A scientist by the name of John Henry Farber made an interesting discovery some years ago.

He conducted one of the most unusual experiments with what he calls the processional caterpillars.

And the reason these caterpillars called processional caterpillars is because they blindly follow the one in front of them.

Faber was carefully arranged these caterpillars in such a way that the very last one touches the first, so they can feel each other. He had those going around the

rim of a flower pot. Right in the middle of the flower pot, in the circle, he placed their favorite food,

pine needles. They went around and around and around, hour after hour, day after day, night after night,

for seven full nights.

They crawled around and around that rim of the flower pot. And finally, they dropped

out of starvation and exhaustion. And yet, abundance of their favorite food is only inches away. Why? Because they confused activities

with effectiveness and accomplishment. One of the saddest things in life is to see a once

vibrant believer who is now going through the motions, the Christian motions.

One of the saddest things in life is to see a person who was once a light for Christ, now an amber.

One of the saddest things for me to see is a believer who confuses activities for effectiveness,

who confuses activities with fruitfulness, who confuses activities for accomplishments.

Here is a biblical fact, my beloved friend. God is not interested in activity for activity's

sake. God is looking for effectiveness. God is looking interested in activity for activity's sake.

God is looking for effectiveness.

God is looking for fruit-bearing life.

God is looking to the heart first, then the hand, not the other way around.

In fact, one time God was so exasperated with his own people, Israel, that he looked at them and he said,

you are like a vine that is full of leaves and no grapes, lots of foliage but no fruit,

lots of religion, but no relationship. My greatest concern is for those believers who have lost their effectiveness, but they don't know it.

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