Monday, December 31, 2018

Have I Done my Best for Jesus ~



Do you ever find yourself while all alone, quietly reflecting 
over your past days of walking with the Lord
and wondering...have I really done my best for Jesus?
I do...a lot... because the desire of my heart is to live my life following hard after God.
I love to look back and ponder on life, the good and the bad,
because I believe I can learn from all my past experiences.
There's no better time than now with the New Year here
to look back and reflect on how I have lived my life throughout 2018.
One of my favorite hymns is ~
"Have I done my best for Jesus", the lyrics have a way of speaking
right to my heart about my walk with the Lord.  

~ ~ ♡ ~ ♡ ~ ♡ ~ ~

~ Have I Done my best for Jesus ~


"I wonder, have I done my best for Jesus,
Who died upon the cruel tree? To think of His great sacrifice at Calvary!
I know my Lord expects the best of me."

Jesus paid the price and was crucified for my salvation.
Am I sharing with others of what Christ has done for me?
"For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast"
~ Ephesians 2: 8 & 9 ~

"The hours that I have wasted are so many,
The hours I've spent for Christ so few;
Because of all my lack of love for Jesus,
I wonder if His heart is breaking too."

I often ponder on the hours in a day that God affords me,
am I using them wisely for the Kingdom of Heaven?
Do I go about my daily life, moment by moment
loving Him, serving Him, worshiping Him, praising Him, honoring Him?

"I wonder have I cared enough for others,
Or have I let them die alone? 
I might have helped a wanderer to the Savior,
The seed of precious Life I might have sown."

Do I see the need that surrounds me and faithfully plant the seed of salvation?
Am I sharing the love of Christ to a lost and hurting world? 
Do I care enough to put into action what I know to be true of God's Word
to the benefit of others?

No longer will I stay in the valley, I'll climb the mountain heights above,
The world is dying now for want of someone 
to tell them of the Savior's matchless love."

"How many are the lost that I have lifted?
How many are the chained I've helped to set free?
I wonder have I done my best for Jesus,
when He has done so much for me."

God has supplied a divine formula for rescuing His people who are lost in their sin ~
  His rich mercy ~ Psalm 103:8-12
His great Love ~John 3:16 ~ Romans 5:8 ~ 1 John 4:9
His Grace ~ 1 Timothy 1:13-14 
And all these combined produce a Free Gift ~ Romans 6:23
Received through Faith ~ Romans 10:17

As a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, my desire is to be found faithful
to God the Father, to Christ who redeemed me,
to the Holy Spirit who equips me, to the Word of God,
which instructs me, convicts me, and sharpens me,
so that I can do my best for Jesus.
"For the Love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge,
that if one dies for all, then were all dead; ... that they which live
should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him
which died for them, and rose again."
~ 2 Corinthians 5: 14 & 15 ~
I would be deceiving myself and frustrating the grace of God (Galatians 2: 21)
if I believed I could earn my salvation through doing good works.
What I do for the Lord is out of love and gratitude 
to the Lord Jesus for saving me.

"Go to bed seasonably, and rise early. 
redeem your precious time: Pick up the fragments of it,
that not one moment of it may be lost.
Be much in secret prayer, converse less with man, and more with God."
~ George Whitefield ~ 

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 George Whitefield said it well ~
May we rise early and begin our day redeeming the time
that we have been given so that not one moment may be lost
as we live out our days to the glory of God.
With a New Year ahead of us may we be found faithful
in our prayer life, in our worship time alone in the presence of our Holy God, 
in our moment by moment walk with God
as we are guided and directed of the Holy Spirit.
I am looking to do my best for Jesus, as I daily choose to walk in His perfect ways.
May this New Year find us doing our best for the Kingdom of God.

~ ~ ♡ ~ ♡ ~ ♡ ~ ~

Precious Heavenly Father, 
We seek Thee, but we will only find Thee
when we have sought Thee with our whole heart and mind.
We turn to the Holy Spirit, our guide and teacher.
May our hearts yield to Your work with joy unspeakable.

To God be the Glory!
~ Debbie ~

15 comments:

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Oh so beautiful and thought provoking for my own spiritual walk with Jesus.

Thank you Debbie for sharing Jesus and what He has done, is doing and will do for each of us as we trust in Him.

Have a wonderful 2019 ~ FlowerLady

Pom Pom said...

Hi Debbie! I hope your New Year's Day is sweet and thoughtful. Such a great post and so true, true, true. We respond to His great love for us.

Debby Ray said...

I needed to read these powerful words, dear friend...I must admit, I fail miserably so many times. Sometimes I wonder how the Lord continues to send His blessings...and it is the desire of my heart to do all I can for Him. Thank you for this truth to ponder upon. I plan to read it again as I have my quiet time with the Lord to begin my new year. Thank you for this beautiful post and may you receive abundant blessings in 2019!

Much love and hugs to you!

M.K. said...

Hi, Debbie. Happy New Year's Eve! I don't often ask myself if I'm doing my best for the Lord, because I know I am not much of a super Christian - I fail ALL the time. I just remind myself that he loves me anyway, failures and all. I try to be thankful, to remind myself to thank him. That's the best I have to give.

Elizabethd said...

Debbie , that was such a beautifully worded post.

Evelyn Bray said...

Well said Debbie-dear! This is the time, if we don't make the most of it, we will lose it.

MillersBend said...

This is a wonderful post, a post that makes me as the reader to think to myself, Have I done my best to please you Jesus. Thank you for making me to realize to stop and reflect.

hobbyloes said...

Beautiful words, dear lady.
Wish you and your family a blessed and healthy new year.

Ruth Hiebert said...

Speaking for myself, I know that I could be doing more for the Lord. I do so much want to live for Him, who gave His all for me. It is a daily prayer that I would be a woman who brings glory to God. Happy New Year my friend.

Deborah Montgomery said...

Happy New Year Debbie!
Thank you for always pointing us to our Savior and sharing your encouraging words. xo

shayndel said...

Yes, to God be the Glory in each moment of our lives!
Beautiful post and questions to enter into the New Year!

Creations By Cindy said...

What a beautiful and meaningful post dear friend. Oh that should be all of our question? Have we done our best for Jesus? I so desire to and yet I fail miserably at times. I am so thankful I serve a God that when I do fail that He bends down from heaven, takes me by the hand, and simply says, Today is a new day. Happy New Year. Hugs and blessings, Cindy

kitty@ Kitty's Kozy Kitchen said...

What a beautifully written post, my friend, and such a perfect way to start the new year. We must commit ourselves to seeking the Holy Spirit on a daily basis, and I appreciate you taking the time to convey this message. Happy New Year Blessings to you, sweet friend. Love and hugs are sent to you......

Linda Walker said...

Very beautifully written Debbie and so thought provoking! I hope your holidays were wonderful! Blessings to you and your family in the new year. I have the very same ornaments (that you posted in the first photo) and they also hung on my Christmas Tree! I love Celestina's painted ornaments!!! Take care my friend!! Sending hugs!

My Tata's Cottage said...

Going backward on your blog posts! I am running on empty today! Long night, not much sleep. So many prayers needed. Our country, our unborn, our elderly, Venezuela, I find I am in prayer all day every day and nigh time too. Our son Jeremy just lost his little dog Bandit in November and now his second dog, Smokey (black lab/boxer) went for a routine dental cleaning. He has inoperable rectal cancer. He is getting up there in years but there is nothing they can do for me. OUr son is so broken.
I don't know if you ever read the Mitford Series by Jan Karon? But Father Tim prays so many beautiful prayers. I gave one of those to my son last night. I said pray it over Smokey and Stella and your little phamily too, Brittany, Addy and Brody. I told him to pray for himself as well and give this to God. My friend Joyce shared these words today that gave me some comfort, Keep your eyes on the finish line and not on the turmoil around you. Yours words here are always so beautiful and so needed. I love the pretty pink ornament you share. I have been in the pink and now am blue! HUGS and LOVE to you today and always.

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