'Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres' (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV).

Read these verse again, slowly. Forget the heard-it-a-billion-times thoughts. Read with fresh eyes. This is how God wants us to show his love to one another. How does it apply to us, though? Love is patient, but we're not always patient; love is kind, but often we act or speak before thinking and end up acting unkindly; love doesn't envy or boast, but we do this far too often.

God knows that we fall short. But he's given us 1 Corinthians 13, the perfect picture of love, to show that he is love. He is all of those things in the passage. Only his power can bring our lives in line with this list. When we're impatient, he is patiently waiting for us to turn to him. When we're unkind, it's God's kindness and grace that softens our hearts.

So what now? Don't get caught up trying to be perfect - that just leads to frustration, comparison and general unhappiness. Read something that Jesus did from a Gospel today, then focus on thanking him for being who he is. Pray for his power to make you more like him.

Jesus loved unconditionally and devoted himself to others, and he wants us to do the same. Romans 12:10 NIV tells us: 'Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves.' In theory, this sounds pretty easy - put others first and always show love. Practically, though, there's so much that can get in the way of us doing this.

God doesn't want us to only put those who are kind to us, or those we think deserve to be shown love, above ourselves; he's means everyone. This includes those who make it difficult for us to show kindness and forgiveness to them.

Paul doesn't leave us wondering how on earth we can love you-know-who; he gives us some practical and helpful advice in Romans 12:11-13 GWT: 'Don't be lazy in showing your devotion. Use your energy to serve the Lord. Be happy in your confidence, be patient in trouble, and pray continually. Share what you have with God's people who are in need. Be hospitable.' Through the potential-awkwardness of showing love and kindness to those who reject it, we're called to be patient and find joy in our hope in God. Checking in with God about the best way to extend devotion to makes being devoted so much easier.

So what now? Ask Jesus to point out someone to show hospitality to this week. Thank him that he'll lead you as you do. Whether it's a big family meal you can invite someone to, or a coffee you can buy to catch up with someone, bless someone.

When God asks his people to bear fruit, it's an invitation to allow him to work in them. Right back at the beginning of the Bible, God wants his people to 'be fruitful'. In Genesis, he says it about twenty times. This makes sense at the start of human existence - having babies is necessary for, well, humans to exist. But, 'bearing fruit' can mean something different too. Jesus wants his people to bear good fruit (see Matthew 7:17), what we'd call the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Things like love, joy, peace, kindness, etc. 'Fruit' that helps people recognise who God's followers are.

Where are we at the moment? Maybe we're waiting for God to show us the next step in his plan for us. That's great! But while we're waiting, let's humbly ask him for the fruit of his Spirit to multiply what he wants to grow in us. Whatever God's plan for us is, it'll include growing fruit for others to see him in us.

If we're willing, he'll work with us to grow us into fruit-bearing, God-rooted, solid oak trees. So, right now is a good time to get to work, study those fruits and start including them where we're struggling to reflect him.

So what now? This is the fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (see Galatians 5:22-23). Pick one that's not showing so obviously in your life at the moment. Pray for God to increase its visibility as you practise it daily.

In Psalm 55, we get insight into what it's like to face trouble we can't handle alone. Overcome with 'fear and trembling' (Psalm 55:5 NIV), David's panicked words show a natural response to pain: run. Today we're looking at a choice we have to make: run from something in our own strength or rely on God.

From everyday irritations and conflicts, to upsetting situations and unhealthy habits, we tend to want to avoid or hide from hard life-stuff. David wanted to grow a pair of wings (see Psalm 55:6) and get as far from trouble as possible. It's an understandable and quite natural response to fear. The fact is, God is the only source of strength who'll bring peace. Any hiding place that ignores his refuge and strength (see Psalm 46:1) won't get us through in the way that he wants... which is to be strengthened and draw closer to him.

As the psalm progresses, David draws closer to God. He learns not to hide, but to trust God to save him: 'As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me' (Psalm 55:16 NIV). Relying on God gives us the strength we need to have peace about a situation, even when we want to find the nearest exit.

So what now? Considering running? Stop! Draw closer to God: 'Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles' (Isaiah 40:31 NIV). So keep it simple: ask God for an extra boost of strength whenever you need it.

It's Sunday morning. It's church. And we're on time. We've read the Bible and prayed. No one may notice the halo, but we're fairly sure it's there as we walk in. Unfortunately, the only seat free is next to that person; that person who is nail-bitingly annoying. Everyone has one of those people in their family, church, friendship group or workplace. Sometimes it's so easy to get caught up on how we would change them that we don't allow our interactions to change us. When someone is very frustrating, we are often blinded by our own prejudices.

When we realise that we have hang-ups, we have two options: to bury the frustration and keep building internal anger (which does us no favours), or to bring it to God and ask for help. Amazing news: he thinks that person is great (yes, really) and he thinks we're great too.

Proverbs 10:13 NLT says: 'Wise words come from the lips of people with understanding.' This is an antidote to frustration: if we ask God for his words, we will speak kindness into that person's life. As we choose to turn from negativity and ask God to show us his love for that person, we'll begin to see them through his eyes. If they change it will be through God's love, which he allows us to demonstrate. And, having that love flow through us will always change us, too.

So what now? Picture that person - now choose to pray positive things for them. Ask God for his perspective in your interactions with them.

Yesterday we learned that God speaks to us through others. When we feel that our conscience is moved/that Bible verse is stuck in our head/our heart is racing and we feel a clear sense of direction, what comes next? Well, first - doing what God wants doesn't always have to be tough. It can be as simple as doing exactly what he's asking us to do.

But what about when it isn't straightforward? What about when trusting God is the polar opposite of what seems the logical way to go. The times when trusting in God's voice takes some real guts. When the ship's officer chose not to consider what God said through Paul, all seemed fine. At first, the direction they chose met them with a 'gentle south wind'; the hurricane wasn't in plain sight (see Acts 27:13-14). The lesson here is: God's way doesn't always seem the natural first choice. But, we read in Acts 27:20 NIV that the crew had lost 'all hope of being saved.' Not good.

Praying when hope is lost, speaking to that person for the millionth time about coming to church, not going to that university, doing the opposite of what others expect from us... When God asks us to go against the expected, it's always worth the risk.

So what now? How do you know you should take a risk? If you're at a pause in your journey, do these checks: search your Bible for instances that speak about your situation; speak to an older, wiser Christian; pray and listen.