"Those religious people"

When I hear pastors bring up distinctions between the aims of their own ministry and those of “religious people,” I get uneasy. These pastors claim that under “gospel-centered” and “grace-centered” banners that they “got Jesus” and everyone else is so lost. I have seen and continue to see this happen. I was one of these stupid idiots and along the way I badly hurt people I loved.

2 Corinthians 12:9 sufficiency of the lord’s grace not only applies to walking with Jesus but preaching about him. It is sufficient to preach that grace. Lose the divisiveness (James 4:1). If you really want to change/remove the legalists in your congregation, they will be offended by the good news. Any other method is not one of love.

You guys are welcomed to disagree: is it fruitful to make a deprecatory example of non-gospel-centered ministries as legalists? Also as an aside, Anberlin concert was so fun.

Been one of the most spiritually blessing weeks in recent memory, so therefore

Lord, guard my heart and keep me repentant.

My walk with Jesus is like a coupled oscillator

Taking Dynamics and Bifurcations with Dr. Ghrist this semester, and from just today we learned how to model (first-order) social fads and synchronized menstrual cycles among female friends. Joy.

One uncoupled second-order system for a brushless DC motor, seen below, routes itself into chaos.

Compare with a system with coupling, shown below with increasing coupling strength parameters.

I think this is how God aligns my will with his. With time, he allows limit k →∞. Not sure if I’m preaching a synergistic or monergistic theology, but I know he will erase the double-facedness in me. Jesus presents it better:

44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

John 6:44-45

"They can't"

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?

And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?

And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

And how are they to preach unless they are sent?

Romans 10:14-15

Optimizing humility

Escaping linear programming for a bit. Been noticing I get annoyed when I sense people striving to take credit for work, and that could only mean that I have the same complex. People with pride quickly suspect pride in others, and humble saints suspect pride in themselves in order to esteem and give thanks to others.

To be prideful is folly (Proverbs 27:2), may the spirit give me a habit of noticing, encouraging, and helping others.

Philippians 2:

Do nothing can I erase ALL selfishness? out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. can I serve friends even more selfish than me? ⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature^[a] God,
did not consider equality with God I delude myself in personal sense of justice instead of God’s perfect justice something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature^[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! do I wish myself accursed for the sake of lost friends? Romans 9:3

Funny shirts this sister showed me.