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, 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,
"Watcha' doin' 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, 'cause 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'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 EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS JIM CHECKIN' IN."
The minister feeling foolish, told Jim,
that 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,
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 EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME CHECKIN' 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, a joy contagious. Changed
people, his reward.
The head nurse couldn't understand why Jim
Looking surprised, old Jim spoke up and
with a winsome smile;
"The nurse is wrong, she couldn't know,
that 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.
I ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY, I THINK
ABOUT YOU EACH DAY,
AND SO JIM, THIS IS JESUS CHECKIN' IN."