A life poured out for others is more valuable than any spiritual gift or service that we can muster. Thomas Schreiner shares what is the best gift that we can give to missions.

But the best gift for any missionary—and for any Christian for that matter—is to be like Jesus, since Jesus is the paradigm of love (John 15:12–13). God is working all things for our good so that we will “be conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29). We’re most like Jesus when we live sacrificially as he did and when we pour out our lives for the sake of others.

Read the whole thing.

The apostle Paul encouraged the disciples to read the Old Testament:

For everything that was written in the past written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. (Romans 15:4).

Here are ten reasons why the Old Testament is important to Christians:

1. The OT was Jesus’s only Scripture and makes up three-fourths (75.55 percent) of our Bible.

2. The OT substantially influences our understanding of key biblical teachings.

3. We meet the same God in both Testaments.

4. The OT announces the very ‘good news/gospel’ we enjoy.

5. Both the old and new covenants call for love, and we can learn much about love from the OT.

6. Jesus came not to destroy the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them.

7. Jesus said that all the OT points to him.

8. Failing to declare ‘the whole counsel of God’ can put us in danger before the Lord.

9. The NT authors stressed that God gave the OT for Christians.

10. Paul commands church leaders to preach the OT.

Read the whole thing.

A look at the two symbolic mountains in the book of Hebrews.

See the full-size image.

This week’s Monday music is a Chinese worship song “Jesus at the Center”. We have a great OYC site in China!

Not all will go, and not all have to leave home to be on the mission. Staying at home, however, is not an excuse to not be evangelistic.

Missions isn’t something occasional and optional. It’s an essential extension of what God has always been about in the world in order to bring glory to himself through us. So that’s the understanding that our local churches must have if they’re to be healthy and sound. A burden for missions must begin at home.

Read the whole thing.

The Gospel and wisdom of God’s humility teaches us to live authentic and honest the social media age. Coleman Ford encourages us to live lives that are open and in God’s light.

So what part of your life are you continuing to present as a filtered and carefully constructed image? Are you presenting a picture perfect print when behind the scenes of your soul is nothing but chaos? Is the latte art of your life just a cover for sour milk? Messy lives are rarely photographed, but they are more often the true raw image we need to embrace if we are to expose the “unfruitful works of darkness” present in our lives for the sake of God’s kingdom and our growth in Christlikeness.

Read the whole thing.

If you have any questions, visit oneyearchallenge.org.

Check out this infographic of the cycle of Judges in the Old Testament.

See the full-size image.

This week’s Monday Music comes from the Czech Republic. It’s a cover of Bellarive’s Taste of Eternity. We have a great OYC site in Prague!

From Ed Anton’s Repentance: A Cosmic Shift of Mind and Heart

Repentance is no fragile state of mind that we barely notice entering and exiting. With repentance, God drastically shifts the foundation upon which we build every decision, allegiance, affection and perception.