Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and you are feeling cool as soon it will be the Yuletide time. So we covered the potted plants for tonight’s snow and Ellen cut the last of the green tomatoes to do some last recipe with as it looks to be no warmer than 40 for the rest of the year. Max prayed to receive Jesus today his story is below. Tate a tall solid build strawberry blonde Methodist, dressed in sweats with a mustache was close, saying he would pray when he was alone. “I picked up what you are laying down when you were taking about the crucifixion,” he also said. I encouraged some Christians also so it was a good day of ministry.

Max was sitting in the cafeteria. He had a zip neck two toned pullover and jeans on. He was clean-shaven and had parted, longer brown hair, wavy bangs, shaggy to his jaw line and a bit longer in back. He wanted to fly jets. So I mentioned that, at the end in talking about the Holy Spirit’s power saying God could help him to fly by the power of the Spirit in him. I mentioned the book, God is My Co-Pilot. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “I believe in forgiveness. I tried the best of my ability to be humble throughout life,” he replied. I asked what the likelihood was he would go to Heaven. He said, “I don’t know I don’t think there is a way to know.” He said he went to church when I asked. He said it was a Catholic Church. I began to go through the Gospel with him as he finished the bits of his lunch in the cafeteria at the table where we sat, half way in near the trashcans. I asked what God had done with Jesus to take away the sins of the world. “He was crucified,” Max replied, it came to him right away. As I explained that the blood of Jesus had cleansed him I said this was how God got paid. That Jesus blood was worth an infinite amount so it paid God back for the imperfect things we owed God for having done. When I said God got paid, he gave me a smirk and said that made sense. I explained the righteousness of God Christ had earned and, it was to his credit. “Like if you marry a millionaire you got a million bucks or if you get adopted by a billionaire you get to live in the mansion drive the cars and fly the planes” That got him to smile. God adopted him and gave him the blessings of his family, the sacrifice for his sins, blood that cleansed him and righteousness that surrounded him and then filled him with the Holy Spirit. I said then this was what was seen in the mass, the wafer was symbolic of His body and the wine His blood so it was commemorating Jesus had died for him and so he was forgiven. “So when you take it you should just say, ‘Thank You.’ I could tell looking him in the eyes then, he had not thought to do that.  I explained that this was received by faith and faith saved him, “Not that you just knew the story but that this is what you place your trust in to be forgiven. So if someone would ask you why should God let you into Heaven you should just say, ‘Because Jesus died for me.” I asked if he would want to be forgiven and explained the other options. In response he said something like, “I’d be there,” pointing at the circle with Christ on the throne. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray. I talked him through it asking if it was the desire of his heart and if it was he could pray it silently. “I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven.” He took the booklet then and prayed to receive Jesus and closed the booklet and set it to his left away from me. I told him he could keep it and he said, “Thank you.” I explained the Christian life “By the Spirit’s power living “Inside Out” and told him God could teach him how to fly a jet as I mentioned. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and forgiven on the inside. He really seemed grateful I also gave him a Bible study on the deity of Christ from the Old and New Testament showing him one example and I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet He shook my hand and thanked me again and I told him I would pray for him a Bible verse each day until Spring and one year after. I got up to go and he got up to toss out his trash. And I headed out.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. God blessed again.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today in steadfastness of Christ and the love of God. I had a good day on campus talking with students the last couple days though no one prayed to trust in Jesus. I’ve have had two days of going through the Bible with Christians. I know that’s part of what God would have me do. Hearing the Gospel to reinforces the faith of young Christians and shows them how they might go through the Gospel with others. Though I like it better when at least one person trusts In Christ and believes in Him as savior. 

Yesterday, Drake, a black student really understood he needed to trust in Christ alone to save him for the first time.  Because he had already been baptized he was inclined to think he’d been believing his moral goodness alone did not save him, but really wasn’t sure he’d been trusting in Jesus. But he was happy and trusting in Christ as we parted, finally getting it, and shook my hand warmly.  

Today, after going through salvation with a couple of Christians, I spent a couple hours with Josh who I pray for each night, answering questions and talking about life. He’s a heavy metal guitarist who’s been reading the Bible.

So thanks for your prayers to guide me.  I know God is doing as He wishes and I’m trusting there are still some yet to trust in the Good News of God’s word this semester.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your weekend has been blessed do far looking to the reward of eternal life. I had a good day yesterday on campus, Dailen prayed with me to receive Christ. Mark in the PE lounge said he would pray later when alone. He had brown hair swept to the side and looked a bit like Robert Urich, with a mustache only 5 o’clock shadow. He’d come into the conversation trusting in his works. I had a good week on campus as 6 students prayed to receive Jesus: Keith, Matthew, Julia, Jessica & Panos, also prayed. Dailen’s story is below if you have the time. Please pray these students grow in their faith.

Dailen was sitting at a counter height table in the hallway outside the entrance to the bookstore. The braids out of his afro came poking out from under a nylon cap and he had sharp features. He was African American and medium in build about like me. He had on a white hoodie with a beige splash design all over it and white sweats. He had a thin mustache and a goatee under his chin. He said he wanted to take care of his mom and pay her back, so I think he was from a one parent family. I asked him what he would say if he was hit by a bus and died, then stood before God and was asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” He mused with an, “I would say… that’s a good question.” Then he decided, “He should let me in because during my time I walked in His name. I tried to do everything I could to walk in His name.” He thought he had a 70% chance of getting into Heaven and he’d been to Church. I began to go through the Gospel with him saying knowing God was that He lived inside him by the Holy Spirit. I said he had to match God and be cleansed. The problem was everyone sinned. So God had to take away his sins to transfuse His life inside into and live inside him. I asked what Jesus had done to take away his sins. He struggled over the idea a bit and then said, “You tell me.” So I said God forgives him because he got paid and explained the atonement. God became a man. The Blood of Christ cleansed him and paid God back for what we had damaged in His world. I explained the righteousness of God and that he could be saved grace through faith. I finished explaining that his good stuff would not fix his bad stuff and asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done, then God would live in him and give him the strength he needed in life, or did he think something else giving him the cliff notes version of Islam’s god and the Buddha. Then I said again, “So would you want to be forgiven?” “I think I would,” he said in an affirmative tone. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I talked him through it and asked if it was the desire of his heart. He said it was and so I said he could pray it silently and I wouldn’t hear him but God would hear and he’d know he was forgiven. “Wanna do it?” I asked. “I will,” he said and took the booklet and prayed to receive Christ after I said, “Just pretend I’m not here.” I said he could keep the booklet and explained the Christian life living inside out by the Spirit’s Power. He had a Bible so I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and forgiven in the front. I gave it to him and he said, “Thank you.” I explained, now trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus, both worth and infinite amount, he could be sure his sins were paid for and he was forgiven. I told him I, being old, had sinned way more than him. But we’d both be let in. I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after. “I might not be able to picture your face too well by this time next year but I’ll still be praying for ya.” He smiled at that. I got up to go and said, “See you in heaven you can tell me how it all went down and what you did for your mom.” “For sure,” he replied. I headed off around the bend to sit on the floor in a way that stretched my sciatica and helped my stitches.

So Thanks for your prayers for the ministry last week and evangelism Thursday if you had a chance, God truly blessed.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

 I hope you day was blessed today and you were encouraged in love. I had a couple brothers come up to me on campus and encourage me and Jessica and Panos each prayed with me to receive Jesus. That was a great blessing too. There stories are below if you have some time. Please pray they grow in their faith.

Jessica was up on the third floor BIC building sitting in a lounge with some vending machines in it. It looks down on an atrium. She had Latina coloring and was pretty with a sharp jaw line, had a piercing in her left eyebrow. She wore a shrink top and high wasted jeans. When I asked her what she would say to God if she died and were asked “Why should I let you into Heaven?” she replied, “I feel I’m a good person.” She thought she had a 60-70% chance of going to Heaven and went to church every week. I began to go through the Gospel with her and said knowing God meant He lived inside her. This was eternal life. I asked what Jesus had done to take away her sins so he could live in her. She could not think of anything so I said something like, “Well, this is how it works.” I explained the cross as the cleansing and payment for her sins. “So now you are alive inside and God can live inside you.” I explained the righteousness Jesus had earned and then she glanced at her phone so I knew she had very little time. I said God adopted her and skipped a couple summary sentences and said she could receive this by faith in that Jesus was God, He died for her sins and rose from the dead. Not that she just knew the story but that she put her trust in this so that if someone would say to her, “Why should God let you into Heaven?” you’d say, “Because Jesus died for me.” I asked if she’d want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done, then he would live inside her giving her strength by the Spirit and she’d know she was going to Heaven or thought something else, quickly explaining Islam as an example of a different God. “That one,” she said pointing at the circle with Jesus inside her. I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. I began to explain it and asked if it was the desire of her heart. “Yes, I’m praying it right now,” she said so I shut up and she said “Amen.” I explained a life “By the Spirit’s Power” living “Inside Out”. I quickly gave her Bible Promises for You. I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside and said I would pray a Bible Verse for her until next Spring and one year after. “Thank you,” she said as she got up to go and I said, “God bless you,” and she headed out. A girl who was sitting about 8 feet from me jumped up to invite her to a Bible Study at the entrance but Jessica had to run. The girl was Christine who was a lifelong Christian but just starting to discover things in the Bible.  So I taught her some cool stuff, accidentally making her late by quite a bit for her Bible Study it turned out,. Fortunately, her teacher was a campus worker I knew who forgave me. She later emailed me (I imagine getting my email off the Bible Study I had given Christine) to say she was praying for me.

I had an older Indian gentleman want to pray over me in the hallway who I had met before, so he did. Later, a late 20’s black veteran, David, stopped me in the hallway after saying, “hi” at the sink in the washroom. He was encouraging me to keep after my calling and gave me a hug. Cool dude thin dude taller than me with a mustache and goatee and braids out of squared blocks on his head. I was grateful so I guess God thought I needed some encouragement.

Finally at the end of the day I met Panos. He was sitting just past the glass fire doors out of the hallway along the construction out of the SSC building. He was sitting in a big chair and I at first squatted beside him but that wasn’t working for my stiches so I pulled a chair like his over to sit on the arm. He had tight curls of sandy colored hair, a mop on top short on the sides and a rounded nose, block chin, clean shaven. I looked at some old Greek sculptures but I was wrong to think he looked like one. He had on a hoodie, dark blue or near black and white cargo pants. I asked him one thing he’s like to do before he died. “Be saved before I die,” he replied. I asked him what he’d say to God to get into Heaven, “You shouldn’t,” he replied. “Is there a but in there anywhere? I asked. “That depends on each person,” he replied. “I haven’t repented yet.” I asked the likelihood he would go to Heaven when he died. “Not likely,” he said sticking to his position. I explained to him also that God had to take away his sin to live inside him. “So what’s the thing Jesus does to take away your sin?” I asked. “He forgives you?” he said. I said it was true God forgives but the reason He does is because He gets paid. “The Bible says if you confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. God is just to forgive you because there was a payment for your sins.” I went on to explain the means of Christ’s blood to cleanse us of sin and make a payment to God. He gave verbal expressions of acceptance all the way through each point of the atonement and the righteousness Christ earned to His credit and that God wanted to adopt him. I said all this done for him could be had if he received Christ and then he’d be saved by grace through faith. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven trusting in Jesus so God could live inside him or thought something else. “Be forgiven,” he replied. I said there was a prayer he could pray and talked him through it. I asked if it was the desire of his heart. “I’m praying it now, yeah” he said. And he finished with Amen. I said the likelihood he would now be forgiven was 100% trusting in the righteousness of Jesus and His blood. I said, “It matters who does the work. Say I meet a billionaire and he owns a soccer team. I say I always thought it would be fun to pay in a soccer game. He says, ‘Well my team sucks there’s one game left and I’m going to fire everybody after so you can play for me.” So I play a game for fun and my reward would be I got to play in a professional soccer game. But if they brought in a real player to play for the day they might have to pay him thousands of dollars. It matters who does the work. Jesus is God so when he does the work it’s worth an infinite amount.” He got it. I explained living “By the Spirit’s Power Inside Out” and I gave him Bible Promises for You I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. “Thank you,” he said as I handed it to him. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible Study I explained also. I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after. I got up to go and he said, “Thanks I appreciate it, have a good one.” “Yeah, thanks for your time,” I replied. He said Sure.” And I headed off.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism toady if you had a moment. God truly blessed.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was filled with grace and peace. I had a good day on campus. Julia prayed with me to receive Jesus today so that was great. Please pray she rows in her faith. I’m grateful for your help. Her story is below if you have some time.

Julia was sitting on one of the ledges that overlook the big science lounge that joins the buildings. She had mostly blonde long wavy hair and was wearing a powder blue hoodie and grey sweats. She had sharp pretty features, a narrow face, looked sweet and kind. I asked her to describe herself and she said, kind and hardworking and loyal. She later said she wanted to become a dentist but one thing she wanted to do before she died was have kids. I asked her, if she got hit by a bus, and she died what she would say to God if He asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “Oh my gosh!” she replied, and then a “hmm.” “I’ve been pretty loyal to Him as well,” she replied. I go to Church every Sunday. She thought she had a 90% chance of going to Heaven. I told her knowing God meant He lived inside her and this would give her eternal life. First however He had to take away her sin. I asked her What God had done “to take away your sins?” “Confession?” she said. “Well, the priest says you are forgiven but the reason he can do that is because he knows God got paid,” I replied. “This is how it works. I began to explain that we owed God a perfect life, but we could not be perfect. So Jesus had died after living a perfect life for us and His blood cleansed her and “When He pours out his blood it pays God back for all the imperfect things we’ve done that we owe God something perfect for,” to pay Him for wrecking damaging what belonged to Him. So the real reason God forgives you is “He got paid,” but He had to pay Himself. I explained the righteousness Jesus earned to her credit and this was hers when God adopted her and made her His child. I said this was the symbolism behind the mass, the wine symbolic of His blood the wafer symbolic of His body, it was reminding her He had died and so she was forgiven, “So when you take it you should just say, Thank You.”  I explained the rest then that this was hers when she believed. “Not that you just knew the story but that that’s what you put your trust in to be forgiven so if someone asked you “Why should God let you into Heaven you’d say because Jesus died for me, I’m trusting in that.” And I explained how her good stuff could not fix her bad stuff. I asked then if she would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done for her, so He could live inside her, then she would know she was forgiven. “Like when you are praying for forgiveness for your sins. Are you thinking you would be forgiven because you were doing good things? Or did you know you would be forgiven because Jesus died for you?” She seemed caught up thinking about that so I said, “If you wanted to be forgiven and you had not asked God before there is a prayer you could pray.” I explained the prayer and asked, “It says here is this prayer the desire of you heart? So if you thought it did you could pray it silently right now, I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven. Wanna do it?” “Sure,” she said. I said, “Just pretend I’m not here.” She chuckled at that since I had been kneeling on the floor beside her in the way of everything looking down at the booklet. Then she prayed to receive Jesus. When she finished she handed me back the booklet and said, “Thank you.” I said she could keep the booklet and she said, “Oh,” in a pleased kind of way. I explained living the Christian life to her praying, reading and confessing and living by the Power of the Holy Spirit who would help her in everything she wanted to do if she asked. He could help her do well in school. I explained living “Inside Out”. I said that now the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the righteousness and blood of Jesus. I would be forgiven too though being old I had sinned way more than her. She smiled at that. “Thank you so much,” She replied. I told her I would pray for her each day and put her on a list and pray for her until the Spring and one year after, and that I had just bumped into a girl, Neeha, who had prayed to receive Jesus last year who I was still praying for. “Oh,” she said like she was happy to hear that. I gave her Bible Promises for You and I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front and she appreciated that. I gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet told her Strobel’s story and said she might have time to read it at Christmas break. I also gave her a Bible study. We both said, “Have a good one,” at the same time as I got up to go. Then I said, “God bless you.” “You as well.” She replied and I headed off around the corner.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. God truly blessed.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brother is Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with good things from above walking with the Lord. I had a good day on campus though still a bit sore and worn and Keith and Matthew each prayed with me to receive Jesus as their savior. Please pray they grow and faith and knowledge of God. Their stories are below if you have some time. Thanks for your help in prayer.

 Keith was sitting in the long hallway that heads toward the foyer near the bookstore.  He was a slightly built guy and short, had brown thin hair kind of swept around and black framed glasses for hard classes. He wore a grey hoodie and some polyester sweats of a different shade of grey. He was a nice guy, kind of pointed features, he looked like a guy who belonged in school. He said he went to church on major holidays but could not say what kind of church it was. I asked one thing he would want to do before he died and he said, “Start a family.” That response is a tell a guy will trust in Christ as I speak with them or will turn out to already be a Christian. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and He asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” I pondered repeating the question and then said, “I always tried to be a good person and to help others who were in need.” I said there was a Bible verse that said, “Engage in good deeds meet pressing needs” [Titus 3:14]. He thought he had a 50/50 chance of getting into Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he leaned forward to look at the booklet interested as I spoke. He periodically looked me in the eye seeming to be interested and engaged. I asked what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world and he knew he had sacrificed Himself. I continued to explain how the blood of Jesus had purified him and was the payment for his sins. I explained the righteousness of God and salvation by faith. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins, then God would live inside him and give him strength, or did he think something else. He looked at the options and said, “I’ll go with that one,” pointing to the circle with Jesus on the throne of his life. So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray. I explained the prayer and then said, “It says here, ‘Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?’ would you say it does?” He said something like, “For the most part yes.”  I said he could pray it silently now and know he was forgiven. He said, “What time is it?” he quickly looked at his phone and then said, “I have time. I’ll do it. It can’t do me any harm; it can only do me good.” I agreed and he prayed then to receive Jesus. I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven! In the front and he seemed grateful. I explained then that trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness and His blood to forgive him the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I quickly gave him a Bible Study and The case for Christ Answer Booklet saying he might have time to look at some things later. He was grateful and said, “Have a good day.” As I got up to leave. I said “God bless you,” and headed off.

Matthew was sitting on the upper floor lounge of the PE building near the workout equipment. He was in a section of couches by himself and agreed to do a student survey. He had a mustache that like Michael Jordan, not thick. His hair was a mop top that was bangs in the front like the teeth of a comb. He had black rectangle glasses and was Latino in coloring but his features were Caucasian. He had on a black hoodie and wore grey sweats. I asked him what he would say to God if He asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “Maybe… let me think,” he began and then said, “I didn’t do nothing wrong and at the same time, everyone made mistakes. Maybe ask for forgiveness too.” He replied. He thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. He said he went to church every week. I began to go through the Gospel with him saying that knowing God was that the Spirit of God lived inside you. The problem is that everyone sins. I read him the verses to say, sin kills you and God gives you life, so God can’t be in the same place as sin.  I explained like I nearly always do that it’s like a blood transfusion where a hospital matches your blood-type. “God wants to transfuse His life into you but first He has to make you his type so He takes away your sin then you are perfect and holy inside and you match God and God can live inside you. So what’s the thing Jesus does to take away the sins of the world?” He really tried hard to think about it. “What is it?” he was asking himself. It turned out he went to a Catholic church and so I said, “It’s is symbolized in the mass.” That did not help. He was probably trying to think of the word “reconciliation” that that did not pop into my head to say. Some students know the word but can’t tell you what it means. “I really do go to Church every week,” he said as he gave up. I said no worries and I said something like, “This is how it works.” I explained then that Jesus lived a perfect life for him, he could not live and then He was the infinite and perfect payment for his sin. The blood of Christ cleansed him from all sin. I inserted there then that it was symbolized in the mass that the wine was symbolic of Jesus blood and the wafer of His body. It was reminding him that Jesus had died for him so he should in taking it say, “Thank You.” I went on to explain the righteousness of God that Christ earned and this was to his credit given to him when God adopted him and made him his child. I said, “So how do you hook up with all that? The Bible says you believe it or receive it.” I quoted John 1:12 he had to believe Jesus was God, died for his sins and rose from the dead. “Not that you just kind of know the story from being a kid but that that’s what you put your trust in as an adult. So if someone would say to you, ‘Why should God let you into Heaven?’ you’d say, ‘Because Jesus died for me.’” I said, His good stuff would not fix his bad stuff. So I asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done or if he thought something else. “Forgiven,” he said. So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I talked it through asking if it was the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he said definitively. I said he could pray it silently right now; I wouldn’t hear him but God would hear and he’d know he was forgiven. “Wanna do it?” “Yeah,” he said with a touch of enthusiasm. He took the booklet then and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the likelihood he’d now go to Heaven, trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus, was 100%. He was grateful and thanked me. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “Forgiven!” on the inside. “Thank you,” he said again as I handed it to him. I gave him The case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible Study explaining it. I shook his hand and he said, “Nice to meet you.” “Nice to meet you too, so now when you go to church it’s all solid man.” He agreed. I told him I would pray for him and headed off.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and evangelism today if you had a chance. God truly blessed the work.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and sisters in Christ,

How’s the life? Hope you are in the sun somewhere spreading the love of Christ. I had a good day on campus Thursday. And though I’m a bit post-surgery sore God is still doing the work and Cam prayed with me to receive Jesus. His story is below if you have some time. Please pray he grows in his faith. Thanks.

I came across Cam sitting on a stuffed chair on a balcony overlooking the foyer above the bookstore. He was wearing a fleece and had ringlets of hair (he tugged on one in front from time to time) the width of a pencil lead, pouring off the top of his head. He looked African American with perfect skin a smaller nose and the perfect lips of a closed mouth Mr. Potato Head. Good looking guy right down to the cheek bones. He was not that big and looked young. I asked if he wanted to do a student survey. He said he wasn’t a student yet; he was starting next semester and was only here to take a test. It turned out to be math placement and I believe he wanted to get into nuclear medicine. He wasn’t sure how he did on the test. (The math at COD is harder than U of Illinois at Chicago, judging from students I’ve talked to that have done math at both. It’s a cash cow it seems to have students stuck in not for credit prep classes.) But he said he’d do a survey anyway so I jumped in with him. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “I mean I wouldn’t know what to say.” He thought some more and said, “Dang. I wouldn’t have a reason. I’m a sinner I sin every day. I guess you could say ‘You sent Your Son for us,’ that wouldn’t be enough by itself.” He thought he had a 50% chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him saying Jesus said knowing God was eternal life. God wanted to live inside him but first he had to take away his sins, then he would be perfect and holy inside and Jesus could live inside Him. “What a weight!” he said and I agreed. So I asked what’s the big thing Jesus does to take away your sins. “He forgives you?” he replied. I tried to phrase it a couple other ways but it seemed he did not know what God had sent His Son to do. I began to go through the Gospel with him. When I explained the sacrifice of Christ, that the blood had cleansed him, I also explained how it was a payment to God. I told him the Bible said we had to live a perfect life. God could say if we stood before Him we owed Him that, but we hadn’t lived one, “Well everything here is perfect. I’m perfect and this is a perfect place you don’t fit in here,” But then everyone would go to Hell because no one is perfect. So God becomes a perfect man and then He goes around telling people the truth, they get ticked at Him and kill Him, now he’s dead. But that’s what Jesus wants, He wants to die, ‘cause the Bible says that without the shedding of blood there’s no forgiveness of sins. That’s cause life is in the blood and Jesus is the source of all life because He is God, so when He pours out his blood it becomes kind of a life force in the world and it makes life everywhere we made death. There’s death inside us from our sins. The Bible says the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. In 1John 1:7 “So now you are alive inside and you match God and God can live inside you.” I finished. “I’ve never heard anyone explain it that way before,” he replied. “It’s really how God gets paid,” I said. “Say you borrow your friend’s car and you dent the fender. Then you gotta take it to the body shop or a pops the dent place, they pop out the dent and you give it back to your friend and everything’s cool. So when you borrow someone’s stuff you got to give it back to them perfect how you got it. The problem is everything belongs to God… so if I hurt you or hurt me or hurt the world in some what I owe God something perfect back. But if I roll over your foot in the parking lot I don’t have an extra spare perfect foot to give to God, and there’s all kinds of stuff like that. So I owe God but I can’t pay. But God loves me so He becomes a man. And since He is God His life and blood are worth an infinite amount. So when He pours out His blood it pays God back for all the imperfect things we did that we owe God something perfect for, so the real reason God forgives you is He got paid.” “I see that, that’s dope,” he replied. I explained the righteousness of God that was predicted and Jesus earned it and when God adopted him it was to his credit. To hook up with all Jesus had done he had to believe it or receive it. That would mean he had faith. By grace he was saved through faith. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else. He said he wanted to be forgiven so I said there was a prayer he could pray. I read the first line and he read it out loud after me. So I read it and explained it in phrases and he prayed it. When we finished I said, “Amen” and he did too. I gave him Bible Promises for You then and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I explained the likelihood he would now go to Heaven trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus was 100%. He had to pick up his mom.  So I quickly gave him a Bible study explaining it a bit and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and told him I would be praying a Bible verse for him each day from now until the end of Spring and one year after. He was grateful and thought he’d look be up when he was a student. So I wrote my phone number on the front of the Bible Study and told him he could contact me then. He was grateful and I headed off saying I would see him in Heaven.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism last week if you had a chance.  4 students prayed to receive Jesus.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your days was blessed with your mind dwelling on what is good and pure and lovely. I had a good day on campus talking with students and Aliyah prayed to receive Jesus as savior. Please pray she grows in her faith. Her story is below if you have some time. Thanks for your prayers.

Alijah [ah lee ah] was sitting on the outside corner of the lounge on the second floor of the BIC. She had a slightly wider pretty face and a smaller mouth set in it with red lipstick. A Latina, her long brown hair was parted in the middle part way down her arm. She had pinkish hue plastic rimmed semi-circle glasses and a full figure. She had on a black hoodie and leggings that ended in bell-bottoms. I asked her if she wanted to do a survey. She asked what it was about. “The main question is, ‘You’re walking down the road and you get hit by a bus so you’re dead. So you stand before God and He asks, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ So it’s really about the answer to that question. Got any interest in that or not so much?” I asked. “Ok,” she replied and I asked her name gave her mine and began. She was a simple-hearted kid just wanted to have a good life. I asked her again what she would say to God and she said, “I don’t know what I would say to that question.” I asked if she had ever gone to Church. She said she used to go with her grandma. Then the priest they really liked left. (It turned out he retired.) The new priest was often talking from the pulpit about his opinions about stuff and in so doing saying things people did not like. So they didn’t want to listen to him and they left. She thought she had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. I went through the Gospel with her and in explaining that God wanted her to know Him and this meant to live inside her and give her eternal life. God could not be one with sin however so He took away her sin. I asked her what it was Jesus had done to take away her sins. But she could not think of anything. So I continued to explain the atonement for her sins in the sacrificial blood of Christ and the righteousness of God. She was engaged in listening but did not say anything. I explained salvation was by faith in the name of Jesus, in his reputation that He was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead. I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins or thought something else. “I want to be forgiven for my sins,” she replied. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. I talked her through it asking if it was the desire of her heart. “Yes,” she replied so I said if she wanted she could pray it silently now, “I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven. Wanna do it?” “Yes,” she replied. Then she took the booklet from me and said, “Can I ask you a question?” “Oh sure, sorry,” I replied. She said she had had a girl walk up to her and ask for her phone number to meet. She wanted to know if she was with me. “I never ask for people’s phone numbers. And I work by myself. There are cult groups on campus who do, then they talk you into going to their church and stuff. This is no strings attached. If you want you can have a relationship with God and He lives inside you and will guide you, but that is between you and Him.” “But you have a group?” she asked. I said I did and she could come to a Bible Study and I told her when it was. She had a class then. I told her I knew another Bible Study group on campus but I did not have their card with the information because I’d had surgery and I was not carrying my backpack. I said I could give her their number. “I can email you,” she replied. I said that was fine and I’d send her the guy’s number if she wanted. “But I didn’t mean to talk so much if you’d still like to pray.” She did then and received Christ. I explained the Christian life to her “By the Spirit’s power. Living Inside Out” I told her the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus. I checked to see if she had once been going to the Catholic Church and she had so I said “Well if you go back you’ll take the mass. The wine is symbolic of His blood and the wafer is symbolic of His body. It is reminding you Jesus died for you and so you are forgiven. So when you take you can just say, “Thank You.”” I gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I told her I would pray a Bible Verse for her each day from now until Spring and one year after to bless her. I also gave her a Bible Study and explained it and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. She got up to head to her car then and she said, “Thank you.” “Thank you,” I said. And she headed out to her car.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance, God truly blessed.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you have been blessed today with good things from the grace of God. I had a good day on campus yesterday. I spent a few hours on Facebook messenger with a former atheist student from our time at Elmhurst college 15 years ago and lost the evening yesterday to write. His name is Kevin if you’d like to pray for him. He’s become a Free Mason and broadly speaking a theist of a sort. So we’ll see what God does. The conversation has been off again on again for a couple days. Meanwhile back on campus Mari and Julianna each prayed with me to receive Jesus yesterday. I’d be grateful for your prayers for them to grow. There stories are below if you have the time to spend. Today school was cancelled for election day in Illinois, which was fine with me as I’m a little sore from walking so much yesterday. Thanks for your help in prayer.

Mari was sitting in the hallway that heads down to the bookstore. It’s the longest stretch of seating at school. She was sitting by what used to be student activities and an open lounge that has been devoured by the ever-expanding bureaucracy at the college. She is a pretty faced Latina girl long brown hair past her shoulders, rounded nose, darker, slightly heavy set. She wore all black leggings and a black long sleeve shirt. She was attending a Church called Westbrook. I asked her what she would say to God if she died and stood before him and He asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “I would say that… what would I say? At the moment I’m not [got] the relationship I want to have with Him. Day by day I’m trying to grow in that, so, ‘The changes I’m making’ I ‘d say that.” She thought the likelihood she would go to heaven was 75%. I told her that eternal life was knowing God and this meant that He lived inside her. I asked what it was that God had done to take away her sins. When she hesitated I said, “That Jesus did.” She only replied with a slight frown and shook her head a bit. So I said something like, “Don’t know, ok well this is how it works, you’re going to like this.” I began to go through the Gospel with her then and explained that the perfect life the Bible said she was required to live, and couldn’t, was lived by Jesus. His blood was a payment to God that cleansed her and so He could live inside her. This and His righteousness were a gift of God to her, “I love this,” she replied enthusiastically.  She told me then, looking at her phone, she had 4 minutes until she had to run to class so I said, “OK I’ll hurry.” She was saved by grace through faith. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done for her. “Yes. Most definitely.” She replied. So I said there was a prayer she could pray. She prayed each section after I explained it, silently, and then I said, “Amen?” “Amen,” she said with a smile. I quickly explained life in the Spirit “Inside Out”. I gave her ­Bible Promises for You and I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I also gave her a Bible Study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I said I would pray a Bible verse for her each day from now until the end of Spring semester and one year after. I said if I saw her again I would give her a wave (and I passed her later in the day in conversation with someone and she gave me a little clandestine wave from her lap and smiled and I waved back). “Thank you so much,” she said getting up to go to class. I said she was welcome and she ran off.

Julianna was sitting on a balcony that overlooked the connecting lounge of the science buildings looking out the glass wall to the South. She looked like she had pretty much rolled out of bed, pulled on clothes and come to school. She’s a nursing student and it’s not like there’s any guys in your classes. Her straight hair was pulled up behind her head in a makeshift bun and she wore no make-up. She had a narrow pretty face and kind of intense blue eyes. Wore a blue hoodie and black leggings and had the look of someone who had been studying. She went to a Catholic Church but said her mom went to a church called Mission. I said I’d know some people who went there. I asked her one thing she would want to do before she died and she said, “Love.” “So being loving throughout your life?” I asked and she agreed. She thought the likelihood she would go to heaven was 100%. I asked her what she would say to get into Heaven. “What would I say?” She asked me. “Um hum,” I replied. She thought a moment and said, “”’Cause I’ve never given up.” I asked her what God does to take away her sin then added “What does Jesus do?” “His love,” she said sort of in question form. I said that it was true He loved us, “and this is how it manifests.” As I opened the booklet she said, “Thank you,” I think anticipating she was missing something. I began to go through the Gospel with her and explained the sacrifice of Jesus that cleansed and paid for her sin. His righteousness was to her credit and God adopted her and gave her the blessings of His family. “He gives you the sacrifice for your sins the blood that cleanses you and the righteousness of God that surrounds you.” She was kind of repeating what I said to her all through as if to validate it. I explained that Jesus was God and so His life was worth an infinite amount and His blood is worth an infinite amount so when He pours out His blood it pays God back for all the imperfect things we did that we owe God something perfect for.  Jesus’ work was worth an infinite amount so it matters who does the work. “Say somehow someone I knew knew the owner of a baseball team and the guy said I could play for a day they would just stick me in left field and hope no one hit to me. My reward would be that I got to play in a baseball game. But there are lots of guys that if they pay they have to pay them millions because they are that good at baseball. It matters who does the work how much value the work has.” “So only God can do it,” she said. And I agreed (though no one actually gets paid millions a game to play in the MLB, I should have gone with a special teams roll in the NFL, anyway). I summarized and said, “So that’s Christianity. God loves you He wants to know and live inside you, but He can’t because of sin so the Bible says, “God demonstrates His love for us while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.’ So this is the way God expresses his love to take away your sins.” I said she had to believe it or receive it [John 1:12]. “So if you believe Jesus is God, He died for your sins and rose from the dead. Not that you just know the story but that that’s what you put your trust in so that if someone says to you, ‘Why should God let you into Heaven?’ you’d say, “Because Jesus died for me.” I explained being saved by faith and her good stuff would not fix her bad stuff. “So you believe?” she said. “Yes you believe but you have to believe a specific thing,” I replied. I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins or thought something else then asked again if she would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus. “Yes,” she replied. I said that if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. I talked it through in explanation and said, “It says here does this prayer express the desire of your heart. “Yes it does,” she replied. I said she could pray it silently and know she was forgiven. “Wanna do it?” “Yeah,” she said with conviction. She took the booklet then and prayed to receive Jesus. I gave her Bible Promises for You that she liked and I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside and reminded her of the symbolism of the mass which was to remind her that Jesus had died for her so her sins were forgiven. When she took it she should just say, “Thank You.” I gave her a Bible Study explaining it and then gave her ­The Case for Christ Answer Booklet that she liked also. I told her I would pray a Bible verse for her each day from now until Spring and one year after. I got up to go and said, “Nice to meet you.” “Nice to meet you too. Thank you so much for chatting with me and giving me a break,” she replied. I said “God bless you,” then and she said “God bless you too.” And I headed off.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance, God truly blessed.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you were blessed today and God gave you the strength to do all the good things the faith He’s placed in you prompted you to do. I had a good day on campus and Charlie and John each prayed to receive Jesus today. I also went through the Gospel with a former Muslim, Eli, who took a bible from me, he thought of himself as agnostic. He looked like a big dock-worker with 3 days growth of beard wearing a snow-white watch cap above his ears. I gave a 100 Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus fold out to Adam, a Jewish guy with a mop of curly, sandy hair and glasses (a young Woody Allen look), who I had talked to before a bit, I also encouraged a couple Christians. A productive day. Please pray these students grow in their faith or come to faith. Their stories are below if you have a chance.

Charlie was in a vending machine lounge on the south side of the BIC, first floor. He was a big guy a bit heavy, had a second chin and a kind oval face and a bit of chin beard on the original chin. He wore black shorts and a clay-colored shirt wearing a trucker’s cap celebrating something with a date on it. He didn’t smile much and was tough to get a read off of. But then I never know what’s in someone’s heart. I asked him if he died what he would say to God if He asked, “Why should I let you into heaven?” He said, “I always try to benefit others.” He thought he had a 75% chance of going to Heaven when he died. I said that knowing God was eternal life according to Jesus and that meant the Holy Spirit lived inside you. God had to take away his sins then to live inside, to make him His type. I asked what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world. He could not think of anything. He said he’d gone to “Sunday church” but had gotten older and just didn’t go anymore. So I began to explain that Jesus lived a perfect life and told people the truth. That ticked them off so they killed Him. But that’s what Jesus wants he wants to die because the Bible says without the shedding of blood there’s no forgiveness of sins. Life is in the Blood and Jesus is the source of all life so when He pours out His blood He pours out a life force on the world and it makes life all the places we made death. There’s death inside us from our sins. 1John 1:7 says the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. I explained this was also how God was paid for what we owed Him. So He was Just to forgive us. I explained the righteousness of God and His adoption of us. Faith then that Jesus was God had died for his sins and rose from the dead would save him. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else. He did not directly answer at first but said, “I always thought if you wanted to go to Heaven you did or you might be reincarnated.” I said that the Bible says, “It’s appointed for a man once to die and then the judgment. So you don’t come back you live once. But who really wants to have to keep coming back and doing Junior High over and over again. Coming back to redo your life a thousand times or something isn’t what you’d want anyway.” He agreed. I said, “Well if you wanted to be forgiven trusting in Jesus there is a prayer you could pray.” I explained the pray that he would be asking God to live inside him, thanking Him for dying for him, then to be his Savior and his God and give him eternal life and make him the kind of person He wanted him to be. I asked if the prayer expressed the desire of his heart. He looked at it and said, “I think that it does. Yeah.” So I said if he wanted to he could pray it silently I wouldn’t hear him but God would and he’d know he was forgiven. “Wanna do that?” I asked. “Yeah,” he said. And he prayed to receive Jesus. I told him the likelihood he would go to Heaven trusting in the righteousness of Jesus and His Blood was 100%. He had a few Bibles but was not sure which was best to read. I explained the difference between them but that most published Bibles would probably work and listed a couple of the best ones. I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and forgiven in the front. I pointed out it was the easy English version NIV and he could compare it to what he had at home. I said it focused on getting the concept down found in the verse. I gave him a Bible Study explaining it a bit on ways Jesus claims to be God. I also gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told him I’d pray for him each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless him. “Thank you,” he replied. “God bless you man,” I said getting up to leave. “God bless you too. Thank you,” he said and I headed out.

I came across John sitting in a chair waiting for something related to football to start up. He had a curly mop of hair pushing out the front and the sides of a Cubs, fan ball cap. He had a square chin, sharp features was clean-shaven (looked a bit like James Caan in the movie Bryan’s Song, though younger and a bit better looking). He wore purple sweats and a black zip up hoodie. He asked what the survey was about I said, “The big question is, you’re walking down the road you get hit by a bus so you’re dead and you stand before God and He says, “’Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say? So it’s basically what the Bible says is the answer to the question.” He thought about the question and said, “I don’t know.” I said the answer is all Cub fans go to heaven. He gave me a bit of a mystified grin and I said, “just kidding”. He said he had a couple minutes. So I said I could just show him some Bible verses and he said sure and I went right into the booklet. God loved him, wanted to know and live inside him but had to make him his type, like a blood transfusion. I asked him also what the big thing was that Jesus had done to take away his sins so God could live inside him. He said he didn’t know. I asked what kind of church he went to. He said a Catholic church. So I said, “Well think about the symbolism in the mass. The wine is symbolic of His blood and the wafer…” “The bread is His body,” he finished with me. I said right “So what is that about?” “Sacrifice?” he kind of guessed. I said “Yeah Jesus died for you. So when you take it you should just say ‘thank you’.” I went on then to explain what Jesus had done in dying for him cleansing him and being a payment to God. I told him of the righteousness of God and salvation by faith. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else. “I would want to be forgiven,” he said. I read it through and asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. “Yeah he said.  He could pray it silently I wouldn’t hear him but God would hear and he’d know he was forgiven. “Wanna to it?” “Yeah,” he said and took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I gave him Bible Promises for you and said if he wanted to he could go to Bible Gateway on the web and have something to read sent to him each day. He thought he was familiar with Bible Gateway. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. He thanked me. I gave him a Bible study and explained it a bit and enjoyed by telling of walking on the water. I explained living By the Spirit’s Power asking Him for help in everything. I asked what sport he played. He said football, he was pretty slight so I guessed, “You a free safety?” “I play safety. Yeah.” He replied. I said he could ask the Holy Spirit to make him better at anything, to help him see the field. “I could?” he asked. I said he could ask. I mentioned Gary Fencik and said he was not the biggest guy either but he hit hard. “Yeah that’s what I’m known for,” he said. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and told him I would pray a Bible Verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after. I said good luck with football and to watch his neck and he agreed he would. I told him not to forget to say thank you when he took the mass. I got up to go. “Thank you I appreciate it,” he said shaking my hand. “Yeah, I’ll see you in Heaven,” I said and I headed off.

So Thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. God truly blessed.

In Him,

Bob