"Just Checking In Today
A Minister passing through his church
In the middle of the day,
Decided to pause by the altar
To see who came to pray.
Just then the back door opened,
And a man came down the aisle,
The minister frowned as he saw the man
Hadn't shaved in a while.
His shirt was torn and shabby,
And his coat was worn and frayed,
The man knelt down and bowed his head,
Then rose and walked away.
In the days that followed at precisely noon,
The preacher saw 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 and ask the man,
'What are you doing here?'
The old man said he was a factory worker
And lunch was half an hour
Lunchtime was his prayer time,
For finding strength and power.
I stay only a moment
Because the factory's far away;
As I kneel here talking to the Lord,
This is kinda what I say:
'I Just Came By 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 Every day.
So, Jesus, This Is Ben,
Just Checking In Today.'
The minister feeling foolish,
Told Ben that it was fine.
He told the man that he was welcome
To pray there anytime.
'It's time to go, and thanks,' Ben said
As he hurried to the door.
Then the minister knelt there at the altar,
Which he'd never done before.
His cold heart melted, warmed with love,
As he met with Jesus there.
As the tears flowed down his cheeks,
He repeated old Ben's prayer:
'I Just Came By 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 Every day.
So, Jesus, This Is Me,
Just Checking In Today.'
Past noon one day, the minister noticed
That old Ben hadn't come.
As more days passed and still no Ben,
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 Ben was with them,
Brought changes in the ward.
His smiles and joy contagious.
Changed people were his reward.
The head nurse couldn't understand
Why Ben could be so glad,
When no flowers, calls or cards came,
Not a visitor he had.
The minister stayed by his bed,
He voiced the nurse's concern:
No friends had come to show they cared.
He had nowhere to turn.
Looking surprised, old Ben spoke up
And with a winsome smile;
'The nurse is wrong, she couldn't know,
He's been here all the while.
Every day at noon He comes here,
A dear friend of mine, you see,
He sits right down and takes my hand,
Leans over and says to me:
'I Just Came By To Tell You, Ben,
How Happy I Have
Been,
Since We Found This
Friendship,
And I Took Away Your
Sin.
I Think About You
Always
And I Love To Hear
You Pray,
And So Ben, This Is
Jesus,
Just Checking In
Today."
Author unknown
Today’s Bible verse: Luke 17:33 "Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it."
Today’s quote:
Debbie McEwen: "So much happens in our lives. I think it is important to stop and realize how much God is working behind the scenes. He often helps when we don't even realize it, when we didn't even think to ask and pray.
There are other times however, when it is so obvious that a positive outcome could only have happened by His grace and with His love..." (from her excellent post, "Changes for the Better")
Pray with me,
Father, my prayer today is that You would find me faithful in my praying for Your will to be done.As You work behind the scenes in lives we are concerned about, may we be careful to trust Your Ability to maneuver their circumstances in ways to answer our prayers which match up with Your will for them.
Please take my hand to lead me in a right path, so my life will amount to all You have in Your Mind for me to do.
I ask this in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Some thoughts today: (From sermon notes...)
~ To show us the depth of our sin, God shines His spotlight on the depth of our hearts. Our standard to live by, is not of others' lives, but of Christ Jesus' life and commandments.
~ The need is to understand just how in danger we all are without Christ.
~ Invest in the lives of others, for if they continue to wallow in their beliefs of arrogance, and we know what to do, they will walk alone into eternity. God urges us to reach out to them in whatever way He sees best.
~ To show us the depth of our sin, God shines His spotlight on the depth of our hearts. Our standard to live by, is not of others' lives, but of Christ Jesus' life and commandments.
~ The need is to understand just how in danger we all are without Christ.
~ Invest in the lives of others, for if they continue to wallow in their beliefs of arrogance, and we know what to do, they will walk alone into eternity. God urges us to reach out to them in whatever way He sees best.
24th- Sunday evening’s post by Diana Leagh Matthews-
Behind the Song: Grace Greater than Our Sins!
26th- Tuesday's post by Wesley L. Duewel-
#11 We Are Failing God
28th- Thursday's post by Wesley L. Duewel-
#12 Wanted: Giants in Prayer
30th- Saturday's post by Lee Forbes-
The Devil Found an Easy Prey
26th- Tuesday's post by Wesley L. Duewel-
#11 We Are Failing God
28th- Thursday's post by Wesley L. Duewel-
#12 Wanted: Giants in Prayer
30th- Saturday's post by Lee Forbes-
The Devil Found an Easy Prey
Dr. R. A. Torrey tells us, “In the twelfth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles we have the record of a most remarkable prayer, remarkable because of what was asked for and remarkable because of the results of the asking..."
I LOVE THAT POEM. DEBBIE
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