Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your week has been blessed so far. Yesterday I found no one to go through the Gospel with, there are very few students around. But today, Wednesday, after the Bible study I walked around a couple hours and James prayed with me to receive Jesus and I went through the gospel with a couple Muslims and though neither was truly interested in the things of God. James’ story is below if you want to spend the time. Please pray he grows in his faith.

I had walked by where James was sitting earlier in the day. He had long brown hair His head was turned down and his hair hid his face. A guy yesterday had turned me down and had long brown hair sitting in the same seat in the same lounge. I thought he was the same guy. I walked around over at the PE building with no one interested and seeing James again as I came in the SE corner door of the BIC I walked past the lounge. I thought I’d just ask him again. When he looked up James was not the same guy. His hair was longer, down to his elbows. He had the Errol Flynn mustache and a bit of a goatee. He looked a bit like Errol slightly broader nose. He had black skinny jeans on and black military boots, a black t-shit under a jacket. He said he’d do a survey. I asked him what he’d say to God if he died and was asked Why should I let you into Heaven?  He said, “I try to always do right by people, try to do the right thing even though people say I shouldn’t.” He thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. It turned out he had Roman Catholic parents but no longer went to Church.  When I asked him what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world he said, “He was crucified.” I said, “Right,” and I went on to explain what Jesus’ death had meant to cleanse believers from sin and pay God for what we owed Him for wrecking His stuff, ourselves and others and the earth.  He listened to the righteousness of Christ and salvation by faith and the resurrection. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins trusting in Jesus or if he thought something else. “I guess through Christ,” he said. So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I read it through and asked if it expressed the desire of his heart, he nodded and said “Yeah.” I said he could pray it silently and know he was forgiven and he said, “Sure.” And he prayed to receive Christ. I began to go through the Christian life with him. It turned out he didn’t have a Bible of his own so I gave him one and showed him the cross references and maps and study aids. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. He said, “Thank you.” There was only one other person in the lounge a girl who stood then and interrupted me asking if I was a student there. Sensing she was the self-appointed thought police, I said I taught a Bible Study here and had been here for 20 years. I said, “I got a lawyer and carried a letter from the administration giving me permission to talk to students on campus.” “I was just checking,” she said and left the lounge. “There’s also free speech,” I said to James when she was out of earshot. He smiled. She was rude to interrupt a private conversation and wrong to assume that I would have to explain myself to her at all. But I’m not interested in a confrontation or correcting some random student on her failure to grasp inalienable rights. She’d heard enough of the Gospel to be opposed to my telling it to someone. So I continued with James. I explained living Inside > Out by the Spirit’s Power. I also gave him a Bible study, explaining how Jesus’ walking on the water was a way Jesus claimed to be God. I said that He really made the claim every time He healed, without using God’s name or asking Him, seemed in His own authority. He was the creator recreating what was broken by a command. I gave him Bible Promises for You and gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told him if I saw him around I’d give him a wave.  I’d pray for him each day until Spring and one year after. “Well, thank you,” he said again. “Sure,” I said and I headed off.

Thanks for your prayers for the ministry. God blessed today and we’re having a Bible Study too, so that’s great.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today with the peace that surpasses understanding. The world looks on the brink of some very bad things, but we know God controls the world and laughs at the wicked and their plans. [Psa. 37:13] Thanks for your prayers, I spoke to 3 new people today and Rebeca, Bao, and Diego each prayed with me to receive Jesus, so that was great.  I’d be grateful it you might say a prayer to bless them, thanks for your help.  Their stories are below if you have time.

Rebeca was sitting on the ground floor of the east side science building in the hall looking at a tablet. She said she had a Bible Study group but she’d do a survey. She had on red leggings and a dark grey hoodie. She had long brown hair past her shoulders her face was oval that came to a point at her chin, she wore no make-up but was on the pretty side. I asked her one thing she wanted to do before she died and she wanted to take a trip to South Africa. I took it she meant be a missionary as the country is dangerous for white people and the Tonga volcano has destroyed the barley crop with cold and UV light. Evan in summer it’s now pretty cold. It’s chaos, so I can’t imagine a trip there for pleasure. She seemed to think she was aware of the hazards. I asked what she would say to God if she was dead and He asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” She thought for a moment and then said, “Because I believe in Jesus Christ and I repent all of my sins.” she thought she had a 99% chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with her and I said that God wanted to live inside her asking, “What did Jesus do to take away the sins of the world?” “He fills you with His Spirit?” she kind of guessed. I said something like, “Well this is how it works.” And I began to say that Jesus said, “You are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” We could not live a perfect life but Jesus lives a perfect life for us. He dies His blood cleanses us from all sin and his death is a payment to God. This all seemed to be novel to her. I explained the righteousness of God, Christ had earned to our credit, saying Paul said in the Bible that it was not by his own righteousness but by the righteousness which is by faith. I explained the righteousness of God to her credit. She needed to receive Jesus by believing He was God had died for her sins and rose from the Dead, “Not that you just know the story from Church or something but that’s what you place your trust in this, so if someone would say to you, “’Why should God let you into Heaven?’ you’d say, ‘Because Jesus died for me’” I showed her the two circles asking of she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done then she’d know was forgiven and God would live inside her and be on the throne or the driver’s seat of her life. Or did she think something else. “Jesus on the driver’s seat,” she replied. So I said it didn’t seem like she’d put all this together before, but if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. I talked her through it. “It says here: ‘Does this prayer the desire of your heart?’” and she nodded. I said she could pray it silently then and know she was forgiven. “Wanna do it?” “Yeah, sure,” she replied. And she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. When she finished I told her she could keep the booklet and began to explain the Christian life—the fruit of the Spirit and living “Inside > Out” “By the Spirit’s Power”. I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I gave her a Bible study also and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. “This is cool,” she said of the things I’d given her. I told her my name and email were on the back of the booklet. “So I can email you if I have a question?” she asked. “Yeah sure, I have a Masters in Theology and Church History and a Seminary degree and I’ve been doing this for 20 years so I’ve probably heard most questions. I could tell you what I think.” I told her the likelihood now she would go to Heaven trusting in the righteousness of Christ and His blood was 100%. “Nice to meet ya. I’ll see ya in Heaven,” I said holding up my had in a wave. She flashed a big smile, waved back and said, “I’ll see ya.”

I found Bao in the cafeteria sitting at the counter looking outside. He was a short, slight guy with dark wavy hair parted more or less down the middle, good looking kid, nice smile. Later as we talked he said he’d gone to a Vietnamese Church and a Catholic Church so I assumed he was Vietnamese. He had a Brown hoodie on with a white skeleton reaching out holding a heart, as far as I could see. Some kind of Halloween look I suppose. He had greenish brown cargo pants on. I asked him one thing he wanted to do before he died and he said, “Buy my parents a house.” Occasionally an African American student has said that to me as well and I’m reminded at a Community College where there’s kids whose families are not as established as the one I grew up in. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and were asked “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “Umm hm. That’s a deep question,” he said thinking. Finally, he just said, “I feel like I treated others pretty good.” He thought he had a 70% chance of going to heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him and I asked what the big thing was that Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world. “He spread his arms out a bit to trigger the thought and then said, “Crucified.” “Right,” I said and began to go through the atonement the cleansing blood of Christ and His payment for sin. He took it all in and gave kind of a half-smile at the tale I wove for him here and there. After I had explained that faith saved him I said that he should do good things to please God, treat people good, as he had said but his good stuff did not fix his bad stuff. I asked him if he wanted to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else. “Definitely forgiven,” he replied. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and after explaining it I asked, “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?” He nodded. I said if he wanted he could pray it silently now, “I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear you and you’d know you were forgiven, wanna do it?” He nodded again and I gave him the booklet and he prayed to receive Jesus and made the sign of the Cross over himself as he finished. I said the likelihood now he would go to Heaven was 100%, trusting in Jesus’ righteousness. I explained the Christian life, he read his father’s Bible and said he did not need one. I explained the life in the Spirit “Inside > Out. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside and also gave him a Bible Study and “The Case for Christ Answer Booklet.  I told him I would be praying for him each day from now until Spring and for one year after. I told him we had a Bible study in the room and when and grabbed my Pack to go. “Thank you,” he said. “See you in Heaven Brother,” I replied fist bumping him. “See you,” he said with a big smile and I headed off.

I was kind of draggin’ after the hours I’d been at school but I thought I’d head up to the third floor of the BIC since I hadn’t been there for a while and I hopped into an elevator. Diego had stick-straight hair and a beard and mustache a slightly round face and fair skin. He hadn’t been to church since he was a kid. He had on a T-shirt and jeans. I asked him if he wanted to do a survey and he said, “Let’s do it.” When I asked what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “I felt like I was the best person I could be on Earth on my time [there].”  I asked the likelihood he would go to Heaven? I’d say I have a higher percentage of going than [a] low chance.” He listened to the gospel as I began to say God wanted to live inside him, like he was the Energizer Bunny and God was the batteries, and that made him smile. I asked if he remembered what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world and he said he didn’t. “Real fast this is how it works,” I replied. I explained, “God sees we can’t come up to Him because of our sin and so He comes down and becomes a man Jesus who lives a perfect life. ‘Cause you’re supposed to live a perfect life.” I said no one could get into Heaven then because no one is perfect. “So Jesus lives a perfect life for us.” I explained Jesus was killed but He wanted to die. “He pours out his blood and His blood becomes a life force in the world and it makes life all the places we made death. There’s death inside us from our sin. The Bible says the Blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin, it turns death into life. So now you are alive inside and you match God and God can live inside you.” I explained Jesus was a payment for our sin and His righteousness was to our credit. I said All God had done needed to be received by faith and faith saved him. His good stuff could not fix his bad stuff. “So, the last question is would you like to be forgiven for your sin trusting in what Jesus has done or do you think something else or don’t know?” The first option,” he replied. I said there was a prayer he could pray. I read it through asking if it was the desire of his heart. He said “Yeah.” I asked if he’d want to pray it silently and he said, “Yeah, sure,” and he prayed to receive Jesus. He did not have a Bible so I gave him one and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” on the inside after showing him all the study tools in it. I explained to him also living “Inside > Out” by the power of the Spirit. I gave him a Bible study briefly explaining it and Bible Promises for You and gave him The Case for Christ Answer Book. I told him I’d pray for him each day until Spring and one year after. We talked about the military and the trouble in the world and I got up to go. “Nice to meet you man,” I said. “Thank you,” he said. “Yeah, thank you,” I replied and I headed off.

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 week was blessed with grace and peace. I had a strange week Tuesday was no school and I was still wiped out by Thursday. But God still blessed yesterday and Brenda committed to Christ and Brandon prayed to receive Jesus Thursday so I was thankful. I’d be grateful for your prayers for them to grow. Their stories are below if you have some time.

Brenda was sitting in the PE lounge upstairs by the workout equipment. She had brown shoulder length hair and wore black-rimmed glasses, wore a light grey sweatshirt and grey sweats. She was waiting for a friend and only had a couple minutes but was willing to just answer the one big question. “You get hit by a bus, you’re dead, and you stand before God and He says, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say.” “Umm, I don’t know that’s a tough question… I would hope to be let in because I’m a kind person. It’s not up to me it’s up to Him.” It turned out she went to a Roman Catholic Church. I only had the time then to explain the atonement and salvation by faith. Which she hadn’t seemed to understand before. It did not have much time to sink in and I had no time to build a bit of conversational connection. But as I finished I asked if she would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus or thought something else. She said she would “Trust in Jesus”. I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. I talked her through it and offered it to her and she acknowledged it was the desire of her heart. In the end she took the booklet with the prayer, looked at it and closed it. So I asked if she believed Jesus was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead. “Do you believe that’s a true story?” “Yes,” she replied. And would you place your trust in that to be forgiven for your sins?” “Yes,” she said again. I said, “Well then you only need to talk to God about it.” I gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name in the front saying it was a way to read some Bible verses. I wrote the word “forgiven” in the front [Romans 10:9].  I had had a chance to explain the Christian life a bit and I said, “Thanks for your time.” “You too,” she replied, “Thank you.” I said, “Your welcome and she headed out the doors to meet her friend. I’ll be praying for her in the hope the seed of faith from God takes greater root.

Brandon was sitting in front of the entrance to the drama theatre in the MAC arts building. He had shorter brush cut hair but it wasn’t a flat top it was rounded with tined ends on top, warm face and eyes, he had a bright smile with very white teeth. Looked Latino, had the smooth skin of youth and a medium build. He wore a light grey sweatshirt and charcoal sweat pants. Good lookin’ guy. He said he’d do a survey and after we talked about Bikers a bit I asked the questions. I asked, “You get hit by a bus, you’re dead, and you stand before God and He says, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?”  He thought about it and said he hadn’t thought about “stuff like that”. I asked what he thought would get someone into Heaven, “Faith, having faith the whole time, not then, but heading up to that, before that.” I asked him what the likelihood he would get into Heaven, “10% is low 100% is your sure or 50/50 you got a shot?” “I feel like it is either 100% or it’s zero,” he replied. So he went with 100% just to say he thought he’d go to Heaven. He listened attentively to the Gospel and leaning forward to read some of the verses that I read on the counter height table. It turned out he went to Catholic church once in a while and I compared the Mass symbolically to what I had spoken about. I explained that God wanted to live inside him and had to purify him in this life. I said, “Flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God” So in this life God purifies us with the blood of Jesus, that pays for our sin so that when we go to Heaven God can share His glory with us, He is eternal and the source of life so then we will last for eternity. I pointed out that like he had said this was a faith you had to have already before you got there, through this life. I explained the righteousness of God to his credit and then that faith saved him. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done or if he thought something else. “Definitely forgiven,” he replied. I said if he’d like to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and talked him through it. “’It says here does this prayer express the desire of your heart?’ So would you say that it did?” “Hum hum,” he replied. I said he could pray it silently, “I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven, wanna do it?” “Yeah,” he said with a smile. And he took the booklet and prayed to receive Christ. I explained then that now the likelihood he would go to Heaven trusting is the righteousness of Jesus was 100%. I explained living “Inside > Out” by the power of the Spirit. “Christianity is ‘Just Ask’. God wants to help you to do things in life and will give you as much strength as you need to be as successful as you can be and not screw up.” I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and then Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. Lastly I gave him a Bible Study on the deity of Christ explaining it a bit. I shook his hand and got up to go saying, “Nice to meet ya man.” “Nice to meet ya,” he said in return and then “Appreciate ya.” And I headed out the doors near us.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism last week, though I dropped the ball and forgot to send an email asking for prayer on 2 days, in a brain fog a bit one morning. But God had mercy and answered. I hope in a couple kids who did not pray but 2 asked God for forgiveness in Christ and another confessed her faith.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. I had a good day on campus. We had a Bible Study and rushing out the door to get there I forgot to send the email I wrote asking for prayer. But Kathrine prayed to receive Jesus today. Her story is below if you have the time. I also had an amicable conversation with Adam a Muslim and gave him the book, Dear Muslim Friend Jerry Mattix wrote, a Christian worker in the Holy Land. Adam was interested in other religions so it seemed like he might read it. His father was Indian and mother was Pakistani, he was born here. Thanks for your prayers to bless these.

Kathrine was sitting in the hallway of the Science building. She had a white t-shirt on with black lettering all over it and wore some “Nightmare Before Christmas” print pants. She had an oval, near round face, and wore no make-up her dark brown hair pulled black tight on her head. Really warm smile, cute kid. I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven She began explaining, “I feel like I could list reasons why I shouldn’t be let in. But I’m not really clear on why I would be in Heaven. In my family we believe in God, but don’t practice religion or anything. I do want to get closer to God but I wasn’t taught how to have a relationship with Him. It’s kind of hard to say.” I asked her the likelihood she would get into Heaven when she died. “30% maybe, just because I don’t know a lot about the Bible what we need to do to get let into Heaven. My grandmother is religious, she talks to be about it but hasn’t been able to tell me the full details of how.” “Yeah it’s kind of like riding a bicycle, it’s not hard unless no one teaches you and then you feel like, I could fall and get killed on that.” She laughed and agreed. I said the rest of the survey was about what she thought about Christianity. I said I could explain to her how she got to Heaven if she was interested and she said she was. I began to explain the Gospel to her then, that God loved her and wanted to know and live inside her but first had to take away her sin to make her His type, then she’d be perfect and holy inside and she’d match God and I asked if she had ever heard what Jesus did to take away her sin. “He sent Jesus,” she replied. “Right. He sent Jesus and this is what Jesus did,” I said and began to explain that Jesus had died to cleanse us from sin [1John 1:7]. We are supposed to be perfect [Mt 5:48]. If we stood before God He could say, “Did you live a perfect life?” and when you said you didn’t He could say, “Everything is perfect here, you don’t really fit in.” But then everyone would go to Hell because no one is perfect.  So God becomes a man Jesus and lives a perfect life for us. He’s then as a payment to God for all the imperfect things we’ve done that we owe God something perfect for. I explained the righteousness of God and it was to her credit like extra credit in a class. I explained she could receive Him by faith, which mean she believed in Him, that Jesus was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead. Then that it was by grace she was saved by faith, not by works—her good stuff did not fix her bad stuff. And that God could work all things into good for them that loved God and are called according to his purposes. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done, then God would live inside her and give her all the strength she needed to live the Christian life. “So would you want to be forgiven or do you think something else?” I asked. “I would want to be forgiven for my sins,” she replied. I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I talked her though it, asking if it expressed the desire of her heart and if it did she could pray it silently and asked if she’d want to. “Um hum,” she said with a smile. Then asking if she should pray it aloud I said no just silently God will hear. And then she prayed to receive Jesus. When she finished I said, “Your sins are forgiven, not because I say so but because the Bible says so.” And she smiled. I began to go through the Christian life with her then. I asked if she had a Bible and she didn’t so I gave her a study Bible. I showed her the maps, explained a cross reference. I showed her some of the study helps and devotionals and the 99 doctrines page. I wrote her name in the front and the date and “forgiven!” I explained that we should obey God but when we fail, God is not angry with us, all His anger was poured out on the cross (for believers). “When you confess God’s not like a bad boyfriend who’s [withholding his forgiveness] like, we’ll see how you do. God knew the future and knew we’d mess up and He has a plan to fix it.” I explained living Inside > Out asking for the Spirit’s power to give her help in everything.  I gave her a copy of Bible Promises for You. Then I gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. And explained Strobel’s story saying he had some YouTubes to watch that she could find. I gave her a Bible Study on the ways Jesus claims to be God. I told her if she had any questions my email was on the back of the booklet. “Ok well I’ll see you in Heaven,” I said getting up to go. “Thank you,” she said. Then a few steps away I said, “I forgot to say I’ll pray for you each day until Spring and one year after asking God to bless you.” “Thank you so much,” she replied sincerely. 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’s been blessed knowing you’ve been rescued from the domain of darkness. There is no school today and I was slogging through yesterday a bit just over tired from the weekend and some late nights. Anyone can get caught up in circumstances and get in a funk. But we can have our mind on things above, because we have an inheritance there. Matt prayed to receive Jesus Monday one of only two people I was able to go through the Gospel with, the other, a girl, said they were Roman Catholic and not interested in keeping the booklet. So though in person classes are not well attended God still drew Matt to Himself. Thanks for your prayers to guide me Matt’s story is below.

Matt was the only person sitting in the 3^rd floor hall on the North side of the BIC building. He was a pretty big dude wearing dark blue shorts and a light blue golf shirt. He wore a full beard that was light brown and had a mustache closer to blonde. He had kind of the “everyman” face, smaller nose and brown hair the front swept to the right, good looking guy. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven and he said, “I would say, ‘Thanks for life. How’d I do?’” He thought he had a 89% chance of going to Heaven and went to a Catholic Church. As I went thought the Gospel with him he said short word affirmations like, “Oh OK” or “Yeah makes sense”. When I asked him what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world he’d known He had died for us. I finished explaining the righteousness of God and salvation by faith and asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else. “I would go with Jesus,” he replied. I’d explained the parallel symbolism in the Mass and suggested that you just kind of go along with things in your family when you are a kid but when you grow up you have to decide, so if he would want to be forgiven for his sins there was a prayer he could pray. I talked him through the prayer and asked him if he’d like to pray it silently. “I would yeah,” he replied. When he finished I explained the Christian life. He had a phone app he used already that he’d gotten into recently reading the Bible. It’s not uncommon for a student to tell me they recently were thinking more about spiritual things or reading the Bible or had started to pray. God is preparing their hearts and bringing them to Himself by the time I talk to them. I explained living “Inside > Out” asking for the Spirit’s power to give him help in whatever he was doing in life. I gave him a copy of Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front, he thanked me. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I finally gave him a Bible Study and said I would be praying for him through Spring and one year after. “God bless you man,” I said getting up to go. “Thanks, appreciate it,” he said. “Yeah God bless your day,” I said and headed off.

So thanks for your help in prayer God blessed though school has few students sitting around as they drop classes as the semester winds on many were only on line to begin with.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with all good things from above. I had a good day on campus in that I got in some conversations to encourage Christians and a discussion with a kid philosophically adrift a bit and Sno prayed with me to receive Jesus. Her story is below if you want to spend the time. Please pray she grows in her trust in the blood and righteousness of Christ alone to save her. Thanks for your help in prayer.

Sno was an older black woman, I’d guess she was near 50 and since she’ll not read this I can’t get in any trouble if I missed the mark by much. But she had salt and pepper hair, more salt. She had frank symmetrical features and her hair had been braided on the top but was short otherwise. She wore a grey hoodie, leggings and a t-shirt. She was studying at a round coffee table in the hall down from the bookstore with some stuffed chairs. I took the one beside her and she said she’d do a student survey (with a tone that she would do me a favor, and she did). I asked her what she would say to God to get into heaven if she died. “Because I’ve done everything in my life to live the way You told me to, I’m not perfect but I tried my best,” she replied. She was certain she was going to Heaven, “100%.” I began to go through the Gospel then with her and she finished John 3:16 for me. I read, John 17:3 that eternal life was, “knowing God”, and this meant that He lived inside her but the problem was sin. I said God had to take away her sin so she was God’s type (like a blood transfusion) perfect and holy inside and He could live inside her. I asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sin. “He forgives you,” she stated insistently. I said, “Yes He forgives you but something has to happen for God to forgive you,” she did not know what that was so I continued, “He gets paid.” I began to explain that we could not come up to God because of our sin, so He becomes a perfect man. “Because you are supposed to be perfect,” I said. “God does not expect you to be perfect,” she cut in. “God does not expect you to be perfect in as much as He knows you will not be but the standard is perfection.” I sensed her back was up a bit so I prayed quickly God would speak to her and went on. “Jesus says you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” I said Heaven was not just a place it was the presence of God. If you lived under the water you’d have to be able to breath water. Now you breath in air. In Heaven you will have to be able to breath in the presence of God. I said the Bible says, “Flesh and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.” She said she knew that. So I said we have to be transformed and perfected here so that God can share His glory with us in Heaven. I explained how Jesus died and His blood cleansed her and then paid God back for all the imperfect things we’ve done that we owe God something perfect for. “The real reason God forgives you is He got paid, but he had to pay himself.” I explained the righteousness of God to her credit and that she would not go to Heaven because she was good but because Jesus was good and she was connected to Him. I said she had to receive Jesus and the work of Jesus. “So if someone would say to you, “Why should I let you into Heaven you’d say, ‘Because Jesus died for me.’” I explained then grace saved her by faith. I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done to forgive her so He could live inside her. “Yes,” she said. And her persona had changed at some point and she was receiving what the scriptures were telling her. I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and talked her through it asking if she would like to pray it silently. “I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven trusting in Jesus. Wanna do it?” “Yeah,” she said and she prayed to receive Jesus. When she finished I said, “Great, your sins are forgiven, not because I say so but God does.” She nodded. I explained then that the likelihood she was going to Heaven now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus was 100% and His righteousness was worth an infinite amount so there was enough for both of us though I was old and sinned every year. I explained the Christian life. She had a Bible so explained the fruit of the Spirit, living “Inside > Out” and praying for patience, saying a time I had done so. And then I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” inside. She liked the book. I also gave her a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I got up to go and she said, “Thank you, have a good one.” “Thank you for your time,” I replied and she again said, “Thank you.”

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and you had His life and peace. I had a good day and Marnita trusted in Christ today and said she would pray later; she was surrounded by friends. I’ll probably bump into her again to see if she meant it since she hangs out in the PE lounge with another girl I know. Once a girl said she would pray later this year and did another time a different girl did not so it depends. I also had a chance to go through the Gospel with a new Christian, Gianna. She was thankful saying it helped her understand everything. Thanks for your prayers. The stories are below if you have time.

Marnita [she pronounces her name as if the t is silent and sounds like a d] She had a square small chin and sharp features, 4-inch braids on tip of her head. She had on black spandex shorts and a flannel shirt over a black tight shirt like you’d work out in and a bare midriff. She was sitting with Daija a girl who came to a Bible Study a few times last year. Daija asked me if I had seen a girl we both know recently. So we talked a bit. All the girls at the table were African American and they were in the PE lounge at a table by a post. Evoni sat beside Daija and Marnita across from her. I turned to them and asked if they wanted to answer the big metaphysical question. Evoni immediately said yes and Marnita agreed. I asked, “So you’re walking down the road and you get hit by a bus. So you’re dead. And you stand before God and He asks, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?” Daija got the answer wrong, though I had gone through the Gospel with her more than once. I’m not sure where she is at to be honest. The other girls were not sure what to say so I asked them if they would want to know the answer from the Bible. They agreed to listen. I took out the booklet and different things drew their attention here and there as I spoke, though Marnita looked me in the eyes whenever I talked and seemed interested. I asked them what Jesus had done to take away their sins and Marnita knew Jesus had died on the cross. Evoni left saying she had to go to the bathroom, she seemed disinterested. A guy walked up and said nothing, for no reason (except that the girls were attractive possibly) and was standing off Marnita’s shoulder. So I finished going through the Gospel with Marnita and she wanted to be forgiven for her sins. I showed her the prayer and went through it, though in the middle of that Daija did something to distracter her, then grinned and apologized after Marnita said she was distracting her. As I had been in the middle I read through it again and asked Marnita if she would want to pray it silently and she said she would later. This seemed just as well to me that she’d think about it unmolested. I said no worries and handed her the booklet to keep. Evoni had not returned. Daija then said, “She’ll pray later, she prays all the time.” And then added, “Thanks for explaining things to my friends, Bob.” I said “Sure thing.” And I headed off.

Gianna was a lovely girl with a diamond shaped face and almond eyes and a dragon tattoo on her left forearm. She wore a lot of bracelets. She had the coloring of a Latina. Her hair was tied back flat to her head. She was sitting in a medium sized lounge off the west atrium on the first floor of the BIC building. She said she had a Bible Study she went to. I asked her the name. She did not know but had a notebook sized flyer for the study saying she did not go to the church meetings (also listed on it) but met individually with some people. It’s likely that it’s just another name for the Chicago Church of Christ cult. They’re works righteousness, and are big on being baptized into their church, after which they try to control your life. But since the Church is in Chicago it does not seem to get traction at COD. They change their name every year and then lie and say they are a new group on campus. I’m not sure what is going on there except that people like me were warning students when they went by their real name. I asked her if she wanted to answer the one big question to think about during the day. I asked, “So you’re walking down the road and you get hit by a bus. You’re dead. And you stand before God and He asks, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?” She thought for a moment and said, “Because I stood with Him.” I asked if I could show her some Bible verses that answer the question and she cheerfully agreed. It turned out she was a new Christian. I asked her what the big thing was that Jesus had done to take away her sin and she said, “He forgives you?” I said He did and went on to explain the blood of Christ and as I explained the cross she seemed to remember Jesus had died seeing the cross. Possibly I had confused her with the way I asked her what He had done. I finished everything and she said she had prayed a prayer like that before and she had only been a Christian a little while. She was really grateful to understand more saying something like, “You really helped me understand more all the levels.” But she expressed had understood the base thing. I asked if I could give her a book with some more Bible verses in it and she agreed so I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name in the front. She happily took it and I was on my way. But hopefully I’ll bump into her and can check up on her. Since she was not interested in attending their church she might be OK, though the Bible studies are vacuous in my experience with the group.

So, thanks for your prayers for the ministry and evangelism today. God blessed me with some good conversation and I encouraged some other believers as well.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today and you are bearing fruit in kindness toward others. I’sis committed to praying to receive Jesus today saying when I asked if she’d like to pray the prayer for salvation “On my own.” Her story is below so I will keep her in my prayers. She at first went to take a picture of the prayer and then I said she could keep the booklet. So it seemed she had genuine intent.

I’sis, an African American, was sitting at counter height a table outside the bookstore. I asked her 3 words to describe herself and the first one she chose was “Beautiful.” She wasn’t wrong. She had long braided extensions and big eyes with the kind of eyelashes that make you doubt they came from the gene pool. She had a pretty almond shaped face a smallish nose and a perfect mouth. She wore a t-shirt under a poly, athletic zip up jacket that had the back-to-back twinned silhouette girls they sometimes put on mud flaps running as a ribbon the length of her arm. I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven. She said, “Because no matter what I do I ax God to forgive me. Once I get that forgiveness I didn’t do it again.” She thought she had a 50/50 shot at going to Heaven and went to Church.  She listened attentively to the Gospel. A liberal obese woman with dyed red frizzy hair, who looks near 60 years old, drives around campus on her electric transport for the handicapped. She has told me I am dumping on students, so I ignore her. She rolled up in the middle of explaining the Gospel, interrupted me and asked I’sis if she was listening to something she wanted to hear.  I’sis looked at her and said, “Yes.” So she rolled away. I often see her buttonhole students. I suppose I should walk up and ask them if they were hearing something they wanted to hear but this would not be worth my time. I’sis was unfazed and listened to the rest of the Gospel. When I went to ask her if she wanted to be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done so He could live inside her or thought something else, she immediately cut me off before I could say more and said, “I’ll go with this one.” I said that if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. I turned the page and she said, “Can I take a picture of that?” holding up her phone. I said she could keep the booklet and I continued to go through the prayer with her. I asked if she would like to pray it silently and as I’ve said she said, “On my own.” I said, “This question, if she prayed to trust in Jesus, would be 100%” pointing to the question of the likelihood she would go to Heaven. I asked if she’d like a book with some Bible verses in it. “Yes,” she replied. I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name in the front and said, “When you pray that prayer you’ll be forgiven,” and I wrote, “forgiven!” in the front. I also gave her a Bible Study. She thanked me and I headed out.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today. I bumped into a few kids who had trusted the Lord before. Josiah said he had watched the DVD on evolution I gave him earlier this year and it answered his questions.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today so far with the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ. I had a good day on campus Tessa prayed to receive Jesus today and Braedon received Christ after Bible Study walking around on Wednesday. Their stories are below if you have the time. Thanks for your help in prayer.

Wednesday Braedon was sitting in the hallway just down from the lockers outside the computer building. He had a big mop of blonde curly hair that reached his chin greyish eyes had a chin beard and a thin mustache. He went to a Naperville church I knew of, worked with the junior high group as a volunteer and I had met his pastor. He was wearing a red t-shirt and red basketball shorts. He did not have much time so I asked if he’d just like to hear the big question. “Sure,” he replied. “You’re walking down the road and you get hit by a bus, so your dead,” I said. “So you stand before God and He asks, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say.” He wasn’t sure what he’d say but had 10 minutes so he said he’d listen to the Bible verses. I began to explain that in order for God to live inside him and truly know him he had to cleanse him of his sin. When I asked what Jesus had done, he knew Jesus had died for the sins of the world. I explained the cleansing blood of Christ as a payment for sin and a power in the world. I explained placing his faith in Jesus not just knowing the story. I asked if when he prayed for forgiveness he was thinking that he hoped he was good enough to be forgiven or was thinking Jesus had died for him and he would be.  He said it was hard to say. “Well maybe if I did something really bad,” he replied as to when he might think that Jesus had died for him, but it did not seem like he had thought he done something “really bad”. He was not sure at all he was trusting in Jesus so I said if he’d like to be sure he had asked God to forgive him of his sins there was a prayer he could pray and talked him through it he wanted to pray to receive Christ. I explained living the Christian life to him then, “Inside  > Out” and I gave him a Bible Study and Bible Promises for You and also The Case for Christ Answer Booklet, he had not heard of Lee Strobel. He was busy at church and not at school the day we had Bible Study. “Thank you,” he said. “You’re welcome nice talking with you,” I replied. “Have a good one,” he said as he headed down the hall. And I said I’d be praying for him through next spring and one year after a Bible verse each day and he was off.

Thursday I had a nudge to go to the cafeteria.  Tessa was sitting at the counter there. She had print leggings on that were primarily white and a white sweater that came out from under a hoodie pulled up over straightened black hair long past her shoulders and in bangs. She had a small nose and sharp jaw small square chin and a classic African American mouth. She was a bit unkempt. She had a deep voice for a young woman. I asked her one thing she’d like to do before she died and she said, “Get married.” I asked her what she’d say if she died and God asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” She said she didn’t know. I asked her if she had, “ever gone to Church like when you were a kid,” But she hadn’t. “What do you think it is that gets you into Heaven?” I asked. “Just being a good person,” she replied. She thought she had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. So I began to go through the Gospel with her and she smiled here and there. She did not say anything except “Umm,” as I went through the Gospel and the righteousness of God to her credit, and adoption. I then recapped the ideas again of God’s love for her, wanting to know and live inside her, but He could not because of sin. Reading then, “But God demonstrates His love for us that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” I said she could have these things by faith in Jesus, and that she was saved by faith her good stuff could not fix her bad stuff. I asked if she’d want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus and what he had done on the cross so God could live inside her. She nodded.  I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and talked her through it and read, “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?” She nodded again. I asked if she would like to pray it silently so only God would hear and know she was forgiven. “Wanna do that?” I asked. “Sure,” she replied. And she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained when she finished that now trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I began to explain the Christian life and she said she did not have a Bible. So I gave her one and showed her the maps in back of places she could read about and the cross references and 99 Doctrines listed in the front and where to find them. I showed her the devotionals and study helps, and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I handed it to her and she said, “Thank you.” I said, “Your welcome.” And I gave her also a Bible Study and Bible Promises for You and also The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told her I would keep her in my prayers until spring and one year after each day. I picked up my daypack to go and she said, “Thank you so much.” “Oh you’re welcome. I’ll see you in Heaven” I replied. “You as well,” she said. And I headed off.

Other notes: Thursday I also just got through the basic Gospel with Paula, a cute bigger Latina girl, oval face long brown hair, who then had to run to class. She was interested to know the Gospel as she’d seen a movie where all but one child had gone to Heaven and one child had gone to hell. “Then her sister went to Hell and took away her sins by washing her feet so she could go to Heaven,” she explained. I asked if she knew how God took away her sins so she could go to Heaven. She didn’t so I explained the Gospel showed her the prayer and already late she thanked me and ran off. I got a good seed planted I think with Karla in the science building who was already married but looked young. She had a sweet disposition was a pretty Latina also and had on a hoodie and was eating lunch but took in the Gospel. She’d gotten away from Church that she’d felt forced on her as a kid. She was now confused by the pluralism of religions. I gave her The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet and looking at it she turned to a page on trusting the Bible. She’d always wondered about that, she said. So I gave her the Rose publication on the scholarship/manuscript work behind trusting the Bible, which she really liked. We hit it off. I hope God will move in her heart. Amin a black guy, highly analytical, had left the faith. He had short dreadlocks coming out of squares and wore sweats. We talked as I answered his questions and listed for an hour and a half or so. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet, which he put in his pack and then thought he might like the longer book The Case for Christianity Answer Book and he took that too. So I am hopeful he will decide to follow Jesus. He said he’d never had a conversation like this before and hid his analytical side from his friends and even girlfriends.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with all good things from above. I had a good day of sharing and seed planting though no one came to Christ but I had 3 long conversations with students.

Adna, Lamar, Hugo all heard the Gospel today and seemed at least open. Adna is a Muslim we talked a long time. She was pretty, light brown hair and grey green eyes and had no head scarf on. we were in the SSC lounge. We shared some values as she was a conservative religious person her family from Bosnia. Lamar wore his hair in dreds that were about 6 inches long half way down his nose. He has been influenced by his dad who is Black Israelite as far as I could tell and had a lot of questions on the Sabbath and other things, he took The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. He thanked me for walking up and talking to him and said he was going to check back with his father. Hugo a slight guy with blonde highlights in stick straight hair.  He gone to Church and Mosque with Muslim friends. He had read a lot of things and his parents were back in the Roman Catholic Church after a brief stay with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. I gave him The Case for Christianity Answer Book.

So no one came to Christ but I had a good day and God gave me words for some hearers.

Thanks so much for your prayers for the ministry today. everyone else I spoke with was already a Christian and I touched base with several students who had prayed with me to receive Jesus in the past.

In Him,

Bob