Are you taking effective action? What do I mean by effective action? Effective action is action with a purpose. If we are going to live like Jesus then we need to take effective action. Jesus never took action for the sake of action. Everything Jesus did had a purpose behind the action. When you take effective action, you will see God move in behind you and move you to levels you only dreamed of.
Are you just taking action for the sake of action? I hear a lot of people say activity is what you need but that is not true. You can have all the activity you want but if it isn’t effective then you are wasting your time.
How many times have you done things over and over to find out it just will not work? The question is will it not work or are you taking the wrong action? They say the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Sometimes you have to take action even when things don’t seem to be working but eventually you get to the point where you have to figure out whether your cause is worthwhile or your action needs to be adjusted.
What you don’t want is to be taking action on something that will not stand in the long run. For instance, would you invest in a company that told you they are bringing back 8-track tapes? If not then why are you investing all your time and energy into things that don’t work anymore for the kingdom?
I see this happen all the time. I hear many people say we will not change but the churches who change are the ones who are growing. There is nothing wrong with changing your approach on how you do church as long as you keep the same message and that is Christ is first. Please don’t misread what I am saying because the approach can change but the message of Christ can’t change!
I see many Christians who slam churches who are trying different approaches to get people to come to church when they should be applauding the new approaches as long as the message is still all about Christ.
As we grow in Christ, we will come to realize that what works for this generation probably won’t work as well for the next generation and what worked for past generations does not work for the current generation.
Let me repeat again, don’t hear me saying that the message needs to change because I am not saying that. I am saying our approach to lead people to Christ may be different but the message of Christ is still the same.
For instance, I saw a church billboard that read get off Facebook and get in the bible. Although I do agree with the intent, I don’t agree with how they are sharing it. Here is what I mean, a lot of people from that church feel that Facebook is bad but that’s not true. Facebook is just another tool people can use to connect people with Christ.
I consider my personal Facebook page as my personal ministry. I have almost 5,000 friends on it because I talk about God. I don’t hide the fact of where I stand with God and I don’t think others should either. Granted not all people see their page as a ministry and that is OK but I do when I hear people talk about all of the bad aspects of Facebook. I have to disagree as you can change lives through mediums such as Facebook and other social media avenues.
Again, it is not about changing the message but about changing the approach to reach more people for Christ. Yes many people go overboard with Facebook and it rules their lives but as with anything it is all about moderation.
So the next time you hear a church or a Christian using an approach that you may disagree with, remember this may be the effective action that they need to reach people for Christ. Don’t condemn but try to understand before you make harsh statements against what they are doing. What if God is leading them to do this? Then you are slamming God!!
Now how does this apply to life? Look at the things that aren’t working in your life where you are taking action. Ask yourself if what you are doing is outdated or if the idea is outdated? Once you figure that out you can figure out if you just need to change the idea or the approach.
If it is a great idea but nothing is working then you need to buckle down and find other ways to make it happen. It may not happen overnight but if your passion is there then eventually what you are doing will work and you will see miracles through your life because of it.
If the idea is outdated then you need to ask God to give you another idea for where he wants your life to go. If you are fighting for something that can’t survive in this economy then it’s time to change the fight to something that can not only survive but also thrive.
No one ever said life was going to be easy and trying to figure out what effective action you have to take will not be easy either but once you find that effective action, then look out because you will see God work in and through your efforts at a pace that will blow your mind!
Ask God to help you see if your action is effective or not. Ask him to help you see if the idea is doable or if you need to change ideas. If the idea is doable then ask him to give you the courage to pursue the idea until it comes to pass no matter how hard it becomes because nothing in life worthwhile was ever achieved through ease.
Read about anyone who has ever done anything great and you will find many years of their story where disasters happened, people laughed, people talked about them, people said they couldn’t do it. Every single person was counted out before they finally achieved greatness whether it was for God, family or business.
Be Inspired or Be Left Behind!
Chris Benton