The word 'love' isn't just a noun, it's a verb (an action word). Love is not demonstrated simply by what we say but by what we do.

In a small Jewish town in Russia, there's a rabbi who reputedly doesn't show up for several hours every Friday. His followers claim that during this time he goes up to Heaven and talks to God. A stranger moved into town and was sceptical about this, so decided to check things out. He hid and watched. The rabbi got up in the morning, said his prayers, then dressed in peasant clothes. He grabbed an axe and went and cut firewood in the woods, which he took to the outskirts of the village where an old woman and her sick son lived. He left them enough wood for a week, then crept back home. After seeing the rabbi's behaviour for himself, the newcomer became his disciple. Now when the villagers say, 'On Friday morning our rabbi ascends all the way up to Heaven,' he quietly adds, 'If not higher.'

We can't earn salvation through doing good works, but if we're truly saved, our actions and attitudes will prove that. Paul wrote these two Scriptures to Titus: 'In everything set them an example by doing what is good' (Titus 2:7 NIV); 'Those who believe in God will be careful to use their lives for doing good. These things...will help everyone' (Titus 3:8 NCV).

So what now? Jesus in you gives you a heart to do good for others. Have fun showing people that you love them.

When someone tries to cut us down to size, they're probably trying to cut us down to their size. What should we do? Love them, but don't be overly influenced by what they say. Instead of staying where we're tolerated, let's go where we're appreciated!

The Japanese bonsai tree is tiny, typically grown up to about fifteen cm tall. To create a bonsai, a young sapling is pulled from the soil. The taproot and other feeder shoots are tied off, so the growth of the bonsai tree is deliberately stunted. By contrast, the California sequoia tree grows massive. For example, the General Sherman in California's Sequoia National Park stands eighty-four metres and measures thirty-one metres in circumference at its trunk. If it were cut down, it would provide enough lumber to build over thirty five-room homes!

The sequoia begins life as a small seed no bigger than the bonsai seed. But, the sequoia sapling is allowed to be nourished in the rich California soil and sunshine. Neither the bonsai nor the sequoia has a choice in determining how large it will become. But we do, so let's let go of our past and find an environment that nourishes and grows us.

So what now? You can choose to stay where you are and never develop, or move to a rich, fertile, nourishing environment. Is that always easy? No. But if you believe what Jesus said - 'my purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life' (John 10:10 NLT) - you'll be willing to do it.

Failure doesn't mean we won't succeed; it just means success may take a bit longer to achieve. John Wayne spoke a great line in the movie The Train Robbers: 'You're going to spend the rest of your life getting up one more time than you're knocked down, so you'd better start getting used to it.' That's what success is - getting up one time more than we were knocked down. We have no idea how close we may be to what we want to achieve. But if we give up, we'll never know - plus, we'll never actually get there. Author Ben Stein said, 'The human spirit is never finished when it is defeated. It is finished when it surrenders.'

Time magazine conducted a survey among people who had lost their jobs. The survey showed that people who had lost jobs and found new ones were better prepared to deal with adversity than those who had been with the same company for years without ever needing to face and deal with unemployment.

When we've experienced failure, we're actually in a better position to achieve success than people who haven't. When we fail and fail again - and keep bouncing back and learning from our failures - we're building character, strength, tenacity, experience and wisdom. And people who develop these qualities are capable of sustaining their successes, unlike those who gained good things too early or too easily.

So what now? As long as you don't give up, you're in a good position. So today, remember - 'Stand firm. Let nothing move you' (1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV).

The apostles Paul and Silas had their feet locked in stocks, their backs lacerated with whips and the contempt of society heaped upon them, but the Bible says, 'At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God' (Acts 16:25 NKJV). They decided to stop focusing on their circumstances and instead focus on the goodness of God. They could have complained, but they made a choice to worship God despite their imprisonment. And that's often the most challenging and crucial choice we can make.

The sacrifice of praise is similar to hitting the refresh key on the computer; it restores the joy of our salvation, recalibrates our spirit and renews our mind. And it empowers us to discover something good to praise God about, even when things are going wrong. It isn't easy. But one of the purest forms of worship is praising God when we don't want to. 'Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name' (Hebrews 13:15 NKJV). Notice the words 'sacrifice of praise'.

It's sacrifice - in this case, praise - that moves God and brings results: 'Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed' (Acts 16:26 NKJV).

So what now? When you're in a situation with no way out, praise opens doors. When you're shackled by lack and limitation, praise breaks chains. So, worship your way through it.

Our God says to us: 'I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters' (2 Corinthians 6:18 NIV). Maybe we've had a great relationship with our own father, which gives us some idea of the immense love God has for us when he calls us his sons and daughters. But, possibly our relationship with our father hasn't been a good one, and the idea of seeing God as father is difficult for us.

Wherever we are in our relationship with our earthly father, we catch a glimpse of God as a perfect father from the story in Mark's Gospel, when Jesus healed a paralysed man. When the man was brought to Jesus for healing, before Jesus forgave and healed him, he called him 'son'. That word 'son' was Jesus' way of telling the man that he was precious and accepted. There were no conditions to fulfil before Jesus would help him.

Jesus didn't say, 'You've got to clean up your act,' or 'You must do things my way.' Instead, He established a relationship with the man by showing him love, compassion and acceptance. That's what our heavenly Father wants to do with us.

So what now? Your heavenly Father wants to invite you into a relationship where you're loved unconditionally, where you're accepted and valued, and don't need to be afraid to come to him just as you are, with all your flaws and weaknesses. When God calls you his son or his daughter, you're being welcomed with open arms into his family.

In Scripture, the word confession is made up of two Greek words: homo, meaning 'the same', and logeo, meaning 'to speak'. Therefore, confessing our sins to God means saying the same thing about it as he does. It means calling a spade a spade - not a gardening tool! Nowhere does the Bible refer to our sins as mistakes, bad judgements or slips. However, it clearly says God forgives our sin: 'I am the one who erases all your sins, for my sake; I will not remember your sins' (Isaiah 43:25 NCV).

Let's be clear: (1) Confessing isn't about apologising. Saying sorry is appropriate and necessary at times. Confessing is agreeing with God about the nature, extent and offensiveness of our sins; (2) Confessing isn't about feelings. We may plunge into remorse, guilt and sadness over our sins. When these feelings lead to confession, they're useful. But even when we don't feel these emotions, our confession is just as genuine and effective; (3) Confessing isn't complaining. Making a list of our sins and telling God how terrible we are is more like complaining than confessing. Coming clean with God and agreeing with his evaluation of our sins is what he wants us to do. Then, like David, we can say, 'I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt...And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone' (Psalm 32:5 NLT).

So what now? Confess your sins to God - then be confident that you've been forgiven! He longs for you to live forgiven and free.