The first century church was phenomenal in many ways. They were certainly dedicated to their cause, they grew quickly and they remained true to their course.   One of the cities that Christianity grew in was Antioch.  It was the third largest city in the Roman Empire.

The church that met at Antioch was a diverse congregation made up of two different ethnic groups Jews and Gentiles believers.  The Bible states in Acts 11:26 this is where the disciples of Christ were first called Christians.  This new name represented their Christlike spirit and attitude.  They were mission minded and benevolent.  They were a praying people.  They were active in their faith.  They were different from the rest of the world.  They were called rather than professed as Christians.  The name signifies Christ’s people.  These are the people that belonged to Christ.

If you are longing to belong, you can belong to Christ. He will take you in.  If you would like to know more about Christ then contact us at the Camden Ave. Church of Christ. I am Mark T. Tonkery with a minute of meditation.

A husband and wife were driving in a car, the wife tells her husband to turn right at the next light and by mistake, he turns left. When he realizes what he has done, he says to his wife “I’m sorry dear, I went the wrong way.” But if that is all he does, it isn’t enough. His saying sorry isn’t getting them any closer to where they want to be; he needs to stop the car, turn it around and go back to the correct road. That is repentance.

  Repentance is a word that comes from a culture where people were nomadic and lived in a world with no maps or street signs. It's easy to get lost walking through the desert. You finally say to yourself, I'm going in the wrong direction and turn around.

            A person who is not following Christ is going in the wrong direction spiritually.  They need to stop and turn around. 

            The Bible puts it this way, “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret…” (2 Cor. 7:10).

            Do you need to turn around, a new start? 

Contact us at the Camden Ave Church of Christ; I am Mark T. Tonkery with a minute of meditation.

I’ve been told that there’s a health-food restaurant in the northeast with a billboard that says, “Eat here and live a long life!” Not wanting to be outdone, the barbeque place next-door put up a sign that reads: “Eat here and die happy!”

Food is essential to each of us, without it we die. 

What bread is to hunger, Jesus is, for spiritual life.  After miraculously feeding bread and fish to the 5,000 people, Jesus spoke of a superior bread that every person must feed on, when he declared, in John 6:35, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."

Jesus emphasized that He sustains and fulfills our spiritual lives. His point is that we need Him more than we need food.   Just as we die without food we will spiritually die without Christ.  Jesus can fill our every need.  If you would like to know more about Christ then contact me.

I am Mark T. Tonkery with a minute of meditation from the Camden Ave. church of Christ where you are always welcome.

 A boy left home, he had no money and no job.  In desperation, he ended up writing a letter home, “Dear Dad, I’m sick and lonely without a single cent.”  Well dad couldn’t read so he took the letter to a friend.  The guy had a gruff voice and an arrogant manner of reading.  When the dad heard him read the letter, he grew furious, “I’ll not sending my son a cent!”  On his way home the dad kept thinking about the letter.  He went to another friend.  This time the man had a quiet, gentle voice.  He read the letter and when he did the dad burst into tears and cried, “My poor boy I will send him some money!” 

You know a lot of times it’s not the words we use; it’s the way we say them.

James 1:19-20, puts this way, “…let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

How are you using your words today?

I am Mark T. Tonkery with a minute of meditation from the Camden Ave. church of Christ where you are always welcome.

What was the most significant change in the last millennium? Was it the invention of the Gutenberg press? Polio vaccination or the collapse of Soviet communism or man walking on the moon? How many people use their cell phones or tables for their everyday routine?

The world around us is constantly changing.  Someone has said the one thing that is constant is change.

Yet the Bible tells us that God does not change.  James 1:17, states, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

    Many things may change in this life, but the God of the Bible does not.  His love, mercy, justice, His teachings, and judgments are the same as there were when the words of the Bible were spoken.  Would you like to know more about the God who never changes in an ever-changing world? We will be glad to help you answer this question, please contact us.

 I am Mark T. Tonkery with a minute of meditation from the Camden Ave. church of Christ where you are always welcome.