Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Is It I, Lord?

MATTHEW 26:20–22 – When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?”

Today’s scripture is the dialogue Jesus had with His disciples the night before His crucifixion. He makes the statement about who would deny Him, but does not initially identify Judas. This is insightful and the disciples were honest in their response. It was an honesty that reveals they knew something about the treachery of their hearts. Not much, but some. The question “Is it, I, Lord?” was a good one for them and is a great application for us, right where we are in our walks with the Lord.

One of the dangers in a regular reading of our Bibles and of hearing good preaching in our churches is the ease of a widening gulf between what we hear, learn, and know with what we hear, learn, know and apply. Think about it with me for a moment. How often have we read or heard truth but never evaluated our walks with the Lord with the question, “Is it I, Lord?” Let’s make it a little more direct.

The Bible says we are to be known as people who exhibit lives blossoming forth the Fruit of God’s Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:23). “Is it us, Lord?” or more personally, “Is it I, Lord?” No amount of Christian service, church attendance, or any other external act of Christianity matters apart from this. There are only two places to evaluate our spiritual condition and conduct; the Person of the Lord Jesus and the pages of Holy Scripture. Any other measuring tool of spiritual growth and maturity is man-centered, deceptive, and won’t give us a true spiritual assessment of ourselves.

So, make this a part of our regular time in the Word–reading, studying, and hearing. Take time when we come across scripture that defines and describes what a Christian is to be and live, don’t just move on mindlessly to the next verse or chapter. Stop, read it again, and pray, “Is it I, Lord?” and if we find evidence the Spirit of God is producing this type of life in and from us, praise the Lord. If not, ask Him to start and go from being a hearer only of the Word to an aggressive hearer and doer of the Word.

PRAYER: “Father, please let the reality of what Your Word says and what I profess to believe, be reality in my life.”

QUOTE: “Whenever scripture confronts us with how a Christian should live and be, ask the question, ‘Is it I, Lord?’”

Because of Him,

Pastor Jim