Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today with all good things coming down from the Father of Lights.  I had a good day on campus and  Mike and Matt each prayed with me to receive Jesus. I got a good seed planted with a guy named Aaron in the hallway of the BIC who took a copy of the student edition of The Case for Christ and with another guy named Mike who said he would probably pray later. This second Mike is was a Roman Catholic who I see in the PE lounge every so often who never wants to do a survey. But I got through the Gospel with him today and he was close. 121 students have prayed to receive Christ this school year since August after hearing me tell them the Gospel.

Mike [the first one] was sitting in the Hallway up on the third floor of the BIC. His family was from Ecuador though he looked more of the European lineage than that native to that region. He said he’d like to visit family down there. He was wearing a bright blue hoodie and shorts and went to Christ Church. He had a superman style hair cut, light brown hair and a day’s growth of beard. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and were asked why he should be let into Heaven. “D— that’s a deep question.” he said, then thinking some more, “Honestly I lived the best life I could in the way I knew how.” He thought he had a 50/50 change of going to Heaven. When I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sin so God could live inside him and know him, he knew Jesus had died. So I continued to explain the rest of the good news that His blood had cleansed him and His righteousness was to his credit. In the end he wanted to be forgiven and so I said, “If you’d want to put your trust in what Jesus has done to be forgiven and not just hope you were good enough and not be sure there is a prayer you could pray.” I walked him through it asking if it was the desire of his heart and if he’d want to pray it so only God would hear and be forgiven. “Yeah,” he said. And he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. That was great. I asked if I could give him a book and he said, “Sure,” enthusiastically. So I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do writing his name and the date and “forgiven” saying he could remember and he was grateful for that. I also wrote “By the Spirit’s Power” in the front explaining how everything God was asking him to do he’d give him the power to do. I explained if he’d trust in the righteousness of Jesus the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I said maybe I’d see him in Heaven and got up to go and he said “Thank you.” “Have a good one man,” I said in response. “You too,” was his reply and I headed out.

Matt was sitting outside the cafeteria on a row of chairs where I talk to a lot of people who are waiting there for a ride or pausing before heading out the door for some reason. He was at the end of the row and when he agreed to do a survey I sat on his right at his feet. He was kinda a classic good looking guy with a military haircut and a short beard grown to match, kind face. He wore blue nylon sets with stripes down the side and had on a hooded jacket. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “Gosh–tough…” and then, “I generally try to help other people.” He went to a catholic church pretty regularly. “I’d like to say 90%,” he said of his likelihood he’d go to Heaven. As I went through the Gospel with him he knew Jesus had died for his sins and as I explained he needed to trust in that and went through the rest of the Gospel the light was dawning on him and he was getting a new perspective. I asked him if he’d want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done to forgive him and live inside him he said. “My first instinct would be seeking God with God living inside me.” He went on to say  more or less that this is what he thought he had learned growing up but he had not applied it and was just trying to be good and this would be a shift in his thinking. I said he could pray to receive Jesus and walked him through the prayer asking if it was the desire of his heart and he said, “I think it does, yeah.” So I said he could pray it silently and he said, “Sure.” He prayed then to receive Jesus. I explained living by the Spirit’s power then “inside out” and that the Mass could be a time he remembered Jesus had died and so he was forgiven and he could just say, “thank you.” “This was a good message,” he said. I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front and “By the Spirit’s power” and also explained that everything God was asking him to do He would give him the power to do. I gave him a Bible study to read and got his email. He stood up to go and said, “What are the odds,” I think meaning that I would have caught him at the door and his perspective on Jesus would change. “Thanks Bob,” he said as he walked away and I nodded. “See ya around,” I said and he headed out into the sunlight.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you day was blessed walking in the Spirit into grace. I had a good day on campus I hope God will make into good.  Akire [a deer ri] and Carter each prayed to receive Jesus today.

I came in on the 1st floor and went to the elevator intending to go up to the 3rd floor for whatever reason though alone in the elevator it opened on the second floor and I unwittingly got out. Akire was sitting at the end of a few soft benches in the 2nd floor of the BIC. I was a bit worn out, I can’t seem to get back on a sleep schedule and I toss and turn until about 3 AM. Anyway Akire is a cute kid, short. She has shoulder-length dark brown hair, kind of a smirky mouth, wide smile perky face. She wore a black and white, plaid, fleecy sweater with a black mock turtle under it, skinny jeans and a black ball cap. She was nice and said she went to a Roman Catholic Church each Sunday. When I asked her why God would should let her into Heaven if she died she said, “Because… That’s a tough one.” Then thought a moment and said, “I was a good person.” She thought she had maybe a 60% chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with her and she knew Jesus had died to take away her sins. As I finished going through His death for her, His blood cleansing her so God could live inside her and His righteousness to her credit illustrating it all she was nodding her head like she understood. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven with God inside or thought something else and she’d want to be forgiven. I suggested she might have grown up in the church and just tried to do what they asked without processing it much. “When you were asking for forgiveness were you thinking, ‘I’m a good person and I go to church so I think God will forgive me’ or were you thinking ‘I know I’ll be forgiven because Jesus died for me’. Or didn’t you think about it.” “I never thought about it,” she admitted. So I said if she’d like to be forgiven trusting in Jesus there was a prayer she could pray and I read it through with her explaining it and said, “Is says is this the desire of your heart so do you think it is?” She said it was. So I said she could pray it silently like I wasn’t there and God would hear her and forgive her. She nodded shaking her head and took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. When she finished I said she could keep it and she thanked me and I explained the Christian life living “inside out” and the fruit of the Spirit and that everything God is asking her to do He would give her the power to do by the Spirit living in her she could just ask. I said when she took the Mass it commemorated that Jesus had died for her and so she was forgiven, symbolizing His body and blood and she could just say thank you. I asked if I could give her a book and she said “Yes”. So I gave her 20 Things God Can’t Do writing her name and the date and “forgiven” in the front with “By the Spirit’s Power” illustrating that for her. I said if she was trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. She gave me her email to send her a bible study and I gave her one as well. I told her I would be praying for her. I was sitting at her feet on her left side at the end of the bench and she stuck out her hand to shake mine as I got up to go and said, “Thank you so much.” I said she was welcome and I would see her in Heaven. And she smiled at that with a bit of a laugh and I headed out.

I headed up to the 3rd floor then figuring I’d not been up there of late and found Carter waiting to go to class in 10 minutes. I almost didn’t asking him thinking he’d say he had to go, but he was up for it asking, “How long will it take?” I said, “6 or 7 minutes” and I would go quickly. He had quick responses to the questions saying, “‘Cause my good outweighs my bad.” As to what he’d say to get into Heaven. He wanted to be a defensive end in the NFL, pretty strong looking guy. He had kind of ringlets of gold tight curls on his forehead and a short bunch of more of the same on top, a mustache and a small chin beard. Looked kind of like a swashbuckler, good looking kid in grey sweats. He thought he had a 90% chance of going to Heaven. He knew Jesus had died to take away our sins and listened very attentively as I went through the Gospel. He believed all that I told him and when I asked him if he’d want to be forgiven he said, “Yeah I guess,” I wasn’t sure he was convinced but then when I showed him the prayer he really focused and I asked him too if it was the desire of his heart and he seriously nodded his head. I said he could pray right then so only God would hear, did he want to and he said, “Yeah,” with real conviction and prayed to receive Jesus. I was glad for that because I knew he had the excuse he’d do it later as his class began in 3 minutes. I gave him Zwingli’s view of the mass as I had Akire. I gave him a Bible study to look through without much explanation and 20 Things God Can’t Do writing his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front and “By the Spirit’s power”, I explained everything God was asking him to do He would give him the power to do and that’s goes for football too. “God is like a coach but better, a coach can’t be on the field with you but God is in you giving you strength. I told him I would be praying for him until spring of next year. He was grateful and as I got up I said, “I’ll pray you get in the NFL, hey who knows,” I said with a grin. “Thank you so much, thank you so much,” he said happily and then ran off to class forgiven.

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 your day was blessed in the Lord, walking with Him. I had a good day on campus catching up with some of the peeps who have trusted Christ, and  Dom, Alex and Noah each prayed with me to receive Jesus.

Dom and Alex were sitting on a bench under the stairs when I walked into the P.E. Lounge today and they were engaged in a conversation so I did not want to interrupt. They are African American and I had a bad night sleep. Usually I try to approach the students in that lounge with some energy since most are athletes and can be resistant to talk in groups. I didn’t have any energy, so I walked around and finding no one else to speak with in the rest of the lounge or upstairs. I headed out and was a bit past them when I felt prompted to give it a try. I asked if they wanted to do a survey and Alex said she thought she might have done one with someone else, asking if it might have been someone in my group. I smiled and said I am the only one in my group, but we were a regular Bible study and I’d been there since 2002. Dom said ok then. So I sat at their feet and began to ask them questions. They were a bit distracted as they could look right over my head, and everyone walks out past where we sat.  A couple peeps went by but I kept praying God would speak to them and by the end of the Gospel story they were focused. Dom was a big girl dressed in print leggings and had a satin wrap around her head tied in kind of a floral knot and a sweater. She had a round face and full features, cute kid. Alex was a bit darker and had her own elbow length, curly hair and black glasses a small cute face and was dress in black leggings and a sweater. When I asked them what they would say to God to get into Heaven Dom said “Because I tried [in] my life to be with different persons instead to be selfish.” Alex said, “I’m not perfect but I tried to do right in my life.” Dom thought she had a 50/50 change to get into Heaven and then Alex said, “You can never know.” It seemed like Alex had picked up a bit more at church, but neither of them understood the Gospel or really seemed to know how God took away their sins through Jesus. Alex had said she knew how her sins were taken away but did not know the specifics. So I just said,” This is how it works.” Slowly then they began to really tune in as I was praying in my heart and talking at the same time with other words. Both of them began to get very serious expressions as I explained they could be forgiven and washed clean by the blood of Jesus and His righteousness would be to their credit. I explained they needed to receive Jesus and they were then saved by that faith. I asked if they would want to trust in Jesus to be forgiven or thought something else and Alex said, “Trust in Jesus.” and Dom said, “Be forgiven.” So I showed them there was a prayer they could pray and walked them through it. They each said they’d like to pray, so I took out another booklet handing it to Dom showing her the page. They then took them, looked at them and closed them and thanked me. So I suggested if they would pray right now, I would know they had trusted in Christ and then I would keep them in my prayers. I said I would sit a bit apart from them and they agreed and each prayed to receive Jesus. I offered them books when they were done. They both wanted a book, so I gave them each a copy of 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote “by the Spirit’s power” (after I explained how they could ask God for His power to live the Christian life) in the front of each one. Then I wrote their names and the date and “forgiven” in the front. They were visibly happy to see me write that for each of them. I explained then “This is 100%” writing 100% by the question as to the likelihood they would go to Heaven. “Because if you are 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 is enough for an old guy like me who had done a lot of things and young women like you haven’t even done much wrong yet.” They grinned at that. I gave them a Bible study too that they could read as they got up to go, and told them I would be praying for them each night for the next year, which really pleased them too. “Thanks for stopping by to talk to us,” Dom said. “Thank you,” Alex chimed in and I said, “Thanks for talking with me,” and we headed our separate ways.

Noah was sitting at the end of the tunnel over from the PE building on a line of chairs. He said I’d asked him before but this time he was willing to do a survey. He had short brown hair, flat to his head and inch long bangs. He looked to be sporting a few days worth of beard, mostly on the underside of his jaw line and a mustache flying solo above it. He had a round, kind face. Nice guy. He had a black and white horizontal stripped long sleeved shirt on that buttoned at the neck and dark jeans. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “Well, serving the Alter since I was 13, influencing other kids my age to join [the church]. I’m a leader. I’d be one of the people that makes other’s faith grow stronger as a Catholic or a Christian.” The likelihood he would go to Heaven he thought was 90%. When I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sins he said, “He sacrificed Himself.” I agreed and began to explain how that had paid for his sins and the blood of Christ had cleansed him so he was pure inside like God and God could live inside him. He listened closely to everything I said about the atonement and the imputed righteousness of Christ. I explained he could hook up with all that God had done by faith and believing that Jesus was God, had died for his sins and rose from the dead. I showed him the two circles in the booklet, one with God inside the circle and one with God outside the circle of someone’s life. “I’d be in the circle [with God],’ he said when I asked. So I explained he could be forgiven by receiving what Christ had done, trusting in His work by faith and waling him through the prayer to receive Jesus. “When you pray for forgiveness are you thinking in your heart that you’ve been doing the right things and so God would forgive you? Or have you been thinking ‘I know I’ll be forgiven because Jesus died for me’?” I asked. He paused, thinking, and so I said, “Or hadn’t you really thought about it. ” “I never thought about it before,” he said. So I said if he wanted to be forgiven, he could pray for that forgiveness and asked if he’d want to pray to trust in Jesus and he said, “Yeah sure.” He took the booklet then and prayed aloud the prayer in it to receive Jesus. I’d explained the Mass was to remind him Jesus had died and so his sins were forgiven. I talked to him about how anything God was asking him to do He’d give him the power to do it. And that if he trusted in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness, he could be 100% sure he would go to Heaven and explained the parable of the wedding feast in Matt. 22. I gave him a Bible study he liked and 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front along with “by the Spirit’s power.” I said I’d be praying for him and then we stood up to go and I said, “I’ll see ya in Heaven” and “God bless you” as we shook hands. “God bless you too,” he replied and headed down the hall.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and of evangelism today if you had a chance. God truly blessed, even though I was pretty shot.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and you had peace today in the midst of the shuffle. I had a good day on campus and encouraged some students. AJ prayed with me to receive Jesus.

He was sitting at one of the tables in the big lounge where we have Bible study and looked like he’d been working out. He wore a sleeveless shirt and sweats and had high tops on. He had a rough-top afro with shaved sides, a long, oval, fair-skinned face and a slight bit of beard on his chin and bit of a mustache. Good looking kid he was a friend it turned out of another student I had met Emmanuel whose dad is a pastor. I walked up and asked him if he wanted to do a student survey and he said he’d done one last semester. “Did they ask you the big metaphysical question?” I asked. “What’s that?” he asked. “So you’re walking down the road and you get hit by a bus. So you’re dead and you stand before God and He says, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?” “They didn’t ask that.” he replied. “Well you want to know what the bible says the answer is or you really don’t care?” “I could learn,” he said. So I said, “You wanna do a survey or just hear what the Bible says?” “You can just tell me the Bible,” he said. So I began to go through the verses with him and the analogies about how God wanted to live inside him but first he had become God’s type. He knew Jesus had died to take away his sins. I went through the Gospel with him finally asking him if he’d want to be forgiven with God inside or thought something else. “Be forgiven with God inside,” He replied. He’d said he went to church so I asked something like, “So when you are asking for forgiveness have you been thinking, ‘Well, I’m a good man. I go to a church, from a good family and God will just forgive me. Or were you thinking, ‘I know I’ll be forgiven because Jesus died for me?’ So I know you probably knew the story but did you apply it to yourself?” He thought for a bit and said, “I think I mostly knew the story but I never applied it.” And he smiled with kind of a “ya got me” look.” So I said if he wanted to be forgiven trusting in Jesus there was a prayer he could pray and I walked him through it. There were some other students sitting at the table behind us but he’d been in a chair with his back to them and I was on the corner a couple feet from the table. I said “If you wanted to you could pray this right now, just silently to yourself and no one would know.” and he smiled knowingly and nodded and took the booklet and prayed to receive Christ. When he finished I said he could keep it and explained living the Christian life by the power of the Spirit and told him a story about how God would give him the power to do everything He was asking him to do living “Inside Out”. I gave him a Bible study and 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote “Just ask By the Spirit’s Power” I also wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front which he liked. He gave me his email so I could send him some stuff. I shook his hand then and said, “God bless you brother.” “God bless you too,” he replied with a smile and I headed out.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance, God blessed me all day it was good talking with students.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today walking with the Lord. I had a good day on campus encouraging some Christians. I even helped a Christian guy I had talked with before (Dennis) with some ideas for his Philosophy paper proving the existence of God. And Mirijam and  Chris prayed to receive Jesus today, thanks for your prayers!

Mirijam (the j is silent) was sitting on the edge of the lounge the next set of doors down from where we have Bible Study Tuesdays. I almost walked past her without trying to start something because she looked like a girl I had asked before sitting in the same spot. But when she put her head up from looking down at her phone I saw I had not spoke to her before. She was wearing a tie-dye shirt, pink and grey, with gray yoga pants. Not too tall not petit at all. She wore red framed glasses and had her light brown ponytail pulled behind her head, had a friendly kind face with a pointed chin. She told me her name was the Hebrew spelling. She had grown up in California and gone to some churches out there but hadn’t found a place to go here. When I asked her what she would say to God as to why He should let her into Heaven she said, “I don’t know, it depends on how bad a day I was having, I might be sarcastic and not get in. It’s hard to say, I don’t know if I deserve it or not. I’m probably not as faithful as I should have been.” She thought she had a 30% chance of going to Heaven. As I went through the Gospel with her she knew Jesus had died to take away her sin. So I explained why He had to do that for God to live inside her His blood cleansing her and that His righteousness could be hers. She took it all in and I asked her if she wanted to be forgiven for her sins trusting in Jesus or thought something else explaining some of the false things other religions taught briefly. “The Buddha is not looking for God he left his wife and children to seek enlightenment, so it’s not about God. He’s just trying to get his head straight.” I said. “I’d like to be forgiven, but I’d like to get my head straight too,” she replied. I said that if she received God’s forgiveness He would live inside her and she could ask Him to straighten out her head and He would. I walked her through the prayer and asked if she’d like to pray it and be forgiven and be sure she was going to Heaven. “Maybe…Yeah,” she said. “Ok I said you can do it silently just pretend I’m not even here.” She said OK and took the booklet and prayed to receive Christ. I gave her a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ and she said she’d try to come by our Bible Study. I also gave her the Book 20 Things God Can’t Do writing her name and the date and “forgiven” in the front and “Just ask By the Spirit’s Power.” She had several Bibles. I told her I would pray for her each night until spring of 2020 and she was grateful. I explained if she would trust in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I asked if she would like to get an email of another Bible Study mailed to her and she said, “I’d like one.” She gave me her email which had her last name as a domain. Her dad was a programmer and he’d gotten it early on. She had 6 kids in her family. I said I’d see her around and say hi and she laughed and said OK and I headed out. She seemed happy.

Chris was sitting on the ground floor of the BIC and had just a few minutes before class but said he’d do a survey. He was a nice guy not very tall round head, brown hair poking out a bit shaggy from under a Sox cap with a short beard and mustache. He wore blue sweats and a sweatshirt. Nice guy, friendly looking. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “That’s a hard question. Probably I always lived life openly and never wanted to do harm.” His family went to church once in a while but less lately and he thought he had a 95% chance of going to Heaven. He was really receptive to the Gospel and he knew Jesus had died to take away his sins. As I finished going through the Gospel with him I asked if he wanted to be forgiven with Christ inside and he said something like, “I’d pick that one,” pointing at the circle with God living inside him. So I asked if he believed Jesus was God had died for his sins and rose from the dead. “I do yeah,” he said nodding certainly. So I said if he’d like to trust in that to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I walked him through it and offered him the option to pray it and he said, “Sure.” He took the booklet then and prayed to receive Jesus. I quickly told him he could keep it and explained living the Christian life by the Spirit’s power “Inside out” recognizing I was running out of time. I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do writing his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front, which he really liked. I quickly explained that everything the book said he needed to do, God would give him the power to do, by His Spirit and I wrote, “Just Ask By the Spirit’s Power” in the front. Then I gave him a Bible study. “Thank you so much!” he said shaking my hand. “Yeah, you’re welcome Brother,” I replied and headed out as it was 2 minutes until his class began.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you’ve been blessed walking with the Lord today. I was sick last night and into today. But Joe prayed with me to receive Jesus on Monday. And Matt up in the BIC 3rd floor lounge(tall short light brown crew cut day’s growth of beard, warm smile all-American boy look) said he would pray later saying he usually prayed at night, so maybe I’ll bump into him sometime and find out

Joe was sitting on the first floor of the BIC in a lounge with a lot of vending machines on the Northeast end. Nice guy, he had braces on, a broad smile and lighter brown hair parted on the side and flipped over to the left. He had on a plaid shirt and grey sweats tight at the ankle, white tennis shoes. His face was angular and he had a day’s growth of beard. He went to a Catholic Church. When I asked him what he would say to God if He asked “Why should I let you into Heaven?” he said, “I guess I tried my best to be as good as humanly possible.” He thought he had a 90% chance of going to Heaven. He was really engaged as we talked and listened closely to everything I said as I went through the Gospel. He knew Jesus had died to take away our sin. But I could tell he hadn’t put all that together personally before to be forgiven. He had not trusted in Jesus work to forgive him or thought about His righteousness before. So at the end I asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus with God inside or if he thought something else he said, “It would be nice to have God inside.” So I said there was a prayer he could pray to be forgiven and ask God to live inside him, to know Him personally. I said he could pray without anyone but God hearing and he said, “Yeah, I guess I’d be interested.” “To do it?” I asked. “Yeah,” he replied and he took the booklet to pray to receive Jesus and did. When he was done I said he could keep the booklet and walked him through living the Christian life. I told him if he was now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. He had a Bible on his phone, so I gave him a Bible study and 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote his name and the date and “Just ask, By the spirit’s power” in the front and “forgiven” saying he could remember when he’d been forgiven. We talked about the Christian life, first asking God to change you inside and then doing good things on the outside because He had given you strength by His power. He had to go to class then so I headed out and he thanked me.

So thanks for your prayers for the Ministry and for evangelism on Monday if you had a chance. I taught Bible study tonight so if my intestinal track continues to cooperate I’ll be back at school tomorrow [Wednesday].

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with all good things from the Lord. I had a good day on campus and Yadi prayed with me to receive Jesus. 110 have now come to Christ this school year.

I felt prompted to go to the third floor when I first got to school and then (once up there) felt kept from turning down a hallway. I figured what the heck and kept walking and then I found Yadi sitting on a bench on the outside of a lounge with vending machines. It seemed she had stopped to look at her phone after class as her red puffy coat was zipped up but she said she’d do a survey and so we began. She had highlights through her hair that made it lighter brown and near blonde. She had jeans and black, over the knee boots on, sharp pretty features and something of a square face. She wore black rimmed rectangular glasses. She had a slight accent, was a Latina former Catholic but was now attending what she described as a Christian church. When I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven she said, “That’s a hard one… I mean right now I don’t know what I would say but I’m working on that… I acknowledge my wrongs. I try to improve myself… I don’t know” She thought she had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with her and I asked if she knew what Jesus had done to take away her sins. “Umhum,” she replied like someone does when they are not really sure they know the answer. So I said, “This is how it works” and began to explain the atonement and the blood of Christ to cleanse us and His imputed righteousness, without any theological terms. She listened closely without much remark but was engaged. So I said there were two kinds of people, those who have asked God to forgive them, trusting in what Jesus has done–then he can live inside them and they know they are going to Heaven. Then there are those who God is on the outside of their life, “Islam believes God’s a mystery that can’t be known, His Spirit does not come inside people, so they have a different God. Or someone like the Buddha, he left his wife and kids to seek enlightenment. So he’s not looking for God at all he’s just trying to get his head straight. So which would you rather be forgiven with God inside or do you think something else?” “No, I want God living inside me,” she replied. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and walking her through it I asked if it was the desire of her heart. She said it was so I said she could pray it silently, “Not .like I heard you but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven and going to Heaven.” She took the booklet with an “Um Hum” and prayed to receive Jesus. She was glad and thanked me. I explained the Christian life asking for the fruit of the Spirit and “Inside out” by His power first transforming us so we might do good things. I got her e-mail to send her some stuff and have her 20 Things God Can’t Do. I wrote “Just ask” and “By the Spirit’s Power” and her name and the date and “forgiven” on the inside and she thanked me again. She might drop by the Bible Study as it is right before her class. I told her “I’ll see you in Heaven.” “Yeah,” she said with a laugh. “Have a good one.” “You too,” she replied and I headed off.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance God blessed and I got a couple seeds planted as well.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a great day walking with the Lord. Here in Illinois we are holding on with bated breath in the hope that we will take deeper breaths in 40 degree air. It is promised us at the end of the week. I had a great day on campus talking up some Christians and encouraging one of the girls who had prayed to receive Jesus this year who is from Africa and has had a rough dark winter. And Nas Prayed with me to receive Jesus.

Nas was sitting in the first lounge I passed on what is basically the ground floor of the BIC, it has a lot of vending machines. He was a cool looking black dude in a parka. He had long thin braids dyed brown in places that would have reached his shoulders, tied behind his head with a forehead hair band. His round face had a short beard that mostly came in on the underside of his chin and a mustache only over his lip, near perfect, thin, 120 degree eyebrows like they were drawn with a compass.  He wore gray pants that were quilted and cross stitched. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven and he said, “Umm that’s a hard question.” Then he grinned and said, “Because I’m your angel,” and chucked. He thought he had a 90% chance of going to Heaven and went to a Baptist church in Roselle. I began to explain the Gospel to him and how God wanted to know and live inside him asking what the big thing was that Jesus had done to take away his sins so that could happen. He could not think of anything so I just said something like, “This how it works,” and began to explain why Jesus died. He was interested in the Bible verses and was engaged listening closely to what I said, that Jesus had died for him and His blood cleansed us so God could live inside him. Then I explained the righteousness of God was to his credit. I finished explaining he needed to receive Jesus by faith. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else and he said he’d be forgiven. So I said there was a prayer he could pray and talked him through it and I asked if it was the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he acknowledged. I said he could pray it silently and he took the booklet and prayed. When he finished I explained the Christian life living by asking God to create the fruit of the Spirit. I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do writing “Just Ask” and “By the Spirit’s power”, his name and the date and “forgiven” on the inside. I explained everything God was asking Him to do he would give him the power to do and told him a story I made up. It’s about having a Billionaire Uncle who always said he should start a business and then when he found one to start financed him. “”God is better than a rich Uncle, he lives inside you and everything He is asking you to do He will give you the power to do.” I gave him a Bible study on the Deity of Christ and got up to leave saying, “If I see ya I’ll just say hi. You don’t got a new stalker or anything.” He laughed and said, “Same here.” “Have a good one Brother,” I said as I walked off.” And he said, “You too.”

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 & Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed. I had a good day on campus and  Michael,  Juana & Aislinn [IceLeen] each prayed to receive Jesus today. And then Aislinn came to Bible study tonight so that was great.

Micheal was at school to take his GED it turns out he is 17. He forgot some kind of ID and so could only take the reading portion today and they told him he was above the averages he needed. He was sitting in the big lounge where we had bible study tonight against the glass wall. He had a short, plain afro and 3 large scars (one pencil size of 3 inches) on his forehead running down toward his eyebrows. It turned out he had gotten them when he was 12. He and a 13 year old friend had stolen a minivan, lost control of it and crashed in an alley into a pole. The resulting flying glass cut him. He had a good looking face for all the wear he showed. He’d been living in the city and had a lot of run-ins with the law and had been kicked out of Willowbrook (after moving to the suburbs) for fighting a cop, he claimed by protecting his brother. As we talked he had said he was a “man of God” and I could probably sense something in him but when I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “I’m not going to Heaven there’s stuff God don’t forgive.” I explained there was nothing He could not forgive and gave him illustrations of biblical characters who had sinned worse than him in David and Paul. Finally taking my point he said, “I’d tell Him forgive me for all my sins, plead the blood of Jesus.” It turned out that was what his grandfather, a pastor, had always told him. He thought he had a 20% chance of going to Heaven. I went through the Gospel with him calling his mind back to pay attention, repeatedly, he was easily distracted. Finally showing him the prayer to be forgiven and talking it through with him more than once I asked if he had ever prayed anything like that before. He shook his head no. I said then that he could do so and be forgiven and he prayed to receive Jesus. I talked with him a lot and prayed over him asking God to lift the influences off him and remove any powers affecting him. He was easily distracted by any girl that walked by. He seemed to be having a hard time getting an Uber so I offered him a ride home and he said, “Well, you have taken up a lot of my time.” So he accepted the ride to Lombard. I gave him Bible Promises for You which he liked a lot and explained living by the Spirit’s power writing that and his name and the date and “Forgiven” in the front of 20 Things God Can’t Do showing him the Bible verses in the back. He was enthusiastic about it in the truck saying he liked that the books had short stuff to read like individual verses in them. As we drove him said he was going to get a job, there were a lot of places hiring at Yorktown mall not far from him. He wanted to get some work history and turn things around in his life. He said had quit smoking. He was now living at his Grandmother’s house (one not related to his pastor Grandfather). He said he wanted to show me something in his bible as the language was hard to understand. A theological word he did not understand so I offered him a HCSB bible then with more clear English and he thought that would be better. I wrote his name and the date and forgiven in the front of that as well. He said he’d look for me tomorrow after taking the next part of his test. He had a long tough story and as he got out of the truck said he was going to work at change. I said he should instead ask God to change him by His Spirit as I had repeated to him a few times already. So I’ll be praying for him that that would be true and he can move in God’s Power from here.

Juana was sitting in the hall of the BIC at the Northeast corner looking at her phone. I had washed my hands in the bathroom after returning to school from my short road trip and felt like I was supposed to head toward the PE building. Drying my hands I almost heard the word “Hurry” so I headed quickly out and then thought I was supposed to turn the other way to go down stairs. So I reversed course and just around the corner and saw Juana on the corner of a bench outside the lounge checking her phone. She only had a few minutes before class it turned out. She was taking classes to get into the nursing program and wanted to eventually get an MA in Nursing. She was bundled up in a wine colored parka and had aqua colored sweat pants on, no makeup and her hair pulled back into a light brown pony tail. She had a round face and a cute pointed little nose and black plastic framed glasses. Kinda looked like she had just rolled out of bed. But she agreed to do a survey. When I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven she said, “I really don’t know.” I asked if she had gone to church ever, and she had gone to a “Christian” church when she was a bit younger. I asked what they would have said it was that got you into Heaven and she said, “I don’t know, believe in Him–I’m not sure.” She thought she had about a 75% chance of going to Heaven. I went through things quickly with her right to the point as I felt there was little time. She looked me in the eye and was very attentive and at one point said, “Oh.” as if understanding part of the Gospel for the first time, but she had known He had died to take away our sins. As I finished everything I asked if she would want to be forgiven or thought something else and she silently pointed at the circle with God inside on the throne of your life. So I asked if she believed it was true that Jesus was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead, “Yes,” she replied. So I said if she’d like to trust in that to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. I walked her through it and told her she could pray it silently and God would hear and forgive her and live inside her. “Wanna do it?” I asked. “Yep.” she replied and prayed to receive Jesus. I gave her the booklet explaining a life in Christ quickly explaining living by the Spirit and asking for God’s help. I told her if she would trust in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. She had a Bible so I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven” in the front of 20 Things God Can’t Do and “By the Spirit’s Power” inside the cover giving it to her I told her I would pray for her through the spring and for a year after. “Thank you,” she replied. I gave her a Bible study as she got up to go to run to class that was beginning in 5 minutes. “Thank you so much,” she said and I nodded and she headed off.

Down the hallway at the other end of the building back in the lounge where we have Bible Study I came across Aislinn. Since she pronounces her name Ice-leen. I said she could be a character in Frozen and she grinned at that. She was really nice. She is on the short side and has naturally curly hair that was tucked under a cap with ear caps and tassels coming down to her shoulders. She has a friendly warm face, cute kid, had a blue shirt on with a black parka and boots. She goes to the Catholic Church and hoped one day to buy her mom a house. When I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven she said, “‘Cause… um… I feel like I’m a good person. I don’t know. He’ll see, He reads our thoughts so He’ll know if I’m on the good side of things, if you care about other people and are not self centered.” She listened closely to the Gospel really being interactive and telling me her brother did not believe in God because there was so much evil in the world. I suggested to her she could tell her brother that if God got rid of all the evil immediately He would have to kill all of us and put us in Hell since we are all a little evil. “How would he like it if God began with him?” I explained God was doing something about evil but not as fast as some people wanted him to act but He did not want to break us in the process of helping us. “Baby steps.” she replied. I smiled and said, “Right, Jesus said to become as a child.” She really understood how the Gospel fit together for the first time and exclaimed, “I love Jesus!” as I explained God forgave us by what Jesus had done to take away our sins and his imputed righteousness. “In the Catholic Church you have to ask for forgiveness,” she said. I said, that was right and then explained how we receive Jesus buy faith. “Oh it’s just faith,” she said. And I said yes, in what Jesus had done for her.  We talked about how love is rules and everyone lives by rules even if they don’t know it. She wanted to be forgiven for her sins when I asked as I finished and I told her there was a prayer she could pray and walked her through it. And she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to her too by the Spirit and gave her 20 Things God Can’t Do writing “By the Spirit’s Power” in the front and her name and the date. I explained a symbolic view of the mass and  gave her a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ which she liked. “Oh I gotta go!’ she said suddenly looking at her phone and quickly gathering everything and standing up. But she had said she could probably come to the Bible Study so I said, “See ya later.” She gave me a thumbs up and said, “See ya later, Bye!” and ran off. Later when she came to the study I made sure she understood how we had to trust in Jesus righteousness not our own.

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

Love ya,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed walking with the Lord. I had to run out the door to pick up Ellen’s car this morning from some repairs. We were sideswiped on the highway when another driver fell asleep a couple weeks ago coming home from a wedding. In my rush I forgot that I’d be going straight to campus and forgot to send out “Going Out”. But God had mercy leading some to pray I know because Kaela prayed with me to receive Jesus and Erik committed to Christ saying he would pray later. He promised and offered to pinky swear that he’d pray, so we did. I think he wanted to run it past his mother who was a Christian but who had never taught him the Gospel. She was from El Salvador and was a Christian he believed. He had a round face and a warm smile, was a bit heavy set dressed in gray sweats he wanted to be an Engineer. I’d asked him to talk before but he did not know the Gospel. I apologized for bothering him again but he was cool about it so I gave him a Bible Promise book and then snuck in some questions until I had gone through everything. He was really interested and said he believed Jesus was God had died for his sins and rose from the dead when I was finished so I hope he will pray.

Kaela was sitting in the long row of chairs outside the cafeteria. As I walked out of the eating area I asked another guy who turned me down. She looked up at me, overhearing, and cheerfully said “I’ll do one.” She’s a pretty girl with full features who looked Filipino. Her hair was pulled up over her head with flyaway bangs down to her jaw line. Wearing a grey peasant style blouse under a jacket and light gray jeans she had a pretty flower pendant around her neck the size of a quarter. She dreamed of being a singer and getting a record deal. When I asked her what she would say to God if she died and He asked her why He should let her into Heaven she said, “Well I haven’t ever done anything really bad. I always go to Church; I try my best to do the right thing all the time.” I asked her what the likelihood was she would go to Heaven and she struggled to put a % on it, “I don’t know,” And said she was pretty sure. “Likely?” I asked. “Very likely” she replied. She was really expressive through the hearing of the Gospel and knew Jesus had died to take away our sins. Another strange girl walked up trying to interrupt at least 3 times, between walking off and talking on the phone. I had talked to her before and she was vitriolic, and I dodged around it disarming her a bit. But I could tell other forces were trying to use her distract Kaela. But Kaela was so enthusiastic about what she was hearing she just ignored the sarcasm, and the girl, who she knew, and kept listening. She loved word pictures and I used a few explaining things and she thought they were great. The other girl walked up the first time and said rhetorically (after I explained the death of Jesus and His blood cleansing us) “So you just kill someone and you are forgiven.” “Yep that’s it.” I replied dismissively without looking at her since I had explained the gospel to her a few weeks back I felt no need to take her remark seriously. And I just keep talking as she hovered and Kaela never made eye contact. As I explained Jesus imputed righteousness Kaela said, “This is so great. I love this!” The girl took a phone call, I had silently prayed for God to bind her. I asked Kaela if she would want to be forgiven or thought something else and she said she would definitely want to be forgiven. “Well it doesn’t seem like you had a chance to put all this together before right?” She agreed. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and walked her through it. The antagonist returned looking for an opening but seeing none walked off again to talk on her phone. “I would pray this every day!” Kaela exclaimed. I said if she wanted to she could pray it silently now and God would hear her. It turned out the other girl was waiting for a ride and at first I thought she was waiting for them to go to class together. Kaela enthusiastically took the booklet and began to pray. The other girl walked up again and interrupted Kaela and she paused and said, “I’m praying,” to silence her. The girl spoke again and I looked up at her and put my finger over my lips and shushed her. She shut up then and Kaela finished. I gave her a Bible Study on Hope and one on the deity of Christ and got her email. I offered her a book and she said, “Oh I get a book,” thrilled. I wrote “By the Spirit’s Power” her name and the date and “Forgiven” on the inside of 20 Things God Can’t Do and she thought that was great. The other girl interrupted again and asked her to call her leaving for her ride and Kaela agreed to get rid of her. I explained a symbolic view of the mass and said when she took it she could simply say, “thank you”, as it was to remind her Jesus had died and so she was forgiven. “I always say that,” she said. She was happy and thanked me several times and I got up to go saying good bye. I thought I should also give her a Bible Promise book then and walked back offering it to her, “Oh I get more!” she said happily. So I wrote her name in that and headed off. She was the most enthusiastic person I’ve talked to all year. Please pray God protects her from the Spirit in the other girl, she was strange.

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

In Him,

Bob