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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
kind a shabby and his coat was worn and frayed. The man
knelt, he bowed his head, then rose and walked away.
In the days that followed,
each 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 kind a what I say. "I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU,
LORD, HOW HAPPY I'VE 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 TODAY."
The minister feeling fooslish,
told Jim that was fine. He told the man he was welcome to
come and pray just any time. Time to go; Jim smiled and
said "Thanks." He hurried to the door.
The minister knelt at the
altar, 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'VE 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
EVERDAY. SO, JESUS THISIS ME CHECKING IN TODAY.
Past noon one day, the
minister noticed that old Jim hadn't come. As more days
passed without Jim, he began to worry. 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
and joy were contagious Changed people, were his reward.
The head nurse could't understand why Jim was so glad, when
no flowers, calls or cards came. Not even a visitor he had,
except the minister who 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 SIN.
ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY, I THINK ABOUT YOU EACH DAY,
AND SO JIM, THIS IS JESUS CHECKING IN TODAY.
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