Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with the nearness of God.  I had a good day sharing the faith at school and Darian, Kofi and Josh all prayed to receive Jesus today and Jenny recommitted her life to Christ or came to Christ. Her story is below.

I was walking up above on the third floor of the SSC lounge and saw 4 black guys sitting together at a table on the 2nd floor where we have Bible Study. I thought I would go down and see if I could get one of them to talk with me. It turned out one of the guys, Ben, was a Christian who had talked with me before. I asked them if they wanted to do a survey and Ben said he already had. He encouraged the rest, but seeing their uncertainty I started to tell them a funny story about being pulled over by a cop who thought my truck was stolen. I had them laughing a bit and Darian asked, “What was it you wanted us to do?” I told him “Do a survey for our Bible study group.” “That was a good story. I bet it’s good. I’ll do it,” he replied. After that, Kofi and Josh agreed to do it too. Darian had a rough top afro and a mustache and a goatee. He was 6’4″ had a hoodie on. He’s a DJ. Kofi was 5’3″ had a very neat short cropped afro, bit of trimmed facial hair and a leather jacket on. Josh had a lot of work to his hair cut, high afro on top and shaved close on the sides, small, short mustache and beard on his chin. He had a fleece shirt on, button v neck (he had game).  They were all good natured guys and a nice looking bunch. The conversation went all over the place with questions from Darian. At one point, Ali, a Muslim had joined in and sat to listen. He slid the booklet on the table back to me when I was finished though, not wanting it. At another point, another Muslim came by to say hi to Kofi. Kofi said we were talking about God and the Muslim (who oddly had a Trinity shirt on with a big cross with names of God including Christ on it said, “I am going to see God now.” And he walked off to pray.  I had just explained how a lot of people who thank God in Music and Hollywood are not talking about the same God as I am. Kofi and Josh together said, “That was just what you were talking about. He is Muslim.” Josh was amazed to think some of the popular celebrities were not talking about the real God. I explained the Muslim guy did not mean he would see God by Him living inside him. He meant he was going to talk to God. He did not mean what a Christian meant by seeing him. Josh said, answering what he would say to God to get into Heaven, “Despite the decisions that I made, I fulfilled your word. I’m no criminal, not that bad of a person.” Kofi said, “I always knew you was real. You gotta believe in Him.” Josh said, “Accept me because I don’t know who you actually are.” Darian then said something about no one is perfect and I said, “Jesus said, ‘You are to be perfect as your Heavenly father is perfect.’ It is the last verse in the Sermon on the Mount.” That got a reaction and I began to go through the Gospel. As I explained imputation and how Jesus had paid for their sins, Darian said to me, “You are going to Heaven! For telling people this!” “Not for ‘this’,” meaning talking to them, I replied. Josh said, “For telling people the word.” I said “No this is how you go to Heaven.” and I explained how they had to receive Jesus and become a child of God. I explained they couldn’t just do whatever they wanted to, then saying, ‘You can’t be playing on women and such.” And that made Josh and Kofi look at each other. Josh acknowledged what I said to him and Kofi said, “I know.” Darian was talking me up some more. And when I finally got them back to the prayer, they all decided to receive Jesus.  Kofi finished first and they each prayed silently.  I talked them through the Christian life, trying to continue to juggle the conversations. I gave Kofi Bible Promises for You as he had to get to class. I also gave him a Bible study and told them I would be praying for them.  I gave the same book to Josh. Darian wanted one too so I asked if he had 4 minutes for me to go to get one in my truck. He did and providentially I had parked very close. I also gave them both 20 Things God Can’t Do when I got back, which Ben took along with Pocket prayers. They each took a Bible Study and Josh and Darian gave me their email to send them some stuff.  I thanked them for letting me talk to them so long and headed off as they got up to go to class. It was a fun and even funny conversation. I wish I could have recorded it. God gives me grace with young black men it seems.

I lastly came upon Jenny as she was waiting for a friend outside of class who came and sat with us during the Gospel. She had not been to church for a while as her parents had moved around and they had fallen out of regular attendance. She was a cute Latina girl with long brown hair. I asked her what she would say to God and she said, “I did my best to try help… kinda spread His word to people that were in need of it or didn’t know Him.” She thought she had a 45% chance of going to Heaven saying, “Hopefully I had time to repent myself before I die.”  I still am not sure she knew the Lord when we began, as she did not know what Jesus had done to take away her sins when I asked. When I explained it, she exclaimed at one point, “Jesus died for my sins!” She looked over at her friend then and started to cry, big tears rolling down her face. I comforted her some and said she could pray to receive Jesus, as I was pretty sure she had not known what it meant that Jesus was her “Savior” At least not truly understanding it based on anything she’d said to me. A pantheist, white hipster girl walked up and stood there staring critically at the goings on. We were at the end of the hall and she stood against the opposite wall. She told Jenny, “God is inside you girl” seemedly suggesting she should be ignoring what she assumed I had told Jenny. She’d missed all of what I said.  I prayed she’d leave, but before she did, Jenny in response half ignored her and just kept crying and said she had prayed something like that referring to the prayer and said, “Jesus is my Savior.” That sent the white girl packing. Jenny continued to cry and then and explained she had been going through a “Rough patch.” I hugged her and suggested she could pray the prayer on her own as kind of a dedication prayer, realizing I was not going to get through the tears. I gave her friend a booklet and both of them 20 Things God Can’t Do. As they stood to leave, I explained that if she trusted in Jesus righteousness to be her righteousness, the answer to the question how likely it was she would go to Heaven was 100%. She had joy in that and I gave her another hug across her shoulders and said God loved her and she was forgiven (as from everything I had seen she had now accepted the Gospel) which made her smile through her tears and they headed down the hall. Only God knows her heart, but I think she was saved in the midst of our time together.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your weekend has been blessed so far.  I had a slow day of sharing on Friday and a lot of walking about. On Fridays, COD is kind of a Ghost Town. I did go through the Gospel with 3 people. The last was a solid Christian. Then Rex, a black guy, said he would have to think about it. He seemed to have never hear the Gospel before, though he claimed to occasionally darken the doors of a good local church. Lizzie was a girl I had never met, who had heard of me from some friends and friended me on Facebook. Not that uncommon. I did not realize she was the same person and though I had gotten through the work of Christ and imputation, I had not gotten to receiving him by faith when she had to run for her bus. When she said, “I don’t mean to interrupt you, but I have to go to my bus.” I had to say, “Ok, well maybe you’d like to read the rest yourself.” She took the booklet.  She messaged me on Facebook last night to say it had been nice to meet me. She’d told me at school her name was Elizabeth, so I hadn’t placed her while talking as she goes by Lizzie on Facebook.  I asked if she read the rest of the booklet and she said, “I did. I liked it. I liked how it explained things.” “Yeah, I like it too. Maybe we can talk some more sometime. :)” I replied. When I had asked her what she would say to God if he asked her why He should let her into Heaven she had said, “So I would say…Because I did my best to obey you and that I was able to help people through that.” This is works righteousness, so I will be praying to come across her again to make sure she has trusted in Jesus to forgive her sins.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism Friday if you had a chance. And please pray I get another shot with Lizzie or can communicate more with her through Facebook.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a great day walking with the Lord. I had a great day on campus and Marcello, Kennedy and Danny each prayed to receive Jesus today.
Marcello was the first guy I talked to today that was up for answering some questions. He was sitting on the row of chairs across from the double doors outside the cafeteria. He had on a grey championship Cubs hat and a Cubs sweatshirt and back sweats. I had my black championship hat on that I got from my buddy Jon for Christmas, so I had an instant in. Marcello wore a neatly trimmed reddish beard and had a boyish face and short hair. When I asked him what he would say to God if He asked “Why should I let you into Heaven he said, “That’s a good question.” Then thinking a moment he said, “I’m a good person. I would never do you wrong, don’t have any hate [towards others] in myself–give me the chance to prove it to you.” Nice guy, he was religious in as much as he prayed every night but hadn’t been to church of late. So he said because of that he gave himself an 80% chance of going to Heaven, pulling a gold cross out of his sweatshirt to show me. Church would have given him a bump towards 100% he thought, but he changed his mind about how he got to Heaven a few minutes later. He was very interested in the Gospel and hadn’t seemed to understand it before at all.  He wanted to be forgiven as I asked him, and I walked him through the prayer in the booklet and he prayed to receive Jesus. He had been trying to be religious in his own way away from church. So I explained to him that “Everyone has a relationship with God because He is their creator. But not everyone is in a relationship with God, where He lives inside them and forgives them and can direct their life because they have placed their faith in what Jesus has done. I explained how God works good, with even our mistakes and sins and has created us for good works in Christ that He has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. I gave him a Bible to read, writing his name in it and the date.  I also gave him the book Pocket Prayers that has 40 prayers with a Bible verse on the top, along with 20 Things God Can’t Do writing “By the Spirit” in the front. I gave him a Bible study and quipped he had enough to keep him busy for a few months.  I also explained a remembrance view of the Mass. I got his email to send him some stuff. Then we talked about the Cubs for a while and the Christian life in the Spirit. He thanked me and I told him I’d see him in Heaven and he laughed and said that would be great.

Kennedy was sitting in the MAC Arts building on the second floor overlooking the lounge. She’s African American and has long braids that go down past her shoulders, she was wearing jeans and high tops and had a long narrow face and features, pretty. She seemed to have gone to church once in a while. When I asked her what she would say to God if asked why He should let her into Heaven she said, “I’d say please,” and then she laughed lightheartedly. She thought some more and said, “I did what you asked me to, so can I please come in.” She thought she’d have a 92% chance of going to Heaven. She was interested in the Gospel and she knew Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world. When I finished going through the Gospel and Christ’s imputed righteousness, I asked her if she would want to be forgiven for her sins. “Who wouldn’t?” she asked. I told her about a guy I had gone through the Gospel with who wanted to keep doing his girlfriend, so he did not want to ask for forgiveness and have to stop. I explained that if she wanted to she could pray for forgiveness, trusting in what Jesus had done for her. I walked her through the prayer and asked if it was the desire of her heart and if she’d like to pray. She said, “Sure.” and did.  I explained walking by the Spirit and asking for the fruit of God’s Spirit and power to live. I gave her 20 Things God Can’t Do, writing “By the Spirit” in the front. I also gave her Pocket Prayers and a bible Study. She was happy and thanked me, and I told her I would be praying for her until a year from spring which seemed to touch her heart and I headed off.
 

I came across Danny sitting with his backpack on a bench in the Science building at about 2:15 or so looking at his phone. He kind of reminded me of a bit of Felix Unger (from the Odd Couple on 1970’s TV) in appearance, his demeanor was far less animated. He had the same haircut and look, clean shaven though you could see he had a heavy beard that would grow in. He said he wanted to see the ocean. He described himself as passive. He had time though, as all the students seemed to today, so I took it up and told him the Gospel. When I asked him what he would say to God he said, “‘Cause He like made me. I’m your kid.” Seemed more like an evangelical response colloquially, but he had been to Catholic Church and knew Christ had died for his sins when I asked. He gave himself a 70% chance of going to Heaven. He was a nice guy and listened attentively to the Gospel and seemed he wanted to be forgiven, saying so. I showed him the prayer and walked him through it and offered it to him to pray quietly and he hesitated flipping through the pages. I really didn’t want him to pray unless he wanted to and then he asked me about Job and what I thought it was about at the end, “It’s just like a list of things?” I said “Yeah. It was God pointing out how complicated the creation was and how great it was, telling Job about Leviathan” (the sea monster kind of a dinosaur still alive in Job’s time and a big dinosaur with a tail like a cedar tree.) I talked about how the world is as complex as a Rubic’s Cube with a billion squares on each side and you would have to understand the entire puzzle to solve it. When God turns it, it is sometimes things we do not want but we have to trust Him, as sometimes events are beyond our understanding. But the point of the book is showing the contest between Satan and God. Satan thinks the world is about power and advantage and God says it is about love. He shows Satan that even if he takes everything from him except his life, God won’t let him take that. Job has a great heart for God and says, “Though He slay me yet will I trust Him.” Job’s great heart proves Satan wrong. I explained that the Bible teaches it is all about love, and we are to love God and love your neighbor as yourself. I showed him the verse where Job says God will walk upon the water. Something in all that seemed to answer something for him and I asked him again if he thought he would want to pray and he said, ‘Yeah,” and did. I explained living by the Spirit and how we never fail if we trust in Him by the Spirit, though sometimes God might close a door. I showed him some verses on courage in the book, Bible Promises for You. I wrote his name in the front. I also gave him a copy of The Case for a Creator which he wanted to read. I got up to go and he said, ‘Thank you.” I told him I would see him in Heaven.

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

Blessings,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today and you felt the presence of the Lord. We are having awesome weather at my house and today on campus Trent and Dominque each prayed to receive Jesus.

Trent was sitting in the hallway in the BIC building on the main floor with all the doors that lead out with his friend Juwan (who was a Christian and had talked to me before). He was tall about 6’2″ had a ball cap on and a mustache and goatee, African American, good looking guy in jeans and a fleece pullover.  I asked him what he would say to God if He asked. “Why should I let you into Heaven?” Trent said, “I’ve never done anything to intentionally harm anyone in my life. I always maintained a positive outlook on life and the positive [overall].” I asked him how likely it was he thought he would go to Heaven and he said, “101%”. I asked him if he went to church and he said he did regularly back home. I believe he said he lived in Missouri, where he was a Baptist.  “So just to be clear,” I said, “you think if you have a positive attitude and do good things you will go to Heaven?” “Yeah,” he replied. ‘So you think that good people go to Heaven that’s what gets you there?” I asked. ‘Yeah,” he said again. “Ok,” I said “Well the last part of this is what the Bible says. So it’s 4 quick points and say what you think.” I began to explain the Gospel to him, how God wanted to live inside him but could not because of sin. He sobered right up and I asked “So what is it that Jesus does to take away your sins?” “Baptism?” he guessed. “Well, it is symbolic of that,” and I told him about the Cross and how he had to be perfect. He tuned into all of it and said he wanted to be forgiven and used a churchy colloquialism to suggest he was already there. I had reinforced his answer to the question and he had to admit that, though the story seemed familiar, he had not been trusting in Christ to save him. He put on kind of a sheepish smile, realizing from everything he had said he had not been trusting in Christ as I pointed it out.  I told him if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and walked him through it, suggesting he could pray it right then like we were not there and he didn’t wait. He began to pray it while I held the book, as I could see his eyes go back and forth over the phrases as I held it out. When he finished he said, “Ok.” “Amen” I replied. “Can I keep this?” he asked, referring to the booklet. I said sure and explained the Christian life to him, living by the Spirit. I chatted Trent and Juwan up a bit more and gave Trent a Bible Study and 20 Things God Can’t Do writing his name in the front and the day he had given his life to Christ and he was happy.  I told them I would see them in Heaven, “I’ll get there before you guys so I’ll know all the great places and I’ll show you around.” They laughed and I told them I would keep them in my prayers.

Dominque was sitting in the science building on a bench on the edge of the lounge. Also African American she had straight hair past her shoulders and wore round black rimmed glasses and a chiffon scarf around her neck over a light blue jean shirt. She had jeans on and had a triangular pointed nose, cute kid. She was quiet and soft spoken and had grown up going to the Catholic church a bit. I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven and she said, “Because I am a good person, like I never do anything bad. I know some relatives up there too. Oh and I don’t want to meet any celebrities there.” I told her I wasn’t sure any celebrities made it anyway. She listened attentively to the Gospel. I asked her if she knew what Jesus had done to take away her sins and she said, “I don’t know why they killed Him.” So it seemed like she knew Christ had died because of sin but she hadn’t understood anything else.  I explained the Gospel and the imputed righteousness of Christ to her explaining she had to trust in that to be forgiven. I asked her if she would like to be forgiven for her sins and she said, “Yeah.” “Do you believe Jesus is God, that He died for you sins and rose from the dead?” I asked her. She thought for a moment and said, “I could believe that.” I talked her through a prayer she could pray then, reading the line beneath it to her, “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?” “Yeah,” she replied. So I told her she could pray quietly in her heart and God would read her thoughts and she could be forgiven and she silently did that. I explained the Christian life to her, living “Inside out” by the Spirit and gave her the book 20 Things God Can’t Do, writing her name in the front and the day she had given her life to Christ and a Bible study. I walked back and gave her the little Max Lucado book I just got called Pocket Prayers. She was grateful and I headed to my class.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a blessed day walking with the Lord.  I had a great day on campus and Brian prayed to receive Christ. I also talked with an Albanian guy, Lis (good looking tall clean shaven guy). Though Albania is largely Muslim, his family was not religious at all and he said, “Your presentation was very good so I will take the book to read (I had offered him the student edition of The Case for Christ). I will be praying for him. Later, Olivia, an African American girl said she had no reason not to believe, but had not been immersed in Christianity at all before. She had never gone to Church, but she was very open. I encouraged her to ask for faith, after going through the Gospel with her and gave her The Case for Christ and a Bible and a short book by Max Lucado Pocket Prayers and a Bible study.  So I am hopeful she will be led to Christ.  Dan, a Muslim from Indonesia heard the Gospel today too and he took a Jesus and the Quran pamphlet. So I am hopeful that might take root for someone else to give him the truth.

Brian was sitting on a set of chairs overlooking the revolving doors where a lot of kids wait for the bus outside the SRC building. He said he had time to answer some questions. He just wanted to get a job and be successful in life.  He is Roman Catholic and Latino, slight accent.  He had a jacket and jeans on, straight short hair and a Micheal Jordan mustache [he had more hope in than showed] a small cut on his upper lip and skin like mine on his cheeks. Regular looking guy, nice, took everything quite serious. When I asked him what he would say if God asked him why he should let him into Heaven he let out a bit of a thinkers laugh and said, “That’s a hard question.” He thought some and said, “If God asked me, I wouldn’t have a question. I’ve always been trying to help people that need my help. Sometimes they don’t want to be helped, but I try to help them as best I can.” I asked him what the likelihood he would go to Heaven and he said he hoped it would be 100% but he settled on having a 50/50 shot explaining, “Because most of the time I feel like I’m doing good things, [but] I reflect back and think, ‘oh I really did some bad things–I should have done something different.'” He listened attentively to the Gospel and understood it.  When I offered him the opportunity to be forgiven, trusting in Jesus, he said he’d like to be. So I asked if he’d been trusting in what Jesus had done for him in asking for forgiveness or if he’d thought he would try harder and try to do things to make up for it. “Kind of do good things,” he replied. So I offered him a prayer to be forgiven and he leaned in attentively as I explained it. I said he could pray it quietly in his heart where God could read his thoughts.  He prayed then and seemed at rest. I offered him the booklet to take and explained the Christian life “By the Spirit” to him and a remembrance view of the mass. As he got up to go, I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do and a book called Pocket Prayers. He smiled at me and said, “Thank you, have a great day.” I wished him well and he headed for the bus.

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,

Hope you are staying healthy and the Lord is with you. God blessed me on campus today and Pete & Page each prayed to receive Jesus. I had good conversations with some peeps I know too. One girl ‘C.’ who prayed to receive Christ last Spring has had a hard life, having been taken from her mom and adopted as a “Heroin” baby. She had the shakes as an infant and would cry all the time. But she is kind of a miracle baby since she was an athlete in high school with state qualifying times in track. ‘C.’ was pregnant without a husband when she received Jesus last year. She miscarried the child over the summer and broke up with the father, who was a jerk. She is doing well and has changed her major to nursing, as she wants to care for babies. I pointed out to her that though this might be the worst thing that will ever happen to her, God might already be making a good thing out of it.  She has a Christian guy interested in her now and is committed to purity and has a new career in mind.  I gave her 20 Things Good Can’t Do and wrote Romans 8:28 in the front for her to read. She told me a lot about her life and was pleased to have a new book.

Pete was sitting in a chair against the wall in the big lounge where we have Bible Study on Tuesday nights. I sat at his feet. He plays football and hopes to play in the NFL–safety or linebacker. Perfectly groomed beard made lines on his face and lip, with a short sleeve shirt on and skinny jeans. He was African American, about 220lbs and a bit over 6’ tall, kind of a teddy bear face, ball cap on. He had gone to church when he was a kid, thought he couldn’t remember the name, one near his family’s house. Nice guy. He was 90% sure he would go to Heaven saying, “I’ve done a lot of generous things, give people things, never stole anything.” He listened to the Gospel straight through attentively. When I asked what Jesus had done to take away his sins he guessed “Baptism?” “Well that is symbolic of it.” I said and explained the atonement and imputation. His buddy with head phones on, standing a step and a half to his left, said loudly they had to go and walked off. His class was starting, but he went 6 minutes late and listened to me finish. I offered him a prayer to be forgiven when he said that is what he wanted, and he read it through, considering it a moment after I read the line: “Is this prayer the desire of your heart?” He paused and decided saying, “Yeah.” So I said if he’d like, he could pray it through quickly, knowing he had to run. But to his credit he took the booklet and closed his eyes praying slowly each phrase. When he finished, I told him more about the Christian life and put the date and his name in the front of Bible Promises for You, also giving him a Bible study and telling him I would pray for him and would pray he’d get in the NFL, “Who knows, maybe God will do that with you,” I said. He grinned. I shook his hand and he looked me in the eye and said, “Thank you.” And he headed off to class.

At the end of my day, Page was sitting upstairs in the BIC on the second floor. She was a solid built person with her light brown hair pulled straight back behind her head into a pony tail. She had plastic glasses in a kind of orange/pink pastel color on a warm round face. She’d said she wanted to get married and I said my wife was always really nice to me and it was great, though it was work sometimes. I told her about knowing God, that He lived inside her with His Holy Spirit. “Like you are the energizer bunny and God is the batteries. You keep going and going and when you die it’s like you don’t die because God’s inside.” I explained. And she laughed a hearty kind of laugh, like she hadn’t heard anything that had struck her that way for a while and she’d been saving it up. She said she’d tell God, if asked why He should let her into Heaven, “Because I’ve done no wrong.” She sounded a bit defensive when she said it. Students say things like that sometimes, but they are not thinking they are perfect (well most of them) but more like they never did something really bad in a culturally relative sort of way. She later said she’d have a 75% chance of going to Heaven. She went to Catholic Church when she was younger and was confirmed I discovered later when I asked her if she had a Bible. The church had given her one then. She listened closely to the Gospel without a hitch, even when the lounge behind us cleared out and the seats in the hall as well, as students entered to adjacent class rooms. When I had explained how she was forgiven and Christ’s righteousness was imputed to her she said, “Thanks. I really needed this. I’m going through a lot right now. My mom is really sick in the hospital.” “I’m so sorry” I said. “I’ll pray for her. What is her name?” “Judy,” she replied. “She has some very large kidney stones.” I said I’d had those and was really sorry. Her mom has passed one and the other is lodged. She thanked me and I told her if she believed, God would adopt her as His child. He wanted most what she would want from a husband someday, to be able to believe him and for him to believe her. I said if she believed Jesus was God, had died for her sins and rose from the dead, and trusted in that, if someone asked, ‘Why should God let you into heaven?’ You’d say, ‘Jesus died for me.’ “If you trust in this, you have faith in Jesus and what he did. You are saved by faith. Though you should do good things to please God, your good stuff doesn’t fix your bad stuff. But God can turn bad things into good things and promises to do so,” quoting Rom. 8:28, suggesting God might have used her mom’s illness to open her up to talk to me. She wanted to be forgiven for her sins and after I explained the prayer to her, Page decided to pray receive Christ and did.  I gave her Bible Promises for You to give to her mom and 20 Things God Can’t Do and a Bible study. She thanked me and I told her I would be praying for her. She walked towards the door of her class room and walking after her a few steps I said, “Page, this is 100%,” pointing at the question asking what % she thought it was she’d go to Heaven. “Because if you are trusting in Christ’s righteousness to be yours, how righteous was Jesus? 100%.” She thanked me again and slipped through the door.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you were blessed today walking with the Lord. We had a beautiful sunset. I had a good day on campus, though I had a hard time getting many peeps to talk to be before class. So I walked around afterwards, in the afternoon. Basically everyone turned me down again but Jermain, an African American student, talked with me and prayed to receive Christ.

I’ve had something of a problem with quite a few students this semester, getting them to answer some questions about God, as another campus group has been walking around doing spiritual student interest surveys without going through the Gospel with the students. They have talked to a lot of the peeps I have come across. These students have no idea what the Bible has said about eternal life in Christ, but have been inoculated from talking about it further. But hey, maybe they were never going to come to salvation and it is saving me some time. But it is hard to look at it that way, and I don’t. Jermain said basically the same thing when I talked to him. He had filled out some questions already. So I asked him if he had answered a question about what he would say to God if, after he died, God asked him why He should let him into Heaven. He said he hadn’t answered that, so I asked him if he’d like to know what the Bible says about how to get to Heaven. “Yeah, you can tell me,” he replied. Jermain was laying down on one of the cushioned benches in the hall of the BIC on the second floor. He had a beard and thin mustache and had his hood up on his red hoodie, wore black sweats and bright green running shoes. He went to a Baptist church. I sat on the floor beside him and began to tell him the Gospel and asked him what the big thing was that Jesus did to take away his sin. “The biggest thing?” he asked struggling. I said “Yeah, the big thing He did when he was alive on earth?” He finally admitted he didn’t know and couldn’t think of anything.  I explained the atonement to him and it didn’t seem like he had heard it before. He got a bit of an “Ah hah” look on his face, stroking his beard on his chin, when I explained Christ’s imputed righteousness to him and he said, “Wow.” He was a great guy, upbeat. Finishing up I asked him, “It seems like you haven’t put all this together before right?” “I never put the big picture all together”, he replied. “This changes my perspective, changed everything.” So I asked if he wanted to be forgiven with God living inside him trusting in what Jesus had done or if he thought something else. “Forgiven with God inside,” he replied. I walked him through the prayer then he could pray and he did quietly. Finishing he said, “I can keep this and pray it at night.” I agreed it was a good prayer to pray.  I explained the Christian life to him more and asked him if he had a Bible. “My mom’s got one and at church they have one [in the pew] and we all share it.” I offered him one of his own and he was glad for that and I wrote his name in it and the day he trusted Christ. I gave him the book, 20 Things God Can’t Do writing “By the Spirit” and told him about the power of God living inside out. I got his email to send him more stuff walking him a bit through a bible study fast as he got a phone call to meet someone. I got up to leave and he thanked me a second time, “Thanks a lot.” He said he might come to Bible study so I hope he will.

A girl Lissette was really interested and wanted to be forgiven but was not sure if Jesus was God so I gave her the student edition of The Case for Christ to read so I’ll pray for her to come in too.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for Evangelism today if you had a chance God was at work to bless our efforts.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope ya had a good day.  I had several conversations that planted good seeds and Demond prayed with me to receive Christ.

Demond had a ball cap on and was wearing a horizontal stitched, down-type jacket, kind of a blue grey color. He was African American with his afro packed in under his hat. He was waiting for his ride that was very late, as it was supposed to have picked him up at 1 PM. (Obviously providential and I told him God had made a bad thing into good. He said he believed that “because his mom said that.”) I started talking to him at about 2 PM and we talked for 45 minutes.  He was hesitant to talk with me at first, saying he’d talked to someone else. So I asked him if he’d answer the big question, asking him if he died and God asked him why he should let him into Heaven what would he say.  He said he’d tell God to, “Look at his heart.” He was a simple-hearted guy without any guile in him.  He kept saying, “My mom says,” followed by things that were close to true about the Christian life or the supernatural world and here and there correct. I asked him if he would mind if I told him what the Bible said about how he got to Heaven, or if he would be up for reading on his own and he said, “You can tell me. I get tired of reading things.” So I said, “I’ll explain it all to you. You won’t have to read anything.” He listened to the Gospel and I encouraged him that he could trust in what Jesus had done for him and be forgiven.  He could be sure he was going to Heaven, trusting in the work of Christ and His righteousness.  Demond wanted to be forgiven, so I walked him through the prayer and he silently prayed to receive Jesus. He began to ask me questions as I explained more of the Christian life. He was a really sweet guy.  It turned out he was fearful, asking me if I feared death. I told him I did not and that Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you I will come again to receive you unto myself, that where I am there you will be also.”  I told him that when I died, the first person I would see is Jesus. “He’s like Uber. When you die, He picks you up.” We talked about a lot of things. He took 20 Things God Can’t Do (I wrote the date he’d trusted Christ and our names in it and “By the Spirit”.) The chapters are just one page and then quotes, so he thought he’d read something that short.  He said he felt like he “needed courage” and I encouraged him to ask for strength and then showed him some verses on Courage in a Bible Promises for You book. I offered it to him, but he felt bad taking more than one book. So I told him about people who gave me money for books and what great deals I had gotten on the books he was holding. “They want me to give books to students, so I use their money to buy them and they’d be happy for you to have them,” I explained. He took them then and also a Bible Study. He thanked me several times saying, “I feel better after talking to you about this stuff.” I got up to leave and he shook my hand, for the second time thanking me again and I gave him my card to call me with any questions. So I’ll be looking for him a bit earlier in the day on Thursday.  I walked back then and gave him the Rose Publications hand out “Who I am in Christ”. I said, “It is Red and White. You can give this to your mom for Valentine’s Day.”  I think that was of the Spirit too, as I later thought with all the things he kept telling me his mom said, if she’d read it she’d disciple him right up with the contents.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and evangelism today if you had time. I got through the Gospel and got some good clarity into some peeps who claimed Christ and a couple who were searching as well. It was a good day.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you were blessed today.  I had a good day on campus and Nezlly prayed with me to receive Christ. Also, I gave The Case for Christ to 2 girls who were sympathetic to the Gospel but were just unsure Jesus was God (Sam and Sara).

Nezlly was sitting on the corner of a row of chairs on the first floor of the BIC on the southwest corner where I use a locker.  I hung up my coat and saw her looking at her phone with a coat on and her back pack on her back.  I had to go to bathroom, so I went a few steps down the hall and prayed that if she was sitting there when I got back I’d talk to her.  She was, and was willing to answer some questions for the Bible Study Group. She had jeans on and very long, wavy-brown hair, pretty girl.  She went to a Catholic Church and had recently asked her priest for a good readable Bible to buy. “I was going to go to Barnes and Nobel to get the one he recommended.” she told me.  She wanted to “help people less fortunate than her” and when I asked her what she would say to God if asked why He should let her into Heaven she said, “I wouldn’t want to brag to Him about all the good things I’ve done. I feel like no one is 100% a good person. Maybe He’ll have me do a task for it, to work for it. I don’t know.” She was interested in the Gospel as I explained it to her, and quoted and read verses to her. She asked me some things that might differ between Catholic teaching and other churches and I explained some of it to her and said it depended upon the priest. “I have heard some who believed just what the Bible said and nothing more,” I said. She thought she might have a 60% chance of going to Heaven. When I explained imputation to her she said, “Wow” and expressed agreement with much of what I said as I spoke. I asked her if she’d like to be forgiven, having explained living the Christian life by the Spirit and she said, “I’d want my forgiveness through Jesus.” So I offered her a prayer, helping her see it was a way of committing herself to God working in her and living through His power. I said she could pray the prayer in her head, like I was not even there, and God would hear her thoughts.  She took the booklet as I looked down and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained that when she took the Mass, she could remember she was forgiven, as the bread was symbolic of His body and wine His blood and that Jesus had died for her sins. I ended up giving her a Bible and writing her name in it and the date. I don’t know if she was still going to buy one, as I told her it would be fine to have two of them to compare how they said what a verse meant. I gave her 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote “By the Spirit” in the front, reminding her about living the Christian life “Inside out.” And I gave her a Bible Study. She stood up to go and thanked me warmly. I said she was welcome and I would be praying for her.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed walking with God in Christ. I had a good day on campus and Nate and Michael each prayed to receive Christ as their savior.

Nate was sitting down the hall from the PE lounge on a bench, listening to his phone and didn’t want to talk to me, saying, “I just talked to some people upstairs about all this stuff.” He said he went to Calvary, a good church about 10 miles west of school. He was wearing dramatically torn up straight-legged jeans, kinda short, had a short beard and short-cropped dark brown hair, black t-shirt, soft eyes. So to try to get him to hear the Gospel I asked “Did they ask you this question: ‘You’re walkin’ 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?” “No” he replied. “Well what would you say?” I pressed a bit. He wasn’t sure, so I went into an analogy of Christianity like a blood transfusion and said, “So God wants to transfuse His life into you with His Holy Spirit. But He has to make you His type. He has to take away your sin. So what takes away your sin?” “Blood,” he replied. So I asked “Whose blood?” “God’s blood?” he answered, but he wasn’t sure and suddenly his answer [he must have heard somewhere] didn’t make sense to him.  So I asked him if he wanted to know what the Bible said about how he went to Heaven and he said, “OK.” I went through the Gospel with him and he focused right in and tracked with it. And he wanted to be forgiven. At the end I said, “It kind of seems like you hadn’t put all this together before, right?” He agreed he hadn’t and I said that if he wanted to place his trust in what Christ had done for him, he could pray and ask for forgiveness. I talked him through the prayer, saying he could pray it in his head like I wasn’t even there. Nate took the booklet and prayed it and said, “Thank you.” By the end he had thanked me three times. I talked him through living a life asking for God help through the Holy Spirit, and I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do writing “By the Spirit” in the front. I gave him a bible study as well. “Well, you are going to a good church so I’ll pray for until spring and then for a year after each night,” I said. He thanked me again sincerely and I thanked him for giving me some time and headed off.

I had about 40 minutes until my class on world religions started and I wanted to stay kinda at that end of the school, so I went to the cafeteria and found Michael, a black guy, at the end of one of the counters munching on a burrito (which sat and got cold once we began to talk). He was up for answering some questions for the bible study group. He had a very neatly trimmed mustache and beard in a narrow line from his ear down his jaw line and a short afro, wearing jeans and a powder-blue shirt. Real nice guy, warm, slightly round face. When I asked him what he would say to get into Heaven, he said, “Honestly I feel like I’m not worthy yet. There’s so much more to do. I’ve got a chip on my shoulder [to do it]. I’ve been good to others, been positive. But I can do so much more.” I went through the Gospel with him. Michael knew Jesus had died for sin, but he had not understood His imputed righteousness or realized he had been offered eternal life if he trusted in it.  He wanted to be forgiven, so I asked him, “So when you’ve asked for forgiveness, are you thinking, ‘God will forgive me because He is forgiving and I’m going to try harder not to do it again’ or are you knowing you are forgiven because Jesus died for you?  I know you knew the story, but have you been trusting in His work? Or is that something you still need to do?” He smiled and said, “I still need to do that.” So I offered him the prayer and talked him through it and he prayed silently to receive Jesus. So that was great. I gave him 20 things God Can’t Do, also writing “By the Spirit” in it and the date and told him he could remember that was the day he had gotten right with God. I got his email to send him some stuff and collected my things to go. He said, “God bless you, thank you.” And I blessed him back and headed to class.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for Evangelism today if you had a chance. God blessed again through prayer.

In Him,

Bob