Identity in Christ

In the book it says if you give a mouse a cookie he will want milk, and when give him milk he will want a straw, and when he is finished he’s want a napkin. He’ll then want to look in the mirror to make sure he doesn’t have a milk mustache, and he’ll see his hair is too long and ask for some scissors. When he is done with that he’ll want a broom to sweep up, and he might sweep every room in the house, and even wash the floors. When he is done he’ll want a nap. You’ll have to make a bed for him out of a little box. He’ll fluff the pillow a few times. He’ll probably ask you to read him a story and want to see the pictures. He will get excited and want to draw a picture and ask for crayons and paper. When the picture is finished he’ll want to sign his name and ask for a pen. Then he’ll want to hang up the picture and ask for scotch tape. He’ll hang it on the refrigerator and stand back and look at it. He’ll then remember that he is thirsty. So he’ll ask for a glass of milk, and chances are when he asks for milk he is gonna want what to go with it? A cookie!!!

“If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.”

“It is easy to think that the Church has a lot of different objects—education, building, missions, holding services. Just as it is easy to think the State has a lot of different objects—military, political, economic, and what not. But in a way things are much simpler than that. The State exists simply to promote and to protect the ordinary happiness of human beings in this life. A husband and wife chatting over a fire, a couple of friends having a game of darts in a pub, a man reading a book in his own room or digging in his own garden—that is what the State is there for. And unless they are helping to increase and prolong and protect such moments, all the laws, parliaments, armies, courts, police, economics, etc., are simply a waste of time. In the same way the Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time.”

C.S. Lewis

“There is a mean streak to authentic self-control. . . . Self-control is not for the timid. When we want to grow in it, not only do we nurture an exuberance for Jesus Christ, we also demand of ourselves a hatred for sin. . . . The only possible attitude toward out-of-control desire is a declaration of all-out war.” I hear so many Christians murmuring about their imperfections and their failures and their addictions and their shortcomings — and I see so little war. Murmur, murmur, murmur. “Why am I this way?” Make war! If you wonder how to make war, go to the manual. Don’t just bellyache about your failures. Make war! There is something about war that sharpens the senses. . . . You hear a twig snap or the rustling of leaves and you are in attack mode. Someone coughs and you are ready to pull the trigger. Even after days of little or no sleep, war keeps us vigilant.”

Ed Welch

“Life is war. That’s not all it is. But it is always that. Our weakness in prayer is owing largely to our neglect of this truth. Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief. It is not surprising that prayer malfunctions when we try to make it a domestic intercom to call upstairs for more comforts in the den. God has given us prayer as a wartime walkie-talkie so that we can call headquarters for everything we need as the kingdom of Christ advances in the world. Prayer gives us the significance of frontline forces and gives God the glory of a limitless Provider. The one who gives the power gets the glory. Thus, prayer safeguards the supremacy of God in missions while linking us with endless grace for every need.”

John Piper