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

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with the good things God prepared beforehand that you might walk in them. I had a good day on campus and Daniel and KD each prayed to receive Jesus. Their stories are below if you want to spend the time. Please pray they grow in their faith.

Daniel was sitting in the lounge that sits half way down the south hall on the second floor of the east Health and Science Building. Several students have come to Christ there this year (one yesterday) and I went there thinking that. Daniel was a good-looking black guy, a short afro, he had smaller soft features on an otherwise everyman face wearing a ball cap. He looked like Jackie Robinson with a bit smaller nose. He was clean-shaven and wore a black zip neck fleece and light gray sweats. I asked him one thing he wanted to do before he died. “Read more of the Bible,” he replied. “Live more of God’s [word] share it more. I’ve grown up in Church. I haven’t been as much as I want to be but I still have time.” I asked him what he would say to God if he died and were asked “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “Um well to be honest technically nobody should. I shouldn’t, even you shouldn’t.” Continuing he said, “You say you died for our sins. Ultimately reason we do is ultimately we have to live a righteous life. I wouldn’t say I’ve lived a righteous life. I want to. For the sake of the question if I were to die today I don’t think I would make it.” I asked him what the big thing Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world adding, “You already said it.” “He died,” he replied. “Right,” I said and went to explain how the blood of Christ cleansed him of sin and was a payment to God. I said Jesus earned the righteousness of God and he would not go to Heaven because he was good but because Jesus was good and he was connected to him. I then explained he was saved by faith receiving Jesus so that if someone asked him what God should let him into Heaven he would say, “because Jesus died for me.” I got to the end and asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done, then he would know he was forgiven and going to Heaven. Or did he think something else. I said, “I know you knew Jesus had died but when you would ask for forgiveness would you be thinking “I know I’ll be forgiven because Jesus died for me on the cross, or were you trying to earn it?” Yeah I was trying to do that,” he said agreeing with the second option. I said, “Well if you would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus has done not your own work there is a prayer you can pray.” I talked him through the prayer and asked if it was the desire of his heart. He said it was. “It says in Ephesians 1:13 that as soon as you believe the Holy Spirit enters you and seals you.” I said then that He would always be there. He could pray it then silently right now and know he was forgiven. “I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and you’d be forgiven for your sins. Wanna do it?” “Yeah, thank you,” he said taking the booklet. He read it through and then closed his eyes and prayed to receive Jesus. When he opened them I said, “Amen?” “Amen,” he replied. I began to explain the Christian life to him and said “by the Spirit’s power” he could live “Inside out” where God would transform you and make you a better person who would do good things. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I recommended Bible Gateway to get a reading plan that would prompt him to read the Bible more. I gave him a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. He asked about the Bible study and I said we had it at 2 PM today but he had class so I said to feel free to email me any questions he had. I explained now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness and His blood to pay for his sins the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I got up to go and he was happy. “I’ll see you in Heaven,” I told him. “Thank you, Thank you sir!” he replied with a big smile. I reminded him, “My name and email are on the back of that booklet. He nodded and I headed out.

KD was standing at the doors in front of the cafeteria waiting for a ride. I had about 20 minutes before I was going to meet a guy there so I asked him if he would want to do a student survey. He said sure. He was a black student with a red watch cap on and really thin braids poking out from under it. His face was narrow and he had sharper features. He was working on some lamb chop sideburns that were not coming in and had a Michael Jordan mustache some under chin beard going on. He was my stature and height. And wore a black long sleeve t-shirt with some red designs on it and black pants. He had an easy smile. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and were asked: “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “What would I say in front of God?” he mused. “That’s a great question.” “Hmm, I don’t know what I would say.” So I asked what he thought it was that got someone into Heaven if you take away the face to face with God pressure. “Spread the word, live a righteous life, walk like Jesus. Be forgiven because he forgave you, be in the word know who God really is.” He listed. I asked if he thought he would go to Heaven when he died, “You think you got a shot?” I asked. “I have a shot, definitely, definitely,” he replied. “50/50,” I asked.” “45%,” he replied. He had not been to church much of late but had been thinking he wanted to get back into it and go a couple times a month. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he knew Jesus had died and knew the gospel in as much as he was affirming it as I went. The booklet’s first verse is John 3:16 and he kind of finished it out loud as I said it. He hadn’t understood the imputed righteousness of Christ. I finished explaining the Gospel and asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done. “I need this right now,” he said to no one in particular. And then, “Yeah I’d be that one,” he said. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray. I talked him through it and he had to text whomever was picking him up. I ‘m definitely going to pray this today,” he said taking the booklet. I said, “You could pray it right now, you wanna get it done?” He was looking at the prayer when I said it (having texted through part of the explanation). “Yeah, I’ll get it done,” he replied and he prayed to receive Jesus. I said now he knew he was forgiven. I explained living “By the Spirit’s Power Inside Out”. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. Then I quickly gave him a Bible Study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. “He put it all in his back pack. “Thank you,” he said. And then said, “Have a good afternoon.” I missed it as he was bending over we’d stood through it all and asked what he’d said. He said it again. “Oh thank you man, that’s cool of you to bless me as you go,” I replied. He shot back a grin and headed out the doors.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance, God truly blessed. 70 Students have trusted Christ this semester so far

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you day a great day as one of the righteous marching for Jesus. I had a long slow day on campus somehow, talking to believers, and one Muslim (Muhammad who was a small guy mop of hair mustache and chin beard, really friendly guy, had what I think was a Pakistan accent. He had friend who was a girl who had “converted” and had been talking to him about Jesus), and a future fireman who was polite but not interested. But the last guy I spoke with Victor prayed to receive Jesus today, please pray he grows in the faith. Thanks for your prayers. His story is below if you want to spend the time.

 Victor walked into the side hall lounge on the south side of the Health and Science building, just as I looked in. So as he sat down I asked if he wanted to do a student survey. He was a handsome guy with a sharp jaw line and perfect brown skin. He was a Latino with a mop of curly hair, shirt on the sides and a mustache and a beard just below his chin. He was wearing black jeans riding low and baggy (coming back in style?) and a black pull over hoodie. It turned out he was friends with a couple of the guys I talk to on campus who are in another Bible Study. He had a family-oriented response that is a good sign to the question: “What’s one thing you want to do before you die?” He said, “Prolly give the best for my future kids.”  I asked what he would say if he was walking down the road and got hit by a bus and was dead and God asked: “Why should I let you into Heaven?” I feel like it was the drivers fault it wasn’t my fault,” he said. Since he had not picked up on what I was after I asked what he thought it was that got someone into Heaven and asked if he ever went to Church. He said he’d been to Church. “I haven’t thought a lot about that specific question,” he replied. He thought he had about a 75% chance of going to Heaven.  As I went through the Gospel he tracked well with one of those “Oh ok I get it” smirks periodically I explained things. I asked what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world—so God could live inside him. “I can’t say I know,” he replied. So I explained the Blood to cleanse him on the cross and righteousness of Jesus earned by Him to his credit. I said he was saved by faith. “So would you want to be forgiven for your sins trusting in what Jesus had done, His blood and righteousness? Then his Spirit would live inside you and give you strength. Or do you think something else?” “Probably that one seems the best one,” he replied pointing at the circle with God inside. His buddies walked by the outside of the lounge and then and he said he knew them as they said hey to me. (I had given one of them a pocket NT outlining the Roman Road to use to share his faith.) So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I explained it to him. Asking it if was the desire of his heart. He said “Yeah.” I said he could pray it silently and only God would hear and asked if he would want to. He did and took the booklet and his friends came back, one fist bumped me and the other one shook my hand and I joked I will always shake your hand if I’m holding it. The interruption only threw Victor for a minute fortunately. He prayed then to receive Jesus as I looked over, after they left, he had closed his eyes to pray. When he finished he thanked me.  I said the likelihood he would now go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the righteousness of Jesus, which was worth an infinite amount because Jesus had earned it and His blood which was worth and infinite amount as well because He was God. I was old and so had sinned more than him but there was enough for us both. He said he could read his mother’s Bible so did not need one so I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave him a Bible study on ways Jesus claims to be God showing him the prophecy and retelling him the miracle of Jesus walking on the water. He had not heard the miracle before. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet too. I said I would pray a Bible Verse for him every day from now until one year later. “I don’t know If I’ll see you again but I will be praying,” I said. “I have a class at 2 PM but I will be around tomorrow,” he said. I told him if he saw he and had any questions to flag me down. “You got questions I got answers,” I quipped. “Nice to meet you, thank you,” he replied. “Nice to meet you too,” I said getting up to go.  “I’ll see you around,” he replied. “Ok,” I said and headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was a good one and it’s been like rivers in the desert, which are happening btw Africa is getting lots of rain.  J., Diego, Damo, and Roy each prayed to receive Jesus Thursday and ask for God to change into the person He wants them to be. Their stories are below if you have the time. Please pray they grow in the faith.

J. was sitting in the hallway headed down to the bookstore. African American, he had on a black and white hoodie, mostly black with splashes of white. The zipper went up and around the hood, which he had pulled up on to his head. He had braids coming down out from under a watch cap. His off again on-again spotty beard was struggling to grow in evenly, had a mustache under a medium sized nose. He had a red backpack and gray sweats. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” His reply seemed correct. “’Cause he died for our sins. He gave us another chance to get close to Him. I don’t take that for granted. I need relationship with God. Relationship with God is important.” I asked him the likelihood he would go to Heaven and he said, “There’s still a chance to better myself, maybe 30%, I won’t say too high or too low,” he replied.  I thought that was a little strange since 30% seemed low. I said, “I guess you would say you’re a Christian,” he nodded. So I said the rest of the survey was 4 quick points of Christianity but I thought it would encourage him. I thought he only lacked assurance of salvation. I asked him what the big thing was that Jesus did to take away his sins. He had already said it. But he could not think of anything. I added, “To pay for your sins.” He still did not seem to know what “died for your sins” accomplished or meant when he said it. Maybe it was just something he heard and never processed. [Jesus once told the disciples that he would rise from the dead in Mark 9. In verse 10 we read: “And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.” If I asked you could probably explain it, “the dead “ were a group of people (whom Jesus said were the living among them Abraham Isaac and Jacob Mark 12:27) and after he died on the cross Jesus was at one time among them, in Sheol (paradise of the Jews). 3 days under the earth. He rose out from among them. Like the Cubs traded Rizzo and came out from among the Cubs and played in NY.] In this case withJ I explained the Gospel to him. That Jesus had lived a perfect life and died on the cross. When He poured out his blood it paid God back for all the imperfect things we had done that we owe God something perfect for. The righteousness of God was earned by Christ. God adopted us and gave us these blessings by faith. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else. “I want to be forgiven,” he replied. I said there was a prayer he could pray if he wanted to be forgiven and hadn’t asked God to forgive him trusting in Jesus before. I explained it and asked, reading, “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? Would you say it does?” He just said, “Yeah.” I said he could pray it silently wanna do that. He didn’t respond or take the booklet. It seemed like he might be praying it but it took a bit and then he said, “Is there something I am supposed to do?” “Just pray that,” I replied. “I prayed it twice,” he said. “Ok fine,” I said and I went onto tell him the likelihood now he would go to Heaven trusting in Jesus’ blood and righteousness was 100%. I explained the Christian life living inside out. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front explaining it a bit saying he could read the verses as encouragement or turn them into prayers. I handed him the book and he said, “Thank you.” I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Book saying he could find more of Strobel’s stuff on YouTube. I gave him a Bible study and explained it and said I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after. He reached out and shook my hand and I got up to go. I said, “God bless you.” “God bless you too, have a good one man,” said J. And I headed down the Hall.

I looped around through the BIC and was walking down the hall and an elevator door opened up as I was right in front of it and a student walked out. I was on the ground floor and I don’t do a lot of stairs trying to save my leg a bit. I had the thought I should go up to the third floor. The door closed and I took a step past it and went back. When I pushed the button it was still there so I rode up to the top. I was right at the lounge and siting across on the other side was Diego. He had straight long hair, (longer than his face). It was tinted in streaks. He had black and white print jeans on (They looked like a vintage wallpaper) that had the pockets for carpenter pants and a black zip up hoodie. He had a good looking fair skinned diamond shaped face with the occasional birth mark, a mustache and a bit of beard under his chin. I asked him what was one thing he wanted to do before he died. “Be able to help other people,” he replied. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven if he died. “I guess I’d probably just ask Him to give me a chance,” he replied. He was a kind good guy. I asked how likely it was that he would go to Heaven and he said, “I try every day to live by His commands, I go to church. It’s a 50/50 shot, I have no say in anything.” I began to go through the Gospel with him and he knew Jesus had died for his sins, so I explained what that meant. Jesus Blood cleansed him so God could live inside him. Jesus was a payment for his sin so he did not owe God for what he’d done. The righteousness of God Christ earned by perfectly fulfilling the Law was predicted in Isaiah and fulfilled in Galatians 3:27. God could make him his child. He needed to receive Jesus, trust in what He had done. Then he would be saved by grace in faith. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven or thought something else. “Definitely this one,” he said pointing at the Circle with Jesus on the throne of his life. I said there was a prayer he could pray and talked him through it. It was the desire of his heart? He agreed, so I asked if he wanted to pray it silently right now. “What time is it,” he said suddenly realizing he had class. He looked at his phone for the time. “I have a couple minutes,” he said. Then he prayed to receive Jesus. I quickly explained living by the Spirit’s power and wrote his name and the date and forgiven on the inside of Bible Promises for You. I told him I would pray for him each day through next Spring and gave him a Bible Study and The Case for Christ Answer Book. He shook my hand and said, “Thank you.” “God bless you,” I replied. “God bless you too,” he said and he ran off.

I was in the PE lounge later and came across Demo. He seemed to have seen me talking to people and wanted to know what it was about. This was a nickname. I believe he said his birth name was LeDanian. He was interesting looking for a black guy as his features could have been on my cousin. He had braids coming down from under a nylon cap. He wore a black zip up hoodie and black sweats. He wanted to go into some kind of sales or have his own business. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven, “I would say because with everything I did in my life my intentions were pure. I’m not perfect but God knows my intentions were pure. If that’s not enough it’s up to Him.” I asked him the likelihood he would go to Heaven and he said, “I got a 75% chance. I got unfinished business in order to solidify my spot there.” I went through the Gospel with him and He knew Jesus had died for his sins, when I asked what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world so he could live inside him. He listened closely to the Gospel and took it all in and seemed in agreement. As I explained the blood of Jesus to cleanse him and be a payment to God and His earned righteousness to his credit. I explained God wanted to make him His child and give all this to him. He could receive Jesus believing by faith in Him and be forgiven by grace. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else (like the cliff’s notes version of Islam and the Buddha I often say). “Of course,” he replied. So I said there was a prayer he could pray and asked if it was the desire of his heart. He said it was and I said he could pray it silently. “I’d love to,” he said taking the booklet. “I get to keep this?” He paused and asked. “Yeah sure,” I said. He prayed quietly to receive Jesus then. We were pretty much alone in the lounge, though one of the women’s teams was doing some kind of floor exercise beyond the glass door to the gym, or just stretching. He shook my hand and said, “Thank you I appreciate you.” I explained that the likelihood he would now go to Heaven was 100% trusting in Jesus’ blood and righteousness. He had a Bible and 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 too explaining it. He took The Case for Christ Answer Book. I said I would pray for him each day, “from now ‘til Spring and one year after”. He shook my hand again firmly saying, “Thank you for your time.” “All good,” I replied. “You have a good one,” he said as I stood up to go. “OK,” I said and headed up the stairs.

At the end of the afternoon I got a picture in my mind of the patio area at the top of the waterfall and started making my way there. No one wanted to talk on the way. Once on the patio I did bump into Sabine, (long braids, black girl, wide nose, cute, small girl) who I’d gone through the Gospel with but was not sure she believed, though she semi-regularly went to church. I chat her up when I see her. I thought that might have been the plan as she headed off but then saw the only other soul out there Roy sitting at a table. I got to talking with him and asked him if he’d want to do a survey. He had an easy laugh. He had one front tooth that was broken off by a 3^rd on one corner, which with large white teeth was kind of striking. He wore a baseball cap and an American Eagle Brand zip up grey hoodie and jeans. He had a big cheerful smile and traditional black features, oval face. He was from Ghana and had a bit of an accent and also spoke French saying they made them learn it as children. I said I’d wished I managed to do the same {long story there}. He laughed at some things I said which I don’t remember and it made him open to do the survey. He said he wanted to do a survey and be a medical missionary. I asked what he would say to God if he died and were asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “Why would you?” he said musing the question. “Hum..” He looked at me and said more pointedly, “How would I justify myself?” I let him keep thinking. “I don’t know. Nothing we have done. There’s nothing we can do to deserve it. Usually by mercy. It says in the Holy Book no one deserves it.” I agreed quoting, “There is none righteous, no not one.” With a smile. “We try to do good things,” he continued. “Do good deeds, read the Holy Word. I would just say, ‘Lord have mercy there’s nothing I have done to deserve it.’” I asked him what the likelihood he would go to heaven was, “At this point in my life I think I’d just go to Hell,” he said and he laughed. “I need to reconcile with a lot of people and I have drifted away so at this point I’d go to Hell.” So I said “Well the rest of this is what you think about Christianity, 4 quick points and you say what you think.” I started in and began to go through the Gospel and the love of God who wanted to know him to live inside him, but the problem was sin. So God took away his sin. “What’s the big thing Jesus did to take away the sins of the world?” I asked. “He died on the cross,” Roy replied. “Right and I began to explain what that meant. That the blood cleansed him and paid what he owed for his sins. The righteousness of God was to his credit and God wanted to adopt him and give it all to him. He could receive Christ and be saved by faith. He was engaged all the way through and I got a laugh for some of the illustrations. All are amusing or somber depending on the tone I say them in I keep in the spirit they seem to be received. “So would you want to be forgiven for your sins or do you think something else?” I asked. “I want to be forgiven,” he replied. “Well if you want to be forgiven there’s a prayer you can pray,” and I talked him through it. I asked if it was the desire of his heart. He nodded and I asked if he’d want to pray it silently and know he was forgiven. “Yes,” he said. He prayed then to receive Christ. When he finished he was happy and I told him the likelihood he would now go to Heaven trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus was 100%. He shook my hand firmly. I said I was old and had sinned more them him as a result, but the blood of Christ was of infinite value because He’s God and so too was His righteousness infinite because He (God) earned it. He had a Bible so 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 he liked it. I also gave him The Case for Christianity Answer Book. I had run out of the much short cheaper booklets so I thought it was God’s providence to give him that one. He was grateful.  Roy reached out and shook my hand again firmly and thanked me earnestly, “Thank you for telling me this you could be somewhere resting but you came out to talk to me, thank you.” I said, “You are the best conversation I had all day thanks.” We had hit it off and laughed a lot. I got up to head out and I gave him my contact information if he wanted to do a Bible study to let me know. I went to the truck then feeling blessed.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was one filled with rest in the Lord as the author and finisher of your faith. I had a good day on campus and John prayed to receive Jesus today. I had good conversations with Giselle a Latina girl working toward being a physician’s assistant and Corrine in the PE lounge who looked a bit like an elf and was searching. Please pray John will grow and the girls will come to faith John’s story is below.

John was sitting alone in the PE lounge at the end of a long row of tables. He was a big Offensive Lineman with mostly blonde hair, stick straight and short at the sides. He had a few days growth of beard that was brown and blonde. He wore a grey White Sox Hoodie and black athletic shorts. He seemed a bit on the somber side. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven if he died. “I don’t deserve it,” he said frankly. I asked if there was a “but…” in there somewhere and he said there wasn’t saying about getting let into Heaven, “As of right now I don’t think so. You can always work towards it right?” he said. I said he could, Paul says he presses on. I said then, “What’s the likelihood you’d go to Heaven if God had mercy on you?” “If he has as much mercy as I think 80%” he replied. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he knew Jesus had died for his sins. So I began to explain what that meant, that His blood had cleansed him and was a payment to God. Jesus had earned the righteousness of God, he would not go to Heaven because he was good but because Jesus was good and he was connected to Him. Christ’s righteousness was to his credit like extra credit in a class and these things were the gift of God when He adopted him. All of this God gave to those who believed that Jesus was God had died for their sins and rose from the dead. By Grace he was saved, through faith. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done, then He could live inside him and give him the strength he needed to do all things. Or did he believe something else and I gave him the cliff notes version of Islam and the Buddha. “I believe this,” he said putting his finger on the circle with Christ inside it. I said if he wanted to be forgiven and he’d never told God he wanted to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done there was a prayer he could pray. I talked him through it and asked if it was the desire of his heart. He said it was and I said he could pray it silently and I wouldn’t hear him but God would hear and he’d know he was forgiven. Calvin sat down across from me at one point, a big black dude (also on the Offensive Line) with a beard who had prayed to receive Jesus last year. When John finished praying I said, “Calvin prayed that prayer last year.” He looked at Calvin who nodded it was true and went back to his lap top. Calvin says hi and fists bumps me when I see him but is a man of few words.  I gave John a copy of Bible Promises for You I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I explained not trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. He said he was going to stay in the Catholic Church and I said, “Sure,” reminding him of the Mass he took at church. I said that the symbolism behind it was that the wine was symbolic of the blood of Christ and the wafer was symbolic of His body. It was reminding him Jesus had died for his sins and he was forgiven and when he took it he could just say “Thank you.” I gave him a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. He stood up to go and shook my hand and I said I would pray a Bible verse for him each day until Spring and one year after. I explained living the Christian life asking for the Holy Spirit’s power, living “Inside Out” asking God to transform him into a good man who would do good things. He shook my hand again. He seemed grateful and headed out. I gave Calvin a Promise book then he seemed to have misplaced his from last year.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and you were a blessing to others. I had a good day on campus and Brandon prayed to receive Jesus. Please pray he grows in his faith. If you are interested his story is below.

Brandon was standing and pacing a bit by one of the counter height tables in front of the window of the bookstore. He had on a grey golf shirt that was darker in front where it was discolored or it was sweat. African American, he had a rough afro maybe 4 inches high and shorter on the sides. He had a rough beard and wore jeans looked a bit thrown together. I asked him what he wanted to do before he died and he said, “Have a better relationship with my Heavenly Father.” I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven. “Because I repented, I acknowledge my sins, you’re my Lord and Savior. I accept you with all my heart.” I asked him what the % likelihood was he would go to Heaven. “70/30 he replied.” As I began to go through the Gospel with him I explained that God wanted to live inside him to give him eternal life and to do that He had to take away his sins. I asked what Jesus did to accomplish that. “He forgives you.” He replied. I said that was true but asked what Jesus had done so he could forgive him. He could not think of anything. So I began to explain the atonement. He was a simple-hearted guy, I’m not sure what kind of classes he was taking. But his theological answers matched other students who had told me this year similar things and did not seem to know how Jesus had saved them from sin. I told him that Lord meant Jesus was his God and Savior meant Jesus had died to pay for his sin. I gave him word pictures he really liked and asked if he had ever asked God to forgive him trusting in what Jesus had done to pay for his sins. He did not think he had. The Gospel seemed somewhat novel to him. He later said he had been baptized at a mega Church about a half hour south from school. He did not go there anymore. I had gone to a service there a couple years back where the pastor had offered a relationship with Christ without ever mentioning the cross. This pastor also omitted that Jesus had died for the sins of the world as a payment to God nor that He rose from the dead. At the end of the service they had announced they had 31 people accept this offer of relationship that seemed to cost God nothing. So I was not surprised Brandon did not understand the Gospel but just has some associated buzz words down. I explained the Gospel to him slowly and clearly. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done for him. “Yes,” he said. I explained the prayer and asked if it was the desire of his heart. “Yes,” he replied again. So I said he could pray it silently. He took the booklet read the prayer and then closed his eyes and began to pray. He took a little time and then was finished. He was happy and I explained asking for God’s help by the power of God’s Holy Spirit in him. I explained the likelihood he would not go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the Blood and Righteousness of Jesus as I had explained it to him. I gave him a Bible Study and explained the miracle of Jesus waking on the water, which he had not heard before and showed him the verse in Job where God was described as “Marching on the waves of the sea”. I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day through Spring and one year after. He said he had many Bible versions on his phone. So I encouraged him to read John. I also explained the Christian life “By the Spirit’s Power Inside Out” and said he could ask for transformation. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the inside and he was happy to get it. I said if I saw him around I’d give him a wave and said I would see him in Heaven. He was happy and I headed out.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry today if you had a chance. I encouraged some other Christians and found a new guy who might do a Bible Study who’s stuck at school for a while Tuesdays after I meet with Braeden. So I felt blessed.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and you are somewhere diggin’ the weather. We are grateful it has not turned very cold yet. I had a good day on campus and John and Roger both prayed with me to receive Jesus. They were both really enthusiastic and grateful to join the kingdom so that was great. Their stories are below if you have some time. Please pray they grow stronger in their faith.

John was sitting at a counter height table in the hallway leading to the bookstore from the BIC. He was a good-looking black guy wearing a black hoodie and black sweats and he had larger rectangular black rimmed glasses. His hair was in dreadlocks, pencil thin about 6 inches long. He wore a mustache and had a bit of a chin beard. So many guys this year can be described with the same facial hair it’s tough to keep them straight in my mind. He was friendly about my size. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and were asked why should I let you into Heaven. He thought for a bit struggling with an answer and landed on “Because I’m one of your children.” He was sure he’d go to Heaven 100%. Knowing God is that He lives inside us, I explained. For God to live inside us He has to take away our sin. I asked what Jesus had done to do that. “He stays with us for the journey of like, well He forgives. Well I don’t know if He forgives me but He knows I know what I did,” he replied struggling for words throughout. It seemed he had been to church though less lately saying, “I’ve been to church some and I feel like it’s a good thing.” I began to go through the Gospel with him explaining the cleansing and atoning blood of Christ. Then saying He earned the righteousness of God and that he was clothed with Jesus [Gal. 3:27 where literally in the Greek we are clothed with Jesus as a garment fulfilling Isa. 61:10]. So he would not go to Heaven because he was good but because Jesus was good and he was connected to Him. I said, “Everyone is a child of God in a sense because He is their creator [Acts 17:28]. But God gives the rights of the Children of God to those He adopts who believe.” [john 1:12] So I said all Christ had done could be his by faith and asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else. “So would you want to be forgiven for your sins trusting in Jesus?” I asked. “Of course, of course!” he said cheerfully. So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray. Walking him through the prayer I asked if it was the desire of his heart. He said, “Yeah.” I said he could pray it silently and know he was forgiven. “Pray it right now?” asked. “Silently, so only God will hear,” I replied. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he replied and he prayed to receive Jesus. I explained when he finished that now trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus the likelihood that he would go to Heaven really was 100%. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I explained living by the Spirit’s power to ask for His help in everything. I gave him a Strobel’s Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I gave him a Bible Study on the deity of Christ and explained it with the miracle of walking on the water. and I would pray for him until a year from Spring and he said, “Thank you. Appreciate you,” he said. I could tell he was really grateful and he reached out with a fist I bumped and saying, “See you,” as I got packed to go. I bumped his fist and with a smile said, “See ya around.”

Later in the day I came across Roger. He had kind of an everyman look for a Latino guy. His face was more or less oval his features were smooth. I could see from the shadow he could grow a full beard but he was clean-shaven and the side of his hair was military short, the mop on top swept to the right. He was of modest height and looked pretty solid. He had on a green short sleeve T-shirt and blue jeans, white tennis shoes. He was a bit older student and had been in Texas doing construction when 2020 shut things down so he came home. He was from a Mexican heritage but seemed to have a lot of Venezuelan friends. It seemed like his family had tried a few they were invited to and hadn’t attended one Church growing up. He talked more than any student I have gone through the Gospel with in a long time. He also said he did not sleep much and had an off hour shift he worked. He just had conversational energy. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven. He thought a bit then said, “The reason is I always had a good heart. If I ever am wrong I regret it and I did something to make it better. I do to people the best I could. I am not perfect, but I tried. Maybe more that last one. It’s like balancing to live your life, be yourself, take care of yourself.” He thought he would go to Heaven 100% He talked throughout the presentation of the Gospel interjecting thoughts. I asked what Jesus had done to take away his sins and he said “Sacrifice?” He followed a guy on Twitter (I know it is X now but no one calls it that) who was a friend living in Montana, kind of an outdoorsman who posted a lot about his faith. This guy had him thinking. I began to explain that God became a man. His sacrifice for our sins was then worth an infinite amount because His life and blood were worth an infinite amount because he was God. “Oh that’s what I never got, infinite,” he said. It seemed like the math had not held up for him—that one man could die for the sins of the world. His friend had recently posted that everyone should remember that one man had paid for all our sins. So the idea of the sacrifice of Christ he seemed to have picked up from his friend’s posts from Montana. Then I explained the righteousness of God to His credit through adoption and then he needed to receive Jesus by faith, “If you believe Jesus is God died for your sins and rose from the dead. Not that you just know the story but that’s what you put your trust in.” I explained your good stuff could not fix your bad stuff but that God could turn your bad things into good things because he controlled the future and I wrote down Romans 8;28. He fixed on that and wanted to write it down as I said it again so I wrote it on the back of the booklet saying he could do good with God’s power then knowing God could control the outcome of an action. I explained that I sometimes thought about something I had done in the past that hurt someone like a car accident. I asked God to bless them and make up for what I had done and make it into Good, not to only forgive me. This seemed to really strike him as he thought about his past. He was taking a lot but the rest of the day he’d said he had nothing set. So I didn’t feel the tension as I often do that I need get the Gospel in before a student has to up and suddenly leave. I finally got to ask him if he would want to be forgiven then trusting in what Jesus had done. He said he would so I said there was a prayer he could pray and started to explain it, but he seemed to have a thought and missed the explanation, I think captured by a scene in his past for a moment. I asked again if the prayer expressed the desire of his heart. He read it and said it did. So I said he could pray it silently and be forgiven.  So he took the booklet and prayed it, when I glanced over he had his eyes closed too I think he was adding to it in his heart. He finished. I explained then to him that the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%, now placing his faith on the blood and righteousness of Christ. He said he thought there might be a Bible around his house but he wanted one more recently updated language wise, they might have been in Spanish. I gave him the NKJV and explained the study helps and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. He was grateful and I gave him Bible Promises for You and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet recommending Strobel in a YouTube search. I talked him through the Bible study too. We talked some more, he thanked me saying, “This really made my day.” He told me he thought we were entering into a time when people were realizing a lot of things. He saw it with guys he worked with in their desire to learn English, maybe meaning they were making longer term plans for life in the US. He was heading back to Mexico over Christmas with his family to try and reconnect with their extended family down there. Finally I got up to go we’d talked for at least an hour. I told him I would pray a prayer for him each day using a Bible verse to bless him until a year from Spring. “Awesome,” he replied.   “I’ll see you around,” I said. He said I definitely would and I 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