If only I invested in Apple stock all those years ago…

If only I passed on that pizza at midnight…

If only I studied…

If/Only statements usually point to regret. But sometimes they point to promises at hand in danger of slipping away. Read the words of God through Asaph the psalmist:

If only you would listen to me, Israel!

If my people would only listen to me…

If Israel would only follow my ways…

Asaph goes on to underscore that if only the children of Israel obeyed the Lord, their enemies would collapse and evil would be punished. Better still, the finest of harvests awaited. My favorite promise he makes? Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

The Lord lays out the welcome mat to me and you. If only I listen to him, if only I follow, if only I turn my attention to the quiet, inexorable ways of the Lord, then I might open my mouth to be filled.

Psalm 81 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Jordan Nix

Today Kyiv, Ukraine, lies under siege from Russian forces. Over 120 Ukrainian national staff with Cru find themselves in the middle of this terrible war. I feel privileged to have met many of these delightful brothers and sisters in Poland a few years ago.

Today some are trying to flee Ukraine, some are choosing to stay and minister, and some are simply stuck.

Will you join me in praying for them?

Pray for those under siege, and pray for those walking to a border crossing. Pray for physical safety. Pray for safe routes to leave. Pray for food and shelter. Pray for those who cannot leave. Pray for their families and children.

King David wrote of fear and hope during a time under siege:

Praise be to the Lord, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege. In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight!” Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help (Psalm 31:21-22).

Pray that each of these staff and their family members experience the Lord’s mercy in the midst of this terrible trial, and each see the wonders of God’s love.

Finally, join me in praying for peace.

If you would like to help financially with the needs of our Cru staff in Ukraine, you can do so here: Ukraine Emergency Fund.

When explaining the sacrificial system, the Lord ordered worshippers to present the best of their flocks and herds, not slide in a cheap substitute:

Do not bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.

My translation (pardon the crudeness): bring your best to the Lord, not your crap.

After the recent horrible fires here in Colorado, people responded generously. Along with financial gifts, local charities were bombarded with mounds of clothes and household items. Most gave good stuff. But I saw a news piece about extra dumpsters needed to get rid of the dirty, broken, worn-out items people dropped off. The expense to haul it away consumed precious funds meant for fire victims.

No one wants your lousy stuff—the Lord included.

When I bring my best to the Lord, when I trust him by giving away some of my hard-earned money and time that I could use elsewhere, I rely on the Lord to replace my gift and provide again.

The Lord takes my best and makes it better. It might not be of the same type of gift I gave—better comes in more than material ways. But in any situation, the Lord rewards trust.

Bring your best.

Leviticus 22 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Nick de Partee

I base my Christian faith on the life and teachings of Jesus. Christian people have always done so—to base one’s faith on anything else removes the Christian label. We are of Christ, and following his ways forms the basis of our faith.

So what was the basis of Jesus’s teachings?

Jesus held the law given to Moses in high esteem. Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished (Matthew 5:17-18).

As I read through Leviticus, I catch glimpses of what Jesus later taught. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18).

But surrounding these encouraging words lie laws and punishments for sin that feel harsh or out of place to my modern ears. Some I completely ignore. But if Jesus found them compelling, how can I ignore them?

I know the arguments about these laws being given to ancient Israel and that’s not us today. I eat bacon, for instance, and I’m not ready to give that up. But when I find myself flippantly skimming over these laws, or ignoring them in light of changing cultural norms, then I fear I’m not fully following the ways of Jesus.

If the least stoke of a pen (a jot or tittle in the King James Version) will not disappear—then who am I to act as if they are invisible?

Reading the scriptures and taking them seriously means wrestling with the scriptures. All of them. Many people do so, to the benefit of their faith and their communities and their journey with Jesus.

I certainly don’t have all the answers. But as I read through the Law and the Prophets and question and struggle, it helps me to remember that Jesus read and lived these long before me.

Leviticus 20 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Aaron Burden