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
awhile.
His shirt was kinda' shabby and his coat was worn and frayed. The man knelt,
bowed his head, then arose and walked away. In the days that followed each noon
time brought this chap And each time he knelt just for a moment, a lunch pail in
his lap.
Well, the minister's suspicions grew, and robbery was his main fear. He decided
to stop the man and ask him, "Watcha' doing' here?" The old man worked down the
road. Lunch was half an hour. Lunch time was his prayer time, for finding
strength and power.
"I stay only moments, see, 'cause the factory is so far away; As I kneel here
talkin' 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.
I don't know much of how to pray, But I think about You every day. So, Jesus,
this is Jim just checkin' in." The minister feeling foolish, told Jim, that this
was fine.
He told the man he was welcome to come and pray just anytime. "Time to go", Jim
smiled, 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, he 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 every day. So, Jesus, this is me just checkin' in."
It was past noon one day, the minister noticed that old Jim hadn't come. As more
days passed without Jim, he began to worry some. He went to the factory and
asked about Jim and found out 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, a joy
contagious, changed people, his reward. The head nurse couldn't understand why
Jim was so glad, When no flowers, calls or cards came, not a visitor he had.
The minister stayed by Jim's bed, he voiced the nurse's concern: No friends came
to show they cared; Jim had nowhere to turn. Looking surprised, old Jim spoke up
and with a winsome smile; "The nurse is wrong, she couldn't know, that 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
I always love to hear you pray, I think about you each day, And so my dear Jim,
this Is Jesus checking in."
Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please
authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances
dictate.
WIT & WISDOM - August 21, 1998
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.