Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Well, the Book table got a few good conversations going and we got a few new names for the Bible Study.  The best part of the day was going through the Gospel with 2 girls from the Chicago Church of Christ, which is a cult that preaches Baptism is necessary for salvation.  Of the two girls, one said she thought she was saved by baptism and the other by her righteous works.  The cult of the International Church of Christ believes both of these necessary for salvation plus belief in Christ.  Like any cult that is really teaching salvation by works, the only essential thing in their doctrine we can agree with them on they omit.  In the end all believe they are saved by their good works after you are in the cult for a while.  After all, why would a Satan Cult emphasize any of the truth?  Someone might slip up and be saved by their faith.  I explained the Gospel to them.  The works girl seemed to accept it, though she was a transplant from their LA operations (she said she would like to come to the Bible study, an unlikely event but hey).  The second girl had her back up a bit but did not know what to say and I gave them both booklets to read through.  Neither had any assurance of salvation, and hey if you are going to be judged on the righteousness of your works, no introspectively honest person would think they had a shot.

Later a guy came by also from LA [International Church of Christ takes the name of whatever city it is from so these now said they were from the Chicago Church of Christ].  He seemed to be a little more well versed in their shtick and offered Titus 3:5 “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,” (NASB)  He claimed this washing was not a metaphor for justification but meant submersion and Baptism, which the verse is not about (even by superficial examination).  He put out things impossible to say about the Greek language, which I explained to him.  This is another mark of cult groups, they don’t know Greek but know what they have been told about one Greek word here and there.  The Jehovah’s Witnesses use the same pattern.  I got his e-mail to continue the conversation.  These groups are growing exclusively through campus work.  Colleges used to refuse them status on campus as, in effect, many kids leave school when the cult gets full hold.  But lately it seems they can’t be bothered to block them access.  Not surprisingly as in effect, colleges and cults work for the same kingdom of lies.  I pointed out to him that no one, by his examination historically, was saved on earth from about 400 AD until some Anabaptists surfaced at the time of the reformation and that all the reformers, Calvin, Zwingli, Huss and Luther would be in hell. Of course he had no problem with that, which is another characteristic of cults, arrogance.

We also had a brief visit from the woman who leads the Newman Club, a Catholic Group (and from everything I have heard her say a universalistic group opposed to evangelism, I pray against her at night before bed often, we have spoken b4). She interrupted, telling us her thoughts briefly while I was talking to an Indian man who was a professor on campus and an evangelical Christian. He immediately excused himself and she left which I was grateful for in consideration of Matthew 7:6. A verse he undoubtedly had in mind as he exited.

So thanks for your prayers today if you had a moment. Please pray for the destruction of the cults on campus, if you feel like throwing the Neman Club under the bus in your prayers as well feel free, I know I do.
In Him,
Bob Bollow

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Well, it was cold today, but warm inside, and two people prayed to receive Christ.  Dani, a Philippino girl who sometimes sits at a table of peeps I talk up from time to time and Calvin, a black football player.

Dani is a cute, short girl with glasses and long hair, just a really sweet kid.  She was waiting for her boyfriend (Jerald, also of Philippino descent) to come out of the bookstore, sitting on the base of the stairs just beneath the revolving doors where the cold flows in.  He had short hair and looked a bit more Asian.  She had a coat on but it was cold to sit there. She had Faith in God and went to a Christian Church, but had not understood the Gospel and when she had in the past prayed for forgiveness she did not trust in Jesus and His work on the Cross. She was very attentive to what I explained to her, and her boyfriend popped in and out of the store reaching in his bag and listening. I guess he was waiting for something to be finished inside.  After I explained how Jesus had died to take away her sin and she needed to trust in that, Dani prayed to receive Christ.  She took a copy of The Case for Faith and I gave her and Jerald each a Bible study to read.  He only got the Gospel in bits and pieces but took a booklet to read on his own.  I explained the work of the Holy Spirit to them, telling them I would pray for them both and we talked about some of their friends.  It was a good time and I got her e-mail.

Calvin was sitting in the big lounge across from Starbucks where we have Bible study.  He’s a good looking guy and seemed very confident, plays cornerback. He went to church here and there and seemed certain he would go to Heaven and that he had been forgiven for his sins.  But when I asked him how God took away his sins he did not have any idea.  When I started to explain it, I said, “Well, He does it with Jesus.” But he said nothing in response and there was no look of even subtle recognition on his face.  When I was finished, I told him how he could receive Jesus and walked him through the prayer.  He took the booklet with his left hand and shook my hand with his right and said, “Appreciate it.” Then he prayed. He took a bible to read, as his was back at his mothers house, and a Bible study and I got his email to send him stuff.

So thanks so much for your prayers for the ministry and today for evangelism if you got a chance.  I’m grateful for your help and the Lord blessed.

In Him,
Bob Bollow

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Well, I had a good day of sharing the faith today and two African American guys prayed to receive Christ, Jonathan and later Anthony.

Jonathan was sitting in the Big lounge near Starbucks and said he would do a survey with me. There was a believer sitting across from us, putting in some info here and there too, and later Kameron sat down who had prayed to receive Christ last semester (had grown a beard though so I did not recognize him at first).  Jonathan was a nice looking guy, intelligent, had a beard coming in.  He had a lot of questions and interrupted me several times and seemed to have come from a Christian background, but he had not prayed to receive Christ based on his work on the Cross.  He’d been trusting in his own effort to justify himself with God saying, “I believe I lived my life well.  I did everything you [God] asked me to do.”  Which is, of course, impossible.  Then in half-jest, grinning, he said, “I earned my wings”.  I went through the Gospel, explaining that he had to be perfect.  And he humbled himself and prayed, receiving Christ’s righteousness to his credit by faith.  So that was great and we talked a while with the other guy across from him.  I gave him a copy of More than a Carpenter to read and got his e-mail to send him stuff, telling him I would pray for him this school year and all through the next. I explained the work of the Holy Spirit in giving him power to live the Christian life.  He pointed out he was lucky to have come to Christ early in year saying he would get prayed for longer.

At almost 4 pm I saw Anthony sitting on the second floor from overhead in the same lounge. He was a really big guy with a big full beard and glasses.  He seemed older and was trying to get through Community College and finish up.  He was from a Church background too, but he did not know how God took away his sins.  He thought of himself as a “child of God” but when I asked him if he had ever asked God to forgive his sins based on what Jesus had done for him on the Cross (having explained the Gospel) and holding that in his heart, he said he hadn’t, but had only asked God for forgiveness.  I showed him the prayer that centered on the Cross and he prayed it and had real joy and thanked me a couple times, shaking my hand.  I gave him the Student Edition of The Case for Christ and I told him I would pray for him too.  And I explained to Anthony too that the work of the Holy Spirit is how God now is always with him and gives him power to live the Christian life.

So that was great. Thanks so much for your prayers for the ministry, and for the work of evangelism if you had a chance today.

In Him,
Bob Bollow

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I had a good day of sharing today and did a bit after Bible study yesterday also.  George committed to Christ yesterday and Dionne and Tomika prayed to receive Jesus today. George was in the lounge by Starbucks at about 3 PM and was willing to do a survey and talk about the Gospel. He was from a Roman Catholic Background and had gone to an evangelical church b4.  But he did not know how God took away his sins through the Cross.  He hoped helping out people counted for something.  He was a nice guy, curly hair, a bit on the short side.  His friend showed up towards the end and sat close, waiting, so when I offered him an opportunity to pray to receive Christ he said, “Can I take this with me, my friend’s waiting for me?”  And said he would like to pray it later alone. So I asked him, “Do you believe Jesus is God and died and rose from your sins to make you right with God and are you trusting in that?”  He said, “Yes”. I reached out and he took my hand and I shook it and smiled and said, “I’ll trust you for it.”  I told him I would like to give him a book and asked him if he liked science and he said yes, so I gave him The Case for a Creator.

Dionne and Tomika, African American girls, cute shoulder length hair, were sitting in the hall in the Science building and killing time and Dionne said she would do a survey with me.  Tomika did not want to but really tuned in when I went through the Gospel, seemingly more than Dionne.  They were fun and oddly had no interest in children or families, or so they said.  They seemed disillusioned with the men available.  They both went to church on occasion.  They did not know how God took away their sins, and hadn’t understood the atonement or imputation.  So I walked them through it, getting them to laugh here and there.  When I asked Dionne if she wanted to be forgiven she said, “Well yes, wouldn’t everyone?” and I replied, “No, some people would rather be right in their own eyes.”  Then I asked Tomika her name since she had been listening.  She told me and I asked her if she would like to be forgiven as well, and she said she would.  I said, “Well, God’s like a pretty girl, so you guys know what this is like.  He likes to be asked.  So if you ask Him, He will forgive you based on what Jesus has done.”  I went through the prayer with them and they prayed.   Though I could not talk them into a book they each took a bible study and I explained to them the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit in living the Christian life based on Galations 5:22.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. I’ll head out tomorrow too.

Bob Bollow

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Well, I had a great day of sharing today and 4 African American students, three girls — Desire, Delet, Mesha and a guy Randy, all prayed to receive Christ today.

Desire was sitting between Mesha, who was standing, and Delet, sitting beside her on a couch, on the first floor at the base of the stairs down from Starbucks.  Desire had her hair up and pulled back with a laptop on her lap, she was tall. Mesha, standing, was a bit shorter, straight shoulder length hair and Delet was small, her hair in ring curls, cute. All had bright smiles when I got them to laugh. Only Desire wanted to do a Student survey, but the other girls said they would listen and they did as I went through the Gospel with them.  It was obvious from Desire’s answers that she was trusting in her good works and obedience to make her right with God, and she could not remember how God took away her sins, saying her grandma would slap her right now for forgetting.  She went to church.  When I was done I pointed out to Desire what she had been trusting in from her responses and asked her if she would want to be forgiven for her sins by trusting in what Jesus had done for her on the Cross.  She said she would.  Then I asked the other two girls one at a time for their names and then asked them if they would like to be forgiven as well.  They both said they would too. So I walked them through the prayer and each prayed to receive Jesus.  Desire finished first and then Delet and finally Mesha.  I showed them all the books I had and each picked one.   Mesha took the Student Edition of The Case for Faith, Desire took the Student Edition of The Case for Christ and Delet took More than a Carpenter. They told me I had their e-mails from the book table we had on student activities day.  I caught up with them in the hall later and remembered to give them each a Bible Study.

Randy was sitting on a bench in the hallway next to Jacky, who was a 300 pound defensive player for the football team. He had short cropped hair on the sides and a bit longer on top. He was from out of state and went to church at home, but he did not know how Christ had taken away his sins and it was obvious he was hoping his goodness (which he was not that confident in) outside of that church would be good enough to help him get into heaven. After I explained the Gospel, Randy wanted to pray to receive Jesus and prayed quietly based on what I had told him, not reading a prayer.  Jacky said he wasn’t ready to do it. He wanted to play pro-ball and was certainly big enough, whereas Randy said he wanted a family. After Randy prayed I taught them some more about the Holy Spirit and some prophecy about Jesus and His claims to be God. On two occasions, pretty girls walked by giving an endorsement:  A Blonde girl saying “amen” and an African American girl, so I think that helped keep Jacky interested.  Later a black woman came up to me and gave me a hug saying she had been praying for me while I was “teaching those boys.”  So I guess God sent me some help.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and today for evangelism if you had a moment, God heard them and blessed.

In Him,
Bob Bollow

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I had a great day today of sharing the Gospel with students.  3 peeps prayed to receive Christ today, Cendy, Zdravko and Nate.
Cendy is Roman Catholic and goes to church in Addison.  She looked bi-racial, Asian and Black, wears glasses; she was laying on a bench in the science building kind of half sleeping.  So I asked her if she wanted to do a survey about God for our Bible study group.  She was willing to put in 5 minutes.  She listened to the Gospel but had not understood how God took away her sins.  I asked her, after explaining the work of Christ, if she had ever asked God to forgive her of her sins based on the work of Christ for her on the Cross and trusting in what He had done for her to forgive her, or if she had just been kind of going through religious motions at church.  I could tell the explanation of the Gospel was somewhat novel to her.  She said she had prayed for forgiveness from God, but had not asked based on what Jesus had done for her.  I explained to her that if she wanted to be forgiven based on what Christ had done, to receive Him, there was a prayer she could pray and the Holy Spirit would then live inside her.  She said she wanted to pray and did.  I explained the Christian life and the Holy Spirit to her and how dependence on His power is how we live the Christian life.  She had a Bible and did not want to read a book, so I told her I would keep her in my prayers.
Zdravko is Serbian Orthodox and goes to church on or near the North side of the city of Chicago.  (Zdravko is a pretty common name in Serbia and Bosnia it seems when I googled it, but I had not seen or heard it b4.)  He seemed like an American kid though, no accent, slim, tall and wearing his ball cap turned backwards.  He thought he was going to Heaven because he was a good person.  The Gospel seemed somewhat novel to him and he had not understood very well that God took away his sins on the Cross.  I asked him if he had been going to church as something his family did or if he thought he had been trusting in what God had done by Christ on the cross or had ever prayed to be forgiven based on what Jesus had done.  He thought he might have done that once, “Maybe” but he obviously had not received Christ or been trusting in Him and wanted to pray to accept forgiveness based on what He had done for him on the Cross.  He wanted a book on Jesus, so I gave him the Student edition of The Case for Christ.  He wasn’t up for reading the long version.  I gave him a Bible study and he was grateful and thanked me, so that was great.
Nate was sitting in the cafeteria counter looking out to the South and had just been doing some kind of Bible study.  He is African American and said his mom was really religious, but he did not go to church as often as he should.  He was respectful and intelligent, nice, calm guy who was studying computer technology.  When I asked him something he wanted to do b4 he died he said, “Be one with God.”  It turned out God had sent me to him that He might do just that.  When I had gone through the Gospel with him he had not understood either how his sins were forgiven and when I asked if he had prayed for God to forgive his sins based on what Jesus had done he said, “Not for myself personally.”  So I offered the prayer for him at the back of the booklet and he prayed to receive Christ.  I gave him More Than a Carpenter to read, a Bible Study and he was grateful and said, “Thank you sir.”  I got his e-mail to send him stuff to read.
So I had a really good day sharing the Faith and God led me to His lost sheep, which was great.  I gave The Case for a Creator to Jessica (who was studying anthropology) too and clarified some stuff for her. So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and today if you had a moment, the Lord heard and saved.
In Him,
Bob Bollow

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I had a good day of sharing today, though no one came to Christ.  Still a couple great conversations;  a guy named Dell sitting by the revolving doors in the SRC and CJ in the Science Building.  Dell was really confused about God as his mom is Muslim and his dad is Roman Catholic.  He was really interested to hear the Gospel, but still did not know what to think about Jesus.  He explained how in his greater family he had Muslims on one side and Catholics on the other and they split weekends going to Mosque and Church.  I offered him the prayer to pray should he have more clarity and then showed him a copy of The Case for Christ.  I explained the book and he seemed extremely interested to read it.  He commented it seemed “pretty long” and I offered him the student edition which is a lot shorter, but he wanted to read the longer book, which is a great sign. When I left he seemed really grateful and he said, “See ya around.” Can’t read too much into it but I hope I will see him.  Please pray he reads it.

Later I came upon CJ.  She was sitting in the science building.  Brown hair, pretty, Roman Catholic background.  She had not understood the Gospel and wanted to be forgiven, but when I offered her an opportunity to pray she said she had felt that way once, close to God where He was with her when she was younger.  But all the competing ideas of school had taken that from her and she no longer knew what to think about Jesus.  She was not sure He had died for her sins.  I had the student edition of The Case for Christ in my satchel and explained it and offered it to her.  She was excited to be able to read it and very grateful.

So hey, two really good seeds today.  I talked to some smug, prideful peeps early on.  Nothing can be quite so tedious as a freshman at a community college that has taken a philosophy class.  But then I talked to a sweet girl named Tuesday who really loved the Lord.  Talking with Tuesday gave me some energy to ramble on somehow and then I met Dell and CJ.  God is good.  So thank you so much for your prayers if you had a chance, and please pray for CJ and Dell that God might draw them in.

John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

 
Blessings on your weekend,
Bob Bollow

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you are feeling the blessing of God and clinging to His promises if you can’t right now.  I walked around for several hours and the last person I talked to, Jennifer, came to Christ.  She is Romanian Orthodox but had not gone to Church in a while.  Her Church is on the North Side of Chicago.  I went through the Gospel with her and like many peeps I come across in mainline denomination churches she did not know it, had no knowledge of the Bible.  She wanted to be forgiven and prayed to receive Christ,  but would not take anything to read except a Bible study.  It is hard sometimes with evangelism.  I feel like I have given so little knowledge and had only a moment to show God’s love.  I pray for them all each night by name and hope in the presence of the Holy Spirit that He might bring fruit.
So thanks for your prayer for the ministry and today if you had a chance, I’m grateful.  Please mention Jennifer to the Lord if you would, that someone might come along and be Apollos.

1Cor. 3:5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.

In Him,

Bob Bollow

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Hope you had a good Monday.  We had a good Bible study today and afterwards I did some evangelism and Kameron, a black guy here to play basketball from Arkansas, and Youstina from Egypt prayed to receive Christ.

Kameron was sitting in the lounge where we have Bible study and I get hassled once in a while.  But my policy of staying under the radar is working out.  I sat on the floor at his feet and had a computer screen blocking sight of me from the desk.  Kameron is 6’5″ and is trying to learn point guard, he just hopes to get a scholarship for school.  He was a really polite guy, his voice kind of sounded like Horace Grant from the Bulls heyday.  He did not look like him much though. 😉  He said he hoped he could play basketball in Europe.  I asked him some questions and he said about getting into heaven:  “I honestly don’t know what I would say. To be honest I don’t read the Bible much I’m not gonna lie.”  I went straight through the Gospel with Kameron and he said he wanted to be forgiven and had not prayed for God to forgive his sins trusting in what Jesus had done for him.  So he prayed with me to receive Christ.  He said he liked to read, (busting the athlete stereotype) and though I offered him the student edition of The Case For Faith after talking to him about what he’d like to read, he took the long version.  So that was good. I got his e-mail too to send him stuff.

Youstina was sitting on a bench looking south, waiting to go to class in the science building a bit before 3 PM.  Pretty girl, glasses, fair skinned for an Egyptian and articulate.  It was cool to talk to someone from so far away and lead them to Christ. When she told me her name, I asked where her name was from and she said Egyptian.  Muslim peeps talk with me at times and at first I thought from her ethnicity she would be Islamic, but then when I asked her why God should let her into heaven she said kind of uncertainly, “I did some good things,” thought a while and added, “I go to church.” So I was hopeful then she might receive Christ and asked her if she was Coptic and she said she was.  I explained the Gospel to her and she did know Christ had died on the cross to take away sins but she was not trusting in it.  And when I asked her if she had ever prayed for forgiveness of sins trusting in what Jesus had done she said she hadn’t.  She had thought she had a 20% chance of going to heaven.  But she believed and prayed to receive Jesus, pretty great, cool to think she has seen the pyramids and came here to find Christ in faith.  I explained the Holy Spirit to her and the assurance she could go to heaven trusting in Christ’s blood.  She did not have her own Bible and so I gave her an English one.  The Coptic Church does not have an English Bible translation they officially endorse ,though I believe they are good with the NKJV and they add some deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament we would consider uninspired history. I explained that the Bible I gave her would differ in that,  but was the same in the NT books she was familiar with.  She was interested in Science so I gave her a copy of The Case for a Creator to read and got her e-mail and told I would keep her in my prayers.

Peeps have started to call me “sir” this year here and there.  I think I finally crossed the threshold into ‘older looking’ to a college student.  Ha, at least it took a while. God may have to provide some supernaturally-imposed rose colored glasses at some point, maybe He already does.

Thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for Evangelism today if you had a chance, God led me through His Spirit and that was great.

In Him,
Bob Bollow

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Hope ya had a good day.  I did sharing the faith.  I found Laron — first guy I talked to — black guy who was doing stuff on his lap top at a table.  He was on the second floor so I looked out at the little landscaped park they have made in the center of the BIC in a couple places in order to see if he was doing anything constructive.  He looked like he was on social media so I asked him if he wanted to do a survey.  He immediately said yes without hesitation so I hoped the Spirit might be in it.  I went through a survey with him and then the Gospel.  He went to church consistently in Maywood but he had no understanding of the Gospel.  But by the time I finished and asked him if he wanted to pray to be forgiven for his sins and have God live inside him he directly said, “Yes.”  Just as he had to a survey. He prayed and I gave him More Than a Carpenter to read and a Bible study. So hey, pretty great!  I talked up a guy I’d talked to before, a free safety who had badly sprained his ankle goofing around playing basketball.  He was up for my praying for him, so I did, asking God to heal it.  I have no gift in this regard for the record, but hey if someone is willing I always pray and ask knowing God might act in a way that could move them to faith after I’m gone.  I made my way over to the Science building and then somehow talked for over 3 hours to Asian students sitting around in a group I chat up once in a while, getting to know a girl I have been praying for better and salting the Gospel in here and there on whoever came over to chat.  So it was a great day.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and today if you had a chance. Please pray Laron might grow his faith.

In Him,
Bob Bollow