A city dweller moved to a farm and bought a cow. Shortly after he did, the cow went dry. When he reported this fact to a neighbor farmer, the farmer expressed surprise. The city man said he was surprised too. "I can't understand it either, for if ever a person was considerate of an animal, I was of that cow. If I didn't need any milk, I didn't milk her. If I only needed a quart, I only took a quart." The farmer tried to explain that the only way to keep milk flowing is not to take as little as possible from the cow, but to take as much as possible. Is that not also true of the Christian life?

Those who only turn to God in need miss the real joy that flows from a daily renewal of prayer and study of God’s word.

The Bible tells us in Rom 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Don’t let your relationship with God go dry, renew it daily!

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

Do you have some decisions to make?  What do I wear today? Should I take a different route to work due to construction? Should I have a bagel or an English muffin for breakfast?

Some decisions are much harder. Should I go to college or vocational school?  Is this the person God wants me to marry? Should Grandpa live with us, or be put in a retirement home? Should I bail my troubled child out of jail or show him tough love and make him learn that there are consequences for bad choices? Should I be buried or cremated?

Decision making is an act of responsibility.  As we go through life, we have many important decisions to make.  But the greatest decision and the one decision that gives wisdom to all other decisions we make is the decision to follow Christ.

1Cor. 2:2 states, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

As the old hymn states, “I have decided to follow Christ, no turning back, no turning back.” What about you?

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

Well, are you having a bad day today?  If you are think about this.  The artist that mixes his paints with blood from his own broken heart he is the one that paints the prettiest picture of all. 

What makes the difference; our attitude. We can have the attitude like Pharaoh of Egypt, in the book of Exodus who, when confronted by Moses and the ten plagues from God, grumbled, and griped, and became stubborn, causing more woes to come upon him. Or, we can have the attitude of Job, who at the loss of all his possessions, his children, even his own health, succumbed to the will of God and remained faithful.

Hard times can make us strong.  In the Bible Rom. 8:28, tells us, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Do you love the Lord? If so remember, your bad day can get better; “in all things God works for the good.” 

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

Joseph Webster walked wearily into the little drugstore in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. It was a lovely day in the late fall of 1867, but Webster looked as though he had lost his best friend. His problems had gotten the best of him, and his mood was heavy.

The owner of the little shop was Samuel Bennett, thirty-one, who not only filled prescriptions—he sometimes wrote them. On this day, he had just filled the prescription for his discouraged friend.

After listening carefully to Webster’s accumulated burdens, he picked up his pen and began writing on a 5 x 7 piece of paper. In a few minutes he handed his friend a poem, one he had composed on the spot.

There’s a land that is fairer than day, And by faith we can see it afar

For the Father waits over the way, To prepare us a dwelling place there.

In the sweet by and by, We shall meet on that beautiful shore.

In the sweet by and by, We shall meet on that beautiful shore.

Let’s make it part of our life’s goal to meet each other on that beautiful shore!

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

Nothing in the world is easier than letting our mind drift and not pay attention to what we are doing.

Like the story of the carpet-layer who was installing carpet.  He stepped out for his lunch break, only to realize he'd lost his sack lunch.

In the middle of the room, under the carpet, was a bump. "No sense pulling up the entire floor for one sandwich," he said to himself. He proceeded to get out his hammer and flattened the hump.

As he was cleaning up, the lady of the house came in. "Here," she said, handing him his brown bag with his sandwich in it. "I found it in the hallway."

"Now," she said, "if only I could find my parakeet.”

Paying attention is important.  It is important while working, as well as in all areas of life.  It is especial important when it comes to our faith.

The Book of Hebrews declares in 2:1, “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”

Christian are urged to pay attention to their faith in the Lord, but what if we don’t? We just might end up like the carpet-layer or maybe the parakeet.

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