Does it Matter?

John 21:20-22 (NKJV)
20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”
21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”
22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?  You follow Me.”
 
Peter asked Jesus how the apostle John would die.  Jesus replied that Peter shouldn’t concern himself with that by comparing himself with John.  Many times we have a tendency to compare our lives to others, sometimes to rationalize our own level of devotion to Christ or even to question God’s justice.  But whatever the case, Jesus responds to us as he did to Peter: “What is that to you?  You follow Me.”

Don’t worry about what everybody else is doing.  Instead, focus on what God has called you to do.  The phrase, “You follow Me,” includes doing what God has called you to do instead of judging, criticizing, or comparing what everybody else is doing.  Doing what God has called you to do is a success principle in the Kingdom of God.

Because we are "...fearfully and wonderfully made..." Psalm 139:141, there is a uniqueness to each of us. The only concern we should have is what God wants from us! Are we fulfilling our potential from God? Is the track we are on ours?

If we focus on us, we can improve our lives. Doing this would free us from a lot of stress! Go ahead, focus on you for a change!

Blessings,
Dr. Tim

Use Your Words!

"For me, words are a form of action, capable of influencing change." Ingrid Bengis

Over the Christmas holidays, my wife and I were blessed to have a couple of our children and grandchildren celebrate with us. As hectic as it was at times, we wouldn't trade these moments for all the wealth in the world!

One evening my granddaughter, Haleigh, wanted something from the kitchen counter. Instead of asking for this item, she proceeded to make grunting noises and point. Mind you, Haleigh is three years old and has a very developed vocabulary. Her grunting and pointing was a result of being around her younger cousins who could not clearly communicate their wants. They had not yet developed their words to form sentences. Most of them only knew words such as Mommy, Daddy, NANA, and of course, PAPA!

After several minutes of being ignored, her grunting and pointing turned into whining and arm waving! My daughter Jenna, Haleigh's mother, finally spoke to her and said, "Haleigh, use your words." At that moment, Haleigh spoke and said, "Mommy, I would like to have some juice please."

That conversation caused me to think about how often we fail to communicate our desires and wishes to those with whom we have daily interactions, and to ourselves also. We simply adapt to our surroundings and begin to make noises and acting a certain way thinking everyone understands what we want.

My granddaughter's grunting and pointing got her absolutely nothing but confused looks and refusal to help. However, when she spoke clearly, she was rewarded by receiving the very thing she most desired at the time. And someone else offered the help she needed Her words were powerful! Even at the age of three, she put others into motion in order for her to achieve her goal.

I, for one, think I'll just use my words to communicate my desires.

"Honey, since you're up..."