READ 1 John 3
Those who say they love God must manifest that love by loving others.
 
INSIGHT
The final test of Christian character is action, not words. It is not what you say that determines your life message, but what you do. John writes: "Let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth" (v. 18). Consistency is one of the great challenges of the Christian walk. Whenever our actions do not match our words, the message of our actions always overrides the message of our words. Therein lies the basis for one of the most consistent complaints against Christianity over the ages: hypocrisy.
 
PRAYER
Praise God for loving you unconditionally and giving you the capacity to love others:
Vindicate me, Lord,
Because I have lived with integrity
And have trusted in the Lord without wavering.  
Test me, Lord, and try me;
Examine my heart and mind.  
For your faithful love guides me,  
And I live by your truth.  
I do not sit with the worthless
Or associate with hypocrites.
My foot stands on level ground;  
I will bless the Lord in the assemblies
(Psalm 26:1-4, 12).
 
Pause for praise and thanksgiving. Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
Lord, may all your enemies perish as Sisera did.  
But may those who love him
Be like the rising of the sun in its strength.
And the land had peace for forty years
(Judges 5:31).
 
Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind, and pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life,   nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God  (Romans 8:35, 37-39).
 
As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:

• Consistent, loving actions
• Complete honesty at all times
• Your activities for the day

 
Finally, offer this prayer to the Lord:
For I will proclaim the Lord’s name.  
Declare the greatness of our God!
The Rock — his work is perfect;
All his ways are just.  
A faithful God, without bias,
He is righteous and true
(Deuteronomy 32:3-4).