Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and you are feeling the warmth of God’s presence contra mundum (against the world). I had a great day on campus. Yesterday I only got through the gospel with one girl who was a Christian and blessed me to talk to. But today I got some good seeds planted and Joanne and Jonathon each prayed with me to receive Jesus.

Joanne was sitting in the upstairs lounge having finished a work out at the PE building. She was wearing workout clothes and no make-up, her long dark hair was pulled straight back into a pony tail and she had some over the knee workout pants on with a print pattern, rounded black frame glasses. She was a cute kid and friendly. She went to a Catholic Church every week. When I asked her what she might say to God if she died and he asked her why He should let her into heaven she said, “I don’t know, that’s an interesting question… I believed in you my whole life or I believe in you.” When I asked her how likely it was she would go to Heaven she said, “I haven’t done anything terrible. I go to church.” So she seemed pretty sure she would go. I began to go through the Gospel and asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sins she didn’t seem to remember, so I said “This is how it works” to her and told her about Christ’s perfect life and death for her and his righteousness that was to her credit. I could tell it all resonated with her and she said wanted to be forgiven. I said it seemed like she hadn’t put it all together before about what Christ had done to be able to place her trust in that and she shook her head that that was right. So I said she could pray to receive God’s forgiveness trusting in Jesus and walked her through a prayer she could pray silently like I wasn’t even there and she took the booklet and said, “Alrighty, thank you,” and prayed. I explained more of the Christian life to her and gave her a remembrance view of the Mass where she could take a moment to be thankful and remember Christ had died and taken away her sins. She took the book 20 Things God Can’t Do and I wrote her name and yesterday’s date which we both had wrong in the front. I explained living “inside out”, the fruit of the Spirit and gave her a Bible study. I got her email and she said she might like to come to the Bible Study next semester. She was pleased to understand our faith and as I stood she stood too, reaching to shake my hand over the center of the table tied to the couch we’d sat on. “Thank you very much. It was nice meeting you Bob,” she said. And I said “It was nice to meet you too.”

I walked over to the other end of school and found Jonathon waiting for his class to begin saying he had 10 minutes to talk. He had on a gray hoodie, black sweats and a Sox baseball cap, a day’s growth of beard, very average looking guy, oval face, with a strong look to his eyes somehow and he made eye contact and looked straight at me off and on as I spoke. He had been through confirmation in the Catholic Church as a kid but didn’t remember much, saying the priest gave them something they agreed to and signed it. He hadn’t been going of late. He was a quiet guy, good listener. When I asked him what he would say to get into heaven if God asked he said, “Hmm…” and thought for a while. “I don’t know what I’d say exactly.” We had a time issue so I said, “You can say that if you want” and he agreed. He thought he had a least a 50% chance to get to heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he tracked well with what I was saying. I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sins and he couldn’t think of the answer so I said, “That’s OK, it’ll come back to you.” I then told him the Gospel. I think he understood for the first time. He wanted to be forgiven as I finished telling him the Good News and so I offered a prayer to him that he could pray trusting in the work of Christ. “It says here ‘Does this prayer express the desire of your heart’ so would you say it does.” I asked. “Yeah, ’cause I understand,” he replied and he received Jesus praying for forgiveness. That was great. I explained a remembrance view of the mass as I do to Catholics and said that if he was trusting in Christ’s righteousness to be his then the likelihood he would go to heaven was 100%. His class was about to begin so I quickly gave him the book 20 Things God Can’t Do writing his mane in the front and unfortunately the 2nd as the date. “Thanks a lot, Bob” he said with a big smile as he got up to go. “Take care of yourself.” I replied “You too”, he said and took off.

I also went through the Gospel with some others, Ivette was very grateful, little pretty brown haired girl with braces. I gave her the book Bible Promises for You and the Compass church website to listen to some sermons as she had dropped out of the Catholic Church, so I hope she will pray and think more about it later.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and ya got a peak at the sun. It came and went between periods of rain here. I had a good day on campus and Urbano prayed with me to receive Christ. I also went through the Gospel with a Muslim girl Maha who was enthusiastic about the Gospel and had gone to Catholic school and I gave her a Church to check out near COD and the Pastor’s number.

Urbano was sitting checking out his phone on a bench outside a lounge in the BIC near the double elevators. He was a really cheerful guy, ready smile. He had dimples when he grinned, good looking kid hair real short on the sides, longer trained back on top. He was wearing a black collared shirt and jeans, Latino. When I asked him if he died what he would say to God to get into heaven he said, “Wow, I never… “Then thinking a bit he said, “I don’t know how I would respond to that!” I said that was fine. He said he went to Church every Saturday night, he was Roman Catholic and thought he had about an 80% chance to go to heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he was interested and enthusiastic. I asked him what the big thing Jesus had done to take away his sins and he basically he couldn’t think of anything, but the story came back to him somewhat. When I explained Christ’s imputed righteousness as a gift to him when God adopts him he exclaimed, “Wow!” It really was a blessing to see someone truly amazed at what had been provided for them by God’s grace. As I finished he said he wanted to be forgiven with God living inside him. It seemed clear he had not ever trusted in Christ to be forgiven, so he prayed with me to receive Christ after I explained a prayer he could pray. I gave him a Bible since he did not have one of his own. I wrote his name in the front and the date he had trusted Christ saying that was the day he could remember he had been forgiven. He was really enthusiastic about that as well, which was great to see, I said if he wondered what to read the read letters were the words of Jesus and he couldn’t go wrong there and he laughed. I gave him a Bible study and the book 20Things God Can’t Do writing “By the Spirit’s Power” in the front and explaining the Christian life, living inside out. He gave me his email to send him some stuff too. He was really grateful and we shook hands as he ran off to class and said goodbye.

I went through the Gospel with a few others who claimed to be Christians, one girl Anna who had not really understood things well said, “Thanks I really needed this!” I gave her a Bible study and got to explain everything to her so it was a good day.

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 your day was blessed and you were able to trust God did good things, regardless of the visible outcome you had to experience. Two students prayed with me to receive Jesus today, Shane and Taylor.

Shane was sitting in the hall in the science building waiting for his class to begin. It made me want to rush each of the 8 times he looked at his watch. He had straight dishwater blonde hair combed forward, thick wire framed glasses and a blue shirt and shorts on, a couple days growth of beard on his face. Nice guy kinda bookish looking. He really struggled with trying to describe himself in the survey. It turned out he hadn’t been to church as a kid but a friend had taken him to a bible study group in High School. He thought he had at least a 50%+ chance to go to Heaven, “But I don’t know how much over that,” he opined. In responding to what he’d say if God asked him why he should be let into heaven he said, “The way I try to live, I try to help people around me, live a life worth living and make sure others do. I try to live around others who aren’t a bad influence.” As I went through the Gospel he knew some of it. When I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sins he said, “The Cross”. He wanted to be forgiven for his sins so I asked him, “Do you believe Jesus is God, He died for your sins and rose from the dead?” “Yes,” he said firmly. “Well if you would like to place your trust in that there is a prayer you could pray,” I replied. I talked him through the prayer and wondered for a second if he would have time since he’d told me when his class began and he did not look like the kind of guy who would be comfortable being late. But he glanced at his watch and said, “I guess I have a couple minutes to do that.” And he silently prayed to receive Jesus. I explained that since, if he was now trusting now in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness, the likelihood that he would go to Heaven was 100%. He had a bible but took a copy of 20 Things God Can’t Do. I wrote his name and the date he had received Christ in it explaining anything the book suggested he need to do should be done in the Spirit’s power, he also took a Bible study. I gave him a link for the Compass Church Website to listen to some sermons. He seemed grateful and gathered his things to head off to class with a minute to spare. I told him I would be praying for him and he thanked me.

Taylor was sitting on the bench arbor they have just outside the MAC arts building. She is African American with a kind cute face, a sharp nose, kind of European features and her hair pulled back in a head band. She was a really nice girl. She wore a hoodie and jeans and was enjoying the warm air outside. She hadn’t been to church since she was young but watched it on TV every week. It turned out to be Joel Osteen and he does encourage the reading of the Bible and following of God’s word, so not a complete loss. I explained to her after she had received Christ that everything we do in the Christian life is done by God’s power in the Holy Spirit so anything she heard Osteen say the Lord wanted her to do she should ask for God’s power to accomplish it. “He also has made the mistake in thinking God wants everyone to be rich, but that would be a disaster for some people, money ruins some people. It seems to have been good for him he has a big church and is trying to help people with it but he just hasn’t seemed to realize that would not be good for everyone. God would not give people money if it would hurt them.” She seemed to accept that. I am careful not to be too critical of a ministry a student thinks has helped them or might be in some small way leading them to God. Unless they are in a cult. Osteen is a prosperity Gospel preacher which is error but does encourage people to trust in Christ at the end of his broadcasts. She had not picked up the Gospel from listening to pastor Osteen however as when I asked her how Jesus took away her sin she had nothing to say. Thinking for a while and seeming to genuinely struggle she finally said, “Don’t lie? I don’t know.” I said that was fine and went through the Gospel with her. She took it all in cheerfully. When I asked her if she wanted to be forgiven she picked the circle where Christ lived inside her by His Holy Spirit and forgave her trusting in Jesus. So I walked her through the prayer asking her if she’d like to pray it and she said “Yeah,” with a big smile and prayed to receive Jesus. I gave her 20 Things God Can’t Do writing her name and the date she had received Christ in it and “By the Spirit’s Power”. I opened it to the page where the writer says God will forgive us if we forgive others from our heart. I continued explaining this is impossible to do without God’s power in us. We might say we forgive someone but then days later it still bugs us, so we have to pray for a forgiving heart. She liked that and took a Bible study to to read, giving me her email to send her another one, I’ll also send her a link for another church to watch also. I got up to leave telling her I would pray for her and she warmly said, “Thank you so much!” And I headed off into the sunlight.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance God truly blessed, please pray also for a guy Uriel, an agnostic I gave the student edition of The Case for Christ to.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed in the Lord, we are having beautiful spring weather today in Chicago, and summer comes next! Two guys prayed with me to receive Jesus today, Tearl and Joe.

Tearl was sitting alone at a table in the PE lounge on the ground floor by the Gym. He hesitated but then was willing to answer some questions. He is Huge, African American with short hair, his headphones were clamped to his temples and he was playing with his phone. He had short hair, a chin and jaw beard, glasses, friendly face wearing a t-shirt and shorts. He plays Offensive line for the football team and hopes to get into a Division 1 school next year. He had been going to Church with his grandma until she passed. He didn’t mention his parents at all so I think his grandparents might have raised him. I asked him what he would say if he died and God asked him why he should let him into heaven he said, “I don’t know, I don’t have a real reason. I just tried to give back as much as I could.” he thought his chance of going to heaven was 50%. He listened without much expression, very seriously. But he accepted the things I told him and knew Christ and died for sin. But he had not been trusting in it. I asked him if he’d want to be forgiven and he said he would. Do you think when you asked God for forgiveness you thought you were good enough to be forgiven or knew you would be forgiven because Jesus had died for you?” “I wasn’t really thinking about it either way.” he replied. I pointed out if he really wasn’t thinking about it he could not be trusting in it and he had to agree. “I’m gonna go back to church, get back on track [when I get back home] with my grandpa.” I pointed out going to church did not make him a Christian and he acknowledged that was true. “What I’m asking you is would you like to trust in Jesus to be forgiven.” I walked him through the prayer and asked him if he would like to pray to be forgiven silently between him and God and he decided he would. After he prayed he finally smiled a tiny bit then. I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do writing his name and the date in it, and a Bible study and explained the Christian life to him and that if he was trusting in Jesus righteousness to be his righteousness, the likelihood he would go to heaven was 100%. I told him he could pray for strength in his hands and speed in his feet and God would help him and he could give Him the praise for his success. He wasn’t giving me much feedback so I just kept asking him if he understood, he always said he did and he seemed like a bright guy. Finally I said. “Well I’ll keep you in my prayers each night for a year, I’ll ask God to bless you with football and even that you get into the NFL, I don’t know if he will do that but I’ll ask Him to bless you.” He finally smiled a real smile and said, “Thank you, that means a lot.” I shook his hand and headed out. Then walked back and gave him my number encouraging him to text me if he had any request in prayer and he seemed thankful.

Joe was sitting in the Hallway of the BIC right by the doors that look out towards a fountain (strangely turned off though it is far warmer now than when it was on in the fall). He had dark almost black hair and wore black athletic shorts and a gray T-shirt, black shoes with black ankle socks. He was sitting waiting for his class to begin and said he’d do a student survey. Good looking guy, slight build and short. When I asked him what he would say to God if asked why He should let him into heaven he said, “Good question.” Then thinking more he said, “I want to see what heaven really looks like.” He was a really nice guy and had a hearing aid in his left ear on the side I sat on, his speech reflecting his impairment a bit, but he seemed to hear me clearly. He thought he’d have an 85% chance to go to heaven saying, “I read the Bible, went to church.” he had gone to a group Bible study at a nearby church called Salem. I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sins and he thought for a minute and said, “I’m sorry I forgot.” I said that was OK and explained the Gospel to him and he listened closely. When I explained Christ’s imputed righteousness he said, “OK” getting it. Finally I asked which person he thought he was or would want to be someone who had asked God to forgive him based on what Jesus had done believing in that or if he thought something else, “Right there,” he said pointing to the circle with Christ inside your life. I offered him the prayer asking him if he would like to receive Christ praying it and he affirmed he did with an, “Um Hum” he took the booklet and said, “All right,” and prayed to receive Christ. I explained the Christian life to him living inside out and told him about the fruit of the Spirit and that God gave him all the strength he needed to live the Christian life by the Spirit. He took a Bible Study and 20 tings God Can’t Do writing his name and the date in it, and then his class was beginning so I shook his hand and said, “God bless you Joe.” All right, you too,” He replied and I headed off down the hall.

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 Lord, it was a beautiful day here just to walk between the building among the many flowering trees they have planted. I had a good day on campus and 3 guys Andy, Josh and Damsith each prayed with me to receive Jesus.

Andy had a blue shirt and jeans on and kind of looked like a ken doll with a couple days growth of beard, same hair cut as Ken. Sitting in the cafeteria at the counter, he was the first guy I spoke with today who was willing to talk.  He only had 11 minutes before class started and did not have time to do a survey but said he would do take a booklet. As I gave it to him I borrowed a bit more of his time to explain the Gospel. I had taken all the time before class as I looked walking away but he had not seemed worried about it as he had become interested. It turned out he had friend who had gotten him interested in religion a few months ago, taking him to some church stuff but that guy had entered the Navy. After hearing it he remarked about what a great proposition the Gospel was in God’s offering him salvation already paid for by Christ. After I had gone through the gospel he said he’d want to be forgiven so I asked if he’d been trusting in Christ, saying I knew he’d probably heard the story before. “But if I’d asked you why should God let you into heaven would you have said you were trusting in that Christ died for you?  Or were you trusting in the idea that you were basically a good person and God would forgive you and be merciful?” “Yeah I’d have said that,” he said with a grin. So I offered him the prayer saying he could be forgiven with God living inside, he took the booklet back from me then praying to receive God’s forgiveness through Christ. I had enough time to explain the Christian life to him living inside out and give him a Bible Study and 20 Things God Can’t Do, writing the date he’d received Christ and “By the Spirit’s power” in the front. He thanked me and we laughed that maybe we’d see each other in Heaven and I let him go to class.

Josh was Filipino and was sitting at a table in the PE building just up the stairs outside the workout area, wearing a white t-shirt and some blue sweats with stripes on the sides. He had a straight dark mop of hair, as you might expect, starting to recede a bit in front, and almond eyes with hidden eyelids which at first made me think he was Chinese. He is from a small Island in the Philippines but said his family lived in the Capitol and took a boat still sometimes to vacation on the smaller Island of his birth. He came from a Roman Catholic background but had not been to church in a while. When I asked him what he would say to God if he died and God asked him why should I let you into heaven he said, “Hmm… Because I believe in you.” He knew Jesus had died for his sins but had not been trusting in it, he paid close attention to the scriptures and explanations without remark and as I finished the Gospel I asked him if he wanted to be forgiven. “Yeah,” he said nodding his head. I asked if he had been trusting in Christ or if he still needed to do that if he did there was a prayer he could pray and I walked him through receiving Christ by the prayer and asked if he’d like to pray that and he said, “Yeah sure.” and he silently prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the life in Christ to him living inside out and gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do and a Bible Study on the deity of Christ. He was happy but didn’t have much to say in response so I asked him some questions about his home and left saying, “God bless you.” Shaking his hand. “God bless you too,” he replied warmly and I headed out the doors.

I went back to the truck to get more books chatted up a guy Kevin on the deck, with ink sleeves and a reddish beard, seemed to have been in the military based on his cap. He was grateful to hear the Gospel and gave him a Pocket Prayers Book, “There ya go.’ he said gratefully accepting it, I hope that was a good seed.

I came upon Dansith sitting in the hall he had a light blue shirt on with a crucifix around his next and jeans on.  He had a thinning loosely curly head of hair and said he was from Sri Lanka. He appeared Indian in features, darker skin nice looking guy. He looked upset and I said, “How you doing? Something wrong?” It turned out he was worried about Trump starting a nuclear war based on “Operation Gotham Shield” which simulated an apocalyptic strike on New York City. I told him Trump had also said he was going to let the Chinese take care of North Korea and that NK did not presently have a weapon they could reach the US with. That calmed him down a bit as we talked more I asked if he’d like to do a survey for our bible study Group and he was up for it.  I asked him, “What’s one thing you’d like to do before you die?” He said “See Jesus”. So that was promising. But he was trying to do enough good to merit going to Heaven.  I asked him what he would say to God if asked why He should let him into heaven and he said, “Because all the things I’ve done… I’ve done good things and bad things, I have done more good deeds.” He seemed to think God would weight them out and the biggest pile would determine his salvation.” He then rambled a bit, “I’ve been baptized and I’ve done things for others… I do take wrong turns and I get worried. God is the only way to truth the only way to have [it]. He is the eternal. We need to do good deeds that’s what we’re here for, help the poor, the blind the weak.” He went on a bit more. I began going through the Gospel with him and he would interject something good he had done as I spoke, I talked about how Christianity was like a blood transfusion where God wanted to transfuse His life into you, to live inside you with his Holy Spirit. He talked about having O blood and he gave blood every year. I asked him how God took away his sins what was the big thing Jesus had done, “Holy Spirit?” he guessed after thinking a moment. “Well this is how it works,” I began and walked him through the Gospel. He found other places to talk about doing good deeds in the middle but I finally got him to just stop and then clarified what I was asking him when asking if he wanted to be forgiven, I told him he could not do good works to be forgiven and pressed upon him that Jesus had to die for him and he had to trust in that. I asked if he had been trusting in that. “Most of the time no,” he admitted, “but I’m seeing it now.” he realized then he need to trust in Christ’s goodness not his own and prayed then to receive Christ after I walked him through the prayer. He took 20 Things God Can’t Do to read and I write his name in the front and the date he had been forgiven, writing, “Forgiveness is yours!” under it. He went to class then as we both stood and he was grateful as we parted.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day has been blessed and you are looking forward to a great weekend walking with Christ. I had a great day of sharing on campus and Angelo and Taleshia each prayed with me to receive Jesus.

Angelo was sitting on the bench outside the lounge at the Bank at school. He has an oval face and very short dark hair, and some random light beard, looked Latino darker skin soft features. Dressed in loose gray sweats, pretty big guy. He was really laid back. He said he had been to a “Christian church” some growing up where his mom still went every Sunday. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and He asked ‘Why should I let you into heaven?’ and he said, “That’s a difficult question.” Then thinking more he said, “I guess because I’m mostly kind to everyone or if I’m rude I apologize [right away], it’s a temporary thing.”  He thought he had a 50% chance of getting to heaven. When I told him God wanted to live inside him like God was the energizer battery and he was the bunny he said, “Interesting” and when I explained the imputed righteousness of Christ to him he said, “Nice.” Finishing the entire Gospel of salvation with him, I asked and he said he’d want to be forgiven.  I offered him a prayer he could pray and talked him through it and he said, “Makes sense”. It gave me second of pause since just before talking to him I’d spoken with a teacher in the hall I have known for 15 years. He told me that in his world religions class he had explained the Gospel and no one in the class “Got it”. He said, “I always finish by saying if you don’t get anything else you should at least understand why Christians believe this is “Good News”, But he felt like that was even lost on them. But Angelo got it and I said he could pray the prayer and God could live inside him giving him the power to live a life that pleased God. “That’s fine.” he said and prayed slowly and silently to receive Christ.  He was glad to be able to keep the booklet. I explained the Christian life living “inside out” and I told him if he was trusting in the Righteousness of Christ to be his righteousness the likelihood he would go to heaven was 100%, “Because how righteous is Jesus? 100%. And what is His righteousness worth? An infinite amount so there is enough for each of us.” He was very grateful for that and said, Thank you. I gave him a Bible Study and a Bible and put his name in the front with the date he had trusted Christ. He said he only had (what sounded like) a pocket NT. I gave him the books 20 Things God Can’t Do (writing by the Spirit in the front) and Pocket Prayers encouraging him to go to Church with his mom who he described as angry, “I don’t know why so I just apologize even if I don’t know what I did.” I got his email to send him some stuff and I gave him the Book Bible Promises for You to give to her. I got up to go and said, “Nice to meet ya” and he was happy and thanked me again.

Taleshia was sitting in the science building lounge that connects the 2 buildings in a pocket under the stairs adjacent to where a guy named Julio had prayed to receive Christ earlier this year. Her study materials were laid out along the concrete bench she had parked on. She was a very sweet African American girl with her afro teased into tufts that were bleached light brown on the ends. She had print gray workout pants on and a gray hoodie. She had a kind oval face and almond shaped eyes that looked Asian. Taleshia did not want to do a student survey but I asked her if she wanted to read a booklet on it and she was OK with that so in giving it to her I began to explain the gospel to her a bit and she continued to look interested. I asked her why she thought people went to heaven, “You do good,” she replied. She seemed to have some background in church. She made verbal cues of consent or interest as I continued to describe what the Lord had done for her almost like what you might hear an older person say, kind of sweet, like the stereo typical kind lady from my parent’s generation. So I just continued to explain more and more finally leading to bible verse where she needed to receive Jesus so I opened the booklet I had given to her to that point and read these to her. I explained how your good actions could not make up for your bad ones but that God wanted to work all things in your life together for good if you love Him. She wanted to be forgiven and trust Christ and so I guided her through the prayer and she prayed to receive Christ. She was grateful and I gave her a Bible study and the books 20 Things God Can’t Do writing by the Spirit in the front and the date she had trusted Jesus and also Bible Promises for You and a Bible study. I got up to leave and said, “God bless you.” and she said, “God bless you too.”

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry this past week and for evangelism yesterday if you had a chance. God truly blessed. 121 students have trusted Christ so far this school year on campus.

In Him,

Bob

Hey sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you were blessed today. I had a good day today and went through the Gospel with several students. I got to talk to Micheal again who had suffered with clinical depression.  I’d gone through the Gospel with him the other day and talked with him for an hour today and gave him a Bible study.

Yesterday, Sal prayed with me to receive Christ. He was laying down on the half wall just outside the PE building reading a book. He had shorts on and a t-shirt and a pink baseball cap on, nice looking kid with a bit of beard growth. He had a tattoo on the inside of his left forearm that read “DO MORE”. He said he wanted to travel the world and help people. When I asked him what he would say to God if he died and He asked ‘Why should I let you into heaven’ he said, “That’s a tough one… I’m not sure how to answer the question. I’ve always been caring to people, I’ve been honest, not ripped people off, stuff like that.” He was sure he would go to heaven. He knew Christ had died to take away our sin and said he went to church some. As I finished the Gospel I asked him if he wanted to be forgiven and he did, so I asked him if when he had done something (he knew he needed forgiveness for) if he had been trusting that Jesus had died for him or if he had thought he was a trying to do good and “that God would forgive him if he would just Do More?” I asked pointing at his ink. He grinned and he said, “That I would do more.” So I talked him through the prayer and said he could pray it silently and be forgiven and asked, “Do you think you’d like to do that, you could do it right now like I wasn’t here?” “Yeah, I guess.” he said matter-of-factly, and he took the booklet and prayed to receive Christ. I explained the Christian life to him as living “Inside out” where we ask for transformation and God’s power by the Spirit to live the Christian life. I gave him the book 20 Things God Can’t Do and a Bible study writing by the Spirit’s power in the front and the day he’d received Jesus. “You know I wasn’t gonna come out here but then I did,” he said talking about laying outside to read on the wall. “But then I did, and you never know what’s gonna happen.” I laughed and shook his hand and he said, “Thank you so much.” “Just remember ‘Do More by the Spirit’,” I said pointing at the tattoo saying he could add by the Spirit at the bottom and he said he might.

I also had a talk where I went through the Gospel after that with Matt outside down the concrete patio along the BIC building and he had lost his faith. Originally as a kid thinking he would study to be a priest. Clean shaven kid in a white t-shirt and shorts, dark brown short mop of hair kind of a pug nose, sitting Indian style in the bright sunlight against the building. “I tried to live my best, tried to question my intentions behind things.” he’d said in answer to what he would say to God. “I want to believe this,” he said after I had finished the Gospel.  We talked about suffering, something had happened to break his faith.  He took the student edition of The Case for Faith. I encouraged him to pray for faith and ask God for it. He had to go to a math appointment for tutoring but wanted to read the book and talk more so hopefully we will.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism the past couple day. God blessed.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed in the Lord.  I had a good day on campus sharing the faith and Yunik (yo nick) Austin and Vanessa each prayed with me to receive Christ as their savior.

Yunik was sitting by the doors checking his phone on his way out after class out the back of the BIC 2nd floor. Most students are never sitting around school. They get their classes done and leave. He had a minute and decided to do a survey for our Bible study group. He went to a catholic church and had a slight accent, though his family was from Mexico he didn’t look Latino in coloring, fair skin scarred on his cheeks, lighter brown stick straight short hair. He has a slight build and was wearing sweats and a t-shirt. He actually look pretty tough. I asked him what he would say if he died and God asked him why he should let him into heaven. “Because I always believed in Him.” He thought he had about an 80% chance to go to heaven. He was engaged with the Gospel as I went though it saying, “I see” and when I described Christ’s righteousness imputed to him he said, “My shield” acknowledging agreement. (Like the scripture “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.” Proverbs 30:5) I asked him if he wanted to be forgiven and have God live inside him or if he thought something else and he said firmly, “I want to be forgiven.” I walked him through the prayer and he said that expressed his desire so I asked if this was something he had done already trusting in Christ for forgiveness or something he still had to do. ‘Still have to do that,” he replied and so I said he could pray it silently and God would hear him and live inside him and forgive him and he prayed as I held the booklet. I said he could keep it and he was anxious to hold on to it. I explained the Christian life to Him living “inside out” the fruit of the Spirit and trusting in Christ’s righteousness. I explained how when he took the mass at church he could think of it symbolically and be thankful to God that he was forgiven remembering Christ had died for him, “That doesn’t seem like too much to ask,” he replied saying he’d do that.  He did not want a Bible study but took a Bible from me so I put his name in it and the date he had gotten things right with God. He did take the book 20 Things God Can’t Do and I wrote By the Spirit’s Power” in the front. I shook his hand and said “Nice to meet you.” And he said “Nice to meet you too sir.” Then speaking about the Bible Study group, “Maybe I’ll check it out tomorrow.”

Austin was sitting down the hall in a lounge against a wall by himself. He said he’d answer some questions. He had strawberry blonde hair, short on the sides with a little more on top. He wore a white sleeveless shirt and navy blue shorts, white sneakers. He had wire rimed square glasses and a couple days growth of beard, friendly face, tall. When I asked him what he’d say to God if he died he said, “I’ve done more things to help others than I’ve done to help myself.” He went to a catholic church too. He thought he had a 50/50 shot to get to heaven. He listened to the Gospel closely, with some acknowledgement, staring ahead without looking at me much. But he took it all in and I asked him if he would like to be forgiven. He thought for a moment almost taking a breath and then said, “I would like to be forgiven.” I talked him through the prayer and asked him if he’d been trusting in Christ for the forgiveness of his sins and he said, “I haven’t embraced it [up until now].” But he wanted to receive Christ and prayed silently to do so.” I explained the Christian life to him to living “inside out” and the fruit of the Spirit telling him he could ask for more love and faith which is a gift. I said, “When I screw up I tell God I’m sorry and ask Him to make me a different man so I’ll change on the inside and be better able to not do the same thing again.” He caught that and liked the idea.  I gave him a Bible study and 20 Things God Can’t Do to read writing the date in the front. He shook my hand and said, “Thank you sir.” I patted him on the shoulder and said, “I’ll see you in Heaven,” and he said with a grin, “Yeah, see ya around.”

Vanessa was sitting in the Science building in the Northwest corner lounge on the second floor. Nice looking, she was wearing a black V-neck blouse and black slacks and shoes wore black framed glasses. She had long brown hair and said her family was from Mexico. She lived in the city and was commuting out for the criminal justice program she was in, she wanted to be a police detective. She somehow looked the part. She said her grandmother was religious but her mom wasn’t so much and she was not really sure what she thought but that there was a higher power. I asked her what she would say to get into heaven and she said, “God would probably look upon the fact that I’ve been the rock of my family. It’s a good aspect of my personality.” I asked her what the percentage was she would get to heaven and she said, “50/50, I think I got a fair shot. My whole thing is to be good, good to people, I think I got a fair shot.” So I began to explain the Gospel to her and that God wanted to live inside her with His Holy Spirit but first had to make her His type by taking away her sin. She loved hearing the Gospel and it clicked with her and said she’d never heard it put that way before. When I explained the imputation of Christ’s righteousness she was amazed by God grace. Which is of course amazing. I explained How God could turn even bad things we had done and make them into Good and was watching out for us even sending angels to do so and she talked about a wreck she was almost in, “My mom just said it wasn’t my time.” She felt like God’s hand had been on her life. She wanted to be forgiven and I asked her if she believed Jesus was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead. “There has to be something that paid for my sins, I’m not perfect,” she said and said she had done some things wrong. “Something has got me here.” She decided to believe in Jesus. (I imagine her grandmother prays for her.) I walked her through the prayer and she prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to her living “inside out’ and she really liked that perspective.’I have a book you’ll really like, do you like to read?” ”I love to read,” she said and gave her, The Case for Christ because she was interested in investigative research and it has cases at the beginning of each chapter. “Do I need to give this back to you?” “No you can keep it, free book.” I replied happy to give her something to shore up her decision. She said she had gotten a Bible from a chaplain when she was in the military in North Carolina. I gave her the book Pocket Prayers and a rose publication hand out, “100 Promises for Hope and Courage” somehow thinking she’d need it if she was going to become a cop. She gave me her email to send her some stuff. We talked some more and that is when I found out she was coming in from the city so told her about my friend’s Joyce and Don and their church and told her I’d send her a link. It’s Harvest Church right off 290 near Oak Park. “Thank you so much!” she said to me as I got up to leave, she was really happy. I told her I would keep her in my prayers for the next year. I know Strobel’s book will secure her faith.

I talked for a long time at days end with Alex who had come to Christ a few years ago when we’d last talked and was in sleep science at school. He had a friend Lisa in the program who slept only 3 hours a night. Her father had been in the occult and she and her sister and mother had seen dark presences around the house they used to live in before he left them. I talked him through several verses and things to pray and gave him a couple promise books one for her and my contact info. I think it was of great help to him and he was really moved and even gave me a hug.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance, God really blessed it was a great day.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and you found the strength of the Lord. I had a good day and got through the Gospel with a Muslim guy from Indian descent (Salman) and a Jehovah’s Witness (Natalie) who I at least thought I’d gotten through some persuasive arguments with persuasively. She at least took a Bible study from me. I had been at school several hours and was kind of shot so I chatted up a couple students I knew and with headed out with my coat retrieved from my locker. I passed a young Latino couple, nice looking guy Henri and his girlfriend, Marylin, with her legs across his lap just chilling.  He had a Sox cap on and I had a Cubs hat on so as I when by I said something like, “Well it’s nice to see a Sox fan can still attract a pretty girl even though the Cubs are really the big thing in town.’ He smiled and said something about the Sox and I said, “Hey chicks love the long ball and we got all those hitters but it must be working for you, she’s beautiful!” He laughed and she said, “Thank you.” She was quite lovely and I headed out. I got 50 yards to the door and another 35 into the parking lot thinking about them hoping I’d see them again and be able to share the gospel when they were a bit less cuddly. But I was convicted I could go through the Gospel with them or at least leave them with a couple booklets and the seemed nice. So I got to my truck tossed my coat in and drove it to a close parking spot and headed back in. They were still sitting there so casual passing them by I said, “I see she is still with you.” He laughed and said yeah I said “Hey you wanna answer the Big question for my bible study group and Marylin right away said yes so I asked them, “Your’ 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?” Marylin said because of forgiveness.” and Henri wasn’t sure. So I launched into the Gospel getting their names and introducing myself. One of them seemed to know Jesus had died for sin but it turned out they had not been trusting in Christ’s death and wanted to be forgiven. I showed them the booklets and walked them through the prayer but Henri said they had to go to Class saying he would pray it later, Marylin hearing that agreed with him. Marylin would have taken the time to have prayed I think had he not hesitated. They said they did trust in Jesus now to be forgiven so hopefully they will pray to receive Him and really meant it.  I had a copy of Pocket Prayers left and one copy of 20 tings God Can’t Do giving these to them I suggested maybe sometime they could read together. They both thanked me and seemed grateful so I hope the seed takes root. I headed off but then ran back to quickly give them a representational view of the Mass, that even if they did not get much out of the service they could have that moment where they remember Jesus has died for them and tell God “thank you”. “It can help make church meaningful,” I suggested.  Henri said, “Thanks I’ll remember that.” and Marylin thanked me again and I headed out.

So that was my day of planting seeds, I encouraged a couple Christians in their faith too.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. God blessed and hopefully Marylin and Henri will come in or did by faith.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you were blessed today.  I felt useful on campus and Geselle and Branley each prayed to receive Christ.  I had a good talk with Michael who was angry with God and had suffered pretty horribly with depression, but I think the Lord gave me some things to say that connected and I am hopeful he will decide to let God use him in the world and turn to Him.

Geselle was sitting in the chairs along the edge of the hallway into the cafeteria. She was a very petite, pretty girl with long brown wavy hair. She had a nice smile. When I asked her if she would do a student survey about what she thought about God for our Bible study group she said, “Oh I already go to Church.”  I asked her if she wanted to answer the one really big Question and she said she would. So I asked, “You’re walking down the road and ya get hit by a bus so you’re dead and you stand before God and He asks you ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?” She wasn’t sure what to say and finally said, “I’d say I love you.” Then after thinking she said, “It’s your choice it’s up to you.” I asked her if she’d like to know what the Bible said and she said she would. Then her boyfriend, a much larger guy  who made her look tiny, sat down wearing a baseball cap, braces on his teeth and an occasional stick of hair poking out in front. He was a nice looking guy and I asked him if it was OK if she heard some Bible verses and he was willing to wait, actually he listened right in leaning forward in the chair (resting on his forearms sitting on her right) and I began talking to both of them. She went to what she called, “a Spanish Christian Church” but she did not know how to say the name “exactly” in English. They listened to a couple of verses where I explained God wanted to know and live inside them with His Holy Spirit but first He had to make them His type by taking away their sins. I asked them ‘what was the thing Jesus had done to take away their sins.’ She struggled a bit but I looked at him and he said, “Sacrificed himself” and Geselle said, “I was just thinking that.” So some of the story of the Gospel they knew and I explained imputed righteousness to them saying they needed to receive Jesus. They wanted to be forgiven. Then next Geselle saying, “You first” for him to answer the question about trusting in Christ. He said he did and so did she. So I asked Geselle if when she did something wrong and asked for forgiveness if she was trusting in Jesus and knowing she would be forgiven because He died for her, “I know you knew the story but were you trusting in Jesus or hoping you would be forgiven because God is good and you hadn’t done anything that bad?” “Yeah that,” she replied. “How about you?” I asked Branley. “Trusting in me.’ he said with a bit of a “ya got me” smirk. So I walked them through the prayer saying they could pray right then. I think Geselle might have been too shy to pray in the foyer hallway with everyone walking by had Branley not been so willing and they each prayed silently closing their eyes to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to them living “Inside out” by the power of the Spirit. They knew of the Fruit of the Spirit. I gave them each a copy of 20 Things God Can’t Do. Geselle seemed excited to read it and both of them were enthusiastic to learn more. I wrote their names in the front of each of the Books and the date telling them they could remember the day they had become right with God. “Oh that’s nice, thank you,” Geselle said as I wrote her name and the date (fortunately asking her to spell it as I’d put an “I” in it before). I gave them each a Bible study and said they could email me for another if they wished. I told them I would pray for them each night for a year asking God to bless their relationship. They got up to go and thanked me and I said “Maybe I’ll see you in Heaven.” “Yeah” they said enthusiastically and as they walked away I caught Branley’s eye and said, “Take care of her.” “I will he replied.

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

In Him,

Bob