Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with all good things in answer to my prayers for you. I had a good day on campus and Baylee and Tim each prayed with me to receive Christ, I also gave the student edition of the Case for Christ to Mateo who was searching and The Case for Christianity Answer Book to Eli who was searching as well.

Baylee was sitting in a lounge half way down the hall in the east most science building on the second floor in an overstuffed chair. So I sat at her feet on the floor. She had a Page-Boy cut to her stick straight blond hair a round face and a warm smile. She wore jeans that had been fashionably shredded and though she said they were her favorite they were ripped completely open on the right knee, which she found regrettable. I had my favorite pair of patched straight leg jeans on, so we were kindred souls of fashion. Hers were cuffed above white tennis shoes mine just pulled down over work boots but hey. She had a reddish hoodie that read “Sun Devils Arizona State” She went to a Vineyard church. When I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven she said, “Hmm I’d say I’ve been kind to those around me, I go to Him if I’m in trouble and even if I’m not.” She thought about the likelihood she would go to heaven and said, “I have faith so 100%.” I began to go through the Gospel with her and she knew Jesus had died for her sins. She listened to the Gospel and I pointed out that she did not go to Heaven because she was good but because Jesus was good and she was connected to Him. I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins after explaining the death of Christ His blood that cleansed her and His righteousness that surrounded her, proving it was true by rising from the dead. “I would want to be forgiven,” she replied. So said “I know you knew the story but were you trusting in that,” I asked then if she was trusting in Jesus or if she had been hoping she was good enough (as her reply had suggested reading it to her asking what kind of faith she had had)  and that that is why God would forgive her. “A little of both,” she at first replied. Then thinking about it more she said, “Well, I have a relationship with Him.” “Everyone has a relationship with God because He is their creator, “I replied. But not everyone is IN a relationship with God, as their savior.” She immediately understood what I meant. So I said something like well if you want to think about it there is a prayer you could pray where you are accepting God’s forgiveness based on what Jesus has done. I explained the prayer asking if she had said something like that to God. “I’m working toward that,” she replied. “Yes, but see it is not your work, it is God’s work,” I said, saying she had to trust in Him. She saw what I meant and decided to pray to receive Jesus and she did and was happy. I gave her a Bible and put her name and the date and “forgiven “in the front showing her the “Where to turn” section and the Messianic passages section. I explained “It was 100% sure now she would go to Heaven trusting in the righteousness of God to be her righteousness. I gave her a Bible Study and got her email. I told her I would be praying for her and gave her 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote “By the Spirit’s Power” and “Just ask” in the front. She thanked me and I said, “Nice to see ya.” “It was nice to see ya too,” she replied with a big smile and I left her happy.

Tim was sitting in the Cafeteria at the counter. I had asked him before to do a student survey but this time he agreed saying he had time. He was wearing tan jeans and a plaid shirt; he had a short mop of blonde hair and an angled nose like the stereotype of European Jewry but for how narrow it was. He was a warm friendly guy and had gone to Church with his grandparents as a kid. Some kind of Christian Church and a bit there after with his parents irregularly but it had been a long time. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven and he said, “”God, I don’t know what to say.” “You want to say that,” I said after a moment. “Yeah, I don’t know what to say to that one.” He thought he had a 95% chance of going to Heaven. I went through the Gospel with him and explained everything I usually do. He did not know what Jesus had done to take away his sins. I also explained the Jesus was the just sacrifice for our sins and that unlike the god of Islam who might be merciful for reasons unknown God forgave us because He got paid. “He paid Himself,” I said concluding. “That’s interesting,” he remarked. I explained the imputed righteousness of God and that God adopted us. I said that these things had to be gained by faith. “When you think about it one day, when you marry, the thing you will want most from your wife is for her to believe you and you to believe her,” I said. “Trust,” he put in. I agreed that if he trusted in God He could forgive and live inside him. So I asked if he wanted to be forgiven or thought something else and said, “Do you believe Jesus is God has died for your sins and rose from the dead.” “I do yeah, I’d want to be forgiven for my sins,” he replied. So I said there was a prayer he could pray and asked if it was the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he said. So I said he could pray it silently so only God would hear and then He would forgive him and live inside him. So he said, “OK,” and he prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life living by the Spirit’s power “Inside out”. I gave him  20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote “By the Spirit’s Power” and  “Just ask” in the front along with his name and the date and “forgiven” and gave him a Bible study also. I said the likelihood he would go to Heaven was now 100% trusting in the righteousness of Jesus. He thought he come to Bible study and then had to run so I got up to go and said, “See ya in Heaven.” “”OK yeah,” he said with a grateful smile. And I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you had a blessed day walking with the Lord. I braced the cold, (the same temperature which will ironically feel warm in April) and found a couple warm hearts on campus in Joe and  Jocelyn who prayed to receive Jesus today. Haley was somewhat receptive to the Gospel and took in a brief correction on the false proposition that all religions teach the same basic morality. In the end she agreed with me about the teachings of the Bible being more validated as we parted but I think she had other reasons she wanted an excuse to disregard a Christian God. But I didn’t leave her with any she could think of so might have been a seed planted there.

Joe was sitting up on the third floor of the BIC where I felt led to go when I first got to school. The halls were pretty empty relatively speaking (being a Friday) but I found Joe sitting in a lounge and he was willing to do a survey. He was a pretty good looking guy, brown hair kind of wavy/curly parted on the side and combed back on the top. Roman nose like Tiberius Caesar’s better looking younger brother. He wore black nylon shorts and black canvas low tops, gray t-shirt with black short sleeves. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “I would probably say I tried to be as nice as possible to everybody I met. I didn’t judge people until after a time when I can see how I’m going to react and interacted with that person.” He thought he had about a 90% chance of going to Heaven. He had been to church with his grandma some who was a “very religious Christian”. He knew there had been a sacrifice for his sin. He was interested to hear the Gospel and took it all in attentively. I explained Jesus was the just payment for our sin, because everything belongs to God so when you damage yourself or the world around you, you owe God something perfect to replace it, like if you damage someone’s car and have to take it to the body shop to be made new looking again. But we cannot do anything perfect so God has to pay Himself for our sin and Jesus becomes the perfect sacrifice, he said that made sense. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins trusting in Jesus or if he thought something else. “I would want to be forgiven,” he said practically. “Do you believe Jesus is God, He died for your sins and rose from the Dead? Do you think that is true?” I asked. “Yes,” he replied. I said if he wanted then to place his trust in that to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray. Then God would live inside him giving him strength. I talked him through the prayer and read, “Is this prayer the desire of your heart?” He considered it and said, “Um hmm.”  I said he could pray it silently and know he was forgiven and going to Heaven. “Wanna do it?”I asked. “Sure,” he replied and took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained that if he trusted that the righteousness of Jesus was his righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100% He didn’t have a Bible of his own so I gave him one and showed him the “Where to Turn” section and the messianic passages saying Jesus words were in red. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I got his email to send him some stuff. I gave him a Bible study and 20 Things God Can’t Do writing “Just Ask” and “By the Spirit’s Power” in the front having explained a life in the Spirit.  I also gave him a Bible study. “Thank you Bob,” he said shaking my hand. “Sure, ” I said, saying I would keep him in my prayers. “Thank you,” he replied. And I headed out.

Jocelyn was sitting on the second floor of the BIC around the corner from the exit closest to the PE building a short walk away. She was wearing a black soccer shirt and nylon sweats. She is a Latina, pretty, petite with sharp features and almond eyes a diamond shaped face. She said she played soccer. She had gone to Church as a child but did not seem to remember anything. (I later asked her if she knew the story where Jesus walks on water when I gave her a Bible study on some ways Jesus claims to be God in the NT but she had never heard it.) She had braces on her teeth but they looked like the job was soon finished and she had a nice smile. I asked her what she would say to God if she died and He asked; Why should I let you into Heaven? “Oh my god, that’s a hard question,” she exclaimed thinking. She couldn’t think of anything so I said “Did you ever go to Church?” She had a little when she was younger. “What would they say it was that let you into Heaven?” I asked. “‘Cause you confessed.” she replied guessing. I said, “The priest was telling you God forgave your sins, why is God just to do that?” “Because I was honest?” she suggested. And then decided, “I recognized my wrongs.” I wrote that and went on to explain the Gospel to her saying God had to take away her sins so He could live inside her and be one with her and give her eternal life. I went on to explain how God did that with Jesus and how He was the perfect payment for her sins and his righteousness was her righteousness by faith if she received Him believing on His name. I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins, and she did. So I asked if she believed Jesus was God, had died for her sins and rose from the Dead. “Yes,” she said. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven trusting in that there was a prayer she could pray and walked her through it asking if it was the desire of her heart. “‘Um hum,” she replied. Then saying she could pray silently and God would hear her, she could pray it right now and know she was forgiven and she was going to Heaven. “Want do it?” I asked. “Yeah, OK” she replied and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained that trusting now in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I explained the Christian life to her then living by the power of the Spirit inside us and I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven” along with “just ask” and “By the Spirit’s power” on the inside in the front. I gave her a Bible Study and The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet. I said I would keep her in my prayers and she thanked me. I got her email to send her some stuff and said I’d see her around. “Thank you so much,” She replied. And I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today and you enjoyed the last of the nice weather for a bit if you live near Chicago. I had a good day on campus and. Josh prayed with me to receive Christ. Keno a skinny, slight, short guy with a dark brown crew cut committed to Christ in the Cafeteria, saying he would pray later. I gave the student edition of The Case for Christ to Savannah, an oval faced black girl pretty with her hair up like a ball of sticks, who said she was still exploring. I gave The Case for Christianity Answer Book to Jacob a red head with a red beard in a vending machine lounge. He went to church but was unsure what to think about Christianity. I talked up D’Angelo, a young black Marine he had not really understood depending on the Spirit’s power or the imputed righteousness of Christ. I emailed him a Bible Study on Christ and violence showing the different military men of faith in the NT and teaching some other stuff on capital punishment. I recently sent it to a ROTC guy from Wheaton College  I met to teach some of his guys who said it was great.

Josh was sitting in the cafeteria at the counter eating a Chic-fil-a. He was from a Greek orthodox family and they read religious reading together as a family. His brother was studying to be a Greek Orthodox Priest. He wore black nylon shorts and a long sleeve black shirt. He was a good looking kid, tanned with a triangle nose and sharp features, warm face, tall and wearing a white ball cap turned backwards. He was getting texts or emails from another Bible Study group on campus but said he’d be willing to find out how the Bible said you could get to Heaven. When I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked, Why should I let you into Heaven? he said, “”Cause I’ve done your will I guess and I’ve tried to do your will.” He thought he had about a 70% chance of getting into Heaven. When I explained God needed to take away his sins so He could live inside him I said, “So what’s the big thing Jesus does that takes away your sin?” “Right,” he said. But I let it go since I was pretty sure he would not understand the question without more explanation given his religious background. So I went on to explain the Gospel and the imputed righteousness of Christ by faith. He really tuned in leaning over to see each of the Bible Verses I read and wrote down. I asked him in the end if he would want to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else. “Yeah that,” he said gesturing at the circle with God inside you. So I said that if he’d want to be forgiven there was prayer he could pray and after explaining it to him I asked if the prayer was the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he said. So I said he could pray it silently and know he was forgiven. “Can I keep this?” he asked of the booklet. “Yeah sure but if you wanted to pray I’d know to keep you in my prayers,” I said. “Yeah sure,” he said agreeably. After he prayed I explained that trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness meant the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I explained living “Inside Out” by the power of the Spirit and explained everything God was asking him to do He’d give him the power to do. I wrote “Just Ask” and “By the Sprit’s power” in the front of 20 Things God Can’t Do and his name and the date and “forgiven”. I also gave him a Bible Study giving him verses where Jesus claimed to be God. “Thank you,” he said. “Yeah sure. It was a pleasure to meet you,” I replied shaking his hand. “OK thank you,” he said again.

And I headed out.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and you delighted yourself in the Lord. John, Joseph and Mike prayed to receive Jesus today on campus so I had a good day sharing the Gospel. 62 people have trusted Jesus so far this year which had not happened until November 14 last year.

John was up on the 3rd floor of the BIC where I felt prompted to go after over an hour of walking around looking for peeps. He was sitting in the hall waiting to go into his Physics class. He had a lot of swept back brown hair atop his head and big apple cheeks, a visible day’s growth of beard. He wore a black long sleeve shirt with white lettering on it and nylon workout sweats. When I asked him why God should let him into Heaven he said, “That’s hard.” Then thinking a moment he said, “I honestly don’t know… I don’t know why He should.” He had gone to Young Life in High school and to a Christian camp. He thought he had about an 80% chance of going to Heaven. A girl walked up and leaned against the wall, where the chairs we were on ended, who was in his class. She was soon tuned into her phone and said little after walking up and my making sure she was not his girl friend waiting for him. At one point during one of my analogies about a glass with a teacher who couldn’t teach he looked at her and said, “Sounds familiar.” but she wasn’t paying attention and was completely into her phone. So I prayed she’d go in the hopes her observing would not dissuade him from the Gospel. She suddenly walked across the hall to sit in chairs out of earshot. He listened closely to the gospel and when I read John 3;16 he said, “I know that, John 3:16.” But when I asked him if he knew what God did to take away his sin so He could live inside him he just said, “No.” So I explained the Gospel, the imputed righteousness of Christ and the blood that cleansed him and that Jesus had risen from the dead. I asked him if he would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus and have God live inside him he said, “Um hmm.” But it was barely audible. But I’d had a hard time hearing his name when I first asked him for it, he was real low key. I said then if he’d want to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and after going through it asked if it was the desire of his heart. He said it was and I said he could pray it right now silently and he said, “Can I take this with me?” I said he could but if he’d, “pray the prayer right now it would make me feel better so I’d know.” He agreed then and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained that the likelihood he would go to Heaven was no 100% based on the righteousness of Jesus being to his credit. And the answer he did not know about why God should let him into Heaven was Because Jesus died for me. I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do writing his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. He said he’d take his father’s Bible which his dad had on a shelf to read. I gave him a Bible Study and he seemed content so I headed out.

I came across Joseph later in the day in the Starbucks lounge in a chair by the door. He was lying so far down in the chair he was nearly horizontal. He was a good looking black guy with a beard and a goatee, longer face. His lips pursed sort of, had a heart shaped upper lip. He was really low key and a big dude. He said he went to St. Michael’s in the city. He wore grey sweats and a cap. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he just said, “Ah.. I’m a good guy.” He thought the likelihood he would get into Heaven was 100%. He listened to the Gospel but didn’t seem to know Jesus had died for his sins. But he gave ascent to each point and agreed with different affirming words as we went through. I said something like: Well you grow up in the church and you just kind of go with your mom but when you are an adult you have to choose for yourself. The last thing is would you wanted to be forgive for his sins with God inside or do you think something else? He said, “First one, be forgiven.” So I said, “Well, it doesn’t seem like you had a chance to put all this together before to trust in it.” and he agreed. So I said there was a prayer he could pray so that he would know he was forgiven and going to Heaven and I talked him through it and I read the line, “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?” “Yeah,” he replied so I said he could pray it silently like I wasn’t there. “Sure,” he said and prayed to receive Jesus. I gave him a Bible showing him the messianic passages section and the one called “Where to Turn” writing his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote “Just ask” and By the Spirit’s Power” in the front, having explained that God would give him the power to do everything He was asking him to do and also to do well even on the field (he’s a defensive end). I gave him a Bible study too; I told him I would keep him in my prayers. His friend walked up then and they started talking about a ride to somewhere so I got up and silently pointed at him as I walked out and he said, “Appreciate it.” and I nodded and headed off.

I found Mike in the hallway that leads to the bookstore on the ground floor. He had a rectangular face but his features were not sharp, and a soft shaped nose, clean shaven.  He had on a navy blue t-shirt and cargo shorts he had light sandy hair and kind of a block head. He talked a lot. He kept bringing the conversation back to his complaint about another Bible Study group and problems he’d had with a few people that went there who were in his view taking advantage of people last year. In the end I encouraged him to give it another try and that the people he had a problem with might not be there, since he said he’d made some friends. He was a nice guy, simple. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “I would say I’ve said stuff I regret, but I’ve been the best I can, trying my best to be a good person.” He then went on a bit about how he tried not to hang out with bad people and would disassociate with them if he discovered they were doing the wrong things. He talked about how he hoped his good outweighed his bad and had done some stupid things but nothing criminal. He thought he had about a 50% chance to get into Heaven. He listened to the Gospel and I tried to emphasize as much as I could that it was Jesus that was good not him and His righteousness forgave him. He hadn’t grasped the Gospel before and had attended the Catholic Church though his attendance had been hit and miss of late. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven with God inside or thought something else and he said, “Have God inside me.” And then he went on for a while about people and how he tried to relate to them. I said it did not seem like he had had a chance to trust in Jesus to be forgiven but was just trying to be good and hope that would get him into Heaven and he agreed that was true. So I offered the prayer to him and asked if it was the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he replied. I asked if he would want to pray it silently and he said, “Sure.” And he prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life living by the power of the Spirit, trusting in God’s power to live saying He would give him the power to do anything He wanted him to do. I gave him a Bible Study and writing his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote “Just ask” and “By the Spirit’s Power” in the front also. I explained trusting in Jesus’ righteousness to be his, then the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. He kept talking to me about the other group and about how people were some times, so I just listened for a while until he was done and said I was sorry he’d had a bad experience. I said our group was small but he could come any time. “Nice to meet you,” I finally said, shaking his hand and getting up to go. “Nice to meet you too, I hope I see you again,” he replied and I headed out.

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

In Him.,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you had a blessed day walking with the Lord. I had a good day on campus and Priseila and Jada each prayed to receive Jesus.

I was spending a long time pouring into Reese, the Muslim guy from Chicago that had come to Christ earlier this year. We were talking about vengeance and how to allow God to take care of those feelings and about a lot of practical things. As we talked Priseila and Jada walked up to talk with him a bit and he said, “You should talk with this man.” Telling them I had a lot of wisdom I could share with them. Priseila said she was always up for listening to wisdom from someone older and she sat down with Jada. Jada was a nice looking black girl darker, pretty skin and long braids attached to her head of a lighter brown. She wore dark blue sweats with a college name across the front. Priseila wore green shorts make out of tight stretch fabric she had on a cotton top with a gold necklace spelling her name in cursive and a jacket.  Priseila was a pretty, fair skinned Latina girl with brown straight hair just past her shoulders. Each of the girls had wire earrings in their noses, Priseila in the left and Jada in the right, Jada wore black circular shaped glasses, her face long and narrow, smaller flat nose and Priseila’s face was more round, both had athletic builds but I don’t think they were athletes. “Ok, you want to answer my big fat metaphysical question?” I began with them. Priseila said, “Ok” and Jada agreed. “So you are walking down the road and you get hit by a bus, so you’re dead and you stand before God and he says to you, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?” Priseila right away said, “Because I love you.” And Jada said, “I believe.” I said the bible says the demons believe and they tremble, so it has to be more than simple belief.” I began to go through the Gospel with them saying God wanted to live inside them but had to take away their sin so they were His type and I asked them how God took away their sin. Priseila had been raise Catholic and gone to Catholic school and first guessed, “You go to Church and you confess.” Then she changed it to, “You pray,” when I said, “Standing in a car mechanic’s office does not make me a mechanic.” Jada thought about it and said she didn’t know. So I began to explain the gospel to them. They jumped in with questions, Priseila talked about “When people do me dirty I want to get back at them but it never feels better.” I had just been talking to Reese about this and I explained God says to allow Him to take care of those things. They listened to more of the Gospel and asked me about sex. By his time a very cute black girl with fear skin and braids walked up and was sitting next to Reese she listened a lot but was on and off her phone, her name was Desiree. I told them I had been a virgin when I got married at 26. Everyone at the table thought that was unbelievable, “26!” Reese exclaimed in disbelief. They wanted to know why you shouldn’t have sex before marriage. Priseila said she had, though it hadn’t meant much to her and she regretted it calling it adultery. But I clarified that the guy had not been married and explained that was fornication but also wrong. I said sin destroys your soul, that only the Bible tells you what is good for your soul or destructive to it. I told them the STD Chlamydia, was ubiquitous in their age group and often had no symptoms, though about 80% of sexually active people their age have it. Every time a woman is infected with it she is 20% less fertile for a future pregnancy. So if you have several sexual partners before you marry you might not be able to get pregnant and having a baby is a lot of the joy of marriage. “Oh that’s why a lot of people in their 30’s can’t get pregnant!” Priseila exclaimed. I said that was a good possibility. I explained that Human Papilloma virus  was not detectable in males but if they give it to females they could get vaginal cancer from a guy who did not even know he has HPV. You could give it to your future wife. I explained that God was not just some kill joy but that he wanted to persevere and heal their souls. They saw the wisdom of that, Priseila saying she did not want to get married since her parents’ marriage was so bad, a couple others agreed their parents had failed at marriage. I explained that if they moved closer to God and their spouse did they would be closer to each other and said they should marry someone with shared beliefs. I finished going through the Gospel with them telling them stories and explained sex was the glue in marriage. I asked if they wanted to be forgiven for their sins and both Jada and Priseila did, Desiree had not heard everything but took a booklet to think about it. I also gave her Bible Promises for You. I asked if they both believed Jesus was God had died for their sins and rose from the dead and they both said, “Yes.” I said if they wanted to they could ask God for forgiveness then trusting in Jesus and talked them through the prayer they could pray. Each of them prayed to receive Jesus then silently. I filled in all the notes in Jada’s book then at her request and explained the Christian life living “Inside Out”. I gave them each 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote their names and the date and “forgiven” in each copy. I gave them a Bible study and said I would be praying for them. They were grateful and said they’d say “hi” if they saw me around. I stood up and Reese gave me a hug, “Appreciate you man,” he said and I said I was grateful to be his friend and headed off as they all focused on him, since they had all first sat the table to talk with him. He has shoulder length dreadlocks and was wearing a ball cap, cool guy. I walked off grateful he had gotten them to listen to me talk for 20 minutes.

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 and you lived in peace. I had a good day on campus and Kameron prayed with me to receive Jesus as her savior.

Kameron was sitting at the far end of the lounge by the student activities offices. African American, she had curly ringlets of brown hair swept across to one side of her head, full lips, narrow nose, cute kid. She wore torn up jeans showing bare knees. She had on a white sweat shirt under a faux white fur vest, with a hood, zipped up the front. When I asked her what she would say to God if she died and He asked Why should I let you into Heaven? she said, “I think I’d say… I… That’s a very deep question.” Then thinking a little more she said. “I’m a version of Himself. ‘Cause He made us all.” I said it was true we are made in the image of God. She agreed that sounded right. She thought she had a 90% chance of going to Heaven. I began to go though the Gospel with her and it turned out she went to a church in Wheaton. But I really don’t think she knew the gospel at all. When I asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sins, she couldn’t think of anything and queried me a bit for specifics and I said what he did for the world. But that did not bring anything to mind so I began to explain that God saw we could not go up to Him because of our sin so He came down and became a man Jesus who lived a perfect life. I explained that she owed God a perfect life and since she could not live one Jesus lived a perfect life for us, earning the righteousness of God and dying in our place on the cross so we would not have to die in Hell. His blood cleansed us and His righteousness was too her credit. I explained she needed to receive this by faith. “But not everyone believes,” she put in and I agreed. She gave small kinds of ascent when I said something she believed to be true in general. I asked her if she wanted to be forgiven for her sins or thought something else and she pointed at the circle with God inside. “It seems like you had never had a chance to put all this together before so you could trust in it right?” I asked. She agreed, nodding. So I said that if she wanted to trust in Christ to be forgiven so God could live inside her there was a prayer she could pray and talked her through it. “Is this prayer the desire of your heart?” I asked. She nodded affirming taking it all in. I said then she could pray it silently and God would hear her prayer and forgive her sins and live in her giving her all the strength she needed to live the Christian life. She took the booklet then and said, “You mean pray it out loud. I said, “No it is between you and God not me and you and God.” And she prayed silently to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life living inside out and gave her the book 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote her name and “forgiven” in the front telling her she could always remember. I wrote “by the Spirit’s Power” and “Just Ask” in the front and hurriedly gave her a Bible study as she had to go. “It was nice to meet ya,” I said getting up to go. She was smiling and said, “Nice to meet you too Bob.” I’ll see you in Heaven,” I said as I left and she laughed happily.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. I had some productive conversations and knew God was with me.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your weekend has been blessed. I went out of town camping on Friday so this is late. I had a good day on campus on Thursday though and Luis (Loo ees) prayed with me to receive Jesus.

I came across Luis sitting alone at a table in the big lounge where we have Bible Study. He was raised Catholic but his family fell out of recent attendance in the church. He was a slight built, shorter guy; his facial features looked like a Spaniard with a sharp nose, kind of classic handsome looking. His beard was heavier at the sideburns and chin than on his cheeks where it was thinner. He was soft spoken and wore a white Nike ball cap with a black logo. He wore black sweats and a jacket. When I asked him something he’d like to do in life he said give his parents Grandchildren. That struck me as a sign of a good heart. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and He asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven.” He said, “That maybe I don’t deserve to.” He thought he had a 50% chance of going to Heaven. I went through the Gospel with him and he listened closely. At first he could not think of what God had done to take away his sins but it seemed to come back to him that Jesus had died. When I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else he said, “The first one.” So I said there was a prayer he could pray to be forgiven and walked him through that and asked if it was the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he said. I said he could pray it if he’d like to and he would be forgiven and God would live inside him giving him the strength he needed to live a Christian life. “Wanna do it?” I asked. “Probably,” he replied but then took the booklet and, after reading it through, very quietly prayed to receive Christ. We were not in earshot of anyone else in the lounge as in the late afternoon it was nearly empty. I explained the Christian life living “Inside Out.” And I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do writing “by the Spirit’s power” and “Just Ask” in the front along with His name and the date and “forgiven” and gave him Bible Promises for You also writing his name in the front and the date and “forgiven” telling him I would pray for him every night. I explained that if he was trusting in the righteousness of God to be his righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I got up to go and reached out to shake his hand and he took it and said, “Thank you, Bob.” “Yeah, sure I’ll see you in Heaven,” I replied leaving him with a smile on his face.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and 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 and you felt the nearness of God. I had a good day on campus and Trey, Ty and Cameron prayed to receive Jesus today.

When I got to school I felt compelled to go the PE building and I began to head that way. No one I passed heading that direction wanted to talk. When I arrived in the PE lounge Ty and Trey were sitting at a table together. Trey was dark with small features, more Indian than African and a 2 inch afro. He wore grey sweats and a blue hoodie with some white lettering on the front. Ty looked like a football player; hair cut short on the sides afro high on top, big eyes more traditional African American full features. He had a blue t-shirt on, a warm face. I asked them if they wanted to do a student survey. They weren’t sure so I asked them if they knew how to get to heaven. Trey said something like, “Well, I go to church. I don’t really know.” I asked if they wanted to know what the Bible said so they’d know how to get to Heaven and they agreed. When I asked Trey what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “‘Cause I don’t want to go to Hell.” Ty said, “‘Cause I learned from my past experiences.” Trey said he hoped the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100% but he said, “Statistically it’s probably 50.” Ty thought he had a 70% chance. They both seem to know Jesus had died for their sins, Ty remembered right away and Trey after Ty spoke up and it reminded him. They both listened to the Gospel and wanted to be forgiven for their sins. I asked Trey first and he said yes and then Ty, who then said yes. So I explained that there was a prayer they could pray to be forgiven and talked them through it saying they could pray it silently I asked Ty sitting closest to me if he would want to do it and he said, “Yeah,” and Trey then said the same thing. They each prayed to receive Jesus. I offered to write the notes and verses I had put in Ty’s booklet but Trey didn’t seem to want his marked up. I explained the likelihood they would get into heaven, now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be their righteousness was 100%. I gave them each 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote their name and the date and “forgiven” in the front along with “Just ask” and By the Spirit’s power” having explained the Christian life was living “Inside Out”. Trey didn’t want a Bible study but Ty took one. I shook each of their hands and gave them a quiz on what they would say if someone asked them why God should let them into Heaven. “Because I have faith in Jesus.” Trey responded and Ty agreed saying, “He died for me.” I bumped into Trey in the hall later and gave him a hug, and he grinned and I said I’d see him around.

Cameron was in the MAC lounge on the second floor at a counter height table. He had on a purple Vikings football hoodie and cargo shorts. He had about a 2 weeks’ worth of beard he was trying out, curly blonde hair. Not a big guy, slight build. He wanted to be a marching band director for High School, so he was studying Music Education. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “Oh boy, that’s a good question.” He thought a few moments and said, “I did what I could to benefit the community.” He said his parents had gone to a couple of Lutheran churches and then kind of stopped after the 4th child was born into the family and they never got back in the habit. He thought he had a 75/20 chance of going to Heaven, I guess the other 5% was a mystery. He knew Jesus had died to pay for our sins and listened to the Gospel closely. When I asked him if he would want to be forgiven he said, “Hmm that’s a good question and thinking about it he said that “This version” of the Gospel (I had presented) seemed like God was waiting on him for a choice. I said that that wasn’t really what the booklet was talking about; it is just telling you how you are saved not what is behind it. I said it’s kind of like science. Science gives a description. I then explained how he might tell me a girl friend had broken up with him saying something like, “She writes you a note that says, we are over, we are not dating anymore. She puts it in an envelope and walks to your house and rings your door bell. You open the door and let her in. She kisses you on the cheek and says we are broken up for good; I never want to see you again. Then she walks out of the house and your life forever.” But I explained this does not tell me why she broke up with you and you may never know. Just like science it describes things but does not tell you why they happen.  He said he kinda went by faith and would want power and knowledge and to be enlightened but at the same time he wondered how that was possible. Then I showed him a verse I never read to students in the Booklet. Rev. 3:20 “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” I said the interpretation of this verse here is that God is pursuing you. He might send people or things into your life to tell you that He wants to forgive you and live inside you. He might have sent me to you today, I feel like He sends me to people sometimes. Your choice makes a difference and you have to make it but it is a mystery somewhat how God’s sovereignty and power work with our will. Jesus says no one comes to me except the Father Himself shall draw them (john 6:44). So it is God’s work. I explained living “Inside Out” with the line on the back page, “Your walk with Christ depends on what you allow Him to do, in and through you empowered by the Holy Spirit, not what you do for Him through self effort.” He said he was kinda convinced by my saying that. I explained the power of God making it possible for us to do good things in the world by His Spirit. He said he had been reading Descartes’ on the argument from the infinite, that everything had to come from something equal or greater than what it was. I said I knew that argument and that evolutionary theory had come to an impasse as mutations seem to wreck things to make them survive, genetic information is lost in mutations and for something to evolve into a higher life form there needs to be additional information. Information is neither energy nor matter, we don’t really know what it is but it is real and it must increase for a lower life form to evolve into something more complex. It seems that that never happens.  He seemed persuaded. I said if he wanted to be forgiven and have God live inside him there was a prayer he could pray and I talked him through it reading, “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?” “Yes,” he said after a moment of thought smiling softly. So I said he could pray it silently and he said, “OK.” He prayed then to receive Jesus. I gave him a Bible Study and a Bible as he did not have one of his own. I wrote his name and the date and forgiven in the front of the Bible and showed him the “Where to Turn” section and the “Messianic Passages”. I also gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do and told him I would keep him in my prayers which he was grateful for. “Thanks so much for talking with me,” I said getting up to go. He smiled and shook my hand and as I walked away called out after me, “Have a good day.” “Thanks.” I hollered back. And I headed out.

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

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. I got a couple seeds planted with some students thinking about Christianity in Bart (ref tall with a beard and goatee, brown curry mop on top of his head) wouldn’t take a book though saying he would get one. Also Alicia (a bit roly poly wearing a t-shirt and high tops, warm oval face, stick straight shoulder length hair), who took a book. I did some fly-by discipleship with a a Christian struggling with some concepts, and Angel and Daniel each prayed with me to receive Jesus today.

Angel was sitting right down the hall from the Einstein Bagel counter in the MAC. He was sort of studying and on his phone so I asked if he’d do a survey. He was open and we talked a long time. He had gone through confirmation in the Catholic Church. Looked like a classic Italian guy, swept back brown hair, the Alberto Tomba look minus the flash. Nice guy. He had on a dark blue t-shirt and jeans. When I asked him what he would say to God to be let into Heaven when he died he said, “I don’t know. I tried to live as best and as well as I could.” He thought his likelihood of going to Heaven was 60/40. He knew Jesus had died to take away his sins, so I explained how that worked and the blood of Christ cleansing him, the imputed righteousness of God in Jesus. He listened closely and said he like the illustrations. When I asked him if he would want to be forgiven for his sins trusting in Jesus or thought something else he pointed at the circle with God inside saying that he’d choose that. So I offered him the prayer explaining it and asking if it was the desire of his heart. And he shook his head acknowledging it was. I asked if he would like to pray that silently, so only God would hear and he said, “Um, yeah,” in a firm stated kind of way. And he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I told him he could keep it but explained the Christian life to him. He did not have his own Bible so I gave him one showing him the “Where to Turn” section and the “Messianic Passages” section and Jesus words in red. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I explained that if he would trust in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I gave him 20 Tings God Can’t Do writing “Just Ask” and “By the Spirit’s Power” in the front explaining that all the things God was asking him to do he’d give him the power to do. I also gave him a Bible Study. As we finished his very pretty girl friend, Fatima sat down, so I gave her the book Bible Promises for You as she said she was spiritual. I told her Angel could tell you how to get to Heaven and having said I would pray for him I told her I would pray for her too. They liked that and were grateful and I headed out.

At the end of the day I found Daniel sitting on the porch at a table out on the patio at the top of the waterfall. He was a practicing Catholic too but said he went with his parents. He looked like a guy into sports having a jock hair cut really short on the sides, light brown blondish hair and a blue t-shirt with some election pronging on it for a school thing. He had the 50’s football player face but wasn’t that big a guy at all. He had grey Adidas sweats on and tennis shoes. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “That’s a thinker. I just have to say of the times I put myself last.” I said, “Jesus says the last shall be first and first shall be last and Paul wrote let each of you consider one another more important than himself. So that’s in keeping with the scripture.” He thought he had about a 25% chance of going to Heaven. He knew Jesus had died to take away his sins. I went through the Gospel with him and at the end I asked him if he’d want to be forgiven or thought something else. “My whole life’s story is to get that,” he replied. Pretty much the best answer I’ve gotten all year. So I said if he’d want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus there was prayer he could pray and I talked him through it saying he could pray it silently, “Wanna do it?” “Yeah,” he replied. And he prayed to receive Christ and be forgiven. I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. As I had done with Angel I gave him a symbolic view of the Mass saying when it came that time in the service he could just say, “Thank You.” knowing Jesus had died for him and so he was forgiven. I explained the Christian life living “Inside Out” saying that is what made Christianity different from other religious. “In other religions you do good things on the outside and the Deity is pleased with you and takes you to Heaven or the universe is pleased and you don’t come back as a cow–not really true anyway–but in Christianity you ask God to transform you on the inside, you become a good person and do good things on the outside.” I got up to go and said, “See you in Heaven.” “Alright.” he replied. “Thanks Bob.” “Yeah, you’re welcome,” I said. Thanks so much,” he said shaking my hand. And I headed off to my truck.

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 ya had a great day walking with the Lord. Thanks for your prayers. I had a great day on campus talking to students and Cam, Nataly and Michelina each prayed with me to receive Jesus today. Reda (Red Ah) committed to Christ also, he is a Coptic Believer. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “I will think about what I did, I will apologize to Jesus. If he’s gonna forgive me or not. I know it’s not gonna happen (that God would ask something like that). Everybody makes mistakes and God’s gonna see what you did and take you like that.” He said in the Coptic religion there is not a % you would go to Heaven but God looks at your bad and your good and evaluates you. He had tight ringlets of brown curly hair, short on the sides and on a mop on top. Shorter than me and a bit thinner, he spoke in a slight Egyptian accent. Wore a black button shirt and dark jeans. He had a light beard and mustache, a sharp nose, dark skin like he’d been in the sun. He said he thought you should follow the Bible, what Christ said. So I explained the Gospel to him and the imputed righteousness of Christ. He then wanted to be forgiven and was really grateful for my explanations to him. He said that he wouldn’t pray a prayer in the manner I had offered it to him to receive Christ, though he wanted to be forgiven. He confessed at the end he would trust in the righteousness of Christ to be His righteousness and trust that Jesus had died for him to make him right with God and not that he had done more good than bad. The Bible nowhere says you must pray a prayer for salvation but I believe he trusted Jesus for the first time and His righteousness to make him right with God. I told him the parable in Matthew 22 when the man attending the wedding feast in his own clothes, not the wedding garment provided, is sent to Hell. We were upstairs in the PE lounge on a couch and as I stood up to go he stood put his hand over his heart and said, “Thank you.” And we shot hands and parted.

Cam was sitting on a row of chairs just off the hall near the student activities office. He had black Adidas sweats on and a white t-shirt and sandals. Slight build, a hand shorter than me. He had a chin beard he pulled on a bit from time to time, thinking, and a mustache, short afro that was in parallel lines across his head. He had some interesting ink tattooed on the inside of his forearms a squared lion head on the left and some patterns. He thought he had about a 60% chance of going to heaven. He wasn’t going to a formal church but regularly went to a Bible study. He did not know what Jesus had done to take away his sins. But he really tuned into the Gospel, His death, imputed righteousness, cleansing blood and resurrection. Cam believed. When I asked him if he would want to be forgiven for his sins with God inside or thought something else he said, “That one with God inside me,” pointing at the circle with God on the throne of your life. So I said if he wanted to be forgiven he could just, “…ask for forgiveness, receive God’s forgiveness, God’s like a pretty girl, He likes to be asked.”  I explained the prayer he cold pray saying he could pray it silently. “I will yeah, yeah, yeah,” he said. And he prayed then to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life then, the fruit of the Spirit, explaining God would give him all the power he needed to do the things He wanted him to do. That if he would trust in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. He took a Bible Study from me and  20 Things God Can’t Do and I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front along with “Just Ask” and “By the Spirit’s Power”. He had his own Bible and He thanked me. I told him I would pray for him and he thanked me again. We stood and shook hands and he headed off to class.

Nataly was sitting at a table by the stairs in the PE lounge. She was a pretty Latina girl. She had long brown hair, fair skin and wore a stripped bluish-purple pullover. It all worked to make her look a bit Native American in her features. I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven and she said, “You shouldn’t… I wish I could have repented sooner and… yeah.” I asked her what she thought the likelihood she would go to heaven, “10%’s low 100% for sure, 50/50 you got a shot?” I said. “I don’t have a shot.” She replied. She went on to tell me that she had rejected the Christian church and had been pretty rebellious when she was younger. She argued a lot with her parents and they kicked her out of the house. She crashed at friend’s houses and was living with one now. She said she talked to her parents once in a while. I began to go through the gospel with her and a tear rolled down her cheek, closest to me. I don’t know if it was regret for sin or just sadness for how her life had gone. Her girl friend had walked up and sat down across from us (Angelica) and she sat silently and listened as I spoke, I guy came up and started talking loudly, I think trying to make time with her but I shushed him pointing at him and he shut up, kind of dumbfounded and walked off and I kept explaining the Gospel. She wiped the tear away after a bit and listened. When I asked her if she would want to be forgiven or thought something else she said, “I would want to be forgiven.” So I said there was a prayer she could pray silently and be forgiven for her sins. You could pray this right now and God would hear you and forgive you. Wanna do it?” “Later, later, later,” she said. The way someone says it when they want to be nudged a bit.  “I think you should do it right now,” I replied not wanting Satan to have an opportunity. “OK,” she said and she prayed to receive Jesus. ‘Your sins are forgiven,” I said after she finished. I said she could keep the booklet and I explained living the Christian life “inside out” by the Spirit’s power quickly as it seemed they had to go. I offered a booklet to Angelica and offered to pray for her and she said, “I’m in CRU” assuming I would know something from that of her. But several CRU students have prayed with me to receive Christ. She heard the Gospel as I taught Nataly, so hey. I gave her a copy of Bible Promises for You. I wrote her name and the date and forgiven in the front. “You let this girl lead you around some, she seems solid,” I said to Nataly of her friend. They got up to go and she had a big smile on her face and seemed happy as they walked out the door.

I talked to Reda right after that up stairs for a while and then I would have probably headed out walking down the back walkway behind the BIC. I was tired.  But they’ve had it blocked off all year with fencing for some kind of repairs. So I went back in and upstairs to the bank doors thinking I would walk out to my truck past the waterfall. But glancing over I saw a couple people on the patio so I walked over to ask them to talk even though I really didn’t have any energy left. The first one turned me down but the next girl said she’d do a survey. She was a cute Latina girl had a black t-shirt on with the sleeves cuffed up showing some ink on her left bicep of a bear and black jeans with tears across the knees. She wore glasses that were basically big circles with a flat edge every couple centimeters. She had cute round cheeks and long brown hair, tanned skin, nice kid. When I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven she said, “Because I follow the 10 commandments.” She said she went to church once in a while at her brother-in-laws church which he “Owned”. She listened closely to the Gospel and when I asked her if she would want to be forgiven with God inside trusting in Jesus or thought something else she said, “Life entrusted to Jesus.” I offered the prayer to her talking her through it and she said, “I would but I am already 10 minutes late for class.” I apologized for making her late and she said it was ok, she figured she would be late when she started talking to me but wanted to do it. I asked since she was already late did she want to take two more minutes to pray and she smiled and said “OK.” I explained living by the Spirit and gave her a Bible Study and 20 Things God Can’t Do writing her name and the date and “forgiven” in the front with “By the Spirit’s Power” I explained that if she would trust in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I thanked her for praying saying I would be praying for her every night until next spring and then a year after. She said she might come to Bible study since she only lived 10 minutes away so I hope she will come. “Thank you so much,” she told me getting up to run to class. “You’re welcome thanks for talking with me,” I replied. And she ran off.

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

In Him,

Bob