Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed in the Lord.  I got a lot of seeds planted on campus and one woman, Tiana, committed to Christ but did not pray, saying she would pray later. So I don’t know if she will though she promised to text me when she did, so hey maybe we can pray her over the line together.

She was sitting on the chairs where the tunnel goes into the PE building from the BIC and was an older part time student. She had a round, warm face, yoga pants on and larger curly hair coming down out of her hat. She was very nice, African American. She said she’d ask God to let her into Heaven, “Because my life on earth… I tried to live it as well as I can even though there were struggles I had to cross over.” She thought she had about a 70% chance of going to Heaven. Tiana knew absolutely nothing of the Gospel and yet believed it. She said “Awesome!” after I explained imputation of Christ’s righteousness and “Wow” as I finished the Gospel. But she insisted she’d pray later, so I gave her my phone number and asked her to text me when she prayed, saying I would keep her in my prayers for the next year if she let me know. I asked her if she believed Jesus was God, had died for her sins and rose from the dead. She said she did and I asked her if she trusted in that and she said yes. Unfortunately, she also told me she had been going to the Kingdom Hall (Jehovah’s Witnesses) though I don’t think they have indoctrinated her yet as she didn’t have the know-it-all vibe. So after I left her I thought I could give her the ‘Who I am in Christ” fold out from Rose Publications, having already given her a bible study and a promise book. I walked back and warned her about the Kingdom Hall as I gave it to her, saying some there might not believe Jesus was God and if He was not He could not die for our sin. She gave me a funny look and thanked me and I headed off. She has not texted me as of 9:50 PM so I’ll pray for her for a month and hope.

So thanks for your prayers for the Ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. I had a good day of sharing and we had a dozen students at Bible study tonight.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you are feeling blessed in the presence of the Lord today.  I had a good day of sharing, got some good seeds planted and Rafal (Rae få) prayed to receive Jesus.

Rafal was sitting by the doors on the second floor of the BIC waiting for his girlfriend Brittany to show up. He had short sandy hair and a couple days growth of beard coming in here and there. Short guy wearing jeans & a fleece, looked like a typical American student really. He was a faithful Roman Catholic by his attendance at church, saying he went every Sunday.  When I asked him what he would tell God to get into Heaven he said, “Everything I’ve done, I’ve always thought from the heart, so I meant no bad whatsoever with my life.” He thought he had about a 90% chance to go to Heaven. I asked him how God took away his sin and then “What was it Jesus did back in the day to take away your sins?” He struggled and could not think of anything saying, “Well, I know you go to the priest and confess and he gives you good things to do…”  I said, “Yes the priest can say you are forgiven because the Bible says ‘if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ But the reason the priest can say God forgives you is because of what Jesus did for you.” I went on to explain the Cross which he then remembered and the imputed righteousness of God and he began to give an affirming “yes” here and there agreeing. Brittany walked up then, but she seemed patient, so I finished the illustration for imputation and asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins and he said yes. I asked him as I finished if he believed Jesus was God, had died for his sins, and rose from the dead. Rafal said he of course did, so then I asked, “When you are asking for forgiveness, are you thinking I am a pretty good guy and it’s not like I robbed a bank or anything and God is forgiving so He’ll forgive me, or are you really thinking you know you will be forgiven because Jesus died for your sins?” “It’s strange,” he replied, “I never thought about it that way before.” I said he couldn’t have been trusting in it then and asked if he’d like to pray, receiving God’s forgiveness.  I walked him through the prayer and without responding to my question he began to read, silently praying as I had recommended, in his head as I held the booklet.  He stopped and I asked, “Did you pray?” He said “Yeah.” They wanted to run but I got her name and gave them both copies of Bible Promises for You. She wanted a booklet too, and I gave them each a bible study. They were really happy when I told them I would be praying for them and they thanked me. Before they headed off down the hall I said, “And this is 100%” writing it next to the % question that he would go to Heaven. “Because if you are trusting in Christ’s righteousness to be yours, how righteous was Jesus? 100% and his righteousness is yours.” So I will be praying Brittany comes to trust in Christ too.

I got a great seed planted with a guy with a mop of dishwater blond hair and a short light brown beard, named David, who took the student edition of The Case for Christ and thanked me for the conversation. So I will be praying for him too. He was also from a Roman Catholic background but was not certain he believed Jesus was God and had died for his sins and rose from the dead.  I gave him a bible study too.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope the end your week was blessed walking with the Lord. We had a good week on campus. Wednesday we had a table day for the Clubs and Activities fair and got a few more peeps interested in Bible Study on campus for the Discipleship part of the Ministry. We got to hang out with a half dozen or so of the peeps from the bible study, which is fun for Ellen who does not get to see them as often as I do and I enjoy being with Ellen for a day. We went through the Gospel with three kids and two, both named Grace, seemed close to believing the Truth.  There is a lot of discipleship just in clearly explaining the Gospel and imputation to a couple hundred Christians on campus each year. Bible study is fun for us and Ellen has some solid relationships with some of the girls who come.

On Thursday, John prayed to receive Christ. He was sitting near the revolving doors (on the next floor up) in a set of chairs at the top of the stairs in the SRC building. He was a regular looking guy, a bit thin, just under 6 foot with sandy hair wearing a two button top shirt under a black jacket and jeans and had braces.  He was looking at his phone. He was thoughtful, and he described himself as “intellectual, not athletic”. He said he’d answer some questions for the Bible study group. John was from a Roman Catholic Background. He really tuned into the Gospel, not knowing more than that Jesus died for sin. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven, he thought for a while then said, “If I had to pick like one of the deeds I’ve done what would be the one?” sort of restating what the question implied to him. He finally landed on, “Whenever people come to me for help I’ll usually do whatever I can to help them.” He thought he had about a 50% chance of going to Heaven, saying he had “Some improvement to do.” It was interesting that he seemed to search in his mind for some kind of stand-out performance that would truly merit Heaven. Some students think of their sins and don’t feel they would very likely go. But John seemed to think he hadn’t been exceptionally good. I talked him through the Gospel and many verses, and he wanted to be forgiven when offered. So I asked him if he had been thinking about what Jesus had done, trusting in that to be forgiven. He seemed to struggle again for an answer, though his previous thoughts suggested he felt he needed to earn it. He seemed relieved when I said there was a prayer he could pray, receiving God’s forgiveness and was he glad to pray it. He prayed silently to receive Christ.  I explained the Christian life to him and gave him a bible study which he really thought was interesting on the way Jesus claimed to be God in the Bible. He also took the book 20 Things God Can’t Do.  I explained that all the conditional things the book speaks about are done by the Spirit. “Like if you had a sales job and the leads your supervisor gave you were so good that when you walked in the door people would say to you, ‘Oh great you’re here. I wanna buy this right now.’ God gives you the power inside you by His Spirit to do everything He is asking you to do.” John was grateful, and as I stood up to go he stood up with me just to shake my hand and thank me sincerely. I’d talked to him for a long time and was thankful to God to see a guy grateful to grasp his salvation in Christ. I had some other seeds to plant and then headed home.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you had a blessed day walking with the Lord. We had a good turn-out at Bible Study tonight and my time on campus today was a blessing. Kenny and Sydney both prayed to receive Jesus.

Kenny was sitting in the science building on a couch bench at the southeast corner of the buildings. He was really friendly and interested to hear the illustrations I used with the Gospel saying, “That’s a very good way of saying it” at one point. Goodhearted, he’s a good looking guy, very short hair on the sides and kind of a mop afro on top. Athletic dressed like an athlete. He goes to Willow Creek and when I asked him what he would say to God to let him into Heaven he said, “I’m a child of God.” He thought he had an 80% chance of going to Heaven and was familiar with the Gospel, knowing Christ had died for sin. But after I completed the Gospel and he said he’d want to be forgiven with God living inside him, I asked “So when you’ve done something wrong and ask God to forgive you, are you thinking something like ‘I’m a good guy and God is merciful and I go to church. So I’m the kind of person God will forgive for this. Or are you thinking ‘I know I will be forgiven because Jesus died for me and I’m trusting in that’?” He smiled at that, with kind of a ‘you got me’ look and said, “Yeah. That I’m that person, not that He died.” So I explained that he could begin with a prayer (I talked him through) and God could then live inside him and he’d live the Christian life in the power of the Spirit. He prayed silently to receive Jesus then. He was really happy we talked and I gave him a Bible study and the Book 20 Things God Can’t Do, explaining that with all the conditional things in it that rested on his actions he should remember are done by the Spirit’s power and asking for His help. I also gave him a Bible study. He liked the idea that the difference between Christianity and other religions is that other religions are where you try to do good things on the outside and the deity is pleased with you and takes you to paradise or the universe is pleased with you and you don’t come back as a cow. But in Christianity we ask God to transform us on the inside by the Spirit and we become better men by His power and then do good things on the outside. “Thanks” he said, “this was good.”

Sydney was sitting on one of the seats in the wall, looking out over the lounge with her legs straight out. She was a lovely girl actually, long straight blonde hair, a black fleece and skinny jeans on, white tennis shoes, pretty skin, didn’t seem to have any make-up on. (I think I am starting to notice student’s skin more as mine begins to increasingly wrinkle. Ha, mine has not been good for 30 years.) She hoped to find something she was really passionate about, so I’ll pray it is increasingly Jesus. When I asked her what she would say to get into Heaven she said, “Where else would I go?  I don’t want to go anywhere bad.” She thought she had about a 50% chance to go to Heaven. She’d gone to church a bit as a kid it seemed, but had bought into the worldview some and knew that God was a Trinity. She seemed like a bright kid. She listened to the Gospel, interested, and the idea that God could make good even of the bad things we had done or had been done to us seemed to register with her in Romans 8:28 “You should do good things to please God,” I said. ‘But your good things don’t fix your bad things. But a lot of people think that. They’d say, I’ve done some bad stuff but I’ve done some good stuff too and my good stuff will fix my bad stuff with God. But your bad stuff is still out there kicking people around and there’s nothing you can do about it.  But God says He’ll fix your bad stuff. It says in Romans 8:28 that all things work together for good for them that love God and are the called according to His purpose.” At the end I asked her if she would want to be forgiven with God living inside her. “I would want to be forgiven. I want these things (past sins) to go away. Because like you said… you can’t get rid of them. They are out there, yeah.” I asked her, “Do you believe Jesus is God, He died for your sins and rose from the dead?” “Yes,” she replied. “Well if you wanted to trust in that, God can live inside you,” I replied. I explained the life in Christ through the fruit of the Holy Spirit. I offered her a prayer then to receive Christ, explaining it and saying she could pray it right then like I wasn’t here and God could read her thoughts. She kind of smirked at that, like I had just asked her something odd, but she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus.  I gave her a Bible, putting her name in it, and gave her 20 Things God Can’t Do writing “By the Spirit” in the front and explaining that part of a life in Christ. I gave her a Bible study and got her email to send her some stuff. I thanked her for being open and for some reason told her I was proud of her and she shook my hand and thanked me and I gave her a contact card for the Bible study.

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 in the Lord. I had a good day on campus and Akayna prayed with me to receive Jesus. I also had a good time catching up with Lilli who prayed to receive Christ last semester. I gave her another book to read The Case for Christ and a Rose Publication fold out on “Who I Am in Jesus” She has a lot of struggles, so she vented some and gave me more to pray for her about. But she was glad to talk more.

Akayna was sitting in the science building hall. I have seen her before, but she always looked busy. She was working on her laptop today but looked up, so I asked her if she’d like to do a student survey for our Bible Study group and she was open.  She has natural blonde hair down past her shoulders and was wearing a V-neck white short-sleeved shirt and gray sweat pants, had kind of a pug nose, shy kid, cute. She had gone to the Bible Church in town when she was younger and went through Catholic high school, but didn’t go to church now while in college. I went through the Gospel with her and she said she’d “Probably want to be forgiven with God inside.” She had some misgivings though. She had been a leader at a group I had never heard of. Possibly it is not expressly Christian. I went through the Gospel with her and she said she’d “Probably want to be forgiven with God inside but had misgivings.” So I talked her through the Trinity reflected in her, that she had a body a mind and emotions. Also I told her the logic that if there was a God, He could become a man (if he wanted to) and then he would tell people the truth (which often gets you killed). But if He was truly God you would expect Him to rise from the dead. I talked to her about living “inside out” so that God could give her strength to live the Christian life. After I had talked to her for a bit I asked, “Do you think you believe Jesus is God, died for your sins and rose from the dead?” She said she did and I said “well if you’d want to trust in that, God can live inside you and guide and strengthen you.” So she decided to give her life to Christ and prayed to receive Him. I gave her the book 20 Things God Can’t Do and also a Bible study. She gave me her email to send her some more stuff. I shook her hand and said “It was really nice to meet you.” “Yeah, you too,” she said smiling.

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 you had a great day yesterday and God blesses you through the weekend.   I had a good day of sharing yesterday and Beahja (rhymes with Asia) prayed to receive Christ. I also bumped into Jai who prayed to receive Jesus last semester. He’d said he wanted to tell his family the Gospel when he had prayed with me. They seemed to be Christians in name only.  When I saw him yesterday he thanked me again for telling him the Gospel and said, “It’s really made a difference. I pray the prayer every day.” He had torn the prayer out of the booklet and carried it in his wallet. It actually is a good prayer it reads as follows: Lord Jesus I want to know you personally. Thanks for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive you as my savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life, make me the kind of person you want me to be. Jai then told me he had gone through the booklet with his parents Janet and Jerome and had prayed the prayer with them as well. So it would seem he has lead his parents to Christ! He gave them the book I had given him. He called it “Things God promises not to do”. I gave him another booklet to have and the book Bible Promises for You. I told him I would pray for his parents too. He was really thankful and glad to see me. God gives me this gift once in a while, to see someone who has prayed growing in their faith and making a difference in the lives of others. It made my day.

Beahja was sitting in the hall where the BIC building enters into a tunnel connecting it underground to the PE building. She is African American and was wearing yoga pants and a jacket. She was maybe 5’4” and had braids and a cute oval face. She did not have much time and I made sure not to take any extra time going through the Gospel. When I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven, she answered more saying why she would want to go, “Because I wanna meet the rest of my family.” She thought she had about a 65% chance of going to Heaven and she knew the story of the Gospel, that Christ had died, but she was not trusting in His work to be forgiven. “I know I should believe deep down God has forgiven me,” she said.  I said that wasn’t what I was asking her. I was asking if she had been trusting in that the reason she had been forgiven was Jesus. She decided she had not trusted in that and though she only had 3 minutes to get to class she prayed to receive Christ out loud in the hall.  I quickly gave her a Bible study and the book Bible Promises for You. I gave her a hug around the shoulders, told her I would pray for her every night for a year and apologized for making her late and she ran off to class. I’ll be praying for her, hoping to meet her again to encourage her and to be encouraged that she is walking with the Lord

So thanks for your prayers for the Ministry and for evangelism yesterday if you had a chance, God truly blessed me yesterday.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed walking with the Lord.  I had a good day on campus and had some good conversations and David prayed to receive to Christ. He was sitting at a table in the PE lounge.  Big dude, on the offensive side of the ball. He had a duffle bag on the table and was leaning forward on it, kinda hugging the football and it in one pile.  He was an African American guy, good looking with really short hair and a bit of a mustache, with almond shaped eyes. David said he’d done a couple other surveys with some other religious groups, two yesterday he’d thought. This happens periodically. Some Christian groups on campus, (one that used to be called Campus Crusade) send students out to do spiritual interest surveys. Sadly they seem to have never trained these kids on my campus how to go through the Gospel or transition into it from the survey. [I have mentioned this to the leaders and they acknowledge it and that’s the end of it.  I worked for them for a year and was never trained in this either. They did say I could do a student survey and a guy kind of made one up with a kid when I was with him once.  I used the idea and made up a survey and always end it with the Gospel.] I regularly meet students who are not interested in doing an additional survey.  So I asked David, “Did they ask you this question? ‘You’re walkin’ down the road and you get hit by a bus. So you’re dead, and ya stand before God and He says, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?” He said no, they hadn’t asked that. “Well do you know how to get to Heaven?” I asked. He looked back at me and was thinking, but had nothing to respond with, so I stepped into the pause and said, “Would you like to know how to get to Heaven, to know what the bible says?” “OK,” he replied. So I walked him through the verses, He had John 3:16 memorized and said it with me, but 3 minutes later, when I asked him “What is the thing Jesus did back when He was on earth that took away your sin?” He thought for a few seconds and said, “The bread?” “Well that is something you do at church to symbolize what Jesus did.” I responded.  I explained the Gospel and imputed righteousness of Christ to him and that he needed to receive it. I asked if he would like to be forgiven for his sins and have God live inside him, or if he thought something else. “God live inside.” he replied. So I said, “Well, it doesn’t seem like you have ever put all this together before, right?” He agreed, shaking his head. “Well there is a prayer you can pray to be forgiven.” I talked him through it, saying he could pray it like I wasn’t there. God would read his thoughts and he could start a relationship with God. He took the booklet from me and prayed to receive Christ.  I explained a little more of the Christian life to him, relating it to the football field and gave him The Bible Promise Book after asking him if he’d like it. I also gave him a Rose Publications handout Who I Am in Christ that has a lot of verses and stuff in it. I told him I would pray for him.  He was from Chicago and had a Bible at home. Then we said good bye and he headed off over to his friends.

I was a bit discouraged at the end of the day after talking to an atheist kid in the science building lounge right before this time with David.  Marcus looked about 20 had a winter cap on and V-neck shirt, a quick smile with perfect teeth and a bit unshaven.  He described himself as an anti-theist. He had drawn his conclusions after looking into and observing religion, he claimed. But his new metaphysic, science, was full of lies and the peer review process for scientific publication has become controlled–no new information counter to the paradigm is published now. The latter he admitted to be true about scientific publishing. We went back and forth for a while and I hoped I created some doubt. I went through the Gospel. I am sure he had heard before. Maybe he was talking to me for some other purpose. I gave him Barry Setterfield’s name as a source he asked for in Plasma Physics and the movie title “The Principle” and a few other things I felt led to say. But I don’t know if I made a dent in the lies Marcus believed. He said he worked in the bio department at school and had been raised Christian.  It left me more sad than usual for some reason. Then I walked over from the science buildings to the other end of campus praying and feeling I hadn’t said enough and found David, a simple hearted guy who believed. Some people learn just enough information to destroy their faith. But there is usually a catalyst of some pain that precedes it. College may end for David after a couple years at COD playing football, not because he is not intelligent. But since he came out of the Chicago Public Schools, college will be very hard to get through having been given no tools. Marcus unfortunately, up until now, has believed what he was taught in a better school. But David is going to Heaven.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for Evangelism today if you had a chance. I’m grateful and so is David.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed.  I had a good day on campus, though in the 4 hours I was there I only went through the Gospel with 4 people and 2 proved to be Christians. But I finally got to have a serious discussion with Andu, a guy I have known for few years from the Hapkido class I took at COD.  He is from Eritrea and is Muslim in name only “Because my dad is,” he would say. Though in his tribe there are both Christians and Muslims. His uncle is a Christian. I told him he would not go to Heaven today and gave him a Rose Publication (laminated accordion hand out) he wanted on 100 Prophecies Christ fulfilled.  I also explained problems with the Quran. We are good friends by now, and though I have talked about Christianity several times, this was the first good exchange we had on it. He also took a Bible study on Jesus claiming to be God. I was really glad to get to talk with him and have prayed for him some in the past. So I’ll be praying for Him.

I also went through the Gospel with a mixed race guy with thick hair that sat on his head like a Russian winter cap, “You can call me Junior,” he said. He wore sweats and had a short beard.  I could tell he was sincerely interested in knowing the truth.  He simply thought he deserved to go to Heaven. He took the booklet from me, but his heart had been hardened by catholic school which he was forced to attend, and he was not sure he believed Jesus was God. He took the student edition of The Case for Christ to read and a Bible study.

I spent several hours talking to a Christian guy, Darell, a good looking black guy with full features and row braids that came down to his shoulders. He had a lot of questions concerning issues of American life. He was a solid guy and when we finally parted (so I could make my chiropractor appointment) he said, “Thanks for this” (about out time together).  I thought college ministry would be about these kind of long discipleship talks more often than it usually is for me. Most are more brief and evangelistic. It was a good time.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. I think I got a couple of good seeds planted and gave some aid.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you felt the nearness of God today. I had a good day on campus and thanks for your prayers if you had a moment. Kaitlyn committed to Christ today (she said would pray later) and Christina and Aliyah each prayed with me to receive Jesus.

Kaitlyn was lying flat on her back on some of the cushioned benches in the science lounge and said she’d do a student survey.  She was really friendly, had blonde hair pulled up in a bun with no make-up on, blue eyes. She wore some kind of print powder-blue yoga pants and a maroon fleece zip neck pull over. Cute kid. She was raised Roman Catholic but her parents are divorced and it seemed she had not been to Church in a while. She said her mom and stepdad traveled all over the world but never took her, and that she’d like to travel.  I asked her what she would say if God asked why He should let her into Heaven. I joked, suggesting she could say, “My parents never took me on vacation anywhere so I was hoping I could get in here.” She laughed and she said, “Because I am a good person, I desire to go.” She thought she’d have about an 80% chance to go. When I asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sins, she could not remember. So I said that’s OK and told her there were some Bible verses that explained it. She was interested to listen and followed closely everything I said.  She looked me right in the eye when I spoke directly to her. When I explained she needed to believe Jesus had died for her and rose from the dead, she said “So when I sin I’ll just think Jesus died for me.” I explained she could ask for forgiveness, and she said she’d like to be forgiven but quickly said, “I’ll pray later.” But she took a Bible from me, so I wrote her name and the date in the front and gave her the Book 20 Things God Can’t Do and also a Bible study on the claims Jesus makes to be God in the NT.  She gave me her email to send her some stuff. We talked about the confessional and how God alone forgave sins. “Yeah, Catholics,” she said smiling. I asked in leaving, “So do you believe Jesus is God, that He died for your sins and rose from the dead?” and she said she did. “And would you want to trust in that to be forgiven so God could live inside you?” She said she would. So I said, “The Bible teaches if you say with your mouth Jesus is Lord and Believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead you’ll be saved. But the prayer is important, God likes to be asked.” She accepted that and since I had her email I said I’d check with her later.  So I hope later I’ll discover she has definitely asked for forgiveness. She shook my hand as I left and said, “Thank you so much.” She was a great kid.

Christina was on the phone as I walked up and started the survey with her ear piece in. But the other person dropped off after Christina was too distracted to talk to her.  She was Greek Orthodox and went to church every few weeks lately. Christina looked like a stereotypical pretty Greek girl with very curly brown hair past her shoulders and black rimmed glasses. She wore jeans and a black leather jacket over a button front shirt. She spoke with a slight accent and her family was Italian and Greek from “the mountains”. We talked for a long time. She’d grown up with some severe health problems and had a few operations. She parted her hair to show me a scar. This had led to depression and other struggles. “Life is a lesson,” she said. When I asked her what she would say to God if asked why He should let her into Heaven she said, “I know I’m a sinner, and Adam and Eve sinned (making things the way they are). But I tried to live my life to make the best of what He gave us. To be happy, to forgive other people, try to do the good you can.” She believed the purpose of Religion was to “spread good, to reinforce it”. I asked her how likely it was she would go to Heaven and she said, “I struggle with that, I don’t do bad things, but where is the [line you] cross… the point you are done and you don’t get in anymore.” She settled on 60%.  I said I could tell her what the Bible said was the way to Heaven and asked her if she’d like to hear some Bible verses. She said she would. She kind of marveled at the imputation of Christ. She knew He had suffered, but she did not seem to have understood blood atonement. As I finished explaining the Gospel, she said she’d want to be forgiven and then told me more of her life. I talked her through the prayer she could pray, but she did not like the idea of reading other people’s words. I said sometimes we quote people to make a point and said, “We love Him because He first loved us.” I can tell you that, but those are actually John’s words in his letter in the Bible. She said she had asked God to begin to change her, and I explained the way God changed people was first to live inside them with His Spirit and that she needed to ask for forgiveness based on what Jesus had done for God to live inside saying, “Maybe he sent me here to answer that prayer.” I encouraged her that she could pray her own words like I was not there and begin a relationship with God. “Get on the train,” she said in response and I agreed. She bowed her head and closed her eyes and prayed for a bit to receive Jesus. I explained the fruit of the Spirit to her and living inside out. I gave her a Bible, putting her name in the front and the date.  I also gave her the book 20 Things God Can’t Do and a Bible study. I told her I would be praying for her over the next year and she said “Don’t spend too much time on your knees.” I smiled and I said I’d pray for her sitting up in a chair. As I left, she shook my hand and said, “Thank you.” I said she was welcome.

I was pretty shot after several hours of witnessing, so I thought I’d say hi to some friends and head home. As I headed out, I walked past a girl on a couch I thought I should ask.  I stopped past her, almost thinking I was too tired to talk any more. But I walked up to her and she was really happy to talk.  I think I got a bit of energy off of that. When she said her name was Aliyah, I thought it might be Muslim, but she was just a cute bubbly kid from a Roman Catholic background. She said she had been forced through CCD and confirmation but had been to some Christian camps and was looking for “something between Kumbaya and Roman Catholics”. She had perfectly straight teeth and a bright smile, with long, straight, light brown hair and had on jeans and a jacket. I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven and she said, “That’s hard. OK well, I would… ask for forgiveness and say that I want to be in the Heavens. I guess I would… ask for help to come to peace.” (An African girl who prayed with me to receive Christ a couple years ago and sometimes stops by the Bible Study plopped down next to me as I went through the Gospel so I greeted her warmly and kept on with the story. Felicia gets pretty focused on her phone sometimes and immediately did as she waited, so somehow did not matter.) Aliyah knew Jesus had died to take away sin and wanted to be forgiven. I asked her if she trusted in Christ, saying I knew she’d know the story. She said she thought she’d believed God was forgiving.  I explained how she could take one more step to ask Him to forgive her, trusting in what Jesus had done.  I explained the prayer to her and she decided to pray to receive Christ saying “Yeah sure.” She visibly brightened after she finished and I gave her The Bible Promise Book and she also took the student edition of The Case for Christ, saying she thought there was someone she wanted to give it to. I suggested she could look through it a bit first.  I gave her a Bible study and explained living “inside out” to her and “By the Spirit”.  She was happy and gave me her email and I said I’d pray for her. She thanked me and I left with Felicia to give her a ride to where she works.

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

In Him,

Bob

Third Watch Ministries, NFP                                                        Bob & Ellen Bollow

P.O. Box 1283                                                        Prayer Letter – Thanksgiving 2016

Wheaton, IL 60187-1283  

“My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure”

Isaiah 46:10

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you have been blessed with a pleasant fall. We are happy, though bracing for payback for what seemed to be a warmer than usual autumn in Chicago. Things go in cycles and it is difficult to know which way the world has turned—for or against the Good.  But the scripture teaches if God be for us who can be against us, and that nothing can separate us from His love.  I try to remember that on campus when I feel blown around for a few hours, only to land in just the right place to talk to someone who comes to Christ.

Last Tuesday, after going through the Gospel with a boy named Isak, I found him hesitant to trust the Lord, though He’d clung to a belief in God through his life in the face of some mocking. He said he had some questions for me.  He talked to me about some of the difficulties he’d had in life: bullying and rejection as a kid and one disaster that made him doubt God at the age of 14 that he did not specify.  I tried to help him see that these were things God had used to shape his life, even if he could not see it. And that we can not always see the good, as it might be something developed in us we pass on to children or effect a future for those we love, unseen by us. We have to trust God. “To the idea that God is either not all good because He has not helped you as you wished, or is not all powerful and wasn’t able to help, you need to add time. God is helping you and is good, and in the end you will see it when you are with Him in Heaven. Sometimes He dares you to trust Him,” I said.  In the end, Isak accepted that he did, in fact, like the person he had become. He recognized how pain had given him empathy and possibly even creativity. After we talked for some time, he prayed to receive Christ and took a couple of books to read: 20 Things God Can’t Do and The Case for Christ. He was hesitant to take them both until I explained that people generously gave me money to buy books for students to help them grow in their faith and then he took them with a smile. Certainly pain and struggle are not to be rejected out of hand, but met with God’s offered help.  He offers transformation of the soul, something not offered by any other religion.  Sometimes it is simple and immediate; You miss the stoplight but you don’t get hit by the train. You may never realize the train was the real threat, as it never hit you.  God protected you by delaying you at the stoplight. But some delays are very painful and can only be taken by asking for the gift of faith.

Tolstoy told a tale once of a wise old man named Nikolai.  He had one teenage son who had come to him in old age, his young wife dying shortly after. He was a peasant farmer in the hinterlands of Russia among the Cossacks.  He lived just outside a small village.  One night there was a lightening storm and the old farmer’s only horse, a spirited stallion, ran off into the dark, headed towards the wilderness.  Hearing the news of the disappearance of his horse, some caring villagers came to his house to be supportive, as he was a man who had experienced loss. And there was little new news in the village. “Why are you here?” Nikolai asked them.  “We heard your only horse has run off we are here to grieve with you” they replied.  “So you think this is a bad thing?” Nikolai asked. “Why do you think this is a bad thing?”  “Well yes, this leaves you with no help to bring in the sheaves at harvest” the villagers replied.  “How can you be sure this is a bad thing?” he asked them. The villagers pitied him and left. “He is overcome,” they said among themselves. The next day the horse returned, bringing 10 mares with it from the wilds. Seeing this presumed good fortune, the villagers returned to Nikolai’s house.  He greeted them politely and asked, “Why are you here?” “We are here to rejoice with you!  Your horse has returned and now you have 10 more horses!” they answered. “So you think this is a good thing?” Nikolai mused out loud.  “Well, yes of course” they said, taken aback. “Why do you think this is a good thing?” he asked them. The villagers shook their heads, beginning to think him eccentric but admired the beautiful wild horses as they left.  The next day his son was breaking the horses to a bit and bridle and one of them threw him off, breaking his leg.  The villagers, hearing the news, returned.  Nikolai greeted them calmly and asked, “Why are you here?” “We have come to grieve with you concerning your son,” they said. “So you think this is a bad thing? Why do you think this is a bad thing?” Nikolai asked. “Well yes!” the villagers exclaimed. “Now you will have to bring in the sheaves without the lad’s help. You were right about the horses. They have not brought you good fortune.” “I never said the horses were good fortune or bad” Nikolai replied. The villagers left, deciding among themselves not to return but to leave Nikolai to his own musings. The following day, the Tsar’s troops came in to draft the Cossacks into service in the Crimean war, taking with them all the young sons of the village, except for that of Nikolai, for his son had recently broken his leg.

There are many things in life that we may wonder over concerning the goodness of God.  The pain makes steel and straw among men, the heroic and the psychotic.  But God is at work [Isaiah 46:10] and we must remember what we are told in Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Since He loves us, we know life can bring Joy in the Morning. [Psalm 30:5]  So we are of good cheer in our ministry, knowing God will continue the work, which allowed the indwelling Holy Spirit to enter upon the prayer of repentance and belief.  God has truly blessed the work of evangelism this semester and 63 people have prayed with me to receive Jesus, among many other seeds that were planted.  (An * means they committed to pray, but did not pray with me.)

Matt, Jose, Karrina, Gabriela, Alex, Taranice, Mirna, Berenice, Ada, Victoria, Khyla, Nirali*,

Evelyn*, Dinah, Lashunna, Josh, Oscar, Heidi, Viviana, Jimmy, Daminesha, Peter, Vanessa,

Javier, Xavier, Bee, Mandy, Grant, Malik, Aurelio, Jesse, James, Ydalmy, Crystal,  Justin,

Sarah, Trina, Yuanita*, Kristina*, Kamaria, Jeremiah (Jrock), Jessie, Eli, Kevin, Christine,

Aronique, Acarria, Mike, Alivia, Sarah, Paul, Jai, Michelle, Apollonia, Julio,

Julio, Ashley, Nancy, Randy,  Dejan, Alex, Julia, Gio, Sue, Katie, Adrian, Isak

Thanks for your prayers & support for us and these students.

In Him,

Bob & Ellen

bob.thirdwatch@sbcglobal.net

www.thethirdwatch.org