Sustainable Monday

Read Philippians 2:12-18

God . . . works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
-Philippians 2:13 (NIV)

I am not fond of Mondays because they mean the return to another long week of problems at work. A study published in the American Journal of Hypertension showed that the risk of having a heart attack and stroke is higher on Monday than on any other day of the week. My moment of truth came one Sunday evening as I once again began to worry about everything that could go wrong the next day at work where I was surrounded by complaints, problems, and negative people. As I struggled to trust God with my worries, I remembered God's past faithfulness and promises to keep us safe and to give us strength to sustain one day at a time.

Since then, my morning meditation and prayers have sustained me through Mondays and other difficult days. Through God's grace, I have been able to react differently in many difficult circumstances.

Philippians 2:13 says that God is working in us, giving us the desire and power to do what pleases God. I am learning to struggle less and to believe more as God gives me the power to do what accomplishes that "good purpose," even in the most difficult times. God's mercy and grace are sufficient and new every day, including Mondays, so our lives can shine brightly in all circumstances.

by Era Pawlowski (Illinois, USA)

Love's Example

Read John 13:1-17

Jesus said, "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you."
-John 13:15 (NIV)

JESUS' words in the Gospel of John, chapters 13 to 17, tell us about the days just before the Crucifixion - how Jesus washed the feet of the disciples and prayed for them and for us. It was Jesus' time to be glorified, to give his life for us. My human mind is too limited to understand the greatness of this act of love; I can accept it only from my heart.

And once I accept this gift, how do I show my gratitude? By doing what Jesus tells me to do. Jesus said, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35, nrsv). Loving our neighbors is often not easy or simple, but for the Christian it is compulsory. Nothing can justify us if we are able to help the needy but choose not to.

We find the strength to love others and give ourselves for them by the power of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of truth. That powerful witness for the Savior who loved us to the end gives us strength to do his works. When fear and despondency try to pull me down, the Spirit encourages me. And as I meditate on the words and actions of Jesus in the final days of his life - how he washed the disciples' feet and prayed for them and for us, how he gave himself for us - I find hope in his example of love.

by Alice Atanassova (Varna, Bulgaria)