"The Futility of Labor"

 "Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me." (Ecclesiastes 2:18 KJV)

  "Because of God's grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whosoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have - Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 3:10-11 NLT) 

 Yesterday we had our Men's Conference, which was based upon the verse from Acts 20:32, which was when Paul addressed the Ephesian Elders before "going bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem." As it were, Paul had perceived in his spirit that when he left, "grievous wolves" would enter the church, as well as men from within them, "to draw away disciples after them." Therefore, he said, "And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified."  

 Of all the pastors that shared, one in particular really moved me and made me realize that God's grace was able to do what I could never do: "Hit the mark!" We really need to understand that we are going to fall short, no matter how hard we try, we are not going to be able to reach perfection in this life. Once more, the more we try to focus upon hitting the mark, the harder it becomes to achieve it, because our 'bow' is broken, and the arrow doesn't ever come close enough to make it count! 

 To be totally honest, I could do anything and everything possible to get totally and completely right with God, be living in a manner that might feel like perfection and complete holiness; and then wake up in the morning, bound up in sin! You could go through all the motions and every practical way to live as the saint you are destained to be, but as long as you are here on this earth, if you aren't counting on Christ Jesus for righteousness, you're going to fail and miss the mark every time!  

 Oh, it might not happen overnight! But, the more you think that you are able, the less you will be walking in God's grace, which is totally able...

"Dear brothers and sisters, here's an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case. God gave the promise to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn't say "to his children," as if it meant descendants. Rather, it says "to his child" - and that, of course, means Christ. That is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God's promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise. Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham. Is there a conflict, then, between God's law and God's promise? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God's promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ." (Galatians 3:15-22 NLT)