Her “place” is on Wells Street. Her bed is cement. Her name is Florence.

But like so many other homeless people in Chicago, I knew nothing about her.

A co-worker walked the same route I took from the train station to Moody that early morning. She was a block ahead and took the initiative to talk with the homeless lady.

Turns out Florence is a nurse from Uganda who has come to the United States in hopes of securing a job in the medical field. However, there are forms, procedures, approvals, and acres of red tape—all of which add up to long wait times.

And because Florence is stuck in a holding pattern without a support system here, she lives on the sidewalk next to a swanky restaurant on Wells Street. By the time the business day begins, Florence has disappeared. To where, I don't know. By nightfall, she returns.

Since that initial conversation, I’ve had a chance to greet Florence by name, pray with her—and even help her out a bit financially (though she appeared uneasy accepting the small gift).

Sounds nice. Except the truth is, before my co-worker set the example and spoke with Florence, I'd passed by this homeless lady a dozen or more times. I never stopped, never talked, never waved, never cared. Worse, I resented the fact that she was living on the street near Moody.

Yes, there are people on the streets due to drug and alcohol abuse. Yes, there are people on the streets with mental problems that no government handout can fix. Yes, there are shady characters among them. But must we judge and label and shun every last one of them?

What if we got to know a few of them? What if we greeted them? Is it possible we don’t love them because we don’t know them? Would it kill us to learn their name—and use it?

Thanks to Florence, I have more questions than answers.

But whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother or sister in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God remain in him? Little children, let’s not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

• I John 3:17-18

Check out this collection of famous last words:

• “Step back a bit, I can't get you in the picture.”
• “I thought it tasted rather strange.”
• “I wonder what happens if these two wires touch.”
• “Listen, I'm taking a course in chemistry. I know what I'm doing.”
• "Yes, of course, the elastic is strong enough!"
• “And that one over there—the red flashing one—what does that mean?”

Full disclosure: I got these online and can’t vouch for every source (how seriously can you take a website with a name like Mental Floss?). But what follows are the actual recorded words from people who were taking their last breath. Witnesses state:

• Frank Sinatra died after saying, “I’m losing.”

• Actress Joan Crawford yelled at her housekeeper, who was praying as Crawford died. Crawford said, “Don’t you dare ask God to help me!”

• Standing in front of a firing squad, condemned murderer James W. Rodgers was asked if he had a last request. He replied, "Bring me a bulletproof vest."

• As he was dying, Alfred Hitchcock said, “One never knows the ending. One has to die to know exactly what happens after death, although Catholics have their hopes.”

• Blues singer Bessie Smith died saying, “I’m going, but I’m going in the name of the Lord.”

• Evangelist Dwight Moody’s last words were these: “I see earth receding. Heaven is opening. God is calling me.” 

• Stacy Honeycutt recalls, "My mother's last words to me were at first simply, 'I want to go home.' I told her she couldn't go back home. She was too ill. She then clarified for me by adding, 'To Jesus.'"

While it’s intriguing, if not a tad intrusive, to ponder others’ last words, I’m so grateful the Bible includes the last words of Jesus. Gasping as he hoisted himself up for breath, some of Christ’s final words featured His stunning declaration: “It is finished.”

Finished! The payment for our sins. The redemption of our souls. The possibility of hope and heaven. Finished!

There's absolutely nothing more to do, earn, or try. If you were hoping for a bit of good news today, this is it. It is finished! All of it!

(Can I get an Amen?)

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

Ephesians 1:7

SOURCE: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/58534/64-people-and-their-famous-last-words

SOURCE: https://www.moodymedia.org/articles/dwight-l-moody-is-dead/#:~:text=East%20Northfield%2C%20Mass.%2C%20December,here%20at%20noon%20to%2Dday.

SOURCE: https://blog.funeralone.com/grief-and-healing/memorable-last-words/

It’s easier to just “read” the Bible than let it mess with you.

But mess with me it did when my personal Bible study time confronted me with Romans 12. In verse one, Paul urges us “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

“Holy and acceptable to God.” That phrase began to rumble…then rattle…then really unsettle me!

The more I pondered that phrase, the more conviction it whispered. This one little verse commands an all-encompassing lifestyle. One that—quite frankly—mine doesn’t always resemble.

Before the Holy Spirit had concluded His (uncomfortable) spiritual checkup, I came up with a list of 20 questions for more profound self-examination.

 Dare to take this spiritual checkup yourself? Here are the questions:

1. Is the thought I am thinking holy and acceptable to God?
2. Is my conversation holy and acceptable to God?
3. Is my work/life balance holy and acceptable to God?
4. Is my treatment of the opposite sex holy and acceptable to God?
5. Is my spending and saving holy and acceptable to God?
6. Is my eating and drinking holy and acceptable to God?
7. Is my web surfing holy and acceptable to God?
8. Is my life’s dream holy and acceptable to God?
9. Is my prayer life holy and acceptable to God?
10. Is the novel I am reading holy and acceptable to God?
11. Is my concern for lost people holy and acceptable to God?
12. Is the way I treat my spouse holy and acceptable to God?
13. Is my time in the Word holy and acceptable to God?
14. Is my charitable giving holy and acceptable to God?
15. Is my work ethic holy and acceptable to God?
16. Is my favorite TV show holy and acceptable to God?
17. Is my commitment to memorize Scripture holy and acceptable to God?
18. Is my standard of dress holy and acceptable to God?
19. Is my attendance and involvement at church holy and acceptable to God?
20. Is there much about my life others would describe as a living sacrifice—and thus pleasing to God?

Lord, our lives are short.

Eternity is long.

Help us prepare for then—by living better now.

Help us live lives that are holy and acceptable to you.

Amen!

It’s hard to take seriously a town that goes by the name of Sandwich. Yet such a burg not only exists, it’s home to Illinois's oldest fair, since 1888. More notable yet is the train car parked at the corner of Main St. and US Route 34.

Not just any train car, the "Isabella" was the railcar home of President Theodore Roosevelt. From 1900 to 1913, he trekked coast to coast in this Pullman-made beauty, featuring Mahogany-trimmed windows and stained glass. But in 1931, it was auctioned off for $75 to a Mr. Henry Tattrersol, who dreamed of converting it into a diner. Thus, it came to rest in Sandwich, Illinois, and a restaurant was born, though the place has changed some over the years.

We sampled lunch cuisine beneath the train car's domed ceiling. And looking out the same mahogany-framed windows from which Roosevelt peered, it was impossible to deny the sense of the "Rough Rider's" persona.

Here was a guy who—after being shot in the chest while out on the campaign trail—was determined to deliver his speech anyway! Asked if he would finish his campaign, Roosevelt declared, "I feel fit as a bull moose!" Hence the name of his political party and the name of the restaurant in Sandwich.

Roosevelt was equally blunt in his thoughts about matters of faith, at one point declaring, “The nation should be ruled by the Ten Commandments.” He also contended, “A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.”

With prophetic insight, he opined, “The thought of modern industry in the hands of Christian charity is a dream worth dreaming. The thought of industry in the hands of paganism is a nightmare beyond imagining. The choice between the two is upon us.”

More than a century later, we're still making that choice. Which is a lot to ponder while munching on a burger and homemade chips in a train car fragrant with a bygone courage and conviction.

Lord, make us sturdy!

Forbid we should sit when you’ve called us to stand.

Help us be salt and light in every place you call us.

Amen!

“Choose you this day whom you will serve…but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”  —Joshua 24:15

As I look back, it’s embarrassing.

My computer mouse acted sluggishly. You could grab that mouse and whip it diagonally from one corner of the screen up to the other, and the cursor would move, but only sluggishly. At times, it appeared to freeze for a second. But was it my imagination that the lag times were getting longer?

The mouse appeared to be pausing, halting randomly. Because the mouse is such a crucial part of any computer workflow, my productivity slowed down (though my pulse sped up!). Over time, it became apparent I wasn't just imagining things. That mouse was pausing longer, moving slower.

Earlier this week, while editing some audio files, it didn’t just pause. It pooped out.

I powered down the computer and booted up again, hoping it was just a glitch of some kind. No luck. No mouse. No more.

So I scoured the internet for answers, beginning with the manufacturer. Because it’s a wireless mouse, I immediately replaced the battery. But there was still no life.

On a hunch, I decided to swap out the "new" battery from our vast collection, housed in a plastic tub, with one I knew to be absolutely brand new. You can easily guess the end of the story. The mouse powered up immediately and performed flawlessly, as it has ever since. All it took was a power boost.

But what about you?

Any chance you might need a “fresh battery?” I’m not talking about your mouse. I’m talking about your ministry. About your walk with Christ. About your prayer life, perhaps.

We get so busy "doing" the Christian life that it's easy to forget what God (thankfully) remembers: "that we are but dust" (Psalm 103:14). Which means, apart from His empowerment, we're bound to feel sluggish, lagging, and frozen up.

If you're feeling unproductive and just plain weary—as if your batteries are shot—ponder again the promise of Isaiah 40:29. It's time to connect. But don't wait!

He gives strength to the weary, and to the one who lacks might He increases power.