Streamline

One of the definitions of the word streamline that relates to meteorology: On a weather chart, a line that is tangent to the flow of the wind.


This morning I was contemplating our study of Malachi and how it relates to my life. In Malachi 1 we see God rebuking the people of Israel for offering up animal sacrifices that were cripple, lame, stolen, and blemished. They were basically giving to God something that cost them nothing. And God says He'd prefer that they shut the doors to the temple rather than sacrifice half-heartedly to Him.


This made me think of the things that I do for the Lord that are only half-hearted or less. Do I give my best to God in everything I do? No. Why not? First of all because I can be lazy. I have to fight this frequently in order to give God the best of what I can give (what He's already given me). But a big reason is also because I'm busy. I've got too much going on and God gets the leftovers. 


I love this word streamline, and I feel that in order to give God my best I need to streamline my life so that it flows with His will, His Spirit. What are those things I've got going on that don't relate to what He is doing? What are those things in my life that aren't tangent to the flow of the Holy Spirit? Those are the things that have to go. And when I give the best out of everything I do - the things He has called me to - then my will will be flowing with His and I'll be best able to follow where He is taking me. 

What not to do in Jordan

I arrived in Jordan and I figured Amman, being an international city, would have a little more substantial transportation signage for tourists. I was clearly wrong. I had received an email from a travel agent about what to do, but that didn't help at all. I got in a taxi with Hammed and Omar, two Jordanians both somewhere in their late 20s.  Neither of them spoke good English and my arabic is limited to "salaam" and "jihad". We worked out a price that I though was a bit high. I went to the bank to ascertain the exchange rate and thought it high but acceptable. About 2 minutes after we leave the airport I realize this is definitely not a legit taxi. First we stop to get coffee, then gas and they ask me to pay. I tell them that all I have in cash is the amount they told me the fare was and they were ok with that. I start to get pretty nervous, and just in time my cell phone starts working. I open up my maps and notice that we are headed to the middle of nowhere. My heart is almost racing at this point. I looked up the number to the hotel and called just to make sure before I jumped out of car and ran for my life-leaving my bags behind. Turns out, not only were we going in the right direction but we had two more hours to go (or so I was told). The ride was interesting. We had limited conversations about family and work. I even told them I was an Imam for Jesus and they kept calling me friend. We stopped again for candy and once for an outdoor bathroom break. About 5 miles from the destination they noticed they had a deflated tire and then got lost trying to find a place to air it up. When we finally arrived at the hotel I gave them the fare they had asked for minus what I gave them for gas. They told me I didn't pay them enough and I told them again that I had no more cash. They went in to the hotel with me to ask the clerk where the nearest ATM was. To get more cash we would have to go back into town where they got lost. So at that point they quit calling me friend. I told them that I had already paid them what I said I would and that I would not go back into town to get more money. They cussed at me for about 20 minutes in the hotel lobby while the clerk attempted to translate. I finally walked away to my room, glad that I hadn't been taken advantage of. But then I thought about Jesus' words in Mt 5. If anyone sues you for your tunic, give him your cloak as well. Would the right thing to do be to go ahead and give them the extra $30? Was it a bad idea for this "imam for Jesus" to take up a posture of standing up for himself?  These are just some questions I'm pondering after such an eventful day.