There are things we may do out of duty or because they're expected of us. But, 1 Corinthians 13, known as the 'love chapter', suggests we approach the things we do differently.

1 Corinthians 1:3 says, 'If I give all I possess to the poor and give my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing' (NIV). If we volunteer at a shelter, pick up litter along the motorway or give away all our possessions, great. But if we do it begrudgingly or to build a good reputation, the Bible says we gain nothing. God isn't impressed with good deeds done to get praise. 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 states: 'Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.' Jesus said, 'Your giving should be done in secret. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you' (Matthew 6:3 NCV). Let's keep our eye on Jesus when we're doing that good stuff, not on our popularity ratings. We are made to love unselfishly.

What if, when we did good deeds, people saw God at work in their lives, and praised God for it, instead of praising us? Wouldn't that, actually, be love-ly?

So what now? If you can, next time you hear about a friend who is in financial need, give them money to help. With it, leave them a note telling them that it's from Jesus, and leave quietly. That would be love-ly!

Read Ezekiel 37 (yes, the whole chapter, it's not too long). God led Ezekiel to a valley full of dry bones and told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: "Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again"' (Ezekiel 37:5 NLT)! Some days we need to hear that.

Google the word 'acedia'. In a nutshell, 'acedia' means feeling sluggish, lifeless, not really interested in anything, including ourselves. Our main enemy, Satan, loves to grow 'acedia' in our lives. Jesus explained the difference between his way of life and how the devil works on us: 'A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so everyone would have life, and have it fully' (John 10:10 CEV). Jesus calling the devil a 'thief' is no casual insult; it's a spot-on warning to us.

God created us, and lovingly crafted us to thrive and grow into our own reflections of his creativity, full of life, joy and love. And when we fall flat, when we're nothing more than dry bones in a tough-time valley, he can breathe into us, restore our hope, 'open [our] graves of exile and cause [us] to rise again' (Ezekiel 37:12 NLT).

So what now? Who can you inspire today? Find someone to send a message to or spend time with, someone you can encourage to do amazing things. You'll be breathing life into someone's world, but your dry bones will be enlivened too.

Seeing God as some distant rule maker and the Bible as a weighty list of restrictions are common Christian beliefs. But, God is not about rules and regulations; he seeks relationship.

And, if we are in that relationship with God, we'll want to know how to live in a way that pleases him. And if we trust his judgement, his warning that the ways of this world can often be dangerous or wrong is one we'll want to hear: 'Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil' (Ephesians 5:15-16 NIV).

God is keen on us living a certain way. God doesn't need a relationship with us, he wants it, out of love, so it makes sense that he has our best interests at heart. Add to that that he knows absolutely everything that can be known, and his opinions become very trustworthy.

When God says things like, 'live wisely', 'do not gossip', 'get filled with my Spirit, rather than getting drunk' (Ephesians 5:15-18), it's because he wants us to avoid hurting ourselves and others. So, let's not 'conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of [our] mind' (Romans 12:2 NIV).

So what now? Be deliberate about doing things wisely for God. Challenge yourself to make a positive change in one area of your life, whether in attitude, habit or behaviour. God loves you and wants to help you live carefully.

Sometimes it can feel like everyone has expectations of us. Our parents want us to be successful. Our friends want our attention. Our tutor wants us to knock that essay out of the park. People's expectations can weigh us down, and if we spend all our time trying to please people, we'll never be free. If we're constantly trying to fulfil other people's expectations, as well as our own, we'll end up crumbling because we didn't accomplish all they or we wanted. We could make a list of priorities and number them from one to ten, but that could stress us more because priorities can change within minutes.

Stop. Consider this... Everything was made through God: 'without him nothing was made that has been made' (John 1:3 NIV). To find balance in our daily lives, we must put God at the centre of everything we do. Our number one priority should be him. And that priority shouldn't change.

Even if it sounds a bit clichd, it's the truth. The only way to anchor ourselves in the face of a bazillion expectations is if our No.1 aim is to live for, and with, the Constant One. With God at the root and centre of everything, the pressure to decide which human expectations to carry becomes less and less.

So what now? Think about someone who's expected a lot from you. Even if it's difficult, thank them for what you learned from them, and take them a gift, if you can. Then, thank God that he has taken the load of expectation from you.

Comparisons are usually dangerous. We are meant to be different. What someone's good at, we may not be. To put it in terms of our Christian walk, when we notice a friend's great prayer life/volunteering/worship leading, it's tempting to wallow in 'why am I not as awesomely godly as that' negativity. But, God gave each of us specific talents, abilities and passions. If we live our lives striving to match others, we'll burn out or miss what God has for us.

What brings someone close to God is different for each person. Let's not allow the great stuff in others' lives to become damaging to our own. Others' good habits aren't there to weigh us down. If someone gets up at dawn to pray, let's be encouraged to pray more. But doing that at 5am isn't what makes a 'good Christian'.

So, getting to a point where we can say 'I take joy in doing your will, my God' (Psalm 40:8 NLT) won't happen while we're trying to keep up with what others are doing. It happens when we live out our faith in the way God designed for us. If we find one way of praying difficult, let's find one that we love. When our God-given-preferences get in sync with our God- time, it's a win:win.

So what now? What's something you love doing? Do it in a way that'll bless someone else (e.g. if you love photography, invite someone who's lonely to go with you to take shots of great scenery). What has God given you?

When we invite God into the areas of our lives that need changing, he loves getting to work. And being real with him is the way to start. But he's a gentleman. He waits for us to invite him in. He wants us to ask him to change us, to lead us, and to do his will. All of that is God's work to do, and our place is to ask for it. Sounds easy, right?

Not exactly. It means acknowledging our flaws first. Even when we know, deep down, that something's not how it should be, it can be so hard to confess it out loud. We can get good at acting like everything's okay. But it's not worth it. There's nothing wrong with admitting to a weakness. Romans 7:14-25 charts Paul's own admission of his weaknesses, and it includes great acknowledgements of God's grace at work.

So, let's not pretend to be doing great when we're wrestling with that-thing-we-shouldn't-do. Let's stop pretending to be interested in something we're not. It's just... exhausting. And we don't need to do it. Let's be who we are, in front of God, and in front of the world. It's when we admit that we need to be led 'on level ground', that we find ourselves doing more and more of what God wants.

So what now? Chat to a good friend about any areas in your life you'd like God to change. Be transparent and share your hearts. Then commit those areas to Jesus to do his miracle levelling work in.