Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with good things from the Lord of Hosts. I had a great day on campus and Conner and Alexus each prayed with me to receive Jesus. Also, Cole said he would pray later so I am hopeful he will.

Conner was sitting at a table in the big lounge where we have Bible study. He had on an Illini hoodie with a big “I” on the front and blue jeans, he had a close trimmed beard and mustache. His thick brown hair was parted at the side and combed back in a sweep.  Block features good looking kid. He wanted to know how long it would take to do a survey and he wasn’t sure he’d have the time but I said, “How about the short version?” and he agreed. The main question is “Say you are walking down the road and get hit by a bus, you stand before God and he asks, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?” He wasn’t sure at all but thought the church had said it was about, “The good that you do.” So I began to explain the gospel to him and then bounced into the booklet so he’d be able to see some of the verses. i explained to all to him and he said, “I went to Catholic school for 4 years and no one ever explained this to me [clearly] this was good.” He wanted to be forgiven then and so I said he could pray to receive God’s forgiveness and talked him through the prayer. He wanted to trust in Jesus. So when I suggested he could pray he did. He gratefully kept the booklet and I explained living “inside out” with God first transforming us on the inside. I had already given him a symbolic view of the mass saying he could use the time to tell god thanks that Jesus had died for him and so he was forgiven. It had taken longer than I thought and I apologized but he said he’d did have to leave as soon as he thought. He’d gotten a text while we were talking I guess it was to that effect. I gave him a Bible Study and 20 Things God Can’t Do writing “By the Spirit’s power” in the front his name and the date he was forgiven. “One of the questions I did not ask you on the survey was “What is the likelihood you will go to Heaven when you die?” “Well now I’d say it’s 100%,” he replied with a grin. I agreed that was true since he was trusting in the righteousness of Jesus. He asked what the main differences were between Catholic and protestant. I said the primary difference was basically that the sacraments act on you to give you power from God. But that I would say even if that were true it is still the Holy Spirit that is at work. So I would say the Spirit works without the sacraments and they would probably say He works through them and it is the way you request the aid of God. I said I did not think the Bible really taught that, “But it is an interpretation.” he suggested. I agreed. I said that the Catholic Church just like all other Christian churches would teach that only God can forgive sin. So when you confess to a priest he is saying God has forgiven your sins and that is only true because Jesus died for you. That seemed to make sense to him. I realize there are other differences in the Roman Church but he asked me for the main one and my experience in talking to kids on campus is many of the teachings of the church they simply do not agree with and many priests do not teach them anymore. He gave me his email and said, “Thanks man.” “I’ll see you in Heaven” I said shaking his hand. “I’ll see you there.” he said smiling and I was off.

Alexus was sitting on the floor under the elevator by the bookstore behind some book bag cubies. She was a pretty black girl with a button nose and thin lips her hair pulled back and into something of a bun. She was wearing a pink jean jacket and blue jeans tucked into her boots. I asked her if she wanted to do a student survey and she said, “I already did that.” so i asked her if they’d asked the question I asked Conner [above]. They hadn’t and so I asked what she would say but she wasn’t sure what to say to God. I walked her through some leading questions but she didn’t land on the truth. I said, “Would you like to know what the Bible says about how to go to Heaven?” “You can tell me sure,” she replied saying she went to church. As I went thrugh the Gospel she could not remember how God had taken away her sins. I thought it might be how I was asking the question so I tried some leading questions but they didn’t trigger the right answer. I continued with the Gospel and it seemed to come back to her somewhat. When I asked her if she’d want to be forgiven with God inside her or thought something else she said, “I’d wanna be forgiven with God inside.” I said I thought she’d probably known the story but did she think she’d been trusting in Jesus. “I knew I was supposed to trust in Jesus, I knew but I’m not sure…”  I explained there was a prayer she could pray if she thought she had not trusted in Christ and she was anxious to pray it after I explained it and did. She was grateful to be able to keep the booklet too and gave me her e-mail. I gave her a Bible study and 20 Thins God Can’t Do and explained living by the Spirit’s power Writing that in the front along with her name and the Date. I told her I would pray for her each night and I got up to leave and she said, “Thank you.” “God bless you,” I replied. “God bless you too,” she said. And I headed up the stairs.

Cole was sitting at a table in the hall leading into the SRC. He had a few minutes. I got through the Gospel with him and he said he believed but I think he wanted to think it through and be alone. He had very short hair on the sides and the mop on top was dyed blonde. He said both his parents had been raised catholic but hadn’t done much more than take them to Church and make them aware of Christianity. He wasn’t sure why but said if he had a family he would want to raise them going to church. He really liked that idea and said it all seemed true to him. “It resonates with you,” I suggested and he agreed. He asked what I thought he should do. I said he should pray to receive Christ and begin going to a church and look for a wife there. “Do you think I could find someone and change them telling them what i believed?” he asked. I said it was a bad idea to marry someone with the idea he could change them and that never worked but God could change them and he could pray for that before he married someone. I encouraged him to pray to receive Jesus again and I gave him a Bible Study and 20 Tings God Can’t Do saying that each of the reading were short and he could get his feet wet. I gave him my contact info and asked him to text me and I would pray for him. He took it but was late for something and had to head out. So I’ll keep him in my prayers for a while and hope to hear from him.

A Jewish guy Eric with a sharp features and a winter cap pulled down low to his eyes was not interested in the booklet but when I offered him  the Rose pamphlet “100 prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus” he said, ‘Yeah, let’s do that.” He took a Bible study about Jesus claims to be God by appealing to the Old Testament. The Old Testament connections appealed to him as a Jewish person. So he’s another to pray for this year.

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 you had a blessed week and the world is still up and running around you. We met with a student today giving some guidance. Yesterday’s Evangelism at school was great and Olivia prayed to receive Jesus.

Olivia was sitting on a cushioned bench in the hall of the science building waiting for her class to begin just down the hall. She had a small sweet face and a charming African accent, tall girl. I didn’t have a chance to ask her her country of birth. Her hair was up in multiple tight thin braids, she wore brown slacks and a Jacket. She was sure she was going to Heaven and when I asked her what she would say to God if He asked her why He should let her in she said, “Because I’ve helped a lot of people. I’ve forgiven people who are not supposed to be forgiven”. She listened to the Gospel then and knew Jesus had died for her sins. I asked her if she wanted to be forgiven and she did when I asked her if she was trusting in Christ she said, “To be honest up until now I was hoping I was good enough and that would get me into Heaven.” Then she said, “I don’t want to cut you off but I am late for my class.” I said “Ok well if you want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus there is a prayer you could pray and I read the first line and she began reading it with me so I stopped and let her continue on her own, praying, and she finished, smiling a big smile at the end and hurriedly getting up. I wrote “inside out” and told her she needed to trust in God for anything he asked her to do. I quickly said, “Let me give you a book.” as she stood up to leave taking the booklet from me. I wrote “By the Spirit’s Power” in the front of 20 Things God Can’t Do and quickly handed it to her. “I’m sorry I made you late,” I said. “It’s OK it’s only 3 minutes, It’s right here.” and she ran a few steps and entered the room. But I’ll probably bump into her again waiting for her 2 O’clock class to begin in the hall there and can give her some more stuff.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism yesterday if you had a moment.  God truly blessed.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you day was blessed in the Lord. I had a good day on campus and Sherin, and Axel prayed with me to receive Christ, and Mike prayed rededicating his life to Christ.

Sherin was sitting in the Cafeteria against the windows. Her family is from India and she went to a Gospel church. She had a broad muliti-colored stripped sweater on and tan slacks. Her hair was shoulder length and she had full facial features and braces on her teeth. When I asked her one thing she’d do before she died she said she’d pray, misunderstanding the bucket list question. When I asked her what she would say to get into Heaven she said, “I would maybe talk to God and ask if I did all the good deeds that I should do.” She thought she had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. She listened closely to the Gospel reading each of the verses as I quoted them to her, she was very attentive. When I asked her what Jesus had done to forgive her sins she could not think of anything. So I continued on to explain that Christ had died and rose from the dead and His righteousness was to her credit if God adopted her.  I asked her if she wanted to be forgiven pointing at two circles the one on the left with God outside her life and the one on the right with Christ’s Spirit living inside her on the throne of her life she said, “The one on the right.” So I said that if she wanted to trust in what Jesus had done there was a prayer she could pray and I walked her through it saying, “It seems like you haven’t put this together before and she shook her head so I said she could pray silently trusting in Jesus and be forgiven, “You wanna do it?” I asked. “Yeah” she replied and prayed to receive Christ. I gave her the Book 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote her name in the front and the date she had been forgiven and “By the Spirit’s power, explaining the Christian life living inside out. I also gave her a Bible study and told her I would pray for her, and that if she trusted in Christ’s righteousness to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. “God bless you,” I said getting up to leave. She thanked me and I headed out towards the foyer.

Mike was sitting in the MAC arts building waiting to buy some tickets at the ticket window. He was a good looking art student wearing a tan jacket with a days’ growth of neatly trimmed beard and sandy hair. When I asked him what he would say to God to enter into Heaven he said, “You shouldn’t” I probed a bit as to why and he said, “Just based on myself, I know I’m not good enough to.” I went through the Gospel and he knew it and wanted to be forgiven but seemed to hesitate so I asked a bit and he said he’d prayed a prayer like that before but failed to live up to it. I asked if based on his response of being good enough to go to Heaven he had really understood the prayer he’d prayed. He gave me a look like I had a point.  I explained that God was faithful even when we were not and though he had sinned he could confess and begin again and God would forgive him.. I said the worst thing I could hear from my dad growing up was that he was disappointed in me. I’d rather he’d of hit me. He never did though I was spanked when little) but God does not say that, He knows the future and has a plan to work our failures into good. I said sometimes if we are stuck in our sin failing and repeating it, it is good to find a friend who would pray for us. I asked if he’d like to pray and rededicating himself to God and begin again asking for God’s help. He decided to pray. I promised to pray for him each night through this spring and one year after and he was grateful and thanked me. I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do and I wrote his name in the front and the date writing “forgiven” under it and then added “x 2” and he smiled a bit sniffling gratefully. I also gave him a Bible study on forgiveness thanked me and I headed out.

Caitlin bumped into me in the hall (tall blonde girl) walking beside me toward the PE building, she’d prayed with me to receive Jesus earlier in the year. She said things were going good but mentioned, “The things you gave me, I don’t have them anymore, I set them down and I think they got thrown out.” I asked if she would like another copy and she said she would so I gave her a copy of the booklet and the Bile study and then the book 20 Things God Can’t Do asking if that was the one and she said it was and thanked me. I reminded her about living by the Spirit and asking for God’s strength to do everything he asked her to do.

I found Axel on the third floor of the BIC building. He looked like a regular guy, brown hair combed back wavy on top, black framed glasses wearing a black coat and jeans. He was really friendly and upbeat. Raised Catholic he went to church kind of sporadically with his parents but always on the holidays. When I asked what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “Hmm, that’s a good question, let’s see…” Thinking a bit he continued, “I should be let into Heaven because throughout my life I’ve gone out of my way to help others.” He thought he had about an 80% chance of going to Heaven. He listened thoughtfully to the Gospel and said “Right” here and there and affirmed things through out. He knew Jesus had become the sacrifice for our sins. He wanted to be forgiven but had not been trusting in Christ for forgiveness so I said he could pray and receive that forgiveness and talked him through the prayer asking if he’d like to pray silently and he said “Yeah!” enthusiastically and prayed to receive Christ. He had a Bible from “Sunday School” and so I asked if he’d like a prayer book and one on specific Bible verses and he said he really would so I gave him the books, Pocket Prayers and Bible Promises for You writing his mane and the date he’d been forgiven in the front. “Perfect,” he said. I gave him a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ and he gave me his email to send him some stuff. I also explained that if he trusted in the righteousness of Christ to be his righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. “Have a good one,” I said getting up to leave. “Yeah you to. Thank you.” he said sincerely.

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. I had a good day on campus though no one came to Christ. Jojo a big guy with glasses and curly topped hair looked Black and Filipino who wanted to believe the Gospel but struggled to believe the Bible. I gave him a copy of the rose publication “Why Trust the Bible” I said maybe if it helped I’d see him in heaven. If he saw me there he’d say he’d tell people, “This is the guy who gave me my ticket”.

https://www.amazon.com/Why-Trust-Bible-pamphlet-Answers/dp/1596361395/ref=sr_1_80?ie=UTF8&qid=1509421537&sr=8-80&keywords=rose+publishing

A pretty black girl had her straight hair pulled up and back and half round glasses. Her name was Pashun (passion) and she began to cry when I explained God had forgiven her. She already had been trusting in Christ but thought that her recent moral failures meant God would not forgive her any longer. “If you keep doing the same thing He gives up on you,” she said. I explained that the Bible says, “Though we are faithless he is faithful.” and “No one can separate us from the Love of God”. I gave her a Rose Pamphlet “Bible Promises for Hope and Courage” as she wiped the tears away and a Bible study on forgiveness and the book Pocket Prayers. I was really great to help her understand her security in Christ and that she was sealed by the Spirit.  It was a good day and I got some good seeds planted too.

https://www.amazon.com/Bible-Promises-Rose-Publishing/dp/1596360747/ref=sr_1_75?ie=UTF8&qid=1509418564&sr=8-75&keywords=rose+publishing

So thanks for your prayers for the Ministry and Evangelism today, though no one directly trusted Christ for the first time God truly blessed.

In HIm,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I Hope your day was blessed walking with the Lord. I had a good day on campus. A girl named Honey prayed to receive Jesus today. I’m not sure if it is a nick name or her folks actually named her “Honey”. I did not have a lot of time with her as she was checking her phone about to walk out the doors when I came across her. She was sitting in the small lounge down the hall from where we have Bible Study. She appeared to be Filipino and had long straight hair down past her shoulders parted in the middle, cute girl, petite. She wore a black coat and gray leggings and had 3/4 circle glasses that flatten somewhat at the top that continually slipped down her button nose as we spoke. I asked her if she would like to do a student survey and she said “What’s it about?” “It’s questions about what you think about God.” She seemed uncertain so I said, “It’s questions like, say 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 why should I let you into Heaven what would you say?” She said she wasn’t sure. “Well would you like to know what the Bible says about how you get to Heaven or not so much?” She said, “OK”. “Do you want to take a survey or just know what the Bible says?” I asked sitting next to her and telling her my name. “Just the Bible.” she replied. So I began to show her verses some of which were the booklet and to go through the Gospel. I asked her how God took away her sins and she said she did not know. She also said she went to church it turned out to be Roman Catholic. I then explained that God became a man, Jesus and he had died for her sins. Then I explained Imputation to her with an illustration about extra credit in class she was caught up in listening to and quoted Isaiah 61:10 and Romans 13:14. “So you don’t go to Heaven because you’re good but because Jesus is good. Like if you marry a millionaire ya got a million bucks or if you get adopted into a billionaire’s family you get to live int the mansion and drive the cars.” I said God adopts her and makes her his child and gives her his stuff, “the righteousness of God.” “I like that,” she replied. I explained she had to receive Jesus by trusting in Him and what he had done on the cross. I asked her if she wanted to be forgiven trusting in Jesus with God living inside her or thought something else and she wanted to be forgiven. “Well it doesn’t seem like you had ever put all this together before?” “Right.” she replied. So I explained if she wanted to trust in Jesus to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray silently in her heart. She agreed and took the booklet and I said, “Just pretend I’m not here.” “Can I keep this at the end?” she asked of the booklet and I said, “Sure.” She prayed then to receive Jesus and I explained the life in Christ living by the Spirit. I gave her the book, 20 Things God Can’t Do writing her name and the date she had been forgiven and a bible study to read. I gave her a symbolic view of the mass saying when that time came in the service the little wafer was symbolic of Jesus body and the wine was symbolic of His blood so it is remembering Jesus died for her and so her sins were forgiven.” Oh!” she said having never put that together before. “So when you take it you can just tell God ‘thank you’.” She gave me her email to send her some more stuff. “Thank you, Bob,” she said shaking my hand. I said, “You’re welcome, if I don’t see you around again I’ll see you in Heaven. And she smiled happily.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance, God blessed and I got some other good seeds planted too.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed in the Lord. Though yesterday no one came to Christ I did have some good discipleship times with a couple guys encouraging their faith. I also one long apologetic discussion with Saul, who would not believe though I answered many questions, a bit discouraging though I’ll pray for him for a while. I had a good day on campus today however and Juan and a girl named Imani each prayed with me to receive Jesus.

Juan was sitting at the edge of a lounge in a barrel chair in front of a coffee table. He was Latino, and had a long face full lips and wore a white ball cap with ORD on it for the airport, a jacket and jeans and had braces on his teeth. When I asked him what he would say to God if he died he said, “That’s a hard question,” smiling. He repeated that again thinking finally saying, “Because I believed in Him most of my life. I’m willing to sacrifice everything I’ve ever done in order for Him to accept me into Heaven.” He thought he had about an 85% chance of going to Heaven. I asked if he went to Church at all. He didn’t go to Church much but had been doing a Bible Study of sorts with some Jehovah’s Witnesses. I warned him that they did not believe Jesus was God and spent some time explaining that. This seemed to trouble him, he really did not smile much or as warmly after that and I thought he might reject the Gospel. But it turned out he did not know many of the more controversial things the JW’s believe. In the end I gave him a Bible Study on Jesus’ claims to be God which explains His appeals to the Old Testament. I also gave him the Student edition of The Case for Christ. He listened closely to the Gospel and said he wanted to be forgiven believing on Jesus. And after I explained the prayer to him he prayed to receive Christ. I felt like I might have been overwhelming him with materials so I said he didn’t have to take them but he accepted them. I gave him a Bible showing him the “Where to Turn” section and he liked that.  I wrote his name in the front and the date he had been forgiven. I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do writing by the Spirit’s power in the front. I explained a life living by the Spirit and he gave me his Email. He said, “I’d thought Jesus was the Son of God?” I explained the Trinity to him reflecting on his own existence, he was one person but had a body like Jesus, a spirit or emotions like the Holy Spirit and a mind or a will like the Father, “Like who are you talking to when you are alone and you are driving your car? It’s there is another you inside you.” That seemed to help a bit. I opened the Bible I had given him to john 1 and read verse 3 “All things were created through Him,and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.” I pointed out Jesus could not have been created by God because the Bible says Jesus is the creator of everything that was created. So He could then not have been created. He saw that and understood. So I will be praying he grows and God safeguards his heart.

Imani was waiting for her class to begin in the second floor hall. She’s a cute African-American girl wearing a “Pink” hoodie jacket (which happened to be pink in color) and leggings. She had a bright spirit and sweet smile and her hair was in a curly perm to her shoulders. I asked her what she would say to God to get into heaven and she thought for a bit and said, “Because I am a child of yours.” she only thought she had a 30% chance of going to Heaven. She’d gone to church some when she was younger and her dad now brought her to a different Church sometimes she did not seem to like as much. I went through the Gospel with her and she listened closely but she didn’t know how God had taken away her sins. So I finished the Gospel and she said she wanted to be forgiven, when I asked. I explained there was a prayer she could pray and I explained it to her and handed her the booklet. She seemed to be reading the next page so I said, “Don’t forget to pray the prayer.” “Oh you want me to pray it right now?” she replied. I said she could pray it silently in her heart and she did. I gave her a Bible even though she said they had a lot of Bibles at home she did not have her own.  I wrote her name in the front of the Bible and the date she had been forgiven. I showed her the “Where to Turn” section and she really liked that as Juan had. She was now a couple minutes late for class and everyone had filed in so I quickly gave her a Bible Study and wrote “By the Spirit” in the front of 20 Things God Can’t Do having explained living inside out. I said if she trusted in the righteousness of God to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was now 100%. She got up to cross the hall to class and I said I would be praying for her and if she had any questions my email was on the booklet. “OK, Thank you, thank you!” she said cheerfully and went into her classroom.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for Evangelism today if you had a chance God truly blessed. I also had a good conversation with Oni who had prayed to receive Jesus earlier this year and she seems to be from a good home and is doing well.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and you sensed God was with you. I had a good day on campus and Chris prayed with me to receive Jesus. He was sitting on the stairs, waiting for a friend, right in front of the bookstore. He was a big guy 5 x5 wearing jeans and a pullover gray hoodie. He had light brown hair and bangs across the front, a warm round face, good looking kid. He wasn’t fat just big though not taller than me. I asked him if he wanted to do a student survey for our Bible study group and he said, “I already signed up for that.” I explained this was different and was about how you go to Heaven. “Say you’re walking down the road, you get hit by a bus, so you’re dead and you stand before God and He asks, ‘why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?” He thought for a moment and said, “I don’t know.” “Well, would you like to know how the Bible says you get to Heaven or not so much?” I asked. He said OK so I began to go through the Gospel with him. I asked what the big thing was that Jesus had done to take away his sin and he replied (misunderstanding the question), “He got me off drugs.” He didn’t seem know then of the cross or wasn’t drawing it to mind as I prodded him a bit so I continued to tell him the Gospel (familiar to him later) and the imputed righteousness of Christ. He was a nice guy and went to a Lutheran Church. Finishing it all I asked him if he wanted to be forgiven with God living inside or thought something else and he said, “With God.” So I asked if he had trusted in that or was hoping he was good enough? Had he thought about Jesus having died for him or was he hoping God was loving and magnanimous and would just forgive him. “All of those things,” he replied. Well it seems like you knew the story some but had not really settled on trusting in Jesus to be forgiven.” He agreed that was true so I said he could receive forgiveness trusting in Christ and God would give him the strength through the Spirit living in Him to live the Christian life. I talked him through the prayer and he decided to pray saying “I don’t pray out loud.” And I said that was fine, I thought I’d already told him he could pray silently but maybe I’d said “Quietly”. And Chris prayed to receive Christ. He said he had 4 Bibles so I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do writing his name and the date he’d been forgiven. I wrote, “By the Spirit’s power.” in the front explaining everything God asked him to do in life He would also give him the power to do by His Spirit. His friend walked up just then and I said I’d see him around and he was happy.

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 today walking with the Lord. I had a good day on campus today DeAnte and Kaylin prayed to receive Jesus and yesterday Zach and a girl named Miracle prayed with me to receive Christ.

DeAnte was sitting in the Mac Arts Building on the second floor at a bar height table looking down at the lounge below. He was working on a sketch with about 20 colored pencils strewn around a drawing of a face. He had a rough afro that came to multiple points the side shaved in a fade. He had a pale grey-blue t-shirt on and jeans and was tall and lean. He said he went to a Baptist church sometimes. He had full features good looking guy and thought he had about a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. When I asked him why God should let him into Heaven he said, “I have no reason to go to Hell.” He followed right along with the Gospel and knew Jesus had died to take away our sins. I asked him if he wanted to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done or if he thought something else he simply and he said, “I would want to be…” pointing at the circle with Christ on the throne of his life.  I said if he wanted to trust in what Jesus had done on the cross he could pray a prayer and I talked through it with him and asked him if it was the desire of his heart reading the words and he nodded so I told him he could pray it silently to be forgiven. He prayed then and received Christ. I gave him a Bible Study and got his e-mail and a copy of 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote “By the Spirit’s power” and the date he’d been forgiven in the front having explained living the Christian life “inside out”. Saying that if he trusted in Christ’s righteousness to be his the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. He thanked me and I said I admired his gift of drawing and he thanked me. “God bless you” I said. “Have a good day” he replied. “Thank you I will.”  I walked off down the hall to go out the back of the building.

Kaylin is a shy, petite girl, cute with straight hair falling down on the shoulders. African American wearing a hoodie that was two shades of blue. When I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven she said, “That’s a good question.” And she thought for a while and said, “I don’t know.” She struggled a bit more to think of something to say and said, “In the heat of the moment I don’t know what I’d say.” She thought she had an 86% chance of going to Heaven. She said she occasionally went to church with a great aunt who went to the Catholic Church but when she went with her parents they went to a Community Church. I began to go through the Gospel and I asked her what the big thing thing was that Jesus had done to take away her sins and she couldn’t think of anything. So I explained that Jesus had died to pay the penalty for her sins and His blood had become a power in the world that purifies her from her sins and his righteousness was a gift to her. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven and she said she would so I offered her the prayer to pray explaining it and saying she could pray it silently. She thought for a moment with a “Humm” and then took the booklet to pray finishing she said, “What time is it? I have to go to class!” We were sitting outside her classroom it was 5 minutes before the hour but she hurriedly got up holding the open booklet. I took it and explained trusting in the Spirit to her and gave her the Book 20 Things God Can’t Do. “God bless you I’ll keep you in my prayers,” I said. “God bless you too” she replied and hustled into her class.

Yesterday Zach was sitting at the end of the PE hallway on a bench that empties out into the MAC Arts building outdoor arena. He had a ball cap on, big guy, plays offensive line, he hoped to play football at a D1 school. He wore a hoodie and cargo shorts and sandals was unshaven with a bit coming in here and there, kind of a dough boy face, nice friendly guy. He went to Catholic Church here and there but always on holidays. He knew Jesus had died to take away sins but hadn’t applied it to himself as when I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “That I’m a really nice person to a lot of people.” He listened closely to the Gospel and understood everything. So I asked if he wanted to be forgiven with Christ living inside him or if he thought something else. “The first one.” He said pointing at the circle. I offered him the prayer he could pray to be forgiven trusting in Christ saying he could pray it silently and begin a relationship with God. “Hm…” he said thinking. “Umhum,” he said agreeing and prayed to receive Jesus. I gave him a a Bible study and a copy of 20 Things God Can’t Do writing “By the Spirit’s power” in the front and explained a symbolic remembrance view of the Mass. “I’ll be praying you get in a D1 school,” I said. “Thank you.” I told him some of the other players had said one of the coaches had a Bible study on Monday nights and it might be a good way to meet some people. He thought he might check that out.

Miracle was sitting in the SE corner lounge of the 2nd floor of the BIC. She’s an attractive black girl with a wide face and broader features, her long wavy hair fell just past her shoulders. She had a decorative print hoodie on and gray leggings. She said they had gone to a Catholic church in the city but since moving to Joliet her mom had not found a church. She was just beginning to start a subway sandwich but seemed to lose interest in it as we talked. I asked her what she would say to God as to why should let her into heaven. “That’s a good question, Maybe because I counted on you to let me in, good or bad, evil or worse.” She was sure she would go to Heaven when she died. I began to go through the Gospel and asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sin. She really seemed to have no idea. But she believed the Gospel when I finished and said she wanted to be forgiven so I said, “Well it seems like you haven’t put all this together before?” She shook her head that that was true. So I said if she’d like to ask for forgiveness there was a prayer she could pray. I talked her through it. “Not so I would hear you but silently in your heart God would hear your prayer and you could begin a relationship with God based on what Jesus has done,” She laughed and said, “You won’t even look.” but she took the booklet and prayed as I looked down and she receive forgiveness from the Lord. She didn’t have a Bible so I gave her one writing her name in it and the date she had been forgiven and showing her the “Where to Turn” section answering life questions with Bible verses. I gave her a symbolic view of the Mass saying she could use the time to thank the Lord for dying for her so she’d be forgiven. I gave her a Bible study and 20 Things God Can’t Do writing By the Spirit’s power” in the front and explained the Christian life living inside out. She began to wrap her sandwich back up and I said, “I’m sorry you did not get to eat your lunch.” “It was worth it,” she replied, “I can eat it at home. Thank you.” “You’re welcome,” I said getting up to leave. “Thank you so much for everything,” she replied.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. God has truly blessed this year 57 people have prayed to receive Christ this fall.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a great day walking with the Lord Monday there are no classes at school today but I’m a bit under the weather anyway. I had a really good day on campus yesterday and Mark, Celine, Peter and Deionte each prayed with me to receive Jesus.

Mark was sitting in the PE building on the stuffed sofa’s upstairs and had his lap top open but he didn’t seem to be doing anything so I asked him if he would wanna do a student survey for our Bible study group and he said OK. He had some ink on his arms, goatee and mustache, taller and bigger than me with a black and blue sort of puzzle piece print athletic shirt on that was tight over muscle and black nylon sweats on. Nice guy said he didn’t go to church at present. When I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked why He should let him into Heaven he said, “Because I believe in You, I always pray to You. He thought he had a 50/50 shot to get into Heaven. He knew Jesus had died for his sins. After I had finished going through the Gospel and the imputed righteousness of Christ I asked if he wanted to be forgiven and he said, “Definitely.”  I asked if he had been trusting in Christ for his forgiveness or hoping he was good enough. “To be honest I was hoping I was good enough,” he replied. So I walked him through the payer explaining that he could pray to begin to trust in what Jesus had done to be forgiven and he said, “OK.” And Mark prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the life in Christ living “inside out” and wrote, “By the Spirit’s Power” in the front of 20 Things God Can’t Do giving him a Bible study and a  The Bible Promise Book since he already had a Bible and got his Email to send him some stuff. I told him I would pray for him and explained that if he was trusting in the righteousness of God it was 100% that he would go to heaven and he thanked me as I was standing up to go he shook my hand and said, “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

Celine was sitting in the hallway of the ground floor of the BIC that leads over to the student affairs offices sitting in some chairs. She said her mom was a fan of Celine Dion and so she had her as a namesake. She was a attractive girl, tall, fair skinned African American with 2 long braids of her hair coming down to her shoulder, thin lips, braces on her teeth and cute nob of a nose wearing baggy sweats. She wanted to travel to Greece. When I asked her what she would say to God she replied, “I would say umm… I’ve been a good person all my life. I’ve been there for all my friends and give them lots of love. I’m Catholic. If I passed away somehow, He’s been such a big part of my life I would want Him there when I died.” She thought the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 80%. I began to explain the Gospel to her and she listened closely. I asked her what the big thing Jesus did that took away her sin. “Baptism?” she said. I explained that in the Catholic church they teach Baptism takes away your original sin, some churches baptize babies to put them in the covenant and some do not teach you have original sin to begin with. “But how does God take away the sins you do now, like say you are short with someone and you feel bad about it later and ask for forgiveness. What are you thinking?”  I asked her if she thought being a good religious person made her the kind of person God just forgives, and she agreed to that. “When you do something wrong,” I continued, “You damage God’s stuff. Even if you hurt yourself you belong to God. So you create a debt and God is just God has to do something to pay for the damage.” I then went into the Gospel saying that it was how God payed for her sins. I said that the Blood of Christ became a force in the world that cleansed her from sin so God could live inside her and explained imputed righteousness. I asked if she understood and she said yes and I asked her if she would want to be forgiven she said, “Yes, doesn’t everyone say that?” I explained some people just thought they were good enough and Jesus was kind of an add on, or they did not believe in Jesus or believed they did not need to ask for forgiveness God was magnanimous, like in Islam. I said if she wanted to she could pray and begin trusting in what Jesus had done on the cross to forgive her and walked her through the prayer saying she could pray silently. And Celine took the booklet and prayed to receive Christ. I explained living by the Spirit and wrote her name “By the Spirit’s Power” and the date in the front of 20 Things God Can’t Do and gave her a Bible Study. I got her Email telling her I would pray for her and that if she trusted in Jesus’ righteousness it was 100%. “Thank you,” she said as I got up to leave and I said sure and I was sorry I had talked so long since she’d asked how long it would take going in and I’d said 6 or7 minutes. “No that’s OK,” she replied and I headed out.

Peter was sitting on a cushioned bench in the hall of the east wing of the science building. He looked Asian, wore brown horn rimmed glasses, jeans cuffed at boots and a t-shirt under a black cardigan sweater. Hair combed back something of a chin beard and mustache. Seemed like an intelligent guy and he was sitting in the science building after all, waiting for a class to begin. He said he wanted to do some MMA fighting. What he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “I would say because… if I woke up and I was in Hell then that’s where I belong.” He thought he’d have a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven and said he’d gone to a Roman Catholic Church growing up and then a Christian church and then had developed beliefs of his own. I began to go through the Gospel with him and did not ask him what Jesus had done to take away his sins as I usually do. I think I was just tired having been at school for several hours talking to peeps already. I continued explaining the Gospel to him and he listened to all I had to say about the righteousness of Christ to his credit. I asked him if he wanted to be forgiven and he said, “Yes.” I was a bit surprised so I asked if when he’d asked God for forgiveness in the past if he’d thought he was basically a good person God would forgive or if he had trusted he’d  be forgiven because Jesus had died for him. “The first one,” he replied. “Do you believe Jesus was God He died for your sins and rose from the dead?” I asked.”Yes,” he replied again. So I said that if he wanted to trust in what Christ had done to forgive him there was a prayer he could pray. I talked him through it and said he could pray it silently in his heart. He took the booklet and prayed to receive Christ. I said he could keep it and explained the Christian life to him living by the Spirit. He didn’t have a Bible so I gave him one and wrote his name in the front and the date he’d been forgiven. I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do writing “By the Spirit’s Power” in the front also giving him a Bible study. “Any questions?” I asked after I had finished. “No,” he said and shook my hand. “Thank you for your time.” I said he was welcome and headed down the hall.

I was pretty shot and decided I had nothing left in me so I walked over the bridge on the second floor and was planning to walk out past the doors to the library. But I felt a prompting to go down the stairs instead. Deionte was sitting there on the steps waiting for a ride. He said he’d do a survey and I was hoping he was already a Christian so I could do less talking feeling so tanked. He had a rough afro and was wearing brown pants with a lot of layered stitching in them across the front of the legs. He had on bright blue shoes and a blue shirt.He said he wanted to own a big house, “With a big maid to clean it,” I suggested and he agreed. A modest house is to be preferred if you clean it yourself. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “Because I was a good person while I was alive. He went to a nondenominational church each week. He was 100% sure he was going to Heaven. When I asked him what the big thing was that Jesus had done to take away his sins however he had no idea at all. I’m not sure he had ever heard the Gospel as it all seemed novel to him. I asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus or if he thought something else he said, “Wanna be forgiven.” “Well it seems like you never had a chance to put all this together before right?” He agreed shaking his head with a look like he hadn’t even heard it much less put it together. So I offered him the prayer in the booklet and he happily prayed to receive Christ. I gave him the book Bible Promises for You. I wrote his name and the date he’d been forgiven in front and gave him a Bible study. He said he liked to read so I also asked him if he’d like one of the student editions of Lee Strobel’s books. He picked The Case for Faith. Sensing I should give him another book I offered him a copy of Pocket Prayers by Max Lucado. That seemed to be of the Lord’s prompting as he said, “I be wanting to know some prayers, I only know one.” His syntax wasn’t nightly news style but he was a smart guy. I explained living by the Spirit’s power to him and got his email to send him some more things and I headed off to my truck.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism if you had a chance, God truly blessed even in my weakness. God is good.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed walking with the Lord. I had a really good day and Jenee, {Ja nay} Annalisa  and Nick each prayed with me to receive Christ today.

Jenee was sitting on a bench in the Mac right by the elevators on the ground floor where a couple other students have prayed to receive Jesus this semester. She was wearing a ball cap with a large rose that covered the front and a stem that went down onto the brim. She was wearing leggings and had a pull-over hoodie that said Ashland Oregon on it. She had shoulder length, thick light brown hair that famed her face. Her chin came to something of a point and she wore rectangle framed black plastic glasses. She was not very responsive at all and I was thinking it was kind of a tough way to start the day. She didn’t laugh at anything kids often laugh at that I commonly say and her mouth barely made an expression while I spoke. I couldn’t tell if she had any interest in the Gospel. She said she only went to Church on Christmas to a Catholic Church. When I asked her what she would say to God if asked why He should let her into Heaven she just said, “I don’t know.” She seemed to know Jesus had done something to take away her sins but didn’t know what. She thought she had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. As I finished going through the Gospel I asked if she’d want to be forgiven with God living inside her or if she thought something else. “Forgiven,” She replied. I asked if she believed Jesus was God, had died for her sins and rose from the dead and she said, “Yes,” So I explained if she wanted to trust in Christ and what He had done to forgive her she could pray a prayer to receive His forgiveness and walked her through it. She said OK, took the booklet and quietly prayed as I looked down and could barely hear her.  I explained the Christian life to her living inside out and wrote “By the Spirit’s Power” in the front of 20 Things God Can’t Do. I gave her a Bible study and a Bible writing her name in the front and the date she’d been forgiven. I explained that if she was trusting in the Righteousness of Christ to be her righteousness by faith the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I gave her a card with the Website for Compass Church saying she could listen to some sermons and maybe would like to go there. “I live in Naperville,” she replied. I said they had a church there too. I told her I would pray for her each night and gave her hand a squeeze and said, “God Bless you.” “You too,” she replied with just a slight move of her mouth that might be called a smile and gently squeezed my hand back and I headed up the stairs.

Annalisa was the complete opposite of Jenee as she was responsive throughout so at least I could tell she was tracking. She had walked by me when I was taking a couple bites of an energy bar sitting in a sill seat overlooking the lounge that joins the Science Buildings. I didn’t get more than a glance at the back of her, I think she was walking a guy to class and she turned the corner, but then came back out and sat at one of the tables looking out over the lounge putting her head down like she was gonna nap. I still couldn’t see her face but in the off chance I wouldn’t be ignored I said, “Would ya like to do a student survey for a Bible study group? What ya think about God and stuff?” She looked up at me and said, “Sure.” She seemed like a really nice person and went to Mary Queen of Heaven in Elmhurst. She had long dark brown hair, full lips, red lipstick, looked Italian and had an off the shoulder peasant style blouse on and leggings, pretty. She said she’d like to see the Northern lights. I asked her what she would say to God if He asked her why He should let her into Heaven and she said, “Oh I don’t know.” That is a first response for a lot of people but after a moment she said she really wouldn’t know what to say. “I mean I’m the type of person that always gives to others, I never expect anything I guess.” I said, “The Bible says each of you should consider one another as more important than himself, so that is Christianity, or part of it.” I Went on to explain the Gospel to her but she could not think of what Jesus had done to take away her sins, though it came back to her a bit as I continued. She said she would like to be forgiven as I finished so asked if she thought in the past she would be forgiven because she was a good person and God would forgive her because of that? She agreed that was true. So I explained she could ask for forgiveness based on what Jesus had done for her by praying and talked her through the prayer. She took the booklet and prayed it. I explained living Inside out, by the Spirit’s Power writing that in the front of 20 Things God Can’t Do and the date she had been forgiven with her name, and also gave her a bible study on the Deity of Christ.  I explained a symbolic view of the mass saying even if she was a bit sleepy on a Sunday she could remember that Jesus had died for her and she was forgiven and just say “thank you” when she took it. She gave me her email to send her some stuff. I gave her the book Pocket Prayers too. I got up to go then and she said, “Thank you, I really appreciate it. Thank you so much.” I said “You’re welcome, maybe I’ll see you in Heaven and you could tell me what you’ve been up to and she said, “Of course.” And smiled.

I had been at school for a while and decided to head out so I crossed over to the SRC building and went down the elevator seeing Nick outside the bookstore. He had on sweats and had a shorter mop of hair and glasses, looked a bit like “Where’s Waldo” though not quite as long of a face. He was sitting in some chairs but said he had just done a survey when I asked. “So they told you how to get to heaven and stuff?” He said they had. I asked if he went to church it turned out he was Lutheran and went to church some, “But I mostly just read the Bible.” So I said I had a book he might like and set my pack on the coffee table in front of him to pull out Pocket Prayers showing it to him. So I just decided to ask what he would say to God if he died and was asked by God “Why should I let you into heaven?” “I got confirmed, I was baptized…” he said uncertainly. I said Christianity is like a blood transfusion where you have to have the same kind of blood, God wanted to transfuse his life into him, live inside him with His Holy Spirit but first He had to make him God’s “Type” by taking away his sins. “So what was the big thing Jesus did to take away your sins?” I asked. He didn’t know or remember. So I pulled out a booklet to show him some bible verses and went through the rest of the Gospel and Christ’s imputed righteousness. He wanted to be forgiven so I asked if he had been trusting in Christ or hoping he was good enough to be forgiven. He said he hadn’t been trusting in Christ so I offered him a prayer he could pray and he did. I explained the Christian life living by the Spirit. He said he had 3 Bibles at home so I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do writing his name and the date he’d been forgiven in the front. He took a Bible Study too but he had to run for his ride. “Thanks for talking,” he said. “Yeah. Sorry I kind of butted in on you,” I replied. “No that’s OK.” And I said I’d keep him in my prayers and he ran down toward the doors for his ride that had texted him.

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

In Him,

Bob