Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I hope your day was blessed and it was sunny all day. I had a good day on campus and, Jalen, Grant and Alex each prayed with me to receive Jesus today. I went through the Gospel with 6 people all together. 2 others claimed to be Christians though they could not tell me initially what they would appeal to get into Heaven. A very big and wide black guy named Steve, and a religious Catholic named Luca.
Jalen was sitting in the Cafeteria at a table looking at his computer. He was a middle sized black guy a bit bigger than I am. He had on a quilted black coat and a black shirt and black sweats, a winter cap on his head and a beard that was a bit heavier around his mouth. He wore a large silver crucifix around his neck that I believe he said later his Grandma gave him. He had a warm friendly face and modest features. He hadn’t been to church in about 5 years since they’d moved out of the city to Naperville, they just hadn’t gotten reconnected. But I got his email so I’ll send him a link to Compass Church there (I ran out of their cards). When I asked him what he would say if he died and God asked why should I let you into Heaven he thought for a moment and said, “I would say I’m kind to people and I try to help people much as I can. I love animals. I want to go through those pearly gates and meet God himself. I try to stay out of trouble.” When I asked him the likelihood he would get into Heaven when he died he said, “A good 80%.” As I went through the Gospel he vaguely remembered that Jesus had died to take away our sins but he was still enthusiastic to hear the Gospel–How the blood of Jesus cleansed him so God could live inside him and after I had explained the righteousness of God to His credit and how all that was the gift of God who He adopted us he said, “That’s amazing!” So I am pretty sure he had not had it spelled out before memory. He was very grateful to understand everything but had not been trusting in Jesus to save him. So I asked him If he would want to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else. He enthusiastically said he’d want to be forgiven. I talked him through the prayer and asked if he would like to pray it silently to receive forgiveness and he said, “Yeah. Yeah, yes.” So I said he could pray it right now silently and he took the booklet and said, “Ok, yeah. Thanks you very much.” God really gave me an audience with him. When he had finished I explained living the Christian life “inside out”.  I gave him a Bible, that he was really grateful for, showing him the “Where to Turn” section and the Messianic prophecies fulfilled encouraging him to read in John. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I wrote “By the Spirit’s Power” in the front of 20 Things God Can’t Do and explained that a bit (the 100 verses in the back) and a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ telling him I was “loading him up for Christmas”. And he liked that and was grateful. He was really a great guy and I gave him my contact information and said, “Merry Christmas man!” “Merry Christmas to you too Bob,” he replied and I got up to go and as I walked away I heard him say enthusiastically to himself, “All right!” He was the most outwardly expressive and enthusiastic guy who has prayed with me in a while, pretty great.
Grant was sitting on the bench by the bank and said he’d do a survey. He had a bit of a barely there mustache and short blondish hair, pretty tall, short stick straight hair. Seemed kind of business like in jeans and a winter jacket. He remained very circumspect the entire time we talked. He described himself in three words as an “American Christian Conservative.” And I said, “Yeah, that’d be me too.” When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “That I tried my best to be a good person. I’ve been a believer my whole life. I trust His judgment. It’s up to Him.” He thought he had an 85% chance of getting into Heaven. As I explained the Grace of God in the sacrifice of Christ and that he did not go to Heaven because he was good but because Jesus was good he said, “It’s not like Karma then.” “Not at all,” I replied and explained Buddhism a bit. A former missionary a short pretty lady with curly brown hair walked up. I had been talking with him for a half hour explaining the work of the Holy Spirit’s power in living the Christian life. He had yet to pray to receive Christ (though I had completed the Gospel) as he was asking questions, about God’s leading and how to make decisions. She walked up and was very complimentary of what I had said and told him everything I had said was true. “I know,” he replied. She said she was a former missionary and I assume she was trying to help, Christians interrupt me sometimes. It throws of the connection and usually a student is pressed for time. It does not really seem to help. But what do I know I can’t read a student’s mind. Anyway we rebounded well (she’d only stayed a few minutes) as he still wanted to pick my mind. I explained that because all things worked together for good (I’d told him that during the Gospel saying your good stuff can’t fix your bad stuff) we could ask for God’s guidance. Then by His Spirit we could ask for peace about a decision, if we had already thought about it and were sure it was moral by God’s word. If God gave us peace about more than one option we could simply pick one, knowing God would control our destiny for good. I explained that the Bible encouraged us to make choices and to pray, telling us our prayer had effect. So there was some way God worked free will into His providence for our future. It might have something to do with His being beyond time and knowing things outside our dimensional reality (this to answer another question). I think one day this will make sense to us. I told him the most important thing was to always ask for God’s help. When Jesus encouraged us to “become as a child” He did not mean to become stupid, there were 12 year old children smarter than us at Harvard right now. But every night they called their moms. Why? Because children are dependent. God wants us to be dependent upon him. “Your problem is that the guidance you need is from the Holy Spirit living inside you. Until you have asked God to forgive your sins, trusting in Jesus work on the cross, He dies not live in you to become one with you. You basically have your sox on over your shoes and wonder why your sox are wearing out.” He smiled at that and I showed him the prayer again asking if he would like to pray it and he said ok and prayed to receive Jesus. You could see something lift in him after praying it was great. I gave him a Rose Publication on Bible Promises and 20 Things God Can’t Do writing his name and the date and “forgiven” and “By the Spirit’s Power” in the front. He said he had a Bible he’d gotten from the Presbyterians. I don’t know who that was they must have put up a table at some point and given way Bibles. So I encouraged him to begin reading in John. I explained living inside out and gave him a Bible study. He finally had to run so I gave him my contact information and he said he appreciated my explaining everything and he ran off having recently realized he was about to be late for something. We’d spoken for nearly an hour.
I went to my locker pretty tapped out and got my coat and bundled up and headed out to the doors between me and the truck. As I go through the last lounge at the doorway where I park if there is anyone sitting unoccupied I’ll ask then to do a survey on my way out. I’m half grateful at that point if they say no since I’m tapped when I leave. So I walked by Alex and he said, “yes” I was surprised but I took off my gloves and earmuffs and unzipped my coat and began. He looked 17 was shorter than me by a head or so. He wore light blue pants and red tennis shoes. He had a very young tenor voice for a guy. He had short reddish hair, some freckles, a barely perceptible smattering of beard under his chin and jaw line and an earring in his right ear. He had on a jacket and jeans and was waiting for his dad it turned out. He had a back pack with about 50 nickel size round pins I never got a good look at on the front sitting on the ledge of the window where we sat. He seemed like a very kind soul. He said he wanted to go to Ireland, was Irish and looked it (the proverbial Irish Tenor). I asked him if he died what he would say to God to get into heaven and he said, “That’s a hard question.” Then thinking some more he had nothing so I said, “Do you think you might say that?” “I think so,” he replied, “I wouldn’t know what to say. I really don’t think I did anything to deserve to be in Heaven but I didn’t do anything to deserve not to go either.” He thought he had about a 50% chance of getting to Heaven. He said he had not been to Church since he was small and could not remember what kind it was. As I went through the Gospel I asked him, “Do you know the big thing Jesus did to take away your sins.” “Unhuh,” he replied, the way someone says it when they don’t know. So I explained the death of Christ for his sins, the blood that ceased him and the righteousness of God to his credit and that Jesus had risen from the dead to prove it to the peeps. He gave polite affirmation of it all as I went through. So I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins with God living inside him or thought something else and he said he’d “be the first one”. So I said if he wanted to trust in that there was a prayer he could pray and, after I explained it, I asked if he would want to pray silently to receive Jesus. He became very quiet and almost whispered, “Yes.” So I said he could pray then like I wasn’t there and asked if he like to, “Yes,” he said very softly and seriously again and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life inside out then and his dad walked up ( guy a bit shorter than me with a belly and a salt and pepper beard, seemed cool) and he said, “This is my dad.” I nodded to him and kept teaching Alex as I saw I’d pretty much run out of time. Something I said about trusting in God caught his dad’s attention and he said, “I’ve been telling him that his whole life.” I acknowledged him but kept focused on Alex and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front of the book Bible Promises for You to read and a Bible study in the Deity of Christ.  He did not have a bible so I had said if he’d like to wait I would get him one from my truck and he’d agreed but mentioning it again after his dad came up his dad said they had two Bibles at home. I regret now not getting him one with the stuff in back of his own so I hope I bump into him later. But it prompted me to give him the Rose Publication “Following Jesus”. I did not want to make his dad wait anymore and my truck was a decent walk away.  I told him God could forgive anything and gave him my contact info saying he could contact me about anything. I shook his hand which was small in mine but he had a solid grip and said I’d pray for him through spring and one year after and wished them Merry Christmas. The wished it back to me. I wish now I had offered his dad a booklet to read but my guess is he will look at what I gave Alex or God would have prompted me that way. I hope it wasn’t because I was tired.
So thanks for your prayers for the Ministry and for Evangelism today if you had a chance, God truly blessed. 70 students have prayed to receive Jesus this semester so far.
Love ya,
Bob