Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I hope your day has been filled with love and the truth. I had a good day on campus and Kaitlyn and Ivy prayed to receive Jesus today. I held a Bible study also so that was good. These young women’s stories are below if you have some time. Please pray they grow in their faith.
Kaitlyn was sitting alone at the far end of the cafeteria at a table. She had on a grey, knit, long sleeve, V-neck top that did not meet the waste of her black pants. She had a few gold chains around her neck and a very pretty small face with a pointed chin and full lips. Her coloring looked Latina and she had straight dark hair past her shoulders. It was parted in the middle. She was soft spoken and when I asked her what she wanted to do before she died. She said, “Have a family.” That’s usually a “tell” someone will trust in Christ as their savior. I asked what she would say to God if she died and He asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “Humm,” she mused briefly and then said, “Because I tried my best while I was on earth.” She thought she had an 80% chance of going to Heaven and corrected it to 75%. She had gone to a Baptist church but not as much lately. I explained that “Eternal life is just knowing God because you know you got the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit,” She nodded. “The Holy Spirit lives inside you. So if you know God that way it’s kind of like you are the Energizer Bunny and God is the batteries, you keep going and going and when you die it’s like you don’t die, because God’s inside.” Saying the problem was that God could not be in the same place as sin. I asked What God did to take away her sin so He could live inside her and she knew Jesus had died. I went on to explain that the sacrifice of Jesus had cleansed her and paid for her sins and that Jesus earned the righteousness of God. God gave her this righteousness to her credit when He adopted her. To have all that God offered her she had to receive Jesus; to believe He was God and died for her sins and rose from the dead. Not just that she knew the story but that she trusted in what Jesus had done to be forgiven. If someone asked why she’d be let into Heaven then she would say, “Because Jesus died for me.” That would mean she had faith in Jesus. And by grace she was saved by faith. I asked if she’d want to be forgiven or thought something else. “Forgiven,” she replied. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and after reading it I asked if it was the desire of her heart. She said it was. I asked if she’d want to pray it silently to know she was forgiven and she said, “Sure.” And taking the booklet she prayed to receive Jesus. I told her then the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the Blood and righteousness of Jesus. I explained, “living the Christian life By the Spirit’s Power Inside Out” I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front of Bible Promises for You which she liked. I gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet saying there were some things on Easter in it. I also gave her a Bible study on ways Jesus claims to be the God of the Old Testament. I told her I would pray a Bible verse for her each day through Spring and one year after and she thanked me and I was off.
Ivy was sitting at the long set of tables by the stairs on the ground floor of the PE lounge. She had an insulated puffy vest on and had a thick brown ponytail pulled out the back of a white golf hat. Her long-sleeved work out shirt had green sleeves. She had a wide cute face and was on the golf team. She planned to go to Judson College next year. She said her family was really Catholic. She had gone to Catholic school beginning part way through grade school and though high school. When I asked her what she would say to God to get into heaven she said, “Probably…” and then though and said, “That’s hard. I’ve been very Catholic all of my life… It’s hard because… I don’t know.” “That’s fine,” I said. I asked her what the likelihood was she would go to Heaven when she died. “70%” she replied. She listened to the Gospel as I began to tell her God wanted to live inside her with His Holy Spirit. I asked what God had done to take away her sin so He could. She tried a theological word and dismissed it as wrong and then said, “Reconciliation.” I said that was right but what had Jesus done to reconcile her to God. She didn’t know. So I began to explain how Jesus’ blood had cleansed her and paid for her sins quoting Bible verses to her. I explained the righteousness of God and God adopting her making her Child and I said it was like the mass. “The Eucharist,” she put in. I said right and that the wafer was Jesus body and the wine his blood and it was reminding her He had died for her so she was forgiven so when she took it she could just say, “Thank You.” It’s hard to know what you are supposed to do right then,” I said and she agreed. I said that she needed to receive Jesus by faith and grace by faith saved her. I asked if she would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else and then asked to clarify, “When you are asking for forgiveness for your sins have you been thinking you hoped you would be good enough or were you thinking, ‘I know I’ll be forgiven because Jesus died for me?’” “When I ask for forgiveness I feel like He is not going to forgive me because He knows I’m just going to do it again.” I said “Jesus talked about that to Peter.” She said she remembered Peter had said three times he had never been with Jesus. I said that was right and Jesus forgave him but before Jesus died Peter came to him and asked how many times he had to forgive someone. Jesus said, “70 times 7.” I pointed out that was more times than she had done anything and God would always forgive her. She went on to say that sometimes she felt dark forces pushing on her and she asked Jesus to take them away. I said everyone gets strange thoughts in their head, like a voice telling you to jump off a bridge or something. “It’s been a long time since I walked over a bridge but hey,” she agreed. I said when I get them I ask God to, “take the thoughts of Satan out of my heart.” “That’s a good idea,” she said. I said the thing that she needed was to ask God to live inside her and be forgiven. “The Bible says, ‘Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world.’” I said if she wanted to she could pray the prayer quietly and know she was forgiven. “OK, Thanks,” she replied and I said something like it’s right there having handed her the booklet and she prayed silently to receive Christ. When she finished she said, “OK.” I went through the Christian life with her and explained everything was “By the Spirit’s Power Inside Out” I explained that God would help her in everything she was trying to do in life, “Just Ask.” He could help her play golf. I gave her a copy of Bible Promises for You and I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!’ in the front. I said that before she had her parent’s faith and she thought so too. I told her that now the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus. I explained that when she went to confession the priest did not forgive her sins but was telling her as Gods rep that God forgave her sin. (The doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church teaches only God can forgive sins.) I compared the priest to an insurance agent when you buy insurance for your car. When you wreck your car it isn’t the agent that pays it’s the company that pays. The priest can tell you that you are forgiven because he knows God paid for your sins. I also gave her a Bible Study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I said I would pray for her each day asking God to bless her from now until next year in the Spring. She said, “Thanks,” as I got up to go and I said, “I’ll see you in Heaven.” And she replied with a happy laugh.
So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance God truly blessed.
In Him,
Bob