Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you were blessed today walking with the Lord.  I had a slow day on campus, talking primarily with people who were Christians or claimed to be.  Some who claimed they would appeal to their good works to get into Heaven and then later said they were trusting in Christ.  A girl in the Cru group on campus tried to maintain, after appealing to her religious works, that she had a relationship with God and people “say it [the Gospel] different ways.”  I pointed out that this was not truly the Gospel if you were not telling people they had to trust in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.  I pointed out I had just talked to a Catholic woman who basically claimed she was saved by the sacraments (though the Bible nowhere teaches sacraments save you or sanctify you).  

The woman told me I should become a Catholic, asking me why I was not.  I explained that the Bible did not teach the power of sacraments to save you, but that Baptism saved you by an appeal to God for a clear conscience [1Pet. 3:21 “And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you — not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience — through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”] So Baptism must be an appeal to God by the one baptized, by the definition of scripture.  The ceremony is not a power in and of itself, performed as a rite by the Church that saves you as described in scripture.  She then told me I should pray about this, ignoring the verses I quoted to her.  I told her I had had a sacramentalist for a professor and had studied it already in Graduate school.  I had already examined her claims against the Bible and believed them to be false on that basis.  She paraphrased Jesus saying you must eat his flesh and drink His blood, but I pointed out that this metaphor is from John 6 before the Lord’s supper was instituted by Jesus (on the night before His death) much later on.  And so John 6 could not be about the same thing (as the Lord’s Supper), since before that people were saved (considered righteous Jews) by faith that Jesus was the Messiah.  So in no place in Scripture does the Bible say ordinances like Baptism or the Lord’s Supper act upon you independently to save you, take away your sin or sanctify you.  God sanctifies you by Himself with His Spirit and needs no devices (1 Thessalonians 5:23).  

Getting back to the CRU girl, I helped her understand what she needed to be certain of and what she said doing evangelism and she accepted my help and I gave her the booklet.  She had been trying to say you did not simply have faith in Jesus but also had to have a relationship with Him.  I explained the Bible says that when you have faith in His death and resurrection to save you from your sin, the Holy Spirit enters you.  And this is what it means to know God: that we are one with Him, by His indwelling Spirit, which we receive as soon as we have faith (Gal. 3:2 Rom. 8:9).  This means knowing God, thus being in a relationship with Him if you wish to describe it that way (though the Bible does not use that relational language), is a reality that exists if we have faith because the Spirit in us makes us one with God.  So being one with God would be the definition of being in a relationship with Him.  It is not possible to have genuine faith and NOT have the presence of the Spirit in you, which would then place you in relationship with God having become one with Him.  It is possible to think you have a relationship with God and even feel you are close to Him and be mistaken, IF you do not have genuine faith in the Work of God in Christ (and as Christ) on the Cross dying for you. You might even know the story of Christ’s work but have never trusted in it.  People who do not have a relationship with God and think they do are often trusting in religious feelings they get by doing religious works.  Even miracles, casting out demons and prophesying don’t cut it, it is only faith. (Matt. 7:20-23)

So I did get close to a person trusting Christ.  God was moving on Frank, a black guy, but otherwise just teaching the truth today.  Thanks for your prayers. God was with me.

In Him,

Bob
To donate to our college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Hope ya had a good day and felt the presence of the Lord.  I had a good day on campus.  Megan and Kendall both prayed to receive Christ today.
Megan was sitting on the floor of the center lounge in the science buildings and said she’d answer some questions.  She had dyed her hair a lighter shade of red, close to orange-red.  It was put up generally and she had some base on for make-up and a black t-shirt that read: “I woke up this way.”   She had gray sweats on and was a kind, pleasant person, just drinkin’ a coke from a plastic bottle.   When I asked her what she’d say to God to let her into Heaven she said, “I led a somewhat faithful life.  I go to church.  I haven’t done anything wrong necessarily… I’ve been a good person I think.”  But she thought she’d only have a 40% chance of going to Heaven.   She listened to the Gospel seriously and took it all in and I asked her if she would want to be forgiven.  She said she would, so I asked her if she had ever really thought about God forgiving her because Jesus had died for her or if she had pretty much just grown up going to church (she went to a Roman Catholic Church) and done what her parents had done.   I suggested that she was an adult and had to make up her own mind.  She agreed and said, “Yeah I’m 20 now.  I’m away from my parents.  I have to decide what to believe.”  She decided she wanted to pray to receive Christ as her Savior.  She prayed quietly in her heart.  I showed her some stuff in the booklet about the Christian life and the work of the Holy Spirit.  She was into science so she took a copy of The Case for a Creator to read and a Bible study, and then had to run to class.  I told her I would pray for her. Nice kid.

Kendall was and African American suburban guy sitting in the hallway outside the bookstore in an armchair across from some noisy distracting girls who fortunately left, asking him to watch their stuff.  I was grateful to God for that, as it made it easier for him to listen to the Gospel.  He was wearing a hoodie with the hood up, had reddish hair and tan cargo pants sandals and socks on.  He said he went to a church called Crossway but didn’t know where it was, “I just get in the car with my Dad.  He takes me.”  He thought he had about a 40% chance of going to Heaven.  I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven and he said, “I don’t know.  I don’t really think I deserve to be in Heaven yet.  I’ve been making some bad decisions lately.  I need to get myself straight sometimes.”  He listened closely to the Gospel, however not really getting the question when I asked him the big thing Jesus did when He was alive on earth to take away his sins.   I reminded him that Jesus had died for him and Kendall seemed to remember a bit, and then I went on to explain whole of the Gospel.  After going through several verses of Scripture and explaining it all, I asked him if he wanted to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done for him.  He said he did, and prayed receive Christ after I walked him through the prayer.  He was happy and I explained the work of the Holy Spirit in him to give him the power to live the Christian life and make better choices, something we could all use help in each day.  He took a copy of the Student Edition of The Case for Faith to read and a bible study on the Deity of Christ and I got his email to send him some stuff.

With the exception of Tina, a cute freckled-faced girl with a dark complexion, deep red tint in her long brown hair and red tennis shoes on who was close to committing to Christ, the rest of the day I talked with peeps who turned out to be Christians.  Tina took a copy of the book God Loves You by David Jeremiah.  I’ll be praying for her as I hope she’ll commit to Christ.  Her dad is a Christian and gives her apologetic books.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for Evangelism today if you had a chance.  God blessed the work and 5 people prayed to receive Jesus this week. 
In Him,

Bob

To donate to our college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I hope you had a great day walking with the Lord.  I had a good day of evangelism, though I had a headache that wouldn’t give up and dragged on me a bit.  I only got through the Gospel completely with 3 students in all the hours I was at school.  Almost everyone turned me down.   But Cindy, Julian and Thandi  [pronounced ‘Tandie’] all prayed to receive Jesus today.

Cindy was sitting in the BIC Building in the hall on a bench by herself.  Pretty Latino girl with almond shaped eyes, she had shredded jeans on (thread bare over most of her shins and her thighs) white tennis shoes and shoulder length brown hair.  I asked her what was one thing she wanted to do before she died and she said “Go to Africa and teach poor children.”  She seemed like a really sweet person and an introvert.  When I asked her what she’d say to God if He asked her why He should let her into Heaven, she thought for a minute as if the question really threw her off.  Kind of reaching for something she said, “Because I never killed anyone…” she paused and then kind of pleading her case she said, “I’m a good person.”  She was pretty sure she was going to Heaven though and gave it 90%, and regularly went to the Catholic Church.  She hadn’t been thinking in terms of the Gospel at all.  When I asked, “What’s the big thing Jesus did back in the day to take away your sins?”  I could tell she knew as soon as she heard herself say it that was wrong but said, guessing, “He was baptized.”  But then I explained the Gospel and she tuned right in.  I asked her if she wanted to be forgiven and right away she said she did and admitted, smiling a bit, that she had just been hoping she was good and religious and God would forgive her.  She prayed to receive Christ and I realized I was running out of time as she had to get to class.  So I quickly explained the work of the Spirit in the Christian life.  I gave her a more remembrance view of the Mass, saying she could use that time to be grateful, knowing she was forgiven because Christ had died for her.  I gave her a Bible Study, More Than a Carpenter to read and a Bible, telling her I would keep her in my prayers and giving her my email and she ran to class.

Julian was laying on a bench in the MAC Arts building, by the front doors, listening to his phone.  He went to a community Church in town.  He had a short brown beard and shorter wavy hair that matched.  Dressed in jeans, white shoes, good lookin’ guy, bigger than average (he took up the bench, they are the best ones to sit on in the school and I have sat on them all.)  When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “’Cause I’ve dedicated my life to actually doing good things.  That’s really it, my family there, being with them.  I’d hate to be alone for eternity.”  He still only thought he had a 75% chance to go to Heaven.  He listened to the Gospel and got it when I said, “You don’t go to Heaven because you are good.  You go to Heaven because Jesus was good.”  He realized he hadn’t been trusting in what Jesus had done for him on the Cross and prayed to receive Christ.  He had his pride pricked a bit I think, as anyone’s could be, in realizing he cannot be good enough to go to Heaven.  I explained the work of the Spirit to Julian and gave him a Bible study, but he did not want a book saying he had a lot of books.  I’ve no doubt he does.  Sadly many so called Christian books written these days are not worth reading.  I will be praying for him.  Please pray his acceptance of the Gospel truly sinks in.

I asked Thandi if she wanted to do a student survey and she turned me down so I said no worries and kept walking.  But I was prompted to offer her a booklet to read on her own as I sometimes am, so I turned around and walked back to give her one.   She accepted it, so I just began to explain the Gospel to her a bit.  First how Jesus had died to take away her sins and God wanted to live inside her.  Having already told her the answer, I asked why God might let her into Heaven.  She said she thought because she was a good person.  So I kept explaining things to her.  I was going to keep preaching to her until it seemed like she didn’t want to listen.  But she seemed to be getting more comfortable with me as the Spirit worked with the Word.  She is a very pretty African American girl.  Stick straight hair and jeans, white tennis shoes on, she’d done some cool stuff with her eye make-up.  I got to receiving Christ and got out a booklet to show her some verses and told her how God turned even our bad stuff into good stuff, quoting Romans 8:28.  I asked her if she would want to be forgiven and she said she would.  I said, “Do you believe Jesus is God and has died for your sins and rose from the dead?”  She thought for a second and said, “Yes.”  So I asked her if she would like to trust in that and she nodded.  I walked her through the prayer, offering it to her, saying she could pray it quietly and God would read her thoughts and to pretend I wasn’t there.  She did.  I gave her a Bible study and as I explained it I felt the Spirit.  I explained how the Christian life was inside out, first being transformed by God on the inside by His Spirit and then it showing on the outside.  I gave her my email, trying to be careful not to step on the good vibe God had created and left her in her new found faith.

Thanks so much for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance.  God truly blessed.

In Him,

Bob
To donate to our college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

10/2/15

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a great day walking with the Lord.  I had a good day on campus, even though Friday is a day that few students are on campus.  Alessandro prayed to receive Christ today.  He was sitting in the lounge just outside the gallery space of the main lounge in the MAC Arts building.  He wore glasses and had a day or two growth of beard on his face.  He had a long sleeve tie-dyed T-shirt on and his light brown sneakers had no laces.  He wore jeans and had light brown hair, side burns, small in stature, Caucasian.  By his name I took it he was Italian by lineage.  He had gone to Catholic church some “most Sundays and holidays” growing up in Houston, Texas.  But he had not been to church in a while.  When I asked him what he would say to God if asked why he should be let into Heaven he said, “Because I believed that I tried my best in this life.”  He followed the Gospel well and in the end said he wanted to be forgiven.  So I asked him if he believed Jesus was God and had died for his sins.  He thought for a moment or two and said he did believe.  So I said if he wanted to trust in that and be forgiven he could ask by a prayer.  I showed it to him saying he could pray it silently and God could read his thoughts.  He read it through again and said, “Read it in my head right?”  “Yeah as a prayer,” I replied.  He read through each phrase and then closed the book praying it and opened it again for the next phrase slowly and meaningfully.  So that was great and I explained the Holy Spirit to him who gave him the power to live the Christian life.  He said he kept a Bible in his room and had a lot of books, presumably Christian ones.  He did not want another, so I gave him a Bible study and got his email to send him another later on.  I got up to leave saying goodbye and he said, “See ya around.”  I’m around a lot so probably he will.

I gave the Student edition of The Case for Christ to Kitt, a solid, tall guy with a mop of very blonde curly hair who felt like he would go to Heaven for having served a lot of people.  He’d had been to a youth group growing up, but his idea of God was less than Christian.   He wasn’t really sure he knew who God was, saying “I believe in God or something exists, prayed…pretty sure.  I think God is real, not sure Heaven is real but there is something past this life.”  I said, “What you need is information.”  And gave him the book and he was happy to take it.  I had gone through the Gospel with him and then he had to run to class.  But I am hopeful he will read the book.

I gave Chloe, a pretty black girl with shoulder-length hair, dressed all in denim who said her mom was a preacher, a book that I got some discounted copies of called God Loves You: He Always Has and He Always Will.  I gave her a Bible study too.  She didn’t have assurance of Salvation and said, “This was just what I needed today,” when I’d gone through the Gospel with her.   She knew it a bit, and I think believed in Jesus enough to love Him, saying to get into Heaven she’d reply “Because I want to spend the rest of my life with Him.”  She knew Jesus had died for her but I think felt she was not good enough.  “I feel like I have a good chance of going.  I mean I’ve done a few bad things but…”  I hadn’t planned on giving her a book but I said, “Would you like a book?” feeling prompted some to give her the one I gave her and she said, “Yes.” very emphatically.  She was very happy to have talked.  It is hard to say how many students are much like her that I talk to.  They will give me a works-righteousness response for why they are going to Heaven, somehow hoping they are good enough.  As I remind them of the story of Jesus they seem to know it and then in the end are sure they have believed in Jesus all along.  So I encourage them that they could use the booklet I have written Bible verses on and notes in to share their faith and they take it.  But I feel pretty sure their faith has changed from believing He died somewhere in the back of their memory to trusting in that He died for them.

Bob

To donate to our college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a great day walking with the Lord.  I had a god day on campus and Hany, an Egyptian Coptic guy, committed to Christ today.  Hany was sitting at a set of couches in the upstairs lounge of the PE building.  He is a slight small built guy with a British accent (where he said his family was from).  He had a conservative (Frankie Avalon as a boy) haircut, was a clean shaven, good-looking kid, dark complexion.  He said he would say to God, if asked why God should let him into Heaven, “I don’t deserve to go to Heaven, I’m imperfect like every other human.”  He said he had “no idea” how likely it was that he would go to Heaven and later said he would tell God, “I did my best.”  He did know Christ had died for sin, but he had not been trusting in it and asked me a few questions.  “I have read the Bible but I never get anything out of it” he said.  I explained the Holy Spirit did not live inside him since he had not truly received Christ, and that understanding the Bible was through the Spirit.  Unlike reading a physics or math book, one should pray for understanding from the Lord.  I explained that he needed to receive Christ and he said he wanted to be forgiven, but I believed his pride prevented him from praying in front of me.  He said he did not use pre-written prayers and I suggested he could reflect on it and pray something in his heart but he wanted to pray on his own.  So I asked him, “Do you believe Jesus is God and he has died for your sins?”  He said he did.  “And do you now trust in that to make you right with God and be saved?”  He said he did.  I said that if he believed this and believed in his heart God raised Christ from the dead, his faith saved him.  He took a Bible study but did not want a book.  So I am hopeful the conviction of the Holy Spirit will be complete in Him and he will pray to receive Jesus.  Whenever I have run into a student again from the past several years of recent memory, they have prayed to receive Christ on their own if they committed to Him (but did not pray in front of me.)  So I am always hopeful and prayerful.  Last year a student named Robert said he had prayed the following week, so sometimes I think the truth takes time to settle in.

Thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance.  God was with me and blessed.
In Him,
Bob
To donate to our college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Hope you are enjoying the nice fall weather wherever you are Midwest or desert.  If you live in California I guess you get this all the time, but Chicago is beautiful right now.  I had a great day on campus and two African-American students, Walter and Chani (pronounced chain~E like the former vice president), each prayed to receive Christ.

Walter was sitting in the Cafeteria at the counter against the windows eating spaghetti out of a Tupperware.  He had a thin beard, cut like a chin strap, and a thin mustache, trimmed pencil-width in a line under his lip.  Good-looking guy, short afro, white collared print dress shirt and shorts.  When I asked him what he would say to God if asked why He should let him into Heaven he said, “Because my good outweighs the bad I’ve done in my life.”  But he only thought he had a 5% chance to get to Heaven, saying it is easier to do wrong than right, “Wide is the road that leads to destruction,” he quoted.  He tracked right along with the Gospel, though he really did not seem to know it at all, suggesting Christ had taken away our sins back in the day with his baptism.  It turned out he attended the Chicago Church of Christ which is really a “works cult.”  Though they teach Christ died for you, they also teach you must be baptized to be saved and your good works also contribute to being justified.  It seems practically that they rarely teach the Cross.  More often than not the students in it that I talk to aren’t focused on Christ’s atonement or are unaware of it.  Walter wasn’t aware of the truth, but he was really encouraged to find out how he was saved in Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit and decided to pray to receive Jesus.  After he had prayed to receive Christ and I had explained the work of the Holy Spirit in giving us power to live the Christian life, I gave him a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ.  As we got up to go our separate ways he said, “Keep reaching out and encouraging people. I love your evangelism.”  I got his email to send him some stuff so I hope the Gospel will take root and grow in him.  I also gave him a card for a local church where he can hear the truth.

Chani was sitting in a lounge in the east wing of the science building, the windows of which face south half way down the hall.  I rarely get a conversation going in that lounge because it seems as the peeps are always studying.  It’s Friday so the school is pretty empty.  I looked down that hall and saw no one and turned to go down some side stairs, but I felt a prompting to check that lounge.  Not wanting to resist what might be the Spirit I thought, “Fine, I’ll go down there and when it is empty I will just turn around and go down these stairs.”  There were two girls in there, one very actively studying (and I knew there was a test in a half hour from talking to a girl earlier.)  I asked the other girl who was intermittently on her phone and lap top, and she actually seemed interested in being distracted.  Her name was Chani.  Chani had a bright, full face and smiled a lot, gaps between her really white teeth, long wavy hair with skinny jeans on and black shoes, a V-neck shirt, cute.  When I asked her why she thought she would go to Heaven she said, “I try my best to be simple, just kinda keep my head down, don’t really get in a lot of trouble.”  She said she always went to church when she was with her grandma but hadn’t seen her in a little bit.  She listened to the Gospel and said, “Yeah” several times and when, in the end, I asked her if she wanted to pray to be forgiven and have Christ live inside her she said positively, “Yeah I think I do.”  And she prayed to receive Christ.  She took the Student Edition of The Case for Faith and I walked her through a Bible study to read and explained the work of the Holy Spirit in living the Christian life as I always try to do, getting her e-mail to send her more stuff.  So that was great, she was really cheerful and happy and thanked me.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism Friday if you had a chance.  God has truly blessed this year with 27 students praying with me to receive Christ and a half dozen or more others who committed to Him for salvation.

In Him,

Bob

To donate to our college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Hope you had a great day walking with the Lord.  I had a good day on campus and Rene prayed to receive Jesus.  Chris and Brandon committed to Christ and Matt committed to Christ saying he would pray later.

Rene was sitting on the 3rd floor in a lounge just one floor up and down a bit from where we meet for Bible Study.  She had a pink Chicago Fire t-shirt on and gray yoga pants on with some kind of pink patterned trim up the sides.  Light brown hair, pretty, no makeup, athletic looking, nice kid.  When I asked her what she would say to God to let her into Heaven she said, “I don’t know.”  She went to a Methodist church and wasn’t sure how her sins were taken away.  I think I might have just put her on the spot a bit, and the story seemed to come back to her a little as I went.  But then even liberal churches have probably mentioned that Jesus died (and possibly for sin) at some point.  I asked her, after I had talked through the Gospel with her, if she’d thought about Jesus dying for her sins or had she thought she might be forgiven because He’d died for her or conversely because she was good and consistently religious.  She thought about it and said with some hesitancy, “A little of both.”  So I said, “Sometimes I’ll put it this way: Everyone has a relationship with God because He is their Creator.  But not everyone is IN a relationship with God, where they have trusted in Him to forgive their sins and He lives inside them.  So that is what I am asking you.  Would you like to be forgiven and be in a relationship with God?”  She said she would and so I walked her through the prayer and she prayed to receive Christ.  She said she was studious, so I offered her a book.  She chose The Case for Christ to read.  I explained the work of the Holy Spirit to her through the fruit of the Holy Spirit and taught her a bit from a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ.  She gave me her email to send her some stuff.  As I got up she shook my hand and thanked me, so that was great.

Matt had talked with me before (I think at the book table we’d had) but I hadn’t gone through the Gospel with him, though I’d given him a book.  He’s from a Lutheran background as a kid but did not go to church anymore, though he’d been on mission trips in HS.  He was wearing jean shorts and a t-shirt, had a short beard and short light brown hair, glasses.  He’d enlisted and was headed to boot camp soon.  His dad was a carpenter and we talked about the trades some and then I began to talk to him about the Gospel and quote verses and told him some stories.  He believed the Gospel and said, after I asked him, that he believed Jesus was God and trusted in Christ’s sacrifice for his sins to forgive him, but hadn’t before thought about it.  He had to get to class and said he wanted to pray later.  So I asked him to email me if he’d done so and offered to keep him in my prayers.  He was grateful for talking, so I am hopeful he will give his life to Christ.  He took a Bible study and the booklet with him, so please pray he comes into the truth, or has already.

2 other guys, Chris a Polish Catholic guy with a slight European accent (sandy hair, chin beard, shorts) and Brandon a Black guy (3” afro, good-looking guy, bright smile, full features, jeans on) in the Methodist Episcopal church committed to Christ today.  They were just sitting in the hallway on the second floor in chairs one seat apart and I don’t think they knew each other.  I started talking to them about groups on campus and the homosexuality issue and went through the Gospel as I did.  I showed them the prayer and left them with Bible studies and booklets.  As I left, I asked them if they believed Jesus was God and died for their sins (and both said they did) and then if they wanted to trust in His death and resurrection to be forgiven for their sins.  They said they did and I added that was really what the prayer I had shown them was about.  So I hope they were moved into faith.  I really felt the Spirit in me while telling them the Gospel.  Both of them really seemed to desire the truth.

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

In Him,

Bob

To donate to our college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Hope your life is nifty and you enjoyed the day with the Spirit of Jesus.  I had a good day on campus talking with the peeps, and Jake prayed with me to receive Christ.  Jake was the last person I talked to today before heading home to write the Bible study we did tonight.  He was a Roman Catholic guy wearing brown cargo shorts and a gray hoodie.  He had glasses on and a conservative haircut, light brown hair.  He was a nice, kind guy.  He and his family are from Poland, but he was too young when living there to have seen much of Europe and thought he would like to go back.  He was sitting in the SW corner lounge of the Science building, on his phone with a lap top open and said he’d talk.  When I asked what he would say to God if he’d died and God asked him why He should let him into Heaven he said, “Give me a second, this is like big…”  He took a while and then said, “I go to church every Sunday, and I give an hour or more each week, go with my family.  I know I’ve done bad things, not horrible things like killing someone.  I deserve a chance.”  He was willing to listen to the Gospel then and as I talked him through stuff, I suggested that growing up in the Church he might not have thought about God on his own.  He realized that, though he knew Christ had died for sins, he had not trusted in His blood and righteousness to save him, but his own goodness.  He decided to pray to receive Christ and live with the Holy Spirit in him and did so as I silently waited for him to finish.  He took a copy of a Bible Study and More than a Carpenter to read.  I got his email to send him stuff.  I also gave him a Bible as his family had a couple (one in Polish) but he did not have his own.  I gave him a remembrance view of the mass:  To simply be thankful that his sins were forgiven remembering that Jesus had died for his sins.  I talked to him about the power of the Spirit and being transformed by God on the inside to live the Christian life.  He was thankful and happy and that was great to see.

I talked with Kelly outside today, a girl with long brown hair and jean shorts and a t-shirt and she was close to faith after hearing the Gospel.  Her cousin had recently committed her life to Christ and was going to a good church and she thought she would talk to her more about it.  Kelly took The Case for Christ to read, not being certain about Christ’s deity.  She hadn’t been to church in a long time.  Her dad had died in 2004 and we talked about that.  It seemed like a lot of bad things had happened in her life.  I tried to help her think about the way the world works and why bad things happen and how God might still use them to bring good.  We hit it off, so I will be praying for her and another guy Noah, who attends the Bible Church but had a hard time believing God would care about us.  He’d just had his wisdom teeth out and was a bit foggy from it, but he took a DVD with questions and answers on it and we talked a while.

Joi, a girl who prayed to receive Jesus last week, was in the Science lounge so I said hi and she thanked me for talking with her.  She said it had really “broadened my perspective on my life, thanks.”  She had talked with her mom about it and they’d decided to focus on one church and not go into the city [and they are at a good one] so that is good.

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

In Him,

Bob

To donate to our college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Hope your day was blessed in Christ and His benefits.  I had a joyful day and Joi and Joy, two African-American students prayed to receive Jesus.

Joi was sitting in the Mac Lounge by the ground floor elevator on a bench.  She had a black & white “Death Star” [a weapon in the movie Star Wars] t-shirt on and tights and a skirt.  She’s a cute kid and was wearing black glasses and some random necklaces, powder blue nail polish and looked like the creative type.

She and her family went to church down in the city.  She had younger siblings though, and it was kind of a drive, so they often went to Calvary Chapel on Rt. 59 not far from here and she liked that.  It’s a good church.  When I asked her what she would say to God if He asked her why He should let her into Heaven she said, “I would like to be reunited with my family… I’ve sinned many times in my life but whatever my life has shown to make me worthy… whatever makes it possible to be with the greater people.”  She was pretty sure she’d go to Heaven, 90%.  She listened attentively to the Gospel and seemed to know it in part.  So at the end I asked her if she would want to be forgiven and she said she would.  I questioned her more and she seemed to feel she had grown up kind of knowing the story, so I asked if she had been trusting in Christ and His work on the Cross to be the reason God forgave her.  She said she needed to “look deeper” into that which seemed to mean take it to heart.  She’d really just hoped she was a good enough person to go to Heaven, as her answer early on would suggest.  She said she believed Jesus was God and had died for her and she wanted to trust in it and she prayed to receive Christ.  I explained to her the work of the Holy Spirit in living the Christian life and gave her a Bible study.  She wanted to read the Student Edition of The Case for Faith and she gave me her email so I could send her more stuff.  She shook my hand and gratefully said it was nice to meet me, so that was great.  She was a really likable kid and I told her I would keep her in my prayers.

Joy was sitting up in a lounge on the 3rd floor of the BIC building a bit later in the day.  She was a pleasant, round-faced young woman with her hair in rows of braids.  She was dressed in black.  She also went to a church in the city and seemed to know a bit of the Gospel, in as much as Christ had died for her.  She tuned in to the Gospel and seemed to like the explanations for it.  I thought she was a Christian, but wasn’t sure since she had said she would say to God “Because I believe in you” for a reason to let her into Heaven.   Kind of a generic response because it matters what you believe about God.  But as I went through the Gospel she came to the realization that she had not been trusting in the atoning work of Christ to forgive her sins, but that she had been religiously good.  She wanted to be forgiven, trusting in Him.  So I walked her through the prayer and she prayed to receive Christ also.  She took More than a Carpenter to read and a Bible study and was appreciative and kind.  I told her I would pray for her too.

I also had a great conversation with a black girl named Sharon today.  She was an intelligent kid, wearing a flannel shirt and a sea shell necklace with black leather converse high tops on, petite.  She really was interested in the Gospel and wanted to be forgiven.  But having not gone to church since she was little, she wasn’t sure Jesus was God.   So I gave her the Student Edition of The Case for Christ and a Bible study.  In giving her my contact information later, I encouraged her to pray and ask God to show Himself to her and she agreed.  I really liked her, so I hope she’ll come to Him.  I’ll be praying for her too, that the Holy Spirit might wrinkle in and she will believe.

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

In Him,

Bob

To donate to our college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Well, I hope ya had great day in the Lord.  I had a good day on campus, though I only got to talk to 4 Students.  The first 3,  Ben, Keith and Brian, all prayed to receive Christ today.  

Ben was sitting outside the PE building on a concrete & stone half-wall bordering the landscaping.  He was a nice, soft-spoken guy with a short beard and shortish curly-brown hair that matched.  He was tall, wearing jeans with torn knees and a cardigan sweater.  I had walked past him but felt pressed to turn back and he looked up at me as I approached and said he’d answer some questions.  He had attended Catholic Church.  When I asked Him what he would say to God if God asked him why He should let him into Heaven he said, “Because I always tried to help other people, and help other people be happy.”  He hadn’t understood the Gospel as I went through it with him, not knowing how Christ had taken away his sin.  It seems what many students pick up from the Catholic Church is that their “original sin” is taken away by their baptism.  At the same time, they don’t really know how to define what original sin is or what the implications for them might be now, were it at one time eradicated.  He patiently listened to the Gospel and wanted to be forgiven.  I showed him the prayer, explaining it and asking if it was the desire of his heart and said, when he agreed it was, “You could pray this then, asking God to forgive you, trusting in what Jesus had done and He could live inside you.  You know what you really want in a relationship with another person is you want them to be able to believe you and for you to be able to believe them, so faith.  That is what God wants.  So you think you might want to do that?”  “Yeah,” was all he said and prayed to receive Christ.  He took a copy of The Case for a Creator and a Bible study.  I explained the Holy Spirit to him and transformation inside by the Spirit leading to living for God, by His power, and a symbolic view of the Mass to suggest it was a time to be grateful for His forgiveness through the Cross.  I said I’d pray for him and walked into the PE Building after we said goodbye.

Keith was an African American football player at COD, sitting in the PE lounge downstairs.  He was wearing some kind of NFL official gear black sweat jacket and red sweats, red socks, with his shoes off.  I kidded him about being so color-coordinated as I sat down at his feet.  He was a nice guy and wore sunglasses (though we were inside, old school look) until the very end when he took them off to pray and we talked more.   Keith had a short, nappy afro – straight up the sides and was a clean shaven, good-looking kid.  When I asked him why God should let him into Heaven he said, “Because I always believed in God and to my friends who didn’t believe in God, I didn’t follow them but still believed.”  (It reminded me of the verse in 1Pet. 4:4 “And in all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excess of dissipation, and they malign you;”)  He was trying to be a good guy, but when I asked him how likely it was that he’d go to Heaven he only gave himself 70%, just a C in college.   But he tuned into the Gospel and knew Christ had died to take away his sin.  But he had not been trusting in it somehow, but was instead hoping he was good enough.  In the end he decided to pray to receive Christ and did.  I explained the Christian life by the Spirit to him and he asked, “What about people who say they believe but don’t live like it?”  I said, “It depends.  They could be lying and don’t really love God and are not saved.  But they might be struggling with things you didn’t struggle as much with because God gave you more grace or they are just in a down time where they are having a hard time living for God.”  I explained we could not see inside others to know, but that he should try to remember to pray for his friends that were like that so God would help them and he agreed he would.  He took a copy of Playing with Purpose to read as he was into the NBA and it seemed like having a few spiritual heroes would do him some good.  I got his email to send him some stuff and gave him a Bible study and told him I would see him in Heaven.  He has football practice when we have Bible study.  Maybe next semester we’ll have it earlier and he could come.

I found Brian in the Science Building, sitting in a chair against the windows in a black, long sleeve shirt and black shorts.  He had curly brown hair, curly beard mustache with the ends turned out.  Brian had to be the most laid back person I talked to all year.  He did lean forward to listen as I was sitting on the floor at his feet.  When I asked him what he would say to God, he paused for a minute and said, “Because I love Him.”  He seemed pretty content and was self-described as lazy.  He gave himself a 75% shot at Heaven.  But he listened patiently to the Gospel.  He wanted to be forgiven and I asked, “So when something goes sideways and you feel like you should ask for forgiveness, are you thinking God will forgive you because Christ has died for you or because you are a good person and have been somewhat religious.”  “I don’t know,” he replied.  “I guess I never thought about that before.”  I suggested that if he had never thought about what Christ had done for him then he was not trusting in it and he agreed.  I explained the prayer to him and said again as I had to Ben, “So you think you might want to do that?” and again I got “Yeah.”  He did not want anything more than the booklet to read.  But I did give him a card for a church since he had not been going.  So I hope he will begin to get plugged in and that the Spirit will move him.

The last guy I talked to, Zak, was being forced by his parents to attend a Lutheran church.  He had some criticisms of the New Testament that I cleared up for him and I think I made some headway past his pride, explaining away some of the “Synoptic Problem” and some seemed contradictions he thought he’d read of.  Many of these, with a bit of perspective, are easily dismissed.   He was a bearded guy wearing plaid shorts.  So I’ll pray for him in the hope he might turn and I pointed him in the direction of SED physics which answers some Biblical science questions.  I think we had a good rapport by the end.

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

In Him,

Bob
To donate to our college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp