A minister passing through his church
in the
middle of the day,
decided to pause by the
altar
and see who had come to pray.
Just then the back door opened,
a man came
down the aisle,
The minister frowned
as he
saw the man
hadn't shaved in a while.
His shirt was kinda shabby
and his coat was
worn and frayed.
The man knelt, bowed his
head,
then rose and walked away.
In the days that followed,
at noon time came
this chap,
Each time he knelt just for a
moment,
a lunch pail in his lap.
Well, the minister's suspicions grew,
with
robbery a main fear,
He decided to stop the
man
and ask him,
"What are you doing
here?"
The old man said,
he worked down the
road.
Lunch was half an hour.
Lunchtime was
his prayer time,
for finding strength and
power.
"I stay only moments, see,
because the factory
is so far away;
As I kneel here talking to the
Lord,
this is kinda what I say:
"I JUST CAME AGAIN
TO TELL YOU LORD,
HOW
HAPPY I HAVE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH
OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP
AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,
BUT I THINK
ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS,
THIS IS
JIM
CHECKING IN."
The minister feeling foolish,
told Jim, that
was fine.
He told the man he was
welcome
to come and pray anytime.
"Thanks"
Time to go, Jim smiled,
and
hurried to the door.
The minister knelt at
the alter
he'd never done it before.
His cold heart melted, warmed with love,
and
met with Jesus there.
As the tears
flowed,
in his heart,
he repeated old Jim's
prayer:
"I JUST CAME AGAIN
TO TELL YOU LORD,
HOW
HAPPY I HAVE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S
FRIENDSHIP
AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
I DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,
BUT I THINK
ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS,
THIS IS
ME
CHECKING IN."
Past noon one day,
the minister noticed
that old Jim hadn't come.
As more days passed
without Jim,
he began to worry some.
At the factory,
he asked about
him,
learning he was ill.
The hospital
staff was worried,
but he'd given them a
thrill.
The week that Jim was with them,
brought
changes in the ward.
His smiles,
his joy
contagious.
Changed people,
were his reward.
The head nurse couldn't understand
why Jim was
so glad,
When no flowers,
no calls or cards
came,
not a visitor he had.
The minister stayed by his bed,
he voiced the
nurse's concern:
No friends came
to show
they cared.
He had nowhere to turn.
Looking surprised,
old Jim spoke up
and
with a winsome smile;
"The nurse is wrong,
she couldn't know,
that in here
all the
while
everyday at noon
He's here,
a dear friend of mine,
you see,
He sits right down,
takes my hand,
leans
over and says to me:
"I JUST CAME AGAIN
TO TELL YOU JIM,
HOW
HAPPY I HAVE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND THIS
FRIENDSHIP,
AND I TOOK AWAY YOUR SINS.
ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY,
I THINK ABOUT
YOU EVERY DAY,
AND SO JIM,
THIS IS
JESUS
CHECKING IN."