Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a good day walking in the knowledge of Jesus love for you. I had a good day on campus and Ethan & Justina [pronounced Hustina] each prayed with me to receive Jesus. Please pray they grow in faith, their stories are below if you want to spend the time.

Ethan was sitting at the entrance to the tunnel going over to the MAC arts building. He looked Latino and had a small wide flat nose and a share chin, had a curly shorter hair. He had braces on his teeth and had larger rectangle wire rim glasses. He was a smaller guy wearing a tan fleece and wide pale blue jeans. He was ambitious and thought he’d like to have a vacation house someday. I asked him, “You’re walking down the road and 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?” “Um… that’s a hard question,” he replied he thought a bit and said, “I have made some mistakes in life but I learned from it so I think I’d ask for a second chance. If I don’t prove myself with that I would be fine with a second chance.” I asked a % likelihood he would get into Heaven. “At least, I know God is very forgiving—90%,” he said. I began to go through the Gospel with him sitting beside him in a row of chairs. He leaned forward interested in the verses. I asked if he’d ever been to Church and he said he had been an acolyte in the church growing up. I said God had to take away his sins to live inside him and asked if he knew what the big thing was that Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the world. He gave me a sentence about how He gave His life. I began to explain then how the blood of Jesus cleansed him and was a payment to God. He was engaged and liked the stories. I explained the righteousness of God to his credit quoting Isa 61:10 & Gal 3:27. “Like if you marry a millionaire you got a million bucks or if you get adopted into a billionaire’s family you get to live in the mansion and drive the cars. You know how they say it’s not what you know it’s who you know,” I said. “Ha yeah,” he replied. I said God adopted him and if he believed that Jesus was God died for his sins and rose from the dead, not that he just knew the story but that he put his trust in that to forgive him it would mean he had faith, and faith saved him. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else. He said he would want to be forgiven for his sins. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I read through it asking if it expressed the desire of his heart. He said it did. I said he could pray it silently and he agreed and took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained to him when he’d finished that the likelihood he would now go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus. I explained the Christian life living “By the Spirit’s Power” and that meant the difference between Christianity and other religions was “Inside out” God transformed us on the inside by the Spirit’s power we become good men and then do good things on the outside. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I gave him a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. “Nice to meet you man,” I said shaking his hand and getting up to go. “Nice to meet you he said with a big smile. “Thank you.” Then he added as I was two steps from him, “That was very insightful.” “Thanks man,” I said with a smile and I headed off.

Justina [The J has and H sound as she is from Argentina] was sitting on a bench outside the glass of the NW atrium lounge. She had a plane oval face, wore no makeup, with a pointed chin thin lips and straight light brown hair parted in the middle to her shoulders with natural flip at the ends. She had a great accent and was upbeat and nice. Her glasses had kind of a butterfly wing shape and had zigzag lightning bolt sides pieces. She wore jeans and had on a brown hooded sweatshirt. She wanted to travel. I asked her, “You’re walking down the road and 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?” “Because I always tried to be, you can’t be perfect. I tried, it’s impossible but to think what would Jesus do? but I always tried,” she replied. I asked her the likelihood she would get into Heaven and she thought maybe 60%, “Nearer to yes than no,” she said with a smile. I asked what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world after saying God had to take away her sins to live inside her and she said, “He was sacrificed”. As I began to explain the atonement she said wasn’t that what all the sacrifices in the Old Testament were about. I explained that yes the lamb had to be perfect without a blemish, “I guess I don’t really know anything about lambs but that’s what it says. Those sacrifices set aside sin looking forward to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus.” I said all I usually say about the blood and righteousness of Christ and adoption and said all this she could have by faith. I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins. “Of course,” she said brightly. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. I read it aloud with a line repeated in explanation and when I finished she said, “Amen!” enthusiastically. “Did you just pray it I said. “Yes,” she replied. I explained the Christian life living “By the Spirit’s Power” and “Inside out”. She had to go to class so I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front of Bible Promises for You and gave her The Case for Christ Student Edition. “I’ll pray for you each day,” I said. She rushed off saying, “Keep doing this.” “Yes mam,” I replied and she was down the hall.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today, if you had a chance. God truly blessed and now I’m off to teach a Bible Study at school.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your weekend has been blessed so far with good things from above. I managed to throw out my back yesterday evening dumping mulched leaves into the neighbor’s compost pile. It saves me about 8 yard stickers but turn out to be a bit too much after a stressful day of work. But hey I had a good week on campus and 6 students prayed to receive Christ along with Maryellen* who committed to Christ at the counter of a resale shop I went to. Londyn prayed to receive Jesus on Thursday and last week Josh, Tyler, Chris, Tessa & Bobbi. Please pray they grow in faith.

Londyn was the last student I spoke with on Thursday and we spoke for an hour. She looked a bit like the actress Jane Seymour when she was young. Londyn’s features were a bit sharper and smaller, as was the rest of her. She had brown wavy hair, which was tinted brown to frame her face. She wore a baggy grey hoodie and sat across the table from me in the NW side ground floor atrium lounge of the BIC. She said she just wanted people in her life to feel good. I asked her, “You’re walking down the road and 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?” “I think I’d… look at Him a while and tell Him I tried to give my life to Him and I will continue to do that in Heaven,” she replied. She was 100% sure she would go to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with her and she knew Jesus had died for her. I said all I usually say about the blood of Christ cleansing her and being a payment to God. I told her of the righteousness of God adoption the resurrection. She listened closely and I asked her if she would want to be forgiven for her sins or thought something else saying the CliffsNotes version of the Buddha and Islam. I asked her if when she was praying for forgiveness of she thought she was a good person was trying to get back into Church (she’d recently moved to Lombard) and God would forgive her, she nodded. Or was she thinking, “I know I’ll be forgiven because Jesus died for me.” ‘The first one,” she said. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and talked her through it and asked if it expressed the desire of her heart. She said it did. I said she could pray it silently and she said, “I would love to do it!” So I gave her the booklet and she prayed to receive Jesus. “Loved every minute of it,” she said when she was done. I explained the Christian life to her living “by the Spirit’s Power” and inside “Inside Out” asking God to transform her. I told her the likelihood she would now go to Heaven trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus was 100%.  I gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside saying, “Kind of makes it official, not because I say you are forgiven but Jesus does.” She was delighted by that. I gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and I gave her a Bible study explaining it. I explained some other doctrine to her, the Trinity and the problem of evil. I told her I would pray a Bible verse for her each day from now until Spring and one year after asking I finally got up to go. “Well thank you,” she said. “It was so nice meeting and chatting with you.” “Thank you,” I replied. “I’ll see you in Heaven.” “Well OK!” she said and I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was filled with reminders of His grace as He was with you. I had a good day on campus and Bobbi prayed to receive Jesus today and Maryellen confessed Christ after I went through the Gospel with her. She was an older sales lady at the counter at the resale shop (looked like she had 10 years or so on me with short iron-grey hair). I went there after school. Please pray these people grow in their faith.

Bobbi was sitting alone in the SW corner lounge of the Science buildings later in the afternoon. She had brown hair pulled back behind her head and was wearing a baggy Chicago Bears sweatshirt. She had a cross about the size of a quarter around her neck, crisscrossed with two lines of small diamonds. She had on semi round brown-framed glasses and a wider cute face, seemed solid, like a Bears fan, and was friendly. She went to a Christian Church. She said she hoped to marry. I asked her, “You’re walking down the road and 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?” “Um.. Wow, that’s a good question,” she replied. I guess I’ve done so much good in my short time here. I’m 22.” “Well, I’ve definitely been here longer than you,” I joked. She thought the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I began to go through the Gospel with her explaining eternal life as knowing God where He lived in her with His Spirit. I asked what the big thing was that Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the world. “He died,” she said after a moment. I began to illustrate with stories or metaphors what Jesus had done living a perfect life for her. His blood cleansed her and was a payment to God. I think it all was familiar except for the righteousness of God Christ earned to her credit. I said all I usually say, God adopted her and to have all these blessings she needed to receive Christ by faith. Grace by faith saved her. I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else. I asked if when she was asking for forgiveness if she was thinking she had done good and attended church so God would forgive her and paused and she agreed she had thought that. “Or were you thinking I know I’ll be forgiven because Jesus died for me. I know you knew the story but had you ever put it all together trusting in Jesus?” I asked. “That’s a good question, I don’t know,” she replied. “I have always thought God was with me.” He has been with you, Paul says in Acts we are all His offspring. So really we are all children of God. But some have the Rights of a child of God. Think about it like one day when you have kids all the kids on the street everyone looks out for but only your kids have the rights to the refrigerator.” She saw the point and liked the analogy. I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and talked through it and asked if it was something she thought she would want to do. “100%,” she said so I said she could pray it silently and she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. When she finished I told her the likelihood she would now go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus. I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front of Bible Promises for You I also gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and told her Strobel’s story. I gave her a Bible study and I told her I would pray a Bible verse for her each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless her. I explained the Christian life living by the Spirit’s power, “Inside out”. I got up to go and she shook my hand and said, “Thank you so much. It’s nice meeting you Bob.” “Thank you, it’s nice to meet you too Bobbi,” I replied 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 had a blessed day walking with the Lord. I had a good day on campus and Chris and Tessa each prayed to receive Christ. Another student found assurance of faith named Michael. Their stories are below if you have some time. Please pray they grow in their faith.

Chris was sitting on some hall chairs just down from the NE corner lounge on the 2^nd floor of the BIC. He was Latino and all I could see of his hair were short curls at the top of his forehead poking out of the tan hoodie he had up. He also wore gray sweats. He had a square chin and was clean-shaven and had a slight build. He wasn’t very expressive. When I asked him 3 words to describe himself he could only think of one, “Independent”. He looked at the booklet as we spoke, or I spoke, but he didn’t really make eye contact until the end. He wanted to travel the world. I knew that I didn’t have much time before the next class started though so I just shot straight through. I asked him, “You’re walking down the road and 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?” “Ah,” began thinking. “I believe in you.” He said that’s all he could think to say. He thought he had a 65% chance of going to Heaven. He hadn’t gone to church in about a year. He said his family used to go together but his parents stopped going. He seemed disappointed in that. The other part of his family, his aunts, still went. In saying God had to take away his sin so He could live inside him I asked what the big thing was Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the world. He thought for a minute and so I added, “The obvious thing,” sensing he would know. “He was crucified,” he said finally. I agreed and I explained that Jesus lived a perfect life for him and His blood cleansed him and was a payment to God. He earned the righteousness of God perfectly fulfilling the Old Testament Law. Then God adopted us and gave us the blessings of his family. He could receive this by faith and grace by faith saved him no his works. I asked him if he would want to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else and then asked as something like: When you’re asking for forgiveness for your sins have you been trusting in what Jesus did to forgive you? I know you knew the story but were you trusting in that or was it just something you grew up with? “Something I grew up with,” he replied. “So would you want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus?” I asked. “I want to be forgiven,” he replied assertively. So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and talked him through it asking if it expressed the desire of his heart. He nodded so I said he could pray it silently. “Wanna do that?” I asked. “Yeah,” he said. He prayed then to receive Christ. I told him then the likelihood he would go to Heaven trusting in the Blood and Righteousness of Jesus was 100%. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front and he finally broke a smile and thanked me like my writing it made it official. I explained Strobel’s story and gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and I gave him a Bible study explained a prophecy and a way Jesus claimed to be God.  I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless him. “Thank you,” he said as I got up to go shaking my hand. “It’s Bob isn’t it?” “Yeah it’s on the back of the booklet,” I replied. “Thank you so much, I appreciate it,” he replied. “You’re welcome, I’ll keep you in my prayers,” I said and headed off.

Tessa was sitting in a connecting hall in the west most science building just down from the dental office. The students will clean your teeth there on the cheap but I don’t think I would want to be the experiment. She is a Black girl with a pretty dark face and a smaller nose. She wore aviator glasses and they slid down to where she looked at me over the top of them periodically, then she’d push them up. She had straightened hair in a black hair band and had on a grey zip up hoodie and dark blue sweats. She wore black fuzzy clogs with outdoor waffle soles, as she sat on a bench one foot under her turned up toward me. She was either very reserved or just didn’t have much to say. She said she hadn’t been to Church at all. I asked her, “You’re walking down the road and 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?” “Umm,” she replied and just said, “I don’t know… I don’t know.” That was it, she thought she had an 80% chance of going to Heaven when she died. So I asked, “Would you like to hear the Bible verses that tell you how to go to Heaven?” “OK,” she replied. When I asked if she knew the big thing Jesus had done in History to take away the sins of the world she simply said, “No.” So I began to go through the gospel with her. She listened attentively and looked me in the eye and I got her to barely crack a smile a couple times. I finished all I say about the Blood and Righteousness of Christ and how He rose from the dead and that she needed to receive Him by faith. I asked if she would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus or thought something else. She pointed with a long finger and a pretty polished nail at the circle I had described as Christ living in her by His Spirit on the throne of her life. So I said that if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I talked through it reading the line, “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? So would you say it does?” “Um hum,” she replied. I said she could pray it quietly; I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear and she’d know she was forgiven. “Wanna do that. “Sure,” she said. And she prayed to receive Christ. I began to go through the Christian life with her and she didn’t have a Bible. So I gave her one and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. “Thank you,” she said taking it. I gave her Bible Promises for You and a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told her I would keep him in my prayers each day praying a Bible verse for him until Spring and one year after. I said the likelihood she would now go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the Blood and Righteousness of Jesus. “Thank you,” she said as I got up to go. “Oh you’re welcome. Thank you for talking with me. I’ll see you I Heaven.” “OK,” she said and smiled. “If I see ya I’ll just say hi,” 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. 70 Students have prayed to receive Christ with me this semester so far or let me know they prayed later.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today walking with the Lord. We had snow on the ground this morning but it’s in the 50’s by Wednesday we’re told so the leaves frozen to the ground can wait to be picked up. I had a good day on campus and Josh and Tyler each prayed to receive Christ today. Their stories are below if you have a moment. Please pray they grow in their faith.

Josh was sitting in the hallway down from Starbucks as you head to the entrance to the bookstore. When he told me his name was “Josh” I asked if he knew Jesus actual name in Hebrew was Joshua and he knew that and grinned. He was a fair skinned back guy with small face and features and a block chin, good-looking guy. He had a Michael Jordan mustache and a tuft of a goatee; his afro was mostly in 2- or 3-inch ringlets in a mop, the sides were a fade. He wore kind of wry smile as we talked and we hit it off. He had on a black zip neck fleece and sweats. He sat at a knee height table in a stuffed chair and I sat on his left. He wanted to travel. I asked him, “You’re walking down the road and 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?” “That’s a good question,” he replied thinking a bit. “I don’t think I’ve ever committed any sins. I don’t think I ever lied on God. I think that’d be a good reason to let me into Heaven.” he replied. “Did you ever tell a lie?” I asked. “Yeah,” he said. “Do you know the commandment that says not to lie?” “No,” he admitted. I said it’s do not bear false witness against your neighbor. The Bible says if you are guilty of one you are guilty of them all. “I’d be cashed then,” he admitted. I asked him if he thought he would go to Heaven but he thought I asked what Heaven was like he said, “Angels and white clouds.” I asked again if he thought he would go to Heaven. “I think I would overall,” he replied. He hadn’t been to church since he was a kid. I began to go through the Gospel with him and asked what the big thing was that Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the world so God could live inside him, know him and give him eternal life. He could not think of anything. So I explained the Gospel and all I say about the blood and righteousness of Christ to cleanse him and be a payment to God. He listened closely interested. I said God could adopt him and make him a child of God by faith. Faith saved him. I asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done, then He would live inside him and give him strength and take him to Heaven when he died or did he think something else offering the CliffsNotes version of Islam and the Buddha. “So would you want to be forgiven?” I asked again. He looked at the circle and read the line under the one I had said had the Holy Spirit living inside him and said, “Life entrusted to Christ.” I said if he would want to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I talked through it. “It’s says here ‘Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?’ Would you say it did. “Yeah,” he said. 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?” “Yeah,” he replied and then took the booklet and said, “Put my name here?” “You can just read it silently,” I said. And he prayed then to receive Jesus. I began to go through the Christian life with him and asked him if he had a Bible. He said his family had one so I asked if he would like one of his own. “Of my own? Yeah I’ll take a Bible.” he said. I got one out and showed him where John was to read and some study helps and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I said the likelihood he would go to Heaven now trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus was 100%. I gave him Bible Promises for You and said he could read them for comfort or turn them into prayers and I told him Strobel’s story and gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I gave him a Bible study too and explained it a bit and then went back and explained living “by the Spirit’s power” which unlike other religions was “Inside out” where you ask God to transform you and become a good man who does good things. I told him I would keep him in my prayers praying a Bible verse for him each day, asking God to bless him from now until Spring and one year after. He reached out and shook my hand and said, “Thank you.” “Thank you,” I replied and I headed off.

I came across Tyler sitting in the cafeteria. He was wearing a zippered fleece olive green fleece. He had stick straight hair and a gap-tooth smile that the braces on his teeth were correcting. He looked Filipino, though I never asked. He had a nearly round face with stick straight hair that laid flat making very short bangs. He leaned forward as we talked his biceps and chest hitting the table. He thought he’d like to travel to Europe. I asked him the survey question, “You’re walking down the road and 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?” He thought and didn’t seem to have an answer asking if he was supposed to think of it personally. “Well the question is really asking what got you into Heaven,” I replied. He still didn’t have anything dawning on his face. I asked if he went to church and he said he went to Catholic Church every Sunday. So I said, “What would they tell you gets you into Heaven?” He still did not have anything that popped into his head. “Well what is it you would think you could do in this life to get into Heaven?” “Just be kind to others and love as God loves you,” he replied. He thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him and asked what Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the World. He said He had died in the place of all people. So I continued to explain the blood of Christ as cleansing for sin and a payment to God for what we owed Him and the righteousness of God Christ earned to our credit. I explained then to receive Christ would be to believe; Jesus is God had 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 if someone would say to you, ‘Why should God let you into Heaven?’ you’d say, ‘Because Jesus died for me.’ I asked then showing him the circles asking if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else explaining what that might be and then said, “Well, I know you knew the story. So when you’re asking for forgiveness for your sins have you been thinking you’re a good person and so God will forgive you or were you thinking I know I’ll be forgiven because Jesus died for me?” He didn’t seem to know so I asked. “Do you think you’ve ever asked God to forgive you trusting in what Jesus had done?” He thought for a moment and said, “I’ve probably never done that.” So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there’s a prayer he could pray. I talked him through it and asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he said. I said he could pray it silently and know he was forgiven. “Wanna do that?” “Sure,” he replied. “I’ll take that booklet.” He took the booklet and I couldn’t really tell if he was praying or not but he wasn’t saying anything for a bit so I finally said, “Amen?” He nodded in reply. I gave him a Bible promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible study. I explained living “By the Spirit’s power”, “Inside out”. I returned to the Question and said the likelihood he would now go to Heaven was 100%. I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless him. He reached out and shook my hand and said, “Nice talking with you, God be with you.” Thank you.” I replied 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 Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day has been blessed so far with all good things from above. I had a good day on campus yesterday and Khalel [Ka lu], Vinny and Eldon each prayed to receive Christ Thursday. I had a good week where Jessica and Danny, Mimi [found out she prayed earlier in the month] Naomi and Zianna all prayed to receive Jesus. Please pray they grow near to God in faith.

Khalel was sitting in the big SSC lounge where we have Bible study if there is no event. They were giving out free pizza and he was sitting at a counter eating. He was a Black guy, had 6-inch braids on top and wore black sweats and a hoodie. He had classic black features and a bit of burgeoning facial hair. On a profile his face seemed to slope out to his chin like a ski jump. I asked if he would want to do a student survey and as he thought a second unsure I said, “The big question is: You’re walking down the road and 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 would you like to know some Bible verses that answer the question or not so much?” “I’ll hear it,” he said. I began to go through the Gospel with him saying God had to cleans him of his sin and make him His type so He could live inside Him.  I asked him what Jesus had done back in History to wash away the sins of the world. “He washed us clean,” he guessed. So I began to go through the perfect life of Christ’s righteousness to our credit, the sacrificial blood to cleanse him and be a payment to God. This was his from God adoption. I said he could receive Christ by faith and all this would be his and faith saved him. I explained the circles as God living inside you by trusting in what Christ had done and the cliff notes version of Islam and the Buddha I nearly always say. I asked if when he asked for forgiveness for his sins if he was trusting in what Jesus had done. “I’ve asked for forgiveness but nothing like this,” he replied. So I said if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins there was a prayer he could pray and talked him through it asking of it expressed the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he replied and so I said he could pray it silently and only God would hear so he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I began to go through the Christian life with him. He didn’t have a Bible so I gave him one and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I told him everything in the Christian life was by the Spirit’s power. “I got a class at 12:30,” he said then standing to put the Bible in his day pack. It was 12:30 already. So I said I would keep him in my prayers praying a Bible Verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless him and if I saw him again I’d give him a book. “Thank you,” he said and shook my hand and he headed off.

Vinny was sitting on a padded bench seat in the North side 1^st floor hall of the east most science building.  He had a mop of bleach blonde hair, clean-shaven, softer features, good looking kid wearing light blue jeans and a black long sleeve t-shirt. He did not want to do a survey saying he had a Bible study, later it seemed he was planning to start one with friends. I said the big question was, “You’re walking down the road and 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?” “I’ve been faithful,” he replied. He did not want to hear any verses. I said “Well think about it this way. Christianity is like a blood transfusion. I have A+ blood if you fill me full of B- blood I would clot up and die. So God wants to transfuse his life into you, fill you full of His Holy Spirit. But first he has to make you his type. So He has to take away your sin. So what’s the big thing Jesus does back in History to take away the sins of the world?” He thought about it and said something about Jesus had death. I agreed and began to explain what that meant, the blood to cleanse him. “Have you ever thought about that this is how God gets paid or heard of that?” He hadn’t and was interested now. So I began to explain how we owed God a perfect life [Matt 5:48]. I explained if he borrowed a friend’s car and dented the fender he’d have to “take it to a body shop they pop out the dent give it back to your friend everything’s fine. So when you borrow somebodies stuff you have to give it back to them perfect how you got it. Well everything belongs to God. So if I hurt you or I hurt me or I hurt the world somehow I owe God something perfect back. But if I am tooling around in the parking lot and I roll over your foot I don’t have an extra perfect foot to give to God. And I destroyed your quality of life. So I owe you life, I owe you a foot. I owe God life and I owe Him a foot because He gave you the foot.” “How do you pay?” he asked. “You can’t,” I replied. I went on to say Jesus is God and so His blood is filled with Life. So When He pours out His blood it pays God back for the imperfect things we have done that we owe God something perfect for. So the real reason God forgives you is He got PAID,” I said writing that in the booklet (as I had by now sat down and begun to explain verses to him). “By the blood of Jesus, but He had to pay Himself.” “You really explain this well. Do you teach a class here?” he replied. I said I taught a Bible study. He asked if I ever had doubts. I explained by now in life I know so much fulfilled prophecy and philosophy and then just going through life that I don’t have doubts. So as you go through life you get stronger in it. At the end I saw he needed to receive Jesus and the Spirit would lead him. I said all I say about the righteousness of God Christ earned and these things were all given to him as the blessings of God’s family through adoption. He needed to receive Christ by faith. Faith saved him. I showed him the circles as Christ living inside him trusting in what Jesus had done. “So when you’re asking for forgiveness for your sins have you been thinking in your heart I’ve been faithful so I think God will forgive me? Or were you thinking, I know I will be forgiven because Jesus died for me,” I asked. “I don’t know. I never really thought about it before. I think I just thought I was faithful. He hadn’t really seemed to understand the Gospel before or applied it to his life. He was a good person. So I said if he hadn’t ever asked God to forgive him trusting in what Jesus had done there was a prayer he could pray. I talked him through it saying he could pray it silently and know he was forgiven. He took the booklet and prayed the prayer out loud receiving Christ. He was sitting outside his classroom and students were filing in. I told him I would keep him in my prayers praying a Bible Verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless him. So I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” on the inside of Bible Promises for You and quickly handed him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I have to hope in that since I’d run out of time to talk to him about concerning doubts. I usually say more to a question like that but was concerned to get through the Gospel in the moment He asked. He thanked me and was off.

I walked by Eldon pretty sure I had not talked to him before but went on to the cafeteria. I found no one there to talk. God seemed to be pressing upon me to go back and talk to him so I returned down the hallway towards the bookstore and he was still sitting in one of the stuffed chairs by a coffee table. A recruiter for the Army was sitting at a counter height table in fatigues looking at his phone about 8 feet away talking to a student. Eldon had a rough afro about 2-3 inches high dark skin and small features and a pointed chin, smaller face. His skin was a bit beat up and he had a smaller stature. He wore light grey old school sweats and seemed like a nice guy. He said he just wanted to help other people. I asked him, “You’re walking down the road and 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?” “Honestly I wouldn’t know. I don’t know.” He thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven and said he’d been to church but only for a few months at a time. As I went through the Gospel I asked him what Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the world. He knew Jesus had died. He was attentive and interested but simply listened without comment as I went through all the things I usually say to explain the blood and righteousness of Christ. I told him of adoption, His resurrection and receiving Christ by faith. I asked him if he would want to be forgiven or thought something else. “Be forgiven,” he replied. So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray. I talked him through it and read, “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?” “Yeah it did,” he replied. 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. “Yeah,” he replied and he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained to him then that the likelihood he would now go to Heaven, trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus was 100%. He had a Bible so I explained the Christian life living by the Spirit’s power. Christianity was inside out not outside in. “In other religions you do good things on the outside and the deity is please and takes you to Heaven when you die or the universe is pleased and you don’t come back as a cow or something. But in Christianity you ask God to transform you on the inside. You become a good man and then you’ll do good things.  Just ask God for help in all things. I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless him. I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I also gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible study. “I’ll keep you in my prayers. It was great to meet you,” I said getting up to go. “Great to meet you too,” he said with the most smile he’d yet shown. He enthusiastically added, “Thank you!” “You’re welcome,” I replied and I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with all good things from above. I had a good day on campus and Jessica and Danny prayed to receive Jesus with me. Later I found out Mimi had prayed to receive Jesus. She a pretty black girl who often dyes her hair red, she wore a black beret and wears a lot of bling. Mimi has large rimmed black glasses and is usually with one of her other pretty black friends today it was Israa, I’ll try to find a time they are not on the way somewhere to tell her the Gospel. I went through the Gospel with Mimi last year and had often been praying for her. She asked me for another booklet this year interested again so I gave her one and showed her the prayer then and she prayed it later. I gave them both Bible Promises for You. Please pray they grow in their faith. Their stories are below if you have time.

I’d had a couple other Gospel presentations today with Christians trusting in their works. It’s like pushing on a string sometimes. But I came across Jessica sitting in the upstairs of the PE lounge. She was kind of resting with her head on her daypack at a table with her back to the area with the machines for working out. It turned out she ran cross country. She was tall and had her natural blonde hair in French braids on top of her head. She had green shorts on (school colors) and a grey hoodie. She had a very pretty sweet face looked like her heritage was Nordic back in the day. She was nice and had been raised in the Church. I asked her, “You’re walking down the road and 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?” “Because I believe? I don’t know,” she replied. She thought she had about a 70% chance of going to Heaven. She knew Jesus had died on the cross to take away the sins of the world but had not really been trusting in the Gospel of the blood and righteousness of Christ putting it together when she would ask for forgiveness. After I had explained it all I asked if she would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done showing her the two circles. “Life entrusted to Christ,” she replied reading from beneath the circles. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I talked her through it. I asked if it expressed the desire of her heart and she nodded. I said she could pray it silently and I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear and she’d know she was forgiven. “Wanna do it?” I asked. “Right now?” she asked and I said, “Yeah.” “Sure,” she said. And she prayed to receive Christ. She had a Bible explaining she had grown up in a Christian church. I wrote her name and the date and forgiven in the front of Bible Promises for You and I gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I gave her a Bible study too and explained it. She was fun to talk to and receptive. I told her now trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I explained living “By the Spirit’s Power”.  She said it was a lot to take in and I agreed it could be like drinking from a fire hose to learn a lot at once but the important thing is that she trusted in that Jesus was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead. She said she struggled with that being certain and I wrote down Ephesians 1:13 on the back of the booklet and said that it taught that as soon as she believed the Spirit entered her and sealed her so He comes in but does not come out. “And God’s not going to Hell,” I said and she agreed. I told her I would pray a Bible verse for her each day until Spring and one year after asking God to bless her. We had really hit it off and she was happy. She thanked me and I headed off.

Then about 25 feet later I asked Danny if he’d do a survey and he readily agreed. He had a mop of brown curly hair and was clean-shaven. He had boyish features and was tall and wholesome looking with a square chin and a rounded tipped nose. He said he was joyful describing himself and he did seem filled with life. He wore a light grey zip up hoodie with a penguin logo on the left that would fit into a silver dollar. He had straight leg blue workout pants on and seemed to be waiting for a friend. In answer to the question, One thing you want to do before you die? He said, “Have kids.” That’s a good sign. I asked him, “You’re walking down the road and 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?” He said, “I did go to Catholic private school 3^rd through 8^th grade. My family is very religious towards my mom’s side. I do try to go to Church every Sunday if I have a chance to. I pray at night.”  “And you pray to God not Satan or something?” I joked. He smiled and said,” I just give thanks.” “Cool,” I said. I asked what he thought the likelihood he would go to heaven was. “I’m a good person, 80%,” he replied. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he gave ascent and agreed with every point of the Gospel. I said he would not go to Heaven because he was good but because Jesus was good and he was connected to him by faith. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done and not that he was just good enough or thought something else. “1^st one,” he replied. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and talked him through it and asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. He said, “Yeah.” I said he could pray it silently and asked if he wanted to do that he nodded took the booklet and prayed to receive Christ. I explained the Christian life living “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 and give it to him. “Thank you,” he said taking it and I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet telling him Strobel’s story I gave him a Bible study too and explaining that. I told him I would pray a Bible Verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless him. “Thank you,” he said. I got up to go and he said, “Thank you so much.” I said he was welcome and I’d see him in Heaven and headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed having an everlasting rock in God the Lord. I had a good day on campus and Vincent prayed to receive Jesus today. His story is below if you want to spend the time. Please pray he grows in faith. I had a long discipleship conversation with another student as well. I gave the Gospel to an English as a second language student who could read better than understand English. I explained it as best as I could before she ran for her ride.

Victor was sitting pretty much alone in his section of the North 2^nd floor hallway of the BIC. He was a big Latino guy with a thin mustache and what appeared in the front of his grey hoodie (which shaded his face a bit) as a mop of brown hair. He had a wider face and a ball chin. He wore black frame glasses rectangle lens. He wore sweat pants. He was on his phone but was open to doing a survey. He wanted to travel. I asked him “You’re walking down the road and 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?” “Man!” he said, “That’s a hard one.” It was a good early sign he took the question seriously. He thought for a bit and said, “I feel like I’ve helped a lot of people in my lifespan and brought more positive than negative.” He had gone to church as a kid and he felt like it had given him a base for his life, how to live in terms of others. His family still went to Church and wanted him to go but the Roman Catholic Church didn’t do anything for him. He thought the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 90% When I asked what Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the world he said, “Crucified.” He followed everything I said and was engaged listening to the metaphors. I finished all I say about the blood and righteousness of Christ and receiving Him by faith. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins. He objected to the set in stone idea feeling it advantaged some over others. He felt like others who had more wealth and advantages would do better and others worse in life. It did not seem a fair system. He was talking about the advantages of societal wealth. I said I could see what he was saying but that when it came to being a better person advantages of wealth and having a smooth path laid out for you did not seem to produce better people. I said they were not people I wanted to be. I used a negative term to describe what most of them turned into thinking of the ultra-rich. I said statistically rich people give less to charity by percentage of income than poor people, for all their privilege they were not better. So I did not think of wealth as an advantage, people who have less have to depend upon God. Having less was often a better starting point for being a good person because you have to depend on God more and don’t get off track. He added that they were more there for each other. I said I agreed that (those who were less entitled) had better communities. I said if he would want to be forgiven having God’s strength in him he’d be given the power to help others. I explained only God (being all powerful and all knowing) could know and do “the good” in an evil world. I read through the prayer and in looking at it he said something like, “There it is again, I don’t want to be made into something I’m not.” I said the thing he was missing was that asking God to make him the kind of person He (God) wanted him to be was really the person he (Vincent) wanted to be. I said he had said that the life he had, growing up in a religious family, had given him the basis for life and for who he was and wanted to be, God wanted the same thing for him. He immediately saw the point. I said there was a theologian that had said God energizes us in our essential being to be the best person we can be. He works with who we are. I said if he wanted he could pray the prayer silently or pray it later. I was holding the booklet and he looked hard at it and I could tell by his lips moving he was praying to receive Christ. I told him then the likelihood he would now go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus. I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after. I began to go through the Christian life with him he only had a pocket Bible so I gave him one showing him some of the study helps and the ribbon marker was in John. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I explained living by the Spirit to help him in all things and told him the “footprints in the sand” illustration that seemed to register now since he had prayed. I said now God lived inside him and when he stood before God He would not ask, “Why should Iet you into Heaven.” He would say, “Vincent! I know you,” Because God had been walking with him through life. That brought a smile. I also gave him Bible Promises for You and a Bible Study and Case for Christ Answer Booklet and Strobel’s story. He was grateful and got up to go saying, “God bless you and your year of school.” “God bless you,” he replied 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 Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with every good and perfect gift from above. I had a good day on campus encouraging Christian students and Jamesha prayed today. Please pray she grows in her faith. Her story is below if you have some time. I had a good week and 6 students trusted in Christ including Daniel, Chris, Dylan, Emmanuel and Zeke

Jamesha was sitting in the atrium lounge that is on the SE end of the BIC on the 1^st floor. She had long pencil width braids (a few were red) and a gap tooth smile. She was heavy set her head nearly round. She was cute with classic black features and her face lit up when she laughed. She wore a white hoodie with some black lettering and black sweats. When I asked questions she looked up at the ceiling trying to get her thoughts. I asked her “You’re walking down the road and 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?” She looked up to the ceiling for a while as she had on the first question and after a bit I said, “Do you ever go to Church—like when you were a kid?” She said she did and had done some kind of program. So I asked what she thought they might say got you into Heaven. “1^st believing is a big part of going to Heaven and following the teaching of the Bible,” she replied. I asked if she would say that, that she believed and followed the Bible. “I followed Jesus but not of ‘um,” she replied. I asked the likelihood she would go to Heaven when she died and she said 10%. I began to go through the Gospel with her and explained everything I always do concerning the blood and righteousness of Jesus, His resurrection and adoption of the children of God through salvation by faith in Jesus. She tuned right in and was with me the entire time. I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins or thought something else. “I want to be forgiven,” she said with a big smile. I explained if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and talked her through it asking if it “expressed the desire of her heart”. “Yes,” she replied. I said she could pray it silently, I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear and she know she was forgiven. “Wanna do that?” I asked. “Yes,” she said brightly and I gave her the booklet saying, “Just pretend I’m not here.” I handed her the booklet and she prayed to receive Jesus. When she finished I explained that now trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. She didn’t have a Bible so I gave her one showing her study helps and I wrote her name the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave it to her and she said, “Thank you.” I gave her Bible Promises for You saying she could read the verses for encouragement or turn them into prayers. I gave her a Bible study. She said she liked to read so I gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told her I would pray a Bible verse for her each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless her. I got up to go and she said, “Thank you.” “I’ll see you around,” I said. “OK thank you,” she said again and I headed off.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism this week. God truly blessed. I have another appointment today with yet another practitioner for my sciatica. I’d be grateful for prayer for that.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with every good and perfect gift.  I had good day on campus in as much as Zeke prayed with me to receive Jesus. Please pray he grows in his faith and walks with the Lord. I was tied up for over an hour and a half with a trans student I’ll call Em. After going through the Gospel with Em, Em continued to grill me with questions but seemed amicable when we parted though I told Em nothing Em wished to hear. Em believed in Kemetic Orthodoxy.

Zeke was sitting in the third-floor lounge just down from the overlook on the lounge where we have Bible study. He was a good-looking Latino guy, slight build. He had short hair that sort of rooster tailed on his forehead. He wore a red zip neck hoodie, black sweats and had a sharp jaw line kind of Anime features with a 5 o’clock shadow exclusive to his upper lip. He had a hearing aid and wore contacts saying the limits of his hearing were primarily in crowds. He was planning to go to a church in the near future with his girlfriend who had had a very emotional experience there. I asked him, “You’re walking down the road and 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?” Without pause he said, “You shouldn’t, it’s your choice. My choice wouldn’t be to convince you but more what I’ve done in my life,” he replied. I asked him the likelihood he would go to Heaven. “I don’t think I’ve done that good [that has] many impacts to prove that so 30%.” He said he had gone to church as a kid but not lately. I explained all had sinned. Sin kills you God gives you life. God can’t be in the same place as sin but He wants to live inside you so He just takes away your sin so He can live inside you with his Spirit. “What’s the big thing Jesus does back in history to take away the sins of the world?” He thought for a few seconds and said he did not know. So I said I’d explain it real quick and began to explain the blood and righteousness of Jesus and that God wanted to adopt him and give this too him. I explained salvation by faith saying all I usually say and asked, “So would you want to be forgiven for your sins trusting in what Jesus has done or do you think something else?” He said he wanted to be forgiven. He said that as a boy growing up he had asked to be washed of his sins when he did them. So I said that if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and talked through it reading, “Does this prayer express the desire of his heart?” He nodded it did so I said he could pray it silently and asked if he would want to do that. “Yeah probably,” he said. “Ok I’ll wait on you then,” I replied handing him the booklet. I looked down and he prayed to receive Jesus. When he finished he said, “I like this.” I began to explain the Christian life to him reading the Bible and prayer saying everything was “By the Spirit’s Power”. I wrote his name and the date and forgiven in the front of Bible Promises for You and I gave him a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless him. “God bless you,” I said, getting up to go. “God bless you I appreciate it,” he replied. “You’re welcome,” I said and headed out.

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

In Him,

Bob