Saints - (3 new songs) 
The Voice of God (non-English: Tamil) - New Artist (27 songs) 
Jeff Wooldridge - (12 new songs) 
Faithland - New Artist (11 new songs) 
Naked Like Adam - New Artist (1 song) 
Paul Dreisbach - (1 song) 
Monro - New Artist (1 song) 
Rob Haymes - New Artist (16 songs) 
Engelbrecht Family - New Artist (16 songs)

--------------------------------------------------

4. Prayer Requests

Sometimes working on the sites can get a little overwhelming.  This 
last month has been one of the most intense month on the computer I 
have had in a while.  Between launching the new site and all the 
updates to the music site, I am thoroughly amazed I can still sit in 
front of the computer to type this update and be smiling in the 
process.

God has been good and merciful and I am excited to see what He 
continues to do through this work.  Nevertheless, I am becoming 
continually aware of His presence to correct and to guide me 
throughout my day.  As I make it my ambition to please Him and not to 
build a ministry, I find deeper peace and joy in the midst of all the 
work.

Thank you for all who have prayed for me when I was having 
difficulties sleeping.  I have been sleeping well over the last while 
and am healthy.

Please be praying that I come to a deeper place of peace.  I want 
my life to please God in the very deepest things within my heart and 
at times I still respond to trials according to the flesh.  An example 
of this would be...I am working on a website and something goes 
wrong.  In my heart, I groan, I roll my eyes in disgust, and get 
anxious.  In Philippians 2:14-15 we read,  “Do all things without 
grumbling or questioning,that you may be blameless and innocent, 
children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted 
generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”  Though I 
have learned to do somethings without grumbling, I still have yet to 
do all things without grumbling.

Please pray for me that I may learn how to fully take hold of that 
for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  I want to know Christ Jesus 
more and my lack of faith in the midst of trials is a hindrance. 
Please pray that my faith would increase much more so that I may trust 
Him and find greater peace to calm my fears.

Your Servant, 
Peter Schrock

Self is there to help you, he will not let you die
this carrying of your cross he says to you is but a lie
He says you need to nurture him and help him to survive
He says you need to feed him and help him stay alive

Self says he's not your enemy and his death would not be good
so give up this carrying of your cross and this nailing to the wood
Self tells you he is tired and you can quit this race
But another says continue on my child and your cross embrace

(read time: approx. 6 minutes)

One of the greatest battlegrounds that Christians face is the mind. Struggling with thoughts can often sway emotions and dictate the quality of our day. Difficult thoughts are stirred up the most when people hurt or misunderstand us. It is during these times that our minds begin to race and our emotions start to flare. The feeling can be quite overwhelming and its power to captivate us is frequently very strong. While in this sea of turmoil it can be nearly impossible to stop ourselves from thinking evil thoughts about others. Nevertheless, there is a way out of this cycle which can liberate our minds and free our emotions. The key to victory in this battle is love.

Not too long ago, the Lord reveled a wonderful truth and deadly sin to me. The difference between the two draws the line between spiritual life and spiritual death. The deadly sin is being aggravated by others' short comings. The wonderful truth was that when I truly loved people, I would not be frustrated by their faults, but I would have a pure desire to help them overcome their sin.

"...that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which being corrupted according to..."

DECEITFUL LUSTS

"I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims hold yourselves away from..."

CARNAL LUSTS

...But flee from

YOUTHFUL LUSTS