In John 13:34-35, Jesus instructed us—His followers—to love others: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." As Christians, learning to walk in love should be a very high priority.

Unfortunately, we often love others only superficially—that is, we talk love, but don't live love. James 2:15-16 addresses this problem: "Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?"

If you say that you love someone, but don't express it by what you do, then that "love" is worthless. Indeed, it isn't even real love.

Likewise, 1 John 3:17-18 asks, "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." Here again, we are instructed to love with actions—not just with our mouth.

Follow the instructions of Jesus: love one another. However, remember that real love must be accompanied by actions, because love unexpressed is not love at all.

It can be difficult to find people of integrity, because so many people make mediocre compromises. At work, such people take every shortcut possible in order to finish the task as quickly as possible, even though they do a terrible job in the process. At school, mediocre people copy homework from friends and copy essays from the Internet just in order to avoid work while hoping to get a good grade, even though they're cheating and don't learn the material.

Unfortunately, many of the people who lack integrity are Christians. Yet, this is clearly not how God wants us to live. He desires that we be people of integrity.

Integrity means doing what is right when no one is looking, and it means going the extra mile, knowing that God sees everything and that what he sees in secret he will reward in the open (Matthew 6:4,6,18). Jesus told his disciples, "What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs" (Luke 12:3).

Whatever you do now, even if it is hidden from others, will be brought out into the open and made public. If you are wondering whether or not to do something, consider whether or not you'd be willing to do it in front of your boss, your teacher, your parents, or your pastor. If you have to hide what you're doing to feel comfortable, then there's a good chance you shouldn't be doing it at all.

It is obvious that in order to give away money, you must have money to give away, and in order to give away a car, you must have a car to give away. Likewise, in order to give away love, you must have love to give away.

That love -- true love -- can come only from God, for he is the only source of unconditional love. As followers of Christ, we are instructed to let God's love flow through us to the world: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34).

You are to love others as God loves you. However, if you don't know how much God loves you, then you can't love one another.

Leviticus 19:18 says, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Again, if you don't have love in you (for yourself and for God), then you can't love others.

So, if you're having trouble loving others, it's probably because you don't know how much God loves you.

Every problem is an opportunity to trust God.

Everyone wants to enjoy life. Many people place the source of their joy in what they own, in their reputation, in their status, or in other worldly things. Yet, all of those things are unstable and can easily evaporate, taking joy with them. In the end, we will depart this world just as we entered it--with nothing (Ecclesiastes 5:15). So, although all of these sensual pleasures may provide short-term happiness, they clearly fail to provide genuine, lasting joy (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11).

It's no wonder that the psalmist wrote, you will fill me with joy in your presence (Psalm 16:11). And You have filled my heart with greater joy ... (Psalm 4:7).

In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus quoted the first few verses of Isaiah 61 and applied it to Himself. In Isaiah 61:3, that quote continues by saying that he (in this case, Jesus) came to provide for those who grieve in Zion -- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

One of the side effects of Jesus coming to Earth was that we could have lasting joy. Indeed, the gladness and joy that so many people so desperately want can be found only in Jesus.

Growing can be painful. For example, some children have "growing pains" because of their rapid growth.

This can also be true spiritually. Specifically, God may stretch you by putting uncomfortable circumstances in your life. Why? He uses the hard times to stretch your faith, your patience, and your love. This stretching is what causes growth: "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (2 Corinthians 4:17).

In other words, God uses the difficult circumstances in your life to cause you to grow closer to Him. If you look back over your life, you'll probably notice that the times you grew the most spiritually were often the times that were the most difficult.

If, however, you fight against the hard circumstances in your life, then you will never fully grow up. So, instead of fighting against life, take the advice of James 1:2-4: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Decide to press on and go through so that your faith may grow. Go through the hard times in life trusting God, and then you will grow to be "mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Have you ever wondered why God may not be blessing you as much as you think he should? It could be because you've become a reservoir for God's blessings, rather than a channel.

If you're simply accumulating more and more rather than giving what has been given to you, then God probably won't bless you. However, if you give away the things that God gives you, then you become a channel through which his blessings flow. He blesses you so that you can bless others.

That's exactly what God promised to Abram: "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing" (Genesis 12:2). God promised to bless Abram so that he could be a blessing to others.

If you use what you have to bless others, then God will probably bless you with more (so that you can bless others even more). The Bible describes that principle using language of sowing and reaping: you reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7-8).

Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 says, Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

These verses are a direct promise from God: If you will sow abundantly with a good (cheerful) attitude, then God will bless you. Why? So that you can bless others. Being a channel for God's blessings means passing them on to others.

This principle of sowing and reaping works in all areas of our life--not just money. You can bless others in ways that don't necessarily require money.

Decide to sow seeds of blessing aggressively, and you'll discover that God will provide a great abundance for you simply because you're a channel not a reservoir.