Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed. I had a strange day that began with a Christian student I often talk too who had come to faith just before I met him. Eamon. So that was encouraging to spend a half hour with him teaching him some stuff. I found one student to talk to who was Hindu and disinterested in the Gospel. I spent an hour receiving a lecture on Russia and Ukraine from a friend on staff who is from both countries by family, ethnically. It was interesting to get his perspective which was in part that the war had been going on there since 2014 in the Russian regions, much like a civil war with Russian supply. Then finally I bumped into Mattie a girl in the PE lounge. I had met her on the 4^th of October when I went through the Gospel with her. She was quite pretty, fair skin, had an athletic build. She had long straight strawberry blonde to her elbows last Tuesday but today it was pulled up over her head in a mob of curls. On the 4^th she committed to Christ saying she’d pray later but today she said she had prayed the prayer to receive Jesus. She hadn’t wanted to do a survey Tuesday, saying she was in a Bible Study Group with her Mom but said she’d answer a question. “I don’t know” was her response to the question, “You get hit by a bus so you’re dead and you stand before God and He says, ‘Why should God let you into Heaven?’” So I asked her if she wanted to hear some Bible verses that answered the question. She was willing so I went through everything with her. I asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sins but she hadn’t known and the gospel seemed novel to her. She said after going through the pray with her, “Not now, I’ll pray later” and seemed a little scandalized with the idea of praying in public. So I asked her, “Do you believe Jesus is God, He died for your sins and rose from the dead, do you think that’s a true story?” She nodded saying she did. “Do you place your trust in that to be forgiven?” I asked. “Yes,” she replied, “Well all that’s left to do is to tell God about it.” She said, OK and I headed off but I had been praying she would receive the Lord so I’m grateful He let me know she’d prayed. When I saw her today and she told me. I thanked her and said I would pray for her and add her to the list. She seemed happy.

So Thanks for your prayers for the Ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. I touched base with some other students who’d received Christ telling them I was still praying for them. It was a good day in hearing from Mattie.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you had a good day walking with the Lord.  I had a good day on campus doing some Bible Study with a student and then later Max prayed with me to receive Christ. Please pray he grows in his faith and dependence upon God. His story follows below if you have some time.

Max was sitting in some booths that are right inside the doors at the top of the waterfall. There used to be a bank there and the booth’s have no tables so it’s kind of a leftover furniture look. He had a mop of dark brown hair that swept out randomly and slightly broader nose and a squared off chin. He wore jeans and a T-shirt. He had a slight build. I said my family was mostly from Sweden and asked where his was from saying he looked Indian or Pakistani, “My family’s from Mexico but a lot of people say that he said smiling.” I told him I envied his ability to get a tan, and I couldn’t and he laughed and said, “Thanks.” I asked him what he would say to God if he died and he said, “Um, because I accepted Jesus Christ died for my sins.” I said that was the right answer and after I asked he thought the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. Once in a while times a Christian kid is impatient with hearing the Gospel so I didn’t want to bore him by going through it and almost gave him the cliff notes version and handed him the book to share with someone else. But for some reason I decided to go through the presentation of it and let him hear it. I explained that God wanted to know and live inside him but first He had to take away his sins and make him His type, “Like a blood transfusion,” I said and asked, “What is the thing that Jesus does to take away your sins?” He thought for a minute and said, “I don’t know.” It isn’t uncommon for people to say “Because I am a child of God” or “Because I love Him” and then not understand the Gospel. But I am pretty sure this was the closest I had heard to a clear expression of the Gospel but Max had not understood what he’d just said. I know this because I went on to explain that Jesus lives a perfect life we could not and died on the cross pouring out his blood. “The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin” I quoted. “Oh,” he said frankly as if he’d not heard that before. I explained that Jesus blood was worth an infinite amount and paid God back for all the imperfect things we had done to damage God’s world that we owed Him something perfect for, “God forgives you because He got paid, but He had to pay Himself.” I went on to explain the righteousness of Christ to our credit. Receiving Christ and salvation by faith and in finishing asked if he would want to “be forgiven for your sins trusting in what Jesus had done on the cross to pay for your sins and forgive you, so God can live inside you? Or do you thing something else.” “Be forgiven,” he replied. “Well it doesn’t seem like you’d ever had a chance to put this together before right?” “No,’ he admitted. So I said if he’d want to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and asked if he would want to pray it. “Yeah sure,” he replied and he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life living inside out. He did not have his own Bible so I gave him one showing him the cross reverences, maps, devotionals and the list of 99 doctrines in the front and where to find them in the Bible. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave him Bible promises for You and The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet and a Bible study on the deity of Christ. He thanked me and I said, “This is now 100%. Because now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be your righteousness, how righteous is Jesus—100% righteous. And what’s His righteousness worth?—an infinite amount so there’s enough for an old Biker like me and a young guy like you that hasn’t hardly even done anything yet, God will forgive us both.” I told him I would see him in Heaven and since I was old I would get there first. And so I’d so him where all the cool places are. He said, “Yeah,” pleased he’d have a tour guide. And I head off.

So thanks for your prayers for the Ministry and for Evangelism Thursday if you had a chance, God truly blessed. 44 students have prayed with me to receive Christ so far this year on campus.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I Hope your day was blessed today with life and peace. I had a good day on campus and Julie and Leslie each prayed with me to receive Jesus today so that was great. I’d be grateful if you would pray for God to bless them in their new found trust in the blood and righteousness of Jesus. Their stories are below if ya got the time. Thanks for your prayers.

Julie was sitting in the hallway near the book store entrance in one of a few chairs surrounding a round ottoman. She had a round face and had square large metal lenses for glasses. She wore a white cardigan sweater over a black shirt and had torn jeans on. She was a sweet person and had long dark hair of a Latina pulled back into a pony tail. She said she and her family had gotten away from going to church the last few years. I asked her what she would say to God if asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” She said, “I’ve actually helped a lot of people not to commit suicide—I think that’s God’s way of letting me know I’m doing a good thing.” I asked her if she worked a suicide hot line or something but it seems like these situations had just kind of come her way. But of course doing a good thing does not get you into Heaven. She thought the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 90%. I asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sins but she could not remember as I went through the Gospel. But she connected well with the verses and examples and what I said. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven for her sins and she said “I would.” I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I talked her through it. She said something like, “I pray that every night.” So I said that it was good she prayed every night but this would be a prayer where she was asking God be forgiven based on what Jesus had done to take away her sins. And I asked her if she’d want to pray telling God she was trusting now in what Jesus had done for her to be forgiven. “Honestly yeah,” she replied. I said she could pray silently and she took the booklet and prayed to receive Christ. I explained the Christian life to her then living by the Spirit’s power. I told her that now trusting in the righteousness of Christ to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I gave Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible study. “Thank you so much,” she said. “And thank you for all this as well.” holding the books and Bible Study in her hand. “I can’t wait to look at it and I also can’t wait to show it to my parents, it’s been so long.’ By that I think she meant since they had been going to church. I asked if she’d like another Bible promise book for them and she happily said yes so I gave her one telling her she could write their names in the front and give it to them from her. She thanked me again and I headed off.

Leslie was sitting in the cafeteria. I walked past her since it was free popcorn day and I had a mouth full, but I felt like God wanted me to ask her. So I stopped at a table past her and folded closed the top of my popcorn bag and walked back to talk to her. Most people are not interested but she said she’d do a survey so we began to talk. She has blonde highlights framing her very pretty face, brown hair. She looked white but later said she was from a Latino family. She had a freckle on her right cheek in just the right place, sharp features and wore a dark brown crop top and light gray sweats. She had gone to church when she was younger. But though she had not been for a while she read short devotionals often. When I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven she said, “I would probably say… I don’t know. I try to be the best person I can be every day. I try to help other people when I can.” She thought the likelihood she would get into Heaven was 80%. When I asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sins she remembered He had died. She listened to the Gospel attentively and I asked her if she would want to be forgiven or thought something else. “The first one,” she said like it was the obvious choice. I said then there was a prayer she could pray and talked her through it. She said that she was from a Spanish speaking background and she had heard that prayer before but in her head it was in Spanish. I asked her if she would like to pray it now telling God she wanted to be forgiven trusting in Jesus. “Ok, it seems weird in the cafeteria right now but…” and she began to pray aloud. No one was sitting near to us so I just waited until she was done and said, “Now you know you are forgiven trusting in Jesus.” I explained living the Christian life by the Spirit’s power and gave her a copy of 20 Things God Can’t Do since she liked reading. I explained everything the author was suggesting she do she could do by the Spirit’s power and wrote that in the front. I put her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I also gave her a Bible Study to read. I told her I would pray for her each night from now until spring and then for the next school year asking God to bless her. She was grateful and I said if I saw her again I would just say hi. “Thank you,” she said as I got up to go. I said something like thanks for talking with me and headed out.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance God truly bless and two very nice girls trusted in Jesus.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you day was blessed with good things and you are at peace though the world be filled with provocateurs.  I had a good day on campus and Citlali prayed to receive Jesus today. And Mattie, a girl in the PE lounge with long straight strawberry blonde to her elbows, committed to Christ saying she’d pray later. So that was good.  Guy, a safety on the football team was close and took The Case for Christ Answer Booklet, saying he was just getting back into his faith and checking out his friend’s churches. Thank you for your prayers.

Citlali [sit-la-lee] was sitting near the bookstore entrance in the hallway waiting for an orientation to begin. She was interested in the fashion department programs. She had an uncommon, roundish, cute face and her straight dark hair in a bob cut, long eyelashes. She wore jeans and a crop top. When I asked her if she wanted to do a student survey she just nodded. So I sat down in the chair beside her and got her name. I asked what she would say to God if asked why He should let her into Heaven. She said, “I would say… You should let me into Heaven because I care about people. I treat others the way I want to be treated. I have empathy for others.” She thought she had a 60% chance of going to Heaven. She said she went to Moody Church when she was a kid. She knew that Jesus had died to take away her sins. She listened patiently to the Gospel. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven for her sins of thought something else and she said, “Be forgiven.” I said there was a prayer she could pray and asked if it was the desire of her heart. She nodded again and then two guys one who knew me and I’d talked to a lot, an Italian guy. He was just saying hi. And the other is a black guy who is a player getting girl’s numbers each time I see him. So I dismissed him (figuring he was there because Citlali was pretty) as quickly as I could exposing his motive. I asked the Italian if I could take to him later and he realized he had interrupted and said sure. He’s a Christian, he left. I turned back to Citlali and said if she wanted to she could pray silently and I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear and she’d know she was forgiven. She nodded and took the booklet then and prayed to receive Jesus. I offered her a Bible but she thought she had one. Then unsure, she wanted one but the study Bible I had was too big so I gave her a pocket new testament and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave her a Bible study and Bible Promises for You. I told her I would pray for her until spring and all through next school year each day. She was grateful and I asked if there was anything I could pray for her for. She asked me to pray for the orientation she was waiting to go to. So I said I would and headed off and prayed for her through the day.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. God truly blessed and I hope both Mattie and Guy will come in too.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed so far with all good things coming down from the Father of Lights. I had a good day on campus and Martin, Desha and Morgan each prayed with me to receive Jesus today. Eddie took The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. Thanks so much for your prayers. Their stories are below if you have time.

Martin was sitting with his back to the staircase in the foyer area outside the cafeteria. He was sitting in a sofa chair wore a light tan sweatshirt and dark sweats, a watch cap and had transparent frame glasses, large semi-circular. He had a small Errol Flynn style mustache a light sandy brown color—same color curly wavy hair came out an inch all around from under his cap. His face was pretty rough and badly scarred, bigger guy good looking. He went to Catholic Church every Sunday. When I asked him what he would say to get into Heaven he said, “I would say umm… Because I tried my best.” He thought he had a 50% chance of going to Heaven. I went through the Gospel with him and in asking what Jesus had done to take away his sin he said, “He forgives it?” I said, “God actually forgives you because He got paid.” I explained then the Gospel and ended up saying the reason the priest can tell you, you are forgiven, when you confess your sins is because he knows God got paid. He does not forgive your sin he is telling you God forgives you.” I used the example of an insurance agent and car insurance, when you wreck your car the agent does not pay the company pays. He took it all in. When I asked f he wanted to be forgiven or thought something else he said, “Forgiven.” So I explained there was a prayer he could pray and talked him through it. “I don’t have much time now but I promise I will pray this later.” I said if he prayed now I would pray for him all year and he smiled and prayed then to receive Jesus. I gave him Bible promises for You then writing his name and the date and forgiven in the front and quickly explained the Christian life by the Spirit’s power.  He was grateful and I headed out telling him I would pray for him through next spring and all next school year. I got up and said I’d see him in Heaven and headed out.

Desha (day jza) was sitting on a row of chairs where the hallway ends into outside doors or turns into the tunnel to the PE building. I sat next to her on the floor. She had on torn up jeans and a white sweatshirt. Her long straightened hair was nearly to her elbows and she had on rectangle shaped black glasses, nice looking African American girl, upbeat and cheerful, warm smile. I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven. She said, “I feel my time on Earth I did my dues. I prayed I was thankful, I gave what I could to people who need me.” She thought she had a 50% chance of going to Heaven. When I asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sins she did not say Jesus had died and was uncertain. I went through the Gospel with her then and she took it all in patiently. When I asked her if she would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done she, pulled up her sleeve and showed me a sentence tattooed there I could barely see (it’s poorly lit where we sat) that had the word blessed in it saying, “See.”. So I said, “This is the greatest of all God’s blessings.” Then said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. I went thought the prayer with her saying if she had never asked God to forgive her before trusting in Jesus she could pray silently and asked if she’d want to pray. “Yes.” She said brightly and she took the booklet saying, “Thank you.” She prayed then to receive Jesus.  I explained the Christian life to her living by the Spirit’s power. I gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the inside. I told her the likelihood now she would get into Heaven trusting in the righteousness of Jesus was 100%. I gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and said I would be praying for her each night until next spring and through the next year. She got up to run to class and said, “Thank you so much.” And we both headed out.

As I entered the PE lounge there were two African American girls were sitting at a table. I had not seen them before so I thought I would ask them to do a survey. Before I crossed the room from the staircase one got up and walked over to two other black girls by the vending machines leaving Morgan behind and she was willing to do a survey. She looked athletic, was tall, she had on navy blue running sweats with Adidas stripes up the sides. She had a pretty oval face with soft features. Her hair was in narrow braids close to her head in a bun behind it.  When I asked Morgan what she would say to God to get into Heaven she said,  “That I prayed to Him and asked for His help all the time.  He gets me through the day.” She had not gone to church much since she was a kid. I began to go through the Gospel with her and she did not know what Jesus had done to take away her sins. I had just begun to talked about the imputed righteousness of Christ when her friend returned and I asked for a moment more to her friend, but Morgan disregarded her, even later when she called out to her having crossed over to the doors she seemed unconcerned. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven for her sins or thought something else and she said she would be like to be forgiven. I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and talked her through it. She sat there reading it then and I said did you pray it and she picked it up and prayed to receive Jesus then. I explained living the Christian life by the Spirit and she thanked me. I then gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I explained the Bible study and living by the Spirit’s power quickly, telling her I would be praying for her and that now the likelihood she would g to Heaven was 100%. She thanked me again and got up to meet up with her friends who by then had crossed the room.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope ya had a great day walking with the Lord in the light of His word. I had a good day on campus and after some discipleship stuff with a student I had talked to before for about an hour. Later Dom and Sam each prayed with me to receive Christ. Milo took The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. Please pray they both grow in their faith. Their stories are below if you have time. Thanks for your prayers.

Dom was sitting outside the PE building on a stone half wall with a concrete cap that runs out the second floor doors to the BIC building. It is built into a hill. He had hair like Keanu Reeves, thick, dark brown and straight pouring out past his jaw line from under a baseball cap. His mustache was barely there and he otherwise was clean-shaven though a razor wasn’t needed. He had a straight jaw line and a warm smile, dark eyes and eyebrows smaller nose than Keanu.  He had on a black hoodie and a black and white plaid shirt over it with black sweats on. We sat in the sun and it felt like a perfectly warm day. He was up for doing a survey. Upbeat guy. He seemed to have a good friend that was knowledgeable. They both wanted to take a trip to a fire pit somewhere where you could place yourself in the flames and not be burned when they appear. Like Isaiah 43:2 I guess. I have no idea where that is and he seemed sketchy on the details. I asked him what he would say to God if he’d died and were asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “Um, that’s a tough question,” he replied, thinking and repeating the question aloud.  “I wouldn’t say I deserve to be in Heaven personally.  I’m not the best person I’m not the worst person. I made wrong decisions. It’s about how much of those decisions you regret then how much you repent.” He said if faced with God he would probably just repent but you have to “actually feel sorry and actually repent.” He thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. He listened closely to the Gospel and when I asked what Jesus had done to take away his sins he said, “Sacrifice”. Though it did not seem he went to church. I explained that the blood of Jesus was worth an infinite amount and paid God back for all the imperfect things we had done that we owed God something perfect for, so God forgave us because He got paid and so was just. “Fair enough,” he put in in agreement. In the end I asked him if he would want to be forgiven or thought something else and he smiled broadly and said, “Well obviously I’d be forgiven.”  So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I walked him through it asking if it was the desire of his heart. “I do like that,” he replied. So I said he could pray it silently and I wouldn’t hear him but God would hear and he’d know he was forgiven saying, “Wanna do it?” “Yeah,” he replied and he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus and finished crossing himself and saying, “Amen.” He didn’t have a Bible so I gave him one explaining that a guy who had been in the NFL bought me Bibles to give people and he thought that was great. I wrote his name and the date and “Forgiven,” on the inside. I also gave him Bible Promises for You and a Bible study. I explained living the Christian life by the Spirit’s power. I said now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I told him I would keep him in my prayers each day until spring and one year after.  “This was an interesting conversation,” he said. “Maybe if I run into you again my friend will be around he knows a lot of stuff.” I said that would be cool and getting up to go I said, “I’ll see you in Heaven 100%” “Heck yeah,” he replied enthusiastically. “Thank you.” I said, “Sure,” and headed off. I crossed through the sunlight into the BIC building 20 years away.

Just down the hall I came across Sam. He had a mop of sandy curly hair and thin angular features and was in the 2^nd floor hall of the BIC. He was about 6 foot and wore a light blue hoodie and black sweats. He’d gone to a local church for their youth group it seemed and when all his friends had headed off to college his attendance had fallen off. He said he was planning on getting a Bible this week to get into things again. I said that I had just given the one I had away but I had a nice study Bible in my truck and when we were done I could go get it or he could follow me out I was only 10 spaces from the door to the computer lounge. We talked about versions and I explained the version I had was one the conservative Baptists had done for study (HCSB a lot like NKJ). I talked about some other good ones. Asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven. “I guess I’d answer, I know being a good person won’t qualify you to get into Heaven. You have to share the Gospel and put Him first.” He talked about believing he needed to publicly proclaim the Gospel to merit Heaven. Because he hadn’t really pursued the list of things he thought made you stand out as a follower of Jesus. He thought the likelihood of going to Heaven was on 10% for him right now. He knew Jesus had died for him as I went through the Gospel. But after he fell back on his works being inadequate. I explained to him again that Jesus was why he would go to Heaven and that none of us are perfect in our works. I asked if he had trusted in what Jesus had done to save him or if he was trusting in being good and had not been good enough. I explained living the Christian life by God’s transforming power. And then I read the prayer to him asking him if he thought he had trusted in Christ asking God to forgive him based on what Jesus had done. I said, “It says here, ‘Make me the kind of person You want me to be’. So you’d be asking God to change you, not trying to work to change you by yourself.” He said, “Yeah sure that’s fine,” and prayed to receive Jesus. I told him that now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I’ll be praying for him I hope it sank in. We walked out to my truck and I got him a Bible and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!’ in the front with Ephesians 1:13 that I had explained promised that when he believed the Spirit entered him and sealed him giving him the strength to live the Christian life. Then he could ask for God to transform him to do what God wanted. He was happy and thanked me and shook my hand. I also gave him Bible Promises for You and a Bible Study. We parted ways then.

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 good things today and you are trusting in God through the trials of life. Nick and Emerald each prayed to receive Jesus today and Dorian was close to trusting in the Lord thinking he might pray later and saying he’d “Want God living inside him”. I’d be grateful for your prayers for these if you have a moment to do so. Their stories are below if you have time. Thanks for your help.

Nick was a roly-poly guy sitting eating a bagel that looked to have a big slice of cheese on it. He had a Black and red hoodie on and black sweats. His thin but bushy beard ran on his jaw line and he had a mustache only over his mouth. He had a flat mop of brown hair that hadn’t been washed that day. He was sitting in some chairs outside the cafeteria doors and said he’d do a survey in a few minutes, wanting some time to finish his lunch. I said fine and went into the cafeteria. I did not find anyone to go through the Gospel with but chatted with Scott who prayed this year. When I headed back out I found Nick and he was up for doing a survey. He thought we’d talked before. I was pretty sure we hadn’t. I asked if he’d done the survey with me and he said he thought so but he was sure his answers would change. As I asked him questions he had obviously never thought much over any of them before so that was good as the Gospel was novel to him too and I knew he hadn’t already rejected it. He’d gone to church as a kid but now only went occasionally. He said his Grandfather was a pastor. I asked him what he would say to God if asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven.” He thought for a moment and said, “Cause I tried to do the best I can I guess.” He thought he had a 50% chance of going to Heaven. When I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sins he said, “He died.” After explaining the blood and righteousness of Christ to save him by faith I asked if he’d want to be forgiven. He said he’d definitely want to be forgiven. I said there was a prayer he could pray and talked him through it asking if it was the desire of his heart. . He said, “Yeah.” I said he could pray it silently and it seemed like he might wait until later that night. He had no objection to the Gospel as the truth, so I said if he prayed I promised to pray for him each day next until next spring and one year after because I’d know he had really wanted to be forgiven. He didn’t hesitate then but prayed to receive Jesus. I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I explained that now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I also gave him a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ. He was an amicable guy. I got up to go and said, “I’ll see ya in Heaven.” “See ya in Heaven!” he replied cheerfully. And I headed out.

I made it over to the Science buildings and found Emerald sitting on the 1^st floor in the SW corner of the lounge at a table for 4 and I took the seat across from her. She had study materials all over but was on her phone as I walked up.  She was a pretty black girl wearing a Brown San Diego Padres ball cap the SD intertwined. She had a grey sweatshirt on and wore a half dollar sized gold cross around her neck. Her left nostril had a small diamond in her a small pug nose. Her stick straight hair poured out from under her cap. She went to a Baptist church a few towns over and I told her I was ordained a Baptist back in the day. One of the words she used to describe herself was “lost”. That turned out to be true. She was bright and articulate. I asked her what she would say to God if asked “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “I’ve been a good servant,” she said after thinking a moment. She thought she had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with her and she paid close attention. She knew Jesus had died to take away our sins when I asked her what He had done to do so. I explained the payment for her sins and the blood and righteousness of Christ and I could tell she was learning as I went. I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in Jesus or thought something else. “I would want to be forgiven,” she said. I said if she wanted to be forgiven for her sins the Holy Spirit would live inside her and give her strength to live the Christian life explaining living inside out by the Spirit’s power. I said if she thought she had never trusted in Jesus blood and righteousness to save her there was a prayer he could pray. I talked her through it then and said if she wanted to she could pray it silently and know she was forgiven. “Wanna do it?” “Sure,” she said brightly dragging out the R. I handed her the booklet and she said, “Thanks you.” I replied, “Your welcome.” She prayed silently to receive Christ then and said aloud, “Amen.” “Amen,” I said. “Your sins are forgiven Emerald.” I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside and a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ. I told her I would pray for her through the spring and next school year and that now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. “It was really nice to meet you,” I said getting up to go. “Thank you,” she replied. “Nice to meet you too.” And I headed off.

So Thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had the chance God truly blessed. I hope Dorian a smallish guy with a mop of reddish hair and skin like I had at his age on his cheeks will also come in as well.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you had a great day walking with the Lord. I had a good day on campus and Victoria prayed with me to receive Jesus. Please pray she grows in her faith. Her story is below if you have some time. Thanks for your help and prayers.

Victoria was sitting at the counter in the cafeteria. She was wearing jeans that seemed to have flat cargo pockets on the side. Her southwest patterned fleece was zipped all the way up like a turtle neck. She had deep red hair long past her shoulders and parted more or less in the middle and green eyes. Naturally pretty face. When I asked her what she would say to God if she died and He asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” She replied, “I don’t know.” I asked if she went to church and she said she went to a Catholic Church so I asked what she thought they would say at church would get you into Heaven She thought for a minute and landed tentatively on, “Repent.” “Have you repented?” I asked. “So would you say that, I repented?” She looked back at me and said. “Ask for forgiveness.” “I wrote, “I’d ask for forgiveness,” and that seemed to work. She knew Jesus had died to take away our sins when I asked what He had done and listened attentively to the Gospel. After I went through sin and the blood and righteousness of Christ by faith to forgive her. I asked if she’d want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus and what He had done or thought something else and she put her finger on the circle on the right with Christ inside. So I said if she’d like to be forgiven trusting in Jesus there was a prayer she could pray and I walked her through it and asked if it was the desire of her heart. She said it was. I said she could pray it silently if she wanted. I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear and she would know she was forgiven. “Right now?” she asked. “Sure,” I said. She agreed and I said, “Just pretend I’m not here.” I took a giant step to the right on the other side of a counter height chair I stood beside where she sat, and she prayed to receive Jesus. I gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I explained living the Christian life “inside out” by the Spirits power. She said I heard there are signs now that Jesus might be coming back. So I told her that in Luke 17:20 Jesus said the kingdom would not come with signs to be observed. I said others read Matthew 24 to be signs but Jesus calls them birth pains. I wrote the verses for her. The chapter is about the fall of Jerusalem but if there was a secondary fulfillment of it in the world those would be the birth pains not the birth like of Jesus coming. I said at the beginning of the Book of Revelation it says, “These things must shortly take place” [1:1] and at the end of the Book of Revelation it says “these things must shortly take place” [22:6].  I said I was pretty sure the position of the Roman Catholic Church is that they took place, because shortly could not have been 2000 years ago. But in Revelation 20 it says at the end Satan will be release to trick and deceive the nations once more and it seems like that is going on now, the entire world is deceived. She nodded. So I said that might be a sign Jesus is about to change some things. But the end of the world as you know it does not mean it has to be the end of the world. And I explained the Shemitah cycles to her and that the 50 year cycle ended Friday at sundown in Jerusalem in the morning here. I said if Jesus is going to straighten some things out He will use people her age to rebuild stuff. But no matter what came, God would give her the strength to go through it. I asked if she would like a pamphlet on prophecies Jesus fulfilled. I took out the Rose publication pamphlet that has 100 prophecies listed. If someone had a pretty big Bible it would slide inside. She happily took it. I told her the likelihood she would go to Heaven now trusting in Jesus righteousness was 100% and I told her I would be praying for her each night until a year from spring. I picked up my pack to go and she thanked me and I headed off.

So thanks for your prayer 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 ya had a good day walking with him. I had an interesting day on campus and Christian and Gian each prayed with me to receive Jesus. It was a pretty straightforward presentation of how I teach through the Gospel but at the end after they prayed two Muslims walked up wanting to talk, Muhammad and Fido. This in the end strengthened the faith of the guys who had prayed since the Muslims could not well answer the questions I put to them and I turned their questions around on them. Please pray these Christians grow in their faith their story is below.

I walked outside to go under the roof of the outside area of the cafeteria heading over from the science buildings. Christian and Gian (PR-Man) were sitting at a table and I asked them if they wanted to do a student survey for a Bible Study group. Christian immediately said he’d do it and Gian followed after. The later was not excited about giving me his real name and since he had a Puerto Rico  black hoodie on with bold lettering saying the country I suggested I could call him the Puerto Rican or PR-Man. He liked PR-Man so we went with that. Christian had a round head little meat on him with a well trimmed haircut very short on the sides little fuller on top. He wasn’t tall. He had a mustache and a bit of chin beard. Gian had curly hair and a cap on narrow face bit of a mustache as well, he was slight and short both wore jeans. When I asked them what they would say to God to get into Heaven Christian said, “Because I am a good person.” Gian said, “Because I have worked.” Work of course is a virtue. They both thought they had a 50/50 shot of going to Heaven. I did not get a lot more information from them and straightforwardly went through the Gospel. Both wanted to be forgiven, Christian said, “Yeah,” and Gian echoed him. Both said, first Christian, they wanted to pray. Christian took the booklet and held it praying. Gian then did in a different manner, first trying to rest the booklet on a bottle so he could fold his hands; he gave up and pinched the booklet and very solemnly bowed his head and prayed. I put some of the verses I had only put I Christian’s booklet and managed to write “Inside out” in both books describing the Christian life. I was in process of giving them each books and writing their names and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. The Muslims invited themselves. Possibly believing they had some deal breakers to use on Christians. But I started in with them right away when they said they believed Jesus was a prophet suggesting we did not. I asked if they believed Jesus did miracles. Both agreed they did. “Do you believe Jesus walked on the water?” They did. So I took out a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ and said, “The question is why did Jesus do the miracles he did? The reason he walked on water is found in the Old Testament.” I showed them in the Book of Job 9:8 “Who alone stretches out the Heavens, “You know how the universe is expanding,” I said. And marches on the waves of the sea. “The real reason Jesus walks on the water is to tell them He is the God of the Old Testament. Fido took the Bible Study and tried to criticize the ides God eats. But I pointed out the Bible says He ate with Abraham and that Jesus appears in the Old Testament as the Angel of Jehovah. “You mean he appeared as a man?” “Yes, “ I replied telling them God was in two powers in the Old Testament, an incorporeal God that if you experience Him directly you vaporize and one like a man who talks with them and eats. I told them they were plural beings like God they had a body like Jesus they had a will or a mind like the Father and they had emotions like the Holy Spirit. I explained the Bible says God emptied Himself to become a man and that since we are made in the Image of God if you subtract enough out of God you get a man. I explained some virtues to them like humility. I said the God of the Old and New Testament is not like their God the Bible says He is love. The Quran does not say this. “Yes it does,” Fido replied. I said “No, it doesn’t,” “It says he is merciful,” he said. I said it is not the same thing. “Mercy is not love. If I am a king and someone is caught stealing and the penalty is to cut of his head but I send him to prison I have had mercy on him. But that does not mean I love the guy.” Muhammad tried to say mercy was repeated actions and I said one action of mercy is still mercy. I said, “Do you believe God can do anything He wants?” Yes they both agreed that He could. “Then why can’t He become a man?” “Why would God do that?” they asked. I said it is not our right to ask God why He does something that may even be blasphemous to question God but God does this to communicate to us what God is like, to become a man so we can understand this. I explained God was paid, by the infinite blood of Christ, and so He was Just and this was what our society was based on. We went on a bit more. Christian and Gian were both appreciative bit had to leave and took their books at one point. I told them I would pray for them each night until the spring and one year after. I asked Gian if he wanted a book and asked if he wanted his real name in it. He told me his name then and I could tell he appreciated it. In the rush I don’t know if he took a Bible Study as he had gone in to connect with a friend briefly when I gave one to Christian so I may have forgot so hopefully I will see him again. I also gave Christian The Case for Christ Answer Book the Muslims did not seem to want one. But Christian took one. I sat a bit longer with my new Muslim acquaintances that I imagine the Devil had sent to derail my conversation but it built the new Christians faith instead and I could tell by the expressions on the guys they were grateful. Christian was grinning since his side had won. Fido took a picture of my friend Hesham’s phone number after I brought him up. So maybe the conversation will continue with Pastor Shehab.

After this I had a long conversation in the cafeteria where I snuck a bit of the Gospel into a discussion on the Russian war and Slovakia, turns out their power price has doubled though they have nuclear and they closed the aluminum factory, it is a country half the size of IL.. Later I went tag team with one, then two, then one, than another evolutionary minded students. They were misinformed on a few facts. So I had some fun there too. But I just left them with as many questions as I could that they could not answer without trying to make a case for mine except with the first two and slipped away. The truth is cutting edge science is discrediting Evolutionary theory and there is not enough evolutionary time for humans to evolve. The Human Genome based on mutations is no more than 10,000 years old.

So Thanks for your prayers for the ministry and evangelism today. God blessed and protected me.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and you had the peace of God that surpasses understanding guarding your heart. I had a good day on campus and Erick and Jocelyn each prayed to receive Jesus today. Spencer said he’d like to think about it but he wanted to be forgiven. He had just started getting into faith again watching his pastor primarily on line. He didn’t go to a good church though. He was in the MAC.  A big guy with a blonde mop of hair and a pink t-shirt on he had 2 backpacks one was sun flowers so sort of strange for a dude. Thanks for your prayers, please pray they grow in their faith and Spencer prays. Their stories are below if you have the time to read more.  The Jewish Shemitah 50 year cycle (7 years times 7 plus one year) is over this week. I believe since their days begin at sunset it hits sunset in Jerusalem on Friday. So at about 20 minutes to 11 AM Friday Chicago time the 23rd/ 24^th of September begins the last day of the cycle. We’ll see if those saying it will bring the collapse of the economy are correct. It is a time to set the captives free but that’s my gig every day.  Thanks for your help.

Erick was sitting in the cafeteria at a table and was willing to do a survey. He had a thick mane of shaggy dark hair and it framed his face as if blown back and went down past his collar. He went to a church west of me that has a large Latino community near it. Though he looked like an American Indian in features sitting there as I walked up. He wore a dark T-shirt and jeans, was clean shaven and had a broader nose, good looking guy. A click bigger than me in stature. He had a sun medallion about the size of a half dollar on a necklace. Nice guy though he looked kind of tough before he spoke. Turned out he road an Indian Motorcycle and he showed me a picture of his bike. When I asked him what he would say to God he said, “What would I say… hmm, that’s a good question.” then thinking a bit, “I go to Church. I know it’s not about good deeds. I have faith in you, put you first.” He paused again and with and I don’t know tone said, “I’d been a good person… that’s such a hard question.” He thought he’d have an 80% chance of going to Heaven.  So I asked if I could have a bit more of his time to explain what the Bible said was how he would go to Heaven and he said sure. So I began to go through the Gospel with Him. I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sin, “He forgives you?” he said. I said that was true but the real reason God forgives you is He got paid. I began to explain the perfect life of Christ to him and then as I said he was killed, drawing a stick figure on the cross, he remembered the crucifixion then. I explained the blood cleansing him and the righteousness of God to his credit and then salvation by faith that Jesus is God died for your sins and rose from the Dead. I read “As many as received him…” saying, “So it’s kind of like a Rorschach test, the first thing out of your pie when I ask you why should God let you into Heaven should be, Because Jesus died for me. “  Then it’s not by works. And he pointed out he had at least got that part right. I agreed. So I asked if he’d want to be forgiven and God would live inside him and he said he did. I said it seemed like he hadn’t put all this together really before so he could place his trust in Christ and he agreed. So I said he could pray a prayer and I read it through for him asking if it was the desire of his heart and he said, “Yeah.” I said he could pray it silently so only God would hear and he said, “Got ya.” And he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I also gave him a Bible study. He thanked me each time for each and thanked me again as I got up to go told me to be careful on my bike saying, “Thank you. You be safe out there.” “It’s not about being safe it’s about going to Heaven,” I said, smiling and he laughed and said, “Ok have a good one.”  And I said, “You too. “ He was happy.

I found Jocelyn a while later she was sitting along the wall in the sofa chairs that line the big student services lounge. She was willing to do a survey. She had a very pretty face. Her hair was dyed blonde after about 7 inches, or it had grown out that much. She wore no make-up, had shorts on and a nylon long sleeve black nylon shirt. She had a mole on one cheek that made her look a bit more classically pretty. She described herself as, “determined, passionate and happy.” When I asked her one thing she wanted to do before she died she said, “Swim with the sharks.” As we talked later it seemed like maybe she had done that already.  I asked her what she would say to God if asked Why should I let you into Heaven?  “That’s a hard question,” she replied. “I feel like there’s no way [to make] an excuse—way to justify entering into Heaven. I tried to find the purpose He intended for me throughout life. That’s all you can really do.” She thought she had a 60-40 chance of going to Heaven and said when I asked if she’d gone to church much as a kid, “I was raised in the Church.”  I began to go through the Gospel with her and when I asked what Jesus had done to take away her sins she just said, “He forgives you?” I said it was true He forgives you but “the real reason God does this is He got paid” and I explained to her the blood and righteousness of Christ. She tracked well with me and so I asked her as I finished the Gospel if she would want to be forgiven for her sins.  She said, “Well yeah.” in the way you say you would like to see elephants fly.  So I said there was a prayer she could pray if she wanted to be forgiven and I talked her through it and like she didn’t see it coming, that she could really be forgiven, she just said, “Oh wow.” She stared and the booklet then and her eyes welled up with tears and they began to roll down her face in tiny trickles she would wipe away with her fingers. I said, “God will forgive everything you have ever done and even make it into good.”  I said. Then saying she could pray it silently and God would hear and forgive her. She stared at the booklet and I watched her brown eyes go back and forth praying, reading the prayer in silence, as I held the booklet. When they stopped I waited a moment and said, “Amen?” “Amen,” she said.  “It’s just been hard lately. I’ve done some things.” She said.  I said now she could begin again God says He will remove her sins as far as the east is from the west and remember them no more. “It seems like if God could not forget, if he forgot my sins there would be nothing left of me,” I said. I explained God remembers the good He makes out of our lives not the sin we’ve done. And that is what he thinks about her. We talked a bit and I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I told her if she would want to meet Ellen and I could meet her at school if she’d like and I gave her my phone number and said she could send me a text if she wanted me to pray for her about anything. I said another girl Savannah had texted me about 7 times asking me to pray for her. But I would pray for her each day from now through the Spring and one year after asking God to bless her and when she got to Heaven since I was old I would certainly be there first, I’d show her around. She liked that idea. I gave her a Bible Study. I said, “Here let me pray for you”. And I took off my hat and put my fingertips on her shoulder and prayed for her. I told her the likelihood now she was going to Heaven was 100%. She had a Bible and asked if she had any more questions.  She couldn’t think of any so I said, “OK cool to meet you.” “You too,” she replied 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