Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I hope you had a great day walking with the Lord.  I had a good day on campus and Hezekiah and Louie both prayed to receive Christ.  Marissa committed to Christ but had to run into class.

Louie was sitting by himself in the science building hall, working on some computer cable, putting a connector on with a hand tool.  He was a nice guy, average build, curly hair.  He looked like he could be the 4th son of the Brady Bunch.  He was wearing black sweats and sandals with socks and a white t-shirt.  He was the first student I talked to today and said God should let him into Heaven because, “I had always lived my life [for] the benefit of others, [did] what they wanted.”  His family only went to a Roman Catholic Church on Christmas and Easter.   But he understood the Gospel and was really into what I was saying to him.  He was a really friendly guy.  I offered Louie the opportunity to be forgiven and have God live inside him and he said he wanted that.  So I asked if he believed Jesus was God, had died for his sins and rose from the dead.  He said he did, and so I asked if he wanted to trust in that.  Louie did, and I walked him through the prayer in the booklet and he prayed to receive Christ.  I explained living as a Christian through the power of the Holy Spirit.  His family had a Bible but he didn’t, so I gave him one and More Than a Carpenter to read.  I gave him a Bible study, got his email and gave him a card for a local church to look into.

Hezekiah was sitting at a table in a lounge in the BIC building, at a table in the corner.  He wore the old-school glasses that are popular now (like Ernie wore on the TV show “My Three Sons”).  He was a tall black dude with a short afro, a nice guy.  He was up for doing a survey for the Bible study group.  He believed he was a Christian because “You know because I tried to go by the Bible.”   I asked him if he thought he went to Heaven based on how closely you followed the rules in the Bible and he said he did.  “So you go to Heaven because you are good?” I asked.  “Yes,” he agreed.  I said “Well let me show you what the Bible says.”   I began to read him Bible verses and explain grace and imputation to him.  The light dawned on him and he realized he had not been trusting in Christ’s blood and in His power to live the Christian life.  Instead he had really been trying to be good in his own strength and hoping that would bring him to Heaven.  So Hezekiah prayed to receive Christ and trust in His blood to cover his sins.  So that was great.  I gave him a copy of the book Playing with Purpose, as he was into the NBA, a Bible study, and I got his email.  I explained to him how Christianity is living inside out.  God transforms us and gives us the power to live the Christian life, not we work harder to be a certain way until it sticks – like learning to play the guitar.

I walked through the Science building and looped back around on the 2nd floor and a girl made eye contact in a lounge.  So I thought about talking to her, but for some reason I kept on walking and then doubled back, and then she was busy.  But doubling back I passed another girl at the end of a row of chairs who had looked at me, so I could sit on the floor next to her.  I was gonna go back but then kept walking.  I couldn’t get past the prompting so I walked back down the hall and went through the Gospel with Marissa who was willing to do the survey.  She’s a pretty, long brown-haired girl who had shorts on and a t-shirt.  She had grown up in the Catholic Church and had gone to confirmation as a kid.  She said stuff went sideways in her family and when she finished and they kind of stopped going to church.  She said she’d say to God, if asked why He should let her into Heaven, “”Well, I didn’t really do anything bad.”   I had to rush a bit then before her class started, but got through the Gospel with her and the prayer and she said she believed and wanted to trust in Christ.  So I showed it to her and encouraged her to pray later.  I am hopeful I can check to see if she prayed on Thursday, knowing where her classroom is located at Noon.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance.  I had a couple of other good conversations that I am hopeful God will use, but am grateful for those who trusted Christ

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 having a great day walking with the Lord.   We had a very good day on campus at our table during the Student Life Fair, and  Irvin prayed to receive Christ and Jake committed to Christ.  We also made some good contacts, inviting peeps to the weekly Bible Study.

Irvin was interested in attending a Bible study and was checking out all the books, so I asked him if he was going to church.  He had shoulder-length, tight curly hair that was dark brown and was wearing a black t-shirt with the symbol for a comic book super hero called Deadpool.

He said he was going to church with his grandma down south a ways from school.   So I said, “You wanna answer the 50 million dollar Question?”   He said sure.   So using a version of the great evangelical pick up line for evangelists, I asked him what he would say to God if he died and stood before Him in Heaven and God asked, “Why should I let you in?”   He basically thought good deeds got him into Heaven.  So I said the Bible said something different and I walked him through the booklet I use and add to, giving him all the verses and tales I tell to explain them.   At the end he said he wanted to be forgiven for his sins.  I explained the prayer he could pray by faith and said he could pray it in his head right then, like no one was around, and he said, “In my thoughts?”   (looking to see if I wanted him to pray out loud) and I said, “Yeah” and stepped away a bit.   He had a big smile on his face when he was finished praying.   So I showed him all the various books on the table.   He did not have his own Bible so I gave him a NKJV I had and a modern translation of the NT telling him he could use it to look up a verse that the language was confusing in.  I gave him a copy of a bible study on the Deity of Christ and he took a copy of a book he thought he’d read and said he’d try to get to the Bible Study.

Jake had shoulder-length sandy hair  young face, tall good looking kid.   He had loose jeans on and a t-shirt and was kind of casually looking at the table, saying he might be interested in a bible study.   He said he went to church sometimes.   I asked him a similar version of the same “pick up line” question and he said something about being a good guy.  It was pretty loud in the lounge we were all in, though it is the size of a small gym.   I started telling him the Gospel then and then quoting him verses and asking him finally if he believed Jesus was God, had died for his sins and rose from the dead.   He said he did and so I asked him if he would want to trust in that to be made right with God and he said he would.   I came out from around the table showing him the booklet and explaining the prayer he could pray to ask God and accept His forgiveness.   He thanked me and since his body language had been like a guy who would bolt at any minute the entire time, I let him take it, asking him again and saying if he did trust in Christ that the Bible said that if he would confess with his mouth Jesus was Lord and God and believed in his heart God raised him from the dead he would be saved.   I encouraged him that the prayer was a way he could talk to God about it.   He took the booklet and a Bible study, so I will be praying for him in the hope he has truly believed on Christ.

We had some good conversations with some other students and hopefully the group will grow a bit for Bible Study.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and today for the table and evangelism.   God blessed us and it was a good investment of time.

In Him,

Bob

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

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I hope your day was blessed.   I had a good day sharing the Gospel with the peeps on campus and two students from Roman Catholic backgrounds, Megan and Kirk, prayed to receive Jesus.   Megan had an orange top on and shorts, cute kid with brown hair and an occasional freckle.   She was sitting in the Cafeteria and told me she had already done a survey.  So I asked her if they had asked her this question: “You’re walking down the road and you get hit by a bus, so you’re dead and you stand before God and He says why should I let you into heaven, what would you say?”  “I don’t know,” she replied.  I asked her if she’d like to know the answer and she said she would, so I began to explain the Gospel to her.   After a bit, I got out a booklet so she could have a copy of some of the verses I was telling her.  She stopped me about then and said, “Wait, what did you say your name was?”   “Bob” I said.   “I thought so,” she replied.   “That was my Grandpa’s name.”   I asked if he was still alive and she said he wasn’t ,but he was very religious and there had been some strange things happening and it was scary.   “Scary in a good way, right?”  I asked.   “Yeah,” she said back, “Like God is doing something.”   It turned out that a man who had really meant a lot to her had died and his wife had brought over his Bible for her.  Her sister had gotten cancer and Make a Wish was going to send them all to Hawaii, but it looked like she would recover from her colon cancer operation that had removed some of her intestine.  She felt like my explaining the Gospel to her was part of a series of events, and after I had finished going through the Gospel with her she prayed to receive Christ.   She took a copy of a Bible study on why you should read the Bible and More than a Carpenter to read.   I got her email to send her more stuff and she was happy and took off for class.

I had a few more discussions today with some Christians, teaching them about the Atonement and showing them how to use the booklet to share their faith and helping them with assurance.   As I walked out, I passed one last lounge at the stairs to go down and out from the 2nd floor of the SW corner of the Science Building.   I was tired, and the guy in there was on his computer (I don’t bother kids who are occupied or studying as a rule.  I figure God can keep them idle, make them look up at me or make some kind of eye contact).   I had one foot in the doorway but felt prompted to see if he would talk, so I went in and interrupted him as he looked up.   Kirk asked how long it would take and I said “7 minutes or so”, but it took longer.   He is Filipino, has a couple of big freckles on his nose, dark hair and was wearing plaid shorts and a blue t-shirt.   Really nice guy.   When I asked what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “Because I always do what you ask, like going to church and stuff.”   But he thought he only had about a 60% chance to get there.   He was interested to hear the Gospel though, and sober about it as I talked him through it.   When I explained imputation and that he did not go to Heaven because he was good but because Jesus was good, he gave kind of a quiet exclamation like he was getting it.   He hadn’t been trusting in what Christ had done for him on the Cross and prayed to receive Christ.   It was obvious he really had taken in the Good News about Christ.   He was into science and so I gave him a copy of The Case for a Creator.  I also gave him a Bible study on the Deity of Christ in Scripture and he gave me his email too so I can send him some stuff.

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

Blessings in Christ,

Bob

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

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and things went well.   I had a good day talking to students on campus.  Two students, Omar a Roman Catholic guy  and Alyssa  a girl from a Lutheran background, both prayed to receive Jesus.  And I got some good seeds planted today  with a couple guys who were open to the Gospel.

Omar was sitting inside a lounge on the NE corner of the BIC building on the second floor.   He had shorts on and a T-shirt. He was on the short side, short hair with bangs, rough complexion, kind of looked like a young Anthony Quinn.   I asked if he wanted to do a student survey for our Bible study group and he said he’d done a survey already for another Christian group.   One of the other groups asks peeps to do a survey, but never goes through the Gospel with them.  So I asked him what he would say to God if he died and stood before Him in Heaven and God asked, “Why should I let you in?”   He went regularly to a catholic church but didn’t know what to say.   So I explained the Gospel to him, and part way through explaining why God had to take away his sins I asked him how God did that and he said “Baptism?”  [Referring to the removal of original sin, the Roman Church claims to perform with pedobaptism.]  So I explained the Atonement to him through Bible verses and explanation and he said, “Oh.”   He wanted to be forgiven.   I asked if he’d been relying on being religious and basically good to be forgiven, or if he’d been trusting in the sacrifice of Christ.   He said he didn’t know.  “If you don’t know then you really are not trusting in it right?”  I said.   “Right,” he replied, and decided to pray to receive Christ.  He prayed, while I sat there, at my encouragement.   I explained a more ‘remembrance’ idea of the Lord’s supper to him and the work of the Holy Spirit in living the Christian life.   He took a copy of More than a Carpenter to read and a Bible study on the Deity of Christ.   So I hope he will grow trusting in Christ’s blood and righteousness for Salvation.  He wished me a nice day.

I headed over to the Mac Arts building where Alyssa was sitting outside on a picnic bench by the back west doors.   She was waiting for a friend, but stayed tuned in even after her friend showed up and had no interest in our conversation.   Alyssa’s got a cute face and a pug nose, brown hair with highlights she had pulled up in a bun and a Stanley Cup Champions t-shirt on.   I asked her why God should let her into Heaven and she said she “didn’t really know to be honest” saying she’d gone to a Lutheran elementary school called Trinity in Schaumburg.   But she was pretty sure she’d go to Heaven, giving it an 85% chance.   She was interested in the Gospel however, and did want to trust in Christ.   I was a bit surprised she’d want to pray with her friend waiting, but she did.   She took the booklet with her and I gave her a Bible study to read and she headed off.  So I will keep her in my prayers in the hope that the Holy Spirit will begin to lead her into fellowship.

I had good conversations with Brian, who I gave a card for directions to church and More than a Carpenter to read, along with a Bible study.  He was a slim guy, about 5’8″, dark hair and glasses, sitting in the Science building.  He was really friendly.  His parents were divided on faith, being Roman Catholic and Protestant which left him with nothing.  Another guy, Mike, with dark hair combed back like a 1960’s beach movie who was Roman Catholic had more questions but had to run to class.   I encouraged some other Christians as well.

So thanks for your prayers to lead me today and open hearts.  I am grateful for them and God 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 having a great day walking with Jesus by the Spirit.   I had a good day on campus Thursday, sharing the Faith with the peeps.   Sam committed his life in faith to Christ and Anton prayed to receive Christ as Savior.   Sam looked like he might have been Filipino; stick straight hair with product in it, larger features, t-shirt on.   He was a Veteran and didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life.   He said he’d done everything he’d thought he wanted to do.   When I asked him what he would say if God asked him why He should let him into Heaven he said, “I’m surprised you gave me a chance.”   He seemed a bit down and lost and I went through the Gospel with him and he listened.   I asked him if he believed Jesus was God and had died for his sins and risen from the dead and he said he did.   I asked him if he wanted to trust in that and he wanted to do that too.   But there wasn’t visible joy in it, though he seemed convinced.  I think the Gospel was still working its way into him.  I talked to him about the people God had forgiven in the Bible who had done pretty evil stuff, like David.   He wanted to pray later, and when someone does not want to pray there is always a reason.  But that reason is impossible to know, and the person might not know themselves.   I try to respond a bit to the mood people are in, but sometimes it is very difficult to imagine where someone is at or why, in such a short time span.  But God knows their heart and can penetrate it.   Through the years of doing evangelism I’ve come across several students some weeks later in the year who had said that they would “pray later.”  They had prayed on their own and had joy and conviction.  So I am hopeful he has come.   He didn’t want a book to read but took a Bible study and kept the booklet.   So I am hopeful he trusted in Christ, or will, and I will pray for him this school year.   I gave him a card for a local church to attend with a time and a map on it, as he said he lived near school.

Anton was sitting outside the cafeteria in some chairs against the wall, looking out the doors.   He said he’d answer some questions and seemed religious.   He named a church he had gone to in the city and a Catholic Church earlier in life.  He’s African American, not very tall, fair skinned, wearing skinny jeans and white tennis shoes.   A nice guy, intelligent, with short hair and a round face.  I asked what he would say to God if he died and stood before Him and he said, “I did everything possible to make sure I spread your love.”   Of course no one has done that, but fortunately we are saved by grace.   When I asked him how God took away his sins, he thought for a minute and said it had been a while since he went to church, so I immediately began to explain the Cross and the imputation of Christ.   After I had explained everything and he’d said he wanted to be forgiven I said, “Well, it seems like you hadn’t had a chance to put all this together before right?”   He agreed and so I walked him through the prayer and he prayed it silently, sitting beside me.   He was happy and said, “You know Bob, I gotta give you your props.  Definitely, Definitely.”  (Talking about how I had explained things.)   He said, “I wanna show you this book I’ve been reading” and he pulled out a hard-backed copy of The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, which I then said I had read sections of.   I said I thought it was a pretty good book and that Warren talks a lot about the Holy Spirit as the power to live the Christian life (which I had just explained to him).   It seemed like God had been drawing Anton to Himself and I was the one blessed to explain the Gospel and the Atonement to him.   Since he had a book he was working through I did not give him another, but gave him a couple of Bible Studies to read.   I hope he might come to our weekly Bible study.   He said he’d email m.  He had just lost his email address and hadn’t set up another one.  So I’ll pray for him and hope he emails me, if there is more help in life God would wish to use us for in Anton’s life.  So that was great and lifted my heart.

Thanks so much for your prayers this week.  God really blessed as 5 students prayed with me and 2 others committed to Christ.  I don’t go to school on Fridays.  It is kind of a ghost town and I’m trying not to burn out.  May God bless your weekend as you walk by the Spirit with Him.

Blessings in Christ,

Bob

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

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed.   I had a good day of sharing, but it took a while and for the first 2 hours I was a little discouraged. (I had had only one good conversation with a Catholic girl as I walked in through the science building.)   After a disheartening 15-20 min conversation with an atheist, I started to pray that people would pray for God to lead me.   And He did.   I started a conversation with a Christian guy, black kid whose grandfather was a “preacher”, in the SCC lounge where we have Bible Study.   He was a bit fuzzy on the way to say it, but it seemed he was a Christian.  And after not wanting to talk at first, he was really happy after I explained everything to him.   Then his friends walked up on part of it and one claimed he was a Christian.   We all parted amicably, but I thought about it a bit more and doubled back.  But only one of them, Jamanti, wanted to know the Gospel.   He was a good looking black kid with braids, sharp features, slight mustache and a bit of chin hair.   He’d said he was a Christian and went to church but that God would not let him into Heaven as he’d been sinful.   I agreed this was true.   So I slowly explained everything to him as he had not understood anything about the Gospel or the Christian life.   So I went through the Gospel with him.  Afterwards, he confessed Christ as I asked him “Do you believe Jesus was God and that He died for your sins and rose from the dead?”   He said he did.   Then I asked, “Do you want to trust in that to be saved and have a relationship with God?”   He said he did but wanted to pray later at church.   So I pressed him a bit to get him to promise me that he would and he did.  I was suspicious that he really had wanted to go over and get busy with this attractive black girl who was sitting nearby and that he’d been trying to talk to earlier.   He went over to sit by her as I walked off, so I hope he believed and was genuinely desiring to be forgiven.  But I will pray for him.

Then I found Reno sitting at the counter in the cafeteria, facing outside, reading a newsfeed with his headphones on.   He said he went to Church each Sunday and would do a student survey with me.   He had kind of a round face, clean shaven with a short one-inch afro.   He said he wanted to go into the Music Business as a producer and he did look bit like a sweet, kind, (slightly thinner) version of the rapper “Notorious Big”.  But the similarity ended there.   He said he went to church each Sunday.   When I asked him why God would let him into Heaven he thought for a moment and said, “Because I’m a trustworthy person.”   He was sure he would go to Heaven, but as I went through the Gospel with him I could tell he did not know it.   I asked him how God took away his sins and he said “pray.”  I worked with that a bit and said the reason God forgave him through prayer was because of what Jesus did.   At first that got no recognition, but the story of His death and resurrection seemed to resonate a bit.   I explained the imputed righteousness of Jesus and I said, “You don’t go to Heaven because you are good, you go to Heaven because Jesus…”  and he finished the sentence with me, getting it, “… was good.”   He wanted to be forgiven, picking that option after I asked him saying, “… have God live inside” pointing to the circle that described being forgiven in the booklet.  I explained the prayer to him and told him he could pray silently, but he took it prayed out loud and finished with “In Jesus name Amen” on his own.  (Those words are  not at the end of the prayer in the booklet I use.)   So that was great.   I gave him a Bible study and More than a Carpenter, also explaining the work of the Holy Spirit to him.

I was pretty glad then, and headed down the hall, having several students turn me down.  Cutting across a lounge I was turned down again.  But then a tall, very pretty girl said she’d do a survey.   Kellie had skinny black jeans on, kind of square-rimmed glasses, curly long blonde hair down past her shoulders.   I sat at her feet and she had on string sandals with bling on them.   She seemed pretty serious as we talked (I think the Spirit was moving in her) so I took on her attitude and since I was tired I just rested in the Spirit and walked through the Gospel with her (though after she prayed I got her to laugh at something, barely).   When I asked her what she would say if God asked her why He should let her into Heaven, she thought for a while and said “Because… Based on the things I’ve done on earth.”   She thought she only had a 50% chance of going to Heaven.   She went to a church sometimes on Rt 59 called Calvary (southwest Naperville).  It is a good place as far as I know from other students I’ve talked to who attend there.   She didn’t know the Gospel or how she could be forgiven either, so I talked her through everything, reading the verses to her and quoting others.   She patiently listened and wanted to be forgiven and to trust in Christ and she prayed with me to do so.   She seemed to have some joy then.   I got her email to send her some stuff and having an interest in science she took a Bible study from me and a copy of The Case for a Creator.   So that was good and I was grateful God had blessed today.  I’ll pray for her to grow.

So thanks for your prayers and help today.  God truly guided by His Spirit.

In Him,

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.  I had a good day on campus, though no one prayed with me to receive Christ.  I went through the Gospel with 8 students and 2 were Christians, so I just showed them a few things to help them share their faith and encouraged them.  A couple students were in the cults, and the Jehovah’s Witness girl was afraid to take the bible study I offered her so I just shared some verses.  4 others seemed open and close to believing.  They took the booklet and a Bible study and were willing to think more about trusting in Christ for forgiveness.  Jacob; a Roman Catholic, curly ginger-haired guy with a beard and a Blackhawks cap, Krista; a girl with long straight brown hair and sharp features in the science building, Kimmy; a girl from a Catholic background with straight sandy hair said she would think about it more and Jessica; who had short, dark brown hair and a tattoo behind her ear that said, “Chris” and was dressed in all black.  Jessica wanted to know more about Christ so I left her with the Student Edition of The Case for Christ to read and a Bible study.

So I had an interesting day, and talked with a girl, Paula, that I had been praying for who was close to trusting Christ last year.  She might come to Bible study.  But I was glad I had been praying for her and remembered her.

Thanks for your prayers.

Blessings,

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 sharing the faith and watched the Lord bring two students to Christ.   The first was a girl Jessie, who was sitting on a bench in the Science building in the 2nd floor hallway waiting for a class to begin.   She is a pretty black girl who had over a half dozen piercings in her right ear, straight shoulder length hair with some tinted strands and black pants and a long hemmed blouse.  She said she wanted to travel to Dubai someday and I told her there was a non-stop flight 17 hours from Panama.  She could go down and beach it for a few days and then head out.  She thought that would be great.  She is from a Roman Catholic Background and knew of Christ’s crucifixion.  When I asked her why God should let her into Heaven she said, “That’s a hard question.  I didn’t do anything to deserve to go to hell.”   I explained how she would have to be perfect to deserve Heaven and walked her through the Gospel, explaining Christ’s imputed righteousness to her.   She followed closely and when I asked her if she would want to be forgiven, trusting in what Christ had done for her, she gave a firm emphatic “Yes”.   So I asked her if she had ever asked God to forgive her based on what Jesus had done for her on the Cross, or if she had just been hoping going to Church and being religious would save her.   It was then latter, and she said she would like to pray to receive Jesus.  I showed her a prayer she could pray silently and she did.   I gave her a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ and More than a Carpenter to read.  I also explained the work of the Holy Spirit in giving us the power to live the Christian life and she seemed happy.  I invited her to the Bible study on campus, so we’ll see if she comes.

Sam was sitting in the MAC Arts building next to the Gallery space on the West side of the big lounge.   He was just listening to his phone waiting for a bus that stopped not far outside the building.   He is a volleyball player, over 6 feet by a few inches, slim with very short hair nearly shaved.   Kind of classic good looking athletic guy, baggy athletic shorts and a College of DuPage T-shirt short sneakers with ankle socks.   He said he went to the Bible Church in town.   When I asked him why God should let him into Heaven he said, “Right now in my life… He would have no reason to let me into Heaven right now.”   I asked if he thought he might get in on mercy and he thought he had an 80% chance.  I thought he might be trying to earn eternal life, so I began to go through the Gospel with him.   He didn’t finish the verses for me as if he knew them, but I could see it was familiar that Christ had died.   So after going through several verses and details I asked him if he had been trusting in the Blood of Christ, in His sacrifice on the Cross and imputed righteousness to go to Heaven, or if he had been trying to do good works.   He thought just a moment and said he’d been, ” …Trying to be good enough to get in.”   I explained trusting in Christ with some word pictures and he said, “Oh I see.”  And he wanted to be forgiven, trusting in the Work of Christ.   So I offered him the prayer he could pray and he did silently in his heart.   I explained the Fruit of the Spirit (which he had heard about) and relying on the Spirit’s power to live the life in Christ, walking by the Spirit.   We talked about some other Spiritual things and he said, “When I left home this morning my parents said, ‘Maybe you can meet some Christian people who will help lead you closer to God this year.’ And now I met you!”   And he grinned with a perfect smile.   I gave him a Bible study and Playing with Purpose to read as I walked him toward the bus.   I unfortunately talked too long as I made him miss his bus.   I offered him a ride, but he thought it was still coming as people were in the bus stop.  But I saw him in a lounge later where we have Bible study so I knew he’d missed it.   I offered him a ride again, but he laughed and thanked me and said his ride would be here in 22 minutes (looking at his phone).

I also chatted up some peeps I’d shared with last year.   I had a couple other conversations with some guys who seemed close, both wanting to take booklets (Alex, a big dude with a short ginger beard and Ed, white guy with dark hair, Baseball cap and sharp features, who said he wanted to think about it.  He took the book and occasionally went to a good church in Naperville) So I will pray for them for a while.

So thanks for your prayers today.  God heard and was faithfully leading me by the Spirit.

In Him,

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

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Well, I hope you had a good summer.   Ours had a few ups and downs, but we got to see the mountains in Colorado as some friends generously gave us frequent flyer miles to take a trip.   The College of DuPage is off and running as of this Monday, Aug 24th.  So I will be back at it among the peeps, hoping for the blessing and leading of God through your prayers.   Paul is the model for this – asking for the prayers of the Church at Ephesus

·Ephesians 6:18“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,”

I would humbly ask for your prayers as well as I go out for several hours each day and look for the elect, whose hearts God has prepared to hear the Good News about Salvation by the blood of Christ.   We have a few peeps who want to come to the Bible study again.  And a good friend is teaching a class on Islam beginning half way through the semester at COD.  So I will be taking that.  Should be interesting.   He was studying to be a leader in a Mosque in Lebanon when God began to change his life and now he is a Lutheran Pastor, studying to get a PhD.   He is very well informed, having memorized half the Qur’an when he was a young man.

Thanks for your prayers again this year if you are willing.  We are truly grateful for your help advancing the Kingdom of God by the Holy Spirit.   I’ll be going out on Monday and we’ll see what God will do with my feet and our prayers together.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Well, I hope you had a good day walking with the Lord.  It got warm around Chicago and I didn’t have to spend 50 cents today to put my coat in a locker.  I left it in the truck.  Three students prayed to receive Christ today: Gabrielle, Rhema (ray-ma) and Chris.

Gabrielle was the first person I talked to, sitting in the hall on the second floor.  She went to a local church called Cavalry.  She was a nice shy girl had her hair pulled back into a pony tail and black rimmed glasses, cute round cheeks, African American.  She had yoga pants on and a long hooded gray sweater down to her thigh, boots.  She struggled with what to say about why God should let her into Heaven, saying she was not sure.  I asked her about church and she went so I said, “What would you say keeps someone out of Heaven.  Is it something they have done?” That didn’t help and she finally said, “It’s not for me to decide.”  I agreed that it was God’s decision and said, “There is a way He decides though.”  I explained that Christianity was like a blood transfusion and God wanted to transfuse His life into her, to live inside her in the Holy Spirit.  But first He had to make her His type by taking away her sin.  I asked how God did that and she said, “He forgives you.”  “Yes, but why?” I gently pressed and began to go through the Gospel with her.  It seemed to register like she knew the story, so I asked her what she was thinking when asking God for forgiveness if something went wrong–giving her some options including the correct one – that God would forgive her because Jesus had died for her.  “I am trusting that He is forgiving and that I won’t do it again.”  I continued through the Gospel and pointed out that when she asked for forgiveness she really knew it was likely she would do it again, and she agreed.  I finished explaining it all and she wanted to be forgiven, so I walked her through the prayer.  But she said, “I have always been hesitant to do this because I know I won’t keep it [do what I promised].”  I said, “Yes, that is true you will not.  You can’t.  If the Bible said (and it doesn’t) you have to live one perfect day to get into Heaven you would not because you are sinful.”  “I have been to Church all my life and been to Christian school and not really felt like I was right with God,” she replied.  I pointed out that Christianity was not our living the right way on the outside in order to change us on the inside, but was God transforming us inside so we would be different people on the outside.  Having encouraged her that God made all things into good, even when we fail, I said, “You can’t screw up your life. God will always fix it.  The fix might be painful and hard, but He will always make things into good.”  She decided to pray to receive Christ and prayed very slowly, seeming to take time over each phrase.  I got her email and gave her More than a Carpenter to read and a Bible study, telling her I would keep her in my prayers.  She seemed happy and at peace and thanked me.  It was a very sweet conversation.

I found Rhema standing against the door in the ground floor foyer of the PE building.  She was a pretty black girl who attended the Salvation Army Church and had shoulder length hair pouring down out from under a winter cap, pretty smile.  We walked over and sat on the stairs to answer some questions.  When I asked her why God should let her into Heaven she said, “I’ve been a Christian all my life and followed Jesus’ practices and preaching.”  She was 100% sure she was going to Heaven, but she could not tell me how God took away her sins, struggling over it a minute and saying, “I don’t know.”  I went through the Gospel with her and it did not seem like she had heard it before.  So I explained much of what I had just explained to Gabrielle, I hoping she followed, and finally explained what she was missing.  That what she had told me to get into Heaven was not faith.  I explained the ‘we were first transformed on the inside, then changed on the outside’ idea and that the “Salvation” in the name “Salvation Army” was salvation from her sins.  She wanted to be forgiven and I encouraged her in explaining the prayer that she should pray it, since she had never really told God she was trusting in Jesus and His payment for her sins.  She agreed and prayed to receive Christ.  I think she understood the difference I was explaining to her, but sometimes it is hard to help people see when they falsely think of themselves as Christians their “whole life.”  I gave her More than a Carpenter to read and a Bible study and I will be praying the Holy Spirit (whose work I explained to her) breaks through to her increasingly in her understanding of the Christian life.

Chris was sitting in the lounge in the southeast corner of the second floor of the BIC building.  I walk in that lounge every once in a while and haven’t gotten someone to talk to me in a couple years.  I looked in and saw him and felt compelled to ask him about God.  So I prayed and walked up to him and he was receptive right away.  He looked Latino and his last name was Spanish.  Chris had shorter hair on top, very closely trimmed on the side and was wearing a blue and gold football jersey with a gold chain around his neck, clean shaven.  He smiled a lot, nice guy, not a very big guy.  I asked him why God should let him into Heaven and he said, ‘I lived my life to try to be the best person I could possibly become.  I tried my best to avoid doing bad things.”  But when I asked him the likelihood he would get into Heaven and he hesitated I said, “50/50?”  He came back with, “No, not that much.  30%.”  He had gone to what I think is a multi-site church called “Sanctuary” and also to Calvary, but had not gone for a couple of years.  I went through the Gospel with him, saying I had some good news.  He tuned into the stories I use to explain stuff and knew Christ had died to take away sins.  But he had not been believing on His name.  Chris wanted to be forgiven, however, and trust in Christ and he prayed to receive Him and was visibly happy.  He was really into the NBA, so I gave him Playing with Purpose and a Bible study and got his email.  He said he lived in Naperville, so I told him about Compass Church there, saying the church we went to was going to merge with it and I had heard the pastor, who was a really good speaker.  I gave him the street it was on and wrote down the name so he could Google it.  He enthusiastically thanked me and we said goodbye.

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

In Him,

Bob Bollow
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