Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope ya had a good day walking with the Lord. Thanks for your prayers for the ministry. Things evangelism was a blessed work today, Vincent, Ian, Andy and Ray each prayed with me to receive Christ. I’m truly grateful for your help. There stories are below if you want to spend the time.

Vincent was sitting in the upstairs of the PE lounge on a sofa. His otherwise short hair was kind of a mop of tangles in front and had blonde sun highlights in it from the summer just past. He had a light mustache and a beard just under his chin, square jaw, slight build. He had a white t-shirt on and light blue athletic shorts, looked like he’d been working out. He was up for doing a survey and it turned out he came from a Roman Catholic background. He said he’d like to get married for the One thing you want to do before you die question, which was a good sign (typically) he’d receive Jesus, if he hadn’t yet. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven. “I’m a faithful Christian,” he replied. He thought he had a 90% chance of going to Heaven. As I began to go through the Gospel I asked what had to happen for God to take away his sins so He could live inside him. “Confession?” he guessed. I said that was true the Bible said that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But when you confess to the priest the priest does not forgive your sins he is really telling you God forgives your sins. He nodded as if he thought that to be correct. I said he could think of the priest as an insurance agent you go to get insurance for your car. If you wreck your car you call the insurance agent and he connects you to the company, but the insurance agent does not pay for repairs the company pays. So the priest is telling you God forgives you and it is because God got paid. I went on to explain how God became a man Jesus and he lived a perfect life we could not. When He died and poured out his blood it cleansed him so God could live inside him and it also paid God back for all the imperfect things we’d done that we owed God something perfect to pay for. I explained salvation by grace through faith. I asked if he would want to be forgiven or thought something else. “I’d want to be forgiven,” he replied. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray, if he had never told God he wanted to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done for him on the cross. I talked him through the prayer and asked if it was the desire of his heart. He nodded. I said he could pray it silently right now and only God would hear. “Wanna do it?” “Sure,” he said. He prayed the to receive Jesus. I explained the likelihood he would be forgiven now trusting in the righteousness of God to forgiven him was 100%. I explained the Christian life to him living Inside > Out when God first changes you on the inside then you become a good person and then you’ll do good things on the outside. “Everything is by the Spirit’s Power,” I explained. I also gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible study. I told him I would be praying for him through spring and the next year after. I stood up to go and he said, “Thank you so much.” I said, Sure, I’d see him in Heaven and shook his hand and headed off.

Ian was sitting in some chairs lining the hall of the second floor of the BIC. His head was down and as I walked up. His top was a mop of chin length brown curls. He looked up and had a friendly face smaller nose tan and freckled, He had a slight build wore dark blue athletic shorts and had a long sleeve dark grey t-shirt on. Good lookin’ kid. He said he had time for a survey. His parents had divorced and he’d lived with them in several states Virginia, Wisconsin and more recently in Vegas where he went to what he felt was a good church. I asked him what he would say to God if he died. “I don’t know, hmm…” he thought for a moment. “I feel like it should be His standards not by mine.” “Like what He says in the Bible,” I replied. He agreed saying he was a Christian and pulled a gold cross out from under his shirt for me to see. He thought the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I began to explain the Gospel to him and asked what was the big thing that happened to take away his sin. “Repentance?” he guessed. I said it was true we repented but the real reason God forgives you is he got paid. I went on to explain the gospel to him and at one point he recognized the description of blood and the crucifixion and said, “Like communion.” I agreed saying we had to be perfect to be in Heaven so God became a man and lived a perfect life for us, died and rose again. “Can I keep this?” he asked of the booklet I’d been writing in. “Yeah sure,” I replied. I explained the righteousness of God (Is 61:10, Gal. 3:27) it’s His righteousness not ours. Then that he had to Receive Jesus and believe in his name. “So if someone would ask you why should God let you into Heaven you’d say, ‘Because Jesus died for me,’ That’s the standard.” “Oh!” he said, getting it. I said this was given to him by grace through faith. I asked if he’d want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done. “Yeah,” he replied. I said there was a prayer he could pray then and walked him through it saying he could pray it silently and he did. I explained the Christina life to him living Inside > Out. I also gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible study. I told him I would be praying for him through spring and the next year after. “Can I ask you a question?” he said. “Sure,” I replied. “What is the difference between pride and confidence?” he had described himself as confident. “Because everything I do I have confidence and that has always helped be accomplish things.” I said “Everything you are you were created to be by God. So, you can say you are something but can’t take any credit for it really. I could say I was intelligent; I went to grad school and seminary and was a philosophy major. But I never did anything to make myself intelligent. It’s not like I worked out every day and got smarter or made sure I ate the right food. God made me this way. So then you do things well He wants you to do and when people say, ‘You’re really good at that,’ you can say, ‘It’s just how God made me’. Then He gets the praise and you don’t become arrogant and screw yourself up.” That answer really worked for him. He looked at his phone and realized his ride, a cousin, had been waiting for him. “What’s your name again?” he asked. “Bob. It’s on the booklet in my email,” I replied. “Appreciate it,” he said gratefully and he ran off.

Andy was sitting in the small lounge at the NW entrance to the BIC building just past the SSC lounge. She was a cute kind of pretty, like Sandra Bullock a bit, if very slight with tanned skin. She had brown wavy hair just past her shoulders, pretty white smile, bright personality. She was wearing a grey sweatshirt and some grey cargo kind of pants. I asked her if she’d want to do a student survey for a Bible study group. She said she had done one for Cru pointing at what might have been a sticker for the group on her laptop. I said this was a bit different. “The main question is: 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? The survey is really about what Bible says is the answer is to that question. Got any interest or not so much?” “Maybe not the Bible but about God yeah,” she replied. I got her name (though immediately forgot it and asked again during an illustration and wrote it down then). In pieces I dramatized the Gospel with the things I usually say quoting verses. And I talked about how God would live inside her if she believed on Jesus and talked about this was by faith. Then finally sitting not far from her I explained  “Inside  > Out” taking out the booklet and reading the line, Your walk with God depend on what you allow Him to do in and through you empowered by the Holy Spirit, not what you do for Him by your own self effort. I said she could be forgiven receiving Christ. There was a prayer she could pray and talked her through it if she would want God to live inside her she could pray this and know she was forgiven. Would you want to do that. “Sure,” she replied. And when she’d finished I said she could keep the booklet and went back quickly showing her the verses I had recited and writing in a couple more and explained briefly the Christian life. “Thanks Bob, appreciate you,” she said cheerfully. I told her I would keep her in my prayers for the next year until Spring and a year after praying a Bible verse for her each day. I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front of Bible Promises for You, I gave her a Bible study too and Strobel’s book. “God bless you,” I said getting up to go. “God bless you too Bob, nice to meet you,” she said with a warm smile. And I headed off.

Ray was sitting at a table outside the bookstore. He had a Bass Pro truck drivers cap on and stick straight hair coming down out of it. He had a mustache like a narrow caterpillar, small mouth wore jeans and a blue T-shirt, wore a silver cross around his neck. I asked him if he wanted to do a student survey and he said he would but he had 10 minutes until he had to get to class, how long would it take. I told him I could give him the cliff’s notes version and asked him what he would say to God if he died and God asked why He should let him into Heaven. He said something like it would be up to Him. He said he’d been raised “as a Christian”. I said “Well this is what the Bible says” and I went right into explaining the Atonement and the blood that had cleansed him paid for his sins. God forgave him because He got Paid. I explained receiving this by faith and grace provided it. “Got it,” he said understanding everything for the first time it seemed. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins. “Why not,” he said. I said there was a prayer to pray accepting God forgiveness and thanking Him explaining the prayer to him. “You could pray this quietly right now, I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven, wanna do that. “Yeah, why not,” he replied. And he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I quickly gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” inside and he responded saying, “Perfect.” I also gave him a Bible Study and The Case for Christ Answer Book. “But I gotta let you go to class,” I said handing it all to him. He glanced at his watch and said, “Oh, yeah.”  “Thank you, appreciate it,” he said and fist bumped me and headed to the stairs. It had taken 8 minutes but now he had received his family’s faith.

So, thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism Thursday if you had a chance. God blessed and let some see His salvation.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed as the late summer weather comes. Ours is forecasted to be cooler soon. We had a good day on campus. Ellen and I had a Bible study and I thought we’d celebrate Ellen’s Birthday after. But she decided we’d just do dinner tonight and prayed for me as I headed back into school. (She’d got presents and a poem and flowers this morning.) So I did some evangelism this afternoon and Davon trusted Christ as his savior.

Davon is African American in appearance. He had a rough afro and black plastic rimmed glasses, good looking kid. He had on a black t-shirt and grey sweats. He was laying on a couch in a small lounge at the Northwest entrance to the BIC building just beyond the SSC lounge. He said he had just been to Cru. They’d had a Bible study it seemed. I asked if he’d like to hear the big metaphysical question to take with him for the day. He sat up slowly and said, “OK.” I said, “You’re walking down the road and you get hit by a bus so you’re dead and you stand before God and He asks, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?” He thought for a moment and said kind of tentatively, “Because I have a relationship?” Probing a bit I asked, “What happened so you could have that relationship?” He struggled to say so I said, “Christianity is like a blood transfusion. I have A+ blood, so if you fill me with B- blood I would clot up and die. God wants to fill you with His Holy Spirit, to live inside you, then He is eternal and the source of life so you would have eternal life. But first He has to take away your sin. Then you are perfect and holy inside and you match God. You are purified then you are His type and He can live inside you. So what is the big thing Jesus does to take away your sin and the sins of the world.” He guessed something like, “He forgives you.”  I asked if I could show him some Bible verses to show what Jesus had done. He agreed. As I went through the Gospel with him it was clear he was understanding it for the first time. I finished saying most of all I normally explain about the blood and righteousness of Christ and forgiveness by faith. I asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus or thought something else. I explained the options by the two circles. He said he would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus pointing at the circle with God on the throne. So I said there was a prayer he could pray to tell God he was trusting in Jesus and I talked him through it. He said he thought he had prayed a prayer like it before. “But you did not understand it right?” ‘Yeah,” he replied agreeing he had not understood what the prayer meant. I suggested he might want to pray it again so it meant something. He agreed and prayed to receive Jesus. When he finished he was thankful saying it “Helped me understand things more.” He had gone to Willow Creek Church but more recently was in a Church out on Rt 59 I knew of to be a good church where the students I bump into have a sound understanding of the faith. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I also gave him a Bible Study. He did not think he would read Strobel’s book. I told him I would be praying for him through next spring and one year after. I explained the likelihood he would now go to Heaven was 100%.  He offered his fist to bump saying, “Thanks for the information.” I told him if I saw him I would give him a wave. “See ya around,” he said and I headed off.

So thanks for your prayers for the Ministry. God blessed today.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was filled with blessings and every good and perfect gift. I had a good day on campus and Ian and Kyra each prayed with me to receive Jesus. Thanks so much for your prayers, there stories are below if you have some time. There was a lot said and I’ll do my best to reiterate it.

I came in and went down the hallway along where the student activities offices are and asked a couple students who were not interested. I thought I should go back toward the cafeteria but then I had a picture in my head of the chairs along the wall if the SSC lounge. It seemed like a nudge from the Holy Spirit. So I turned around and cut past the lounge by the offices to the base of the stairs up into the main lounge. There were two guys sitting in the chairs 15 feet from each other and the first guy was Ian.

Ian had short trimmed hair parted on the right his bangs swept aside. He had a thin mustache and was a slight build. His beard appeared as a line down his chin then more beneath and then here and there on the sides. He was dressed all in black but had a silver cross and chain that hung lower than his chest and would fit inside a 50-cent piece. He wasn’t interested saying, “I believe in God,” sort of dismissively and then that he wasn’t even a student here. I asked if he’d like to hear the big metaphysical question to think about through the day. “Sure,” he replied.  So I said, “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?” “He shouldn’t, I haven’t done enough to be worthy,” he replied. I said he wouldn’t get to heaven based on what he had done but because of what was done for him. Then I asked if he’d like to see some Bible verses telling him that. “OK,” he replied. I took out the booklet and got his name and gave him mine and read some verses. He was familiar with John 3:16. I explained “Knowing God” was that God lived inside him and talked about his sin and that God had to take it away. Then he would be perfect and holy inside, he’d match God and so God could live inside him. I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sin. He knew Jesus had died. Telling him that the blood of Christ cleansed him I said God forgave him and that the Blood of Christ was a payment to God.  He asked what I would say to someone who would say Jesus had died but you had to do things to earn that. I said that was semi-pelagianism. Explaining the problem would be that you owed God something perfect in return for damaging, [Matt. 5:48] you, someone else or the world—His stuff. But nothing you could offer to pay God fixed what you had done or was a perfect gift to give back to Him. I said from the Bible’s perspective that you thought you could add something to the perfect payment of Christ’s blood, that it was not enough to pay for your sins, was really and insult to the work of Christ. I explained the righteousness of Christ to our credit. And nothing you could give back to God was perfect anyway. I explained that sometimes this was called Lordship Salvation, where you did not just ask Jesus to be your savior but you made Him Lord of your life. But the grass does not make the sun and I explained that it was only by the power of the Holy Spirit we could do anything that pleased God. I said the verse by grace you are saved through faith not of yourselves it is a gift of God, not by works lest any man should boast. “That’s what I don’t have,” he replied.  God had to turn our bad things into good things I explained. I offered him the two options of trusting in what Jesus had done to save him or something else. He said he had been in eastern thought and been into crystals and even had an altar, by which he tried to reach certain deities but there was no one there. [I later used his statement in talking to Kyra who was really into new age things like crystals and reincarnation.] He said Christianity kept popping up but he felt like it wasn’t cool enough. Finally, he began to look into it but he was just kind of getting started, though it seemed like he had been at it a while.  I think he believed it was true up to the point he had to earn forgiveness. I agreed with him that eastern religion made everything one but Christianity is 2 and I and a Thou. I suggested when you died Buddhism was a bit more philosophically consistent (than Hinduism). In Buddhism you were just reassembled from the particulates of the universe some of which were you, some was not. But then why was there Karmic guilt if all of you as a unified whole had not previously existed? He agreed it did not fit with experience. He said he would want to trust in Jesus. I said there was a prayer he could pray. I said he could pray it silently and he did. Finishing  he looked up. He said he had met people who had had a religious experience and kind of an emotional thing. I said that repentance was changing your mind about Jesus, that He was your savior and God. I said those facts are more likely to carry him through life. I said I felt things from God through life, though not when I first became a Christian. But feelings can come from a piece of bad pizza. If he went through a hard time it might not feel like God loved him, but the fact of it remained and he could cling to that. I told him there was more about faith in the booklet, that it wasn’t a feeling. I explained living inside > out asking for the Spirit’s power to give him help in everything. I gave him a copy of Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. He smiled at that and thanked me. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. He said had come to Christianity more reasoning and I said the author was the same. I also gave him a Bible Study. He was grateful and said he’d email me sometime and I said that would be great. (He never on campus on Wednesday when we’ll have Bible Study)

Two black students were sitting together a tall guy named Treavor (slender with a mop of braids 5 inches long or so) and Kyra, a very pretty girl with long braids past her elbows and oval face, small nose. She was wearing a grey t-shirt with some big white letters I never made out and orange sweats. When I asked them what they would say to God he roughly stated the Gospel. After he’d said he believed in Jesus she said Jesus was not God. Treavor said something like Jesus was God’s son and I explained the Trinity to her a term she was unfamiliar with. I said she was kind of like a trinity in that she had a body like Jesus’ emotions like the Holy Spirit and a will or a mind, like the Father. I said however her trinity was dysfunctional in as much as someone could say something rude to her and it would affect her ability to concentrate, her emotions upsetting her mind. Or she could get injured and become upset from the pain, her body effecting her emotions. But God was a complete Trinity, 3 in one, where He loved Himself and was in agreement within Himself.  She accepted that. In asking her what she would say to God she said, “I don’t know, I feel like He would just know my heart, simple, Rashad Jamal.” (Rashad Jamal is a New Age TikTok influencer who is up on charges for murder right now and I think that is who she meant.) Treavor, claimed to be a church musician who was good at every instrument said he knew the Gospel. He strangely was an annoyance and butted in a periodically, interested in telling her what he knew. She told him (more than me) she believed in a different god and said something about dying and becoming a color. It seemed that the physical world was not real in the view she was voicing, in keeping somewhat with Hindu belief possibly. She said after she died she would not remember anything. I used that later to say everything in Eastern Religions is one and you go into it when you die and lose yourself, you have no identity and are gone. But in Christianity you always remain you and God knows you and you talk to Him. By the time I began to go through the Gospel he claimed he, “knew all that”. So I asked him if he could explain the Righteousness of God. He could not. “Then you don’t understand all of it. Paul had said that it was not by his own righteousness he was saved but by the Righteousness, which is by faith.” She was interested. And so I continued through the Gospel with her and he seemed distracted or attempting to distract her. (He later even began to talk to me while she was praying and I hushed him.) Finally, I said, “Stop, be quiet and don’t say anymore let her listen.” She talked about her practice with crystals and things and said there was really no one to talk to in it, no Person there. I explained a bit of Eastern thought then and said, “A guy I just talked to was into crystals and that and Eastern Religions just told me the same thing. He decided he wanted a Father and trusted in Christ). This was attractive to her as I continued to go through the Gospel. I explained the righteousness of God that Jesus had earned that could be hers. And finally asked her if she would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done, then God would be her Father and know her. Surprisingly she said she would. I talked her through the prayer and asked if it was the desire of her heart. She said it was and I said she could pray it silently. I think she had some background in the Church as she finished praying to receive Jesus and said, “Praise God.” I gave him a copy of Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. She thanked me and I gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet, “I get gifts”, she said more to him than to me. I explained the Bible study to her and she liked that. I gave him two books and wrote some notes in another booklet saying he could use it to share his faith. She was happy and I got up to go and found out they were friend but were not dating. Being a couple was something she had no interest in she then made clear. Another pretty black girl walked up with shoulder length big curls. She said her friend was also into Crystals. I said, “Well you can tell her how it is.” She agreed she could. I told her I would pray for her each day until next Spring and one year after and she was grateful and I headed out.

I later came upon Ian and told him his story had helped lead someone to Christ and he was grateful to be told that and thanked me enthusiastically.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and ya got some good news in answer to prayer. I had a good day on campus and Kate and Travont [tre-von-te] each prayed with me to receive Jesus. There stories are below if you have a moment. 20 students have prayed to receive Jesus the 1^st 2 weeks of school. Thanks for being a part of the ministry in prayer I’m truly grateful.

I ended up sitting and talking to 4 students who wanted to be in a Bible Study for more than a couple hours when I first got to school. They all wish to come Wednesday at 10:45 so hopefully that will play out. I finally excused myself saying I had to get to work and the next two students I spoke with each prayed to receive Jesus.

Kate was sitting in the hallway beside the bookstore just a bit down from where I’d been sitting talking with the others. She is a petite little Filipino girl, black round rimmed glasses, long brown hair to her shoulder with bangs swept to the right. She had a broad pretty smile wearing jeans and a white blouse. She said she was a nurse and wanted to travel the world become a doctor. It seemed she was born in the Philippian Islands. She said she was raised Catholic but now occasionally went to a Baptist Church. I asked her what she would say to God if she died and if He asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “Because you’re my God and I’m your daughter,” she replied. She thought she had a 70% chance of going to Heaven. She listened closely to the Gospel and she knew Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world. I went through the blood of Christ as cleansing and payment for sin saying she need to believe in Christ’s work to be forgiven. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus. She said something like, “I would want to be forgiven with Jesus.” I asked her if when she asked for forgiveness she was thinking she would be forgiven because Jesus had died for her. “I was always hopeful when I asked for forgiveness she replied. I said, “Well if you’d like to be forgiven for your sins trusting in Jesus there’s a prayer you can pray,” I replied and I read through the prayer with her asking if it was the desire of her heart. “Yeah,” she said. I said she could pray it silently and she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I began to explain the Christian life to her. Her Bible was not with her in the States so I gave her one and showed her the cross references and the devotionals and study helps in back. I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven” in front. “I had quiz and class was shorter. I went home but decided I’d rather study here and came back you gave me a Bible!” More importantly God had given her eternal life. I explained living the Christian life “Inside > Out. I gave her a copy of Bible Promises for You Writing “By the Spirit’s Power” in the front. I gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told her that now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%.  She thanked me with a fist bump.

I headed off and passed another girl who asked when the Bible Study was saying she was eavesdropping and was standing next to. And I gave her a Bible Study and the time.

Just down the hall into the SSC building I came across Travont. He had a light blue hoodie on pulled up and black straight leg jeans. He wore a narrow mustache and had a beard only under his chin. Average size college guy with a wide slightly flat nose gap tooth smile. He seemed to have cornrow braids on top that I could not see much of. He was pretty low key and sober and barely cracked a smile but once. He said he’d gone to Church when he was a kid. He thought he’d like to travel to the Bahamas. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and He asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “That’d be tough. I wouldn’t know what to say—honestly,” he replied. I began to go through the Gospel with him. I asked him what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world. “He gave His heart,” is what I think I heard him say. So I said, “He gave his life,” and he agreed. Thinking later I don’t think we’d meant the same thing but we were on the same page at the end.  I explained what Jesus had done in cleansing him and paid for his sins. I asked if that made sense and he said something like, “I follow.” I told him of the righteousness of Christ to his credit and I explained that believing by faith his sins were forgiven. I finished the Gospel and asked if he’d like to be forgiven trusting in Jesus so God could live inside him or if he thought something else. He thought for just a moment and said, “I’d want God inside.” So I said there was a prayer he could pray if he wanted to be forgiven and I talked him through it. I asked if it was the desire of his heart and he agreed. If he wanted he could pray it silently. “Yeah,” he replied. And he prayed to receive Jesus. I talked him through the Christian life and the fruit of the Spirit and he said, “Alright,” in kind of a deadpan way. Living by the Spirit’s power, “Inside > Out” first asking God to transform him on the inside. Then he would become a good person and do good things on the outside. I also gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible study. I said I’d see him in Heaven and being older I’d be there first and could show him around. He said, “I get you,” and I headed out.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry God blessed me today and I was thankful for them.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ.

I hope your day was blessed and you found yourself trusting in Him for comfort and love. I had a good day on campus and Jameson and Christ, a black guy from African heritage each prayed to receive Jesus today. Thanks so much for your prayers to guide me. Their stories are below.

I found Jameson sitting at a table in the cafeteria. He was wearing a grey t-shirt with some printing on it and a large graphic in red and black shorts. He had stick straight light brown hair that was parted on the side, had some summer sin highlights in it. With rosy red cheeks he looked really young, nice smile on the shorter side. He said his family was Christian and he thought of himself as a Christian too but they no longer attended church. He said he wanted to “have a family” when I asked him something he wanted to do before he died.  This proved true again as a response to lead to salvation. When a guy says he wants to have a family answering that question it almost always means he is a Christian or will pray to receive Jesus. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “I think I was a good person.” I asked what he thought the likelihood was he would go to Heaven and he said “50%”. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he knew Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world. I went through Christ’s cleansing blood as a payment for sin, the righteousness of God, the Resurrection and that he needed to receive it by faith. He was pretty reserved but I got him to smile a couple times. I asked him if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done for him on the cross. I’d used the 2 circles in the booklet and he pointed to the one with Jesus on the throne of his life and said, “This one.” I said there was a prayer he could pray if he wanted to be forgiven, read through it in explanation and asked if it was the desire of his heart. He nodded and I asked if he’d want to pray it silently and he said, “Sure.” He prayed then to receive Christ. I said that the likelihood now that he would go to heaven was 100% trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness. “Awesome,” he replied cheerfully. I gave him a Bible Study and Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside and also The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told him I’d pray for him each day until Spring and then another year after. He had to go so I stood up to shake his hand and said, “Nice to have met you.” “Thank you,” he replied and headed off to class.

Christ was sitting in the lounge that connects the science buildings. He was African American and on either side were two other black guys, more slight in stature than him. He was sitting on the only chair and they were off each shoulder leaning of the window sills. I asked if they would want to do a student survey and he said he would but the others said they would just listen. One did and took a booklet at the end the other had on headphones and didn’t hear. The two guys had long thin tinted braids and could have been twin brothers dressed by a mother. But Christ had thick cornrows a top of his head. He was darker skinned than the other guys too and said his family could all trace their heritage in Africa, it seems their blood line did not go back to slavery in the US. I found out having said I would sit at his feet like he was a king and he said he knew he wasn’t. He wore a black hoodie and minimally shredded black skinny jeans and had classic black features, good looking guy. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said “’Cause even though I sin I’m still His son.” He thought he had a 45% chance of going to Heaven. He listened attentively to the explanation I gave of the Gospel. He was obviously learning something but said at one point that he had read pretty much through the entire Bible and he knew all that was in there and could answer a question on it. When I had finished explaining everything I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else. As an example of something else, I explained Islam with a couple points different than Christianity saying they had a different God. He said, “I thought they would say they had the same God. I helped him finish the idea that Mohammed traced his lineage back to Ishmael. I said I realize they claimed that but they could not supply the descent that they claimed with a detailed lineage. Ismael would have been half Egyptian and half Jewish effectively, but the Arabs would not claim they were descended from Egyptians and Mohammed’s family tree was not written down anywhere. He thought he would want to be forgiven. I said if he would want to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray. I talked him through it and he thought about it. I went back to his response where he had said he was a child of God. I said that was true, that the Bible said we are all His offspring and that if he wanted to God could forgive him and live inside him. I said, “If you pray I will pray for you everyday to be blessed with a Bible verse until next Spring and then one year after.” That made up his mind and he took the booklet and prayed then to receive Jesus in barely audible tones. He’d said he would change a few words but I don’t think he did. When he’d finished praying he said, “Thanks,” handing me back the booklet. I used it to explain the Christian life asking if he had a Bible, he had three. I explained living “Inside > Out” I tried to give him Bible Promises for You. He said he had the same book with a green cover.  The Case for Christ Answer Booklet was something he didn’t want to read having herd of Strobel’s movie (I think he saw it). He was willing to take a Bible Study went I explained how Jesus claimed to be God by walking on the water as a Dave Chappelle bit. So on the front I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” and handed it to him. I said the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I said “I’ll see you in Heaven. I’m old and will get there first so you can look me up and I’ll show ya where the cool places are.” “I want to ride a horse around the Galaxy,” he said. I said I thought they had horses and other animals up there as there would be everything to make us happy and I liked animals. “God bless you,” he said and gave me a fist bump. “God bless you too,” I replied. “Thanks for the blessing.” And I headed out.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope ya had a great day walking with God in Christ by the Spirit. I had a good day on campus and Brandon prayed to receive Jesus today. So thanks for your prayers if you had a chance. His story is below if you have the time.

I went through the Gospel with 4 others. One girl Lauren seemed close saying she’d think about it. She had long hair, dishwater blonde, no make-up just doing schoolwork. She had frank features, the like that could be attractive had she wished to be. She looked like she’d just rolled out of bed basically. But hey if your not interested in a guy in your class why pretty up for school.

Brandon was sitting outside the bookstore in the hallway that leads to it (in the same place a couple hours later I came across Lauren). He had a mop of thick brown hair and said he was Italian, and third generation US, Catholic, he’d been confirmed. His grandmother had been very religious, even after she’d lost her memories in the rest home they had put her on a bus to go to mass each Sunday. He had black rimmed glasses and his cap had an American flag on it in black and white, it made a wave/dent circling his head when he took it off at one point and put it back on. He was wearing blue jeans and work boots. Looked indistinctively like “every-man”, big in stature. He wanted to “Build a legacy and honor his family” when I asked him something he wanted to do before he died. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked “Why should I let you into heaven?” “He probably shouldn’t if I’m gonna be honest. I haven’t proven myself yet. So there’s no reason to.” He thought he’d have a 0% chance of getting into Heaven but thought if he’d died later in life “There’s always redemption.” I begin to go through the Gospel with him and he tuned right in and tracked with some different analogies. I explained the payment and cleansing for his sin through the blood of Christ and the righteousness of Christ to his credit. I explained he could have this by faith. When I’d finished I started asking if he would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus and cut me off with, “That’s the one,” before I could give him another option. Then I said what other religions believed and asked again and he said, ’Yeah,” that he want to be forgiven. So I said if he’d want to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and asked if it was the desire of his heart. He said yeah and I said he could pray it silently and he nodded took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus finishing with “Amen.” I started to explain the Christian life and gave him a Bible, he had access to one but the study helps in it looked good to him. I showed him the “99 Doctrines” and the cross-references and maps and devotions in it and wrote his name and the date and ”forgiven” in the front. I also gave him a Bible Study and Bible Promises for You and also The Case for Christ Answer Booklet.  I told him I’d pray for him each day until Spring and then another year after. He talked about how the only religion it seemed you could be cancelled for expressing the beliefs of was Christianity. I said that if Satan was behind all the others that would make sense and kind of validated his faith and he agreed. He said he’d like to get a Bible Study going and gave me his phone number. “I love to help you get that going,” he said. I got up to head out and thanked him for his time and he thanked me shaking my hand with a hard grip.

So thank for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today, I had a good day and God blessed.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you are enjoying the weather somewhere walking in the light of God’s word. Thanks for your help today in prayer if you had a moment! Maia (my-ah) and Nick prayed to receive Jesus today. Then Gabby (she’s a petite short Latina, cute face wavy hair down to her shoulders) who said she’d think about, last week, today told me she had prayed to receive Jesus. So that was great and an answer to prayer. Josiah a black dude of small stature and a beard and pin curl afro falling down about 5 or 6 inches took The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet and a DVD from CMI on the new genetic discoveries that disprove Evolution. (He didn’t have a DVD player but seemed to think he could get his hands on one.) Their stories are below if you have some time. Thanks again for praying for the ministry.

I saw Maia sitting alone on a row of chairs in one of the 2^nd floor, north (backside) entrance foyers to the BIC. Maia was a cute slender girl with stick straight brown hair trimmed in a bob cut to the base of her neck, her hair tucked behind both ears. She had a sharp jaw line, cute face and looked young. I asked her what she would say to God if she died and He asked , “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “Because I’m a good person,” she said. She said she thought she had a 75% chance of going to Heaven. I asked if she went to Church but she said she used to go to a Catholic Church but she did not like some of the things they taught so she left. She said she would like to find a church. I began to go through the Gospel with her saying that God wanted to live inside her by his Holy Spirit. “Then it’s like you are the Energizer Bunny God is the batteries: You keep going and going and when you die it’s like you don’t die, ‘cause God’s inside.” “That’s awesome,” she replied.  I said God had to make her His type and remover her sin so He could live inside her. I asked her what the big thing was Jesus did to take away her sins. “He was crucified,” she replied. I said “Right.” I began to explain the payment for her sins and the righteousness of Christ to her credit. “That’s so cool,” she replied. I said that God wanted to adopt her and give her the blessings of His family. “He gives you the sacrifice for your sins, the blood that cleanses you and the righteousness of God that surrounds you, so you got someplace to go, and something to wear when you get there, the righteousness of God.” “That’s so interesting,” she replied. I said she could have this by faith explaining a bit more and asked if she wanted to be forgiven or thought something else. Then I said again, “So would you want to be forgiven for your sins trusting in Jesus?” She said she would.  So I said if she’d wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and talked her through reading, Is this prayer the desire of your heart? after. She nodded again. So I said she could pray it silently and only God would hear and asked if she’d like to and she nodded and prayed to receive Jesus. I began t explain the Christian life to her and asked if she had a Bible. She didn’t so I gave her a study Bible showing her how cross references work and the 99 doctrines in front and the maps and study aids in the back. I wrote her name and the Date and “forgiven!” in the front. She was very grateful and I went on to explain living “Inside > Out” by the Spirit’s power. You ask God to transform you on the inside, you become a good person and then you do good things. I gave her a Bible Study and Bible Promises for You and also The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told her I would pray for her each day until the end of spring and then one year after. She was thankful for that and I said if I saw her again I’d just wave, “Me too,” she replied and I headed out.

Nick was sitting in the hallway of the BIC on the south side. He said he’d do a survey. He had wavy rings of curls in a mop hair cut more or less parted down the middle. Looked Italian with a “punisher” nose, which the curls hung down past. He wore a white tank top and grey fleece sweats with a two inch black stripe down the sides.  He said that he’d been to church a few times, I believe he said with family. He was on the short side. I asked him what he’d say to God if asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “That’s a good question,” he replied thinking a bit. “I don’t know, I did everything in life that I could.” He replied finally. He though he had an 80% chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him and I asked him, “Do you know what the big thing is that Jesus did to take away your sins.” He nodded in the way someone kind of does to that question when they are really saying they knew Jesus had done something to accomplish that. So I began to explain the sacrifice for his sins then the righteousness of God and then went back to explained that it was really how God got paid. I said this all was his by faith. I asked him too if he wanted to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done. “Yeah, I would,” he said. So I asked, “Do you believe Jesus is God had died for your sins and rose from the Dead? Do you think that’s a true story?” He shook his head with a frank purse of his mouth. I sad then that if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and read it asking if it was the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he said. So I said he could pray it silently like I wasn’t there. He took the booklet and said, “Just in my head?” I said yeah. So he prayed then to receive Christ. He didn’t have a Bible so I gave him the last compact Bible I had, they are out of print now. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave him a Bible Study and Bible Promises for You and also The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told him I’d pray for him each day until Spring and then another year after. “Thank you man,” he said. I said “God bless you.” “You too have a good day,” he replied and I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today and the nearness of God was your good. I also hope you had the nearness of an air conditioner to keep cool. In the Midwest we are having another 100-degree day. I guess before AC everyone went swimming I’d hope be living closer to a lake. I had a good day on campus. Tony, Mitch and Toni each prayed with me to receive today. Their stories are below if you have some time. Thanks for your prayers to guide me and open hearts to hear, 12 people trusted Jesus this week.

Tony was sitting on a set of chairs in at the southeast corner of the BIC building. A calculator was in one hand and some paper he was taking noted on his laptop open in his lap. He had on a black and grey kind of a tie-dye shirt and black shorts. His small caterpillar mustache matched dark brown hair in a short haircut that looked like it would be curly if it got long at all under a cap. He was seated but didn’t look very tall.  I asked him if he wanted to do a student survey. He hesitated asking how long it was but decided to give it a go. He was from a Spanish background and wanted to visit Spain. I asked him what he would say to God if asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “Umm… kind of a tough…” he said thinking. “It’s up to You,” he said. And I agreed it was up to God to decide. He thought he had a 75% chance of going to Heaven and said his church attendance had trailed off being busy with school. I began to go through the Gospel with him and said God had to take away his sin to live inside him and give him eternal life. I asked what Jesus had done to take away his sins and he knew Jesus had died. He listened to the Gospel, hearing the blood of Christ saved him and of the gift of Christ’s righteousness by faith. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins and he said he did so I asked if he had ever told God he wanted to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done. I said, “You know you grow up believing things your family does but then when you become a man you have to decide which way you are going to go for yourself. So, when you have asked God for forgiveness are you thinking, I know I’ll be forgiven because Jesus died for me or are you just asking for forgiveness and moving on. “It’s more like I ask Jesus to forgive me but I’m never really sure that He does,” he replied. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I talked it through with him and read, “Is this prayer the desire of your heart?” “Yeah,” he replied. I said he could pray it silently. “Sure,” he said. “Just pretend I’m not here,” I offered and he said “Alright.” And he prayed to receive Jesus. I talk through with him the Christian life living by the Spirit’s power and I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “Forgiven!” in the front. I also gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible study. I asked him what kind of Church he went to and he gave me the name of a Church I knew to be Roman Catholic. So I said, “When you take the Mass the wafer is symbolic of His body and Wine of His blood and so when you take it, it is a reminder that He has died for you and so you are forgiven so you can just say thank you.” I also explained that the sacrifice of Christ was of infinite value so of course because God says we are forgiven (by that) we know it is enough. He was visibly happy and I told him I’d be praying for him until a year from Spring and he was grateful and I headed out the doors into the heat.

After standing in the shade (which helped not at all) to take some notes, I went over to the PE building then just across the pavement. Fortunately, the AC was working at school today. Mitch was sitting at a table in the lounge down the stairs. His straight brown hair was parted on the left and swept back, he wore glasses rimmed across the top in black and a faded reddish t-shirt and grey shorts. He had a sort of anime shaped face with a pointed chin and perfect skin. I asked if he wanted to do a student survey on what he thought about God. He asked what it was about and I said the main question was, ‘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 asked if he wanted to know what the Bible says is the answer to the question saying was what the survey was about. He said he’d be interested in the idea of it. I asked if he wanted to do a survey or just hear what the Bible had to say. He said he was more interested in the ideas but maybe he’d do a survey afterwards. So, I took down his name and began to go through the Gospel with him. He tuned right in and was genuinely interested. He said he’d lapsed into primarily going to church on holidays and I found out afterwards he attended a Methodist church. When I asked him what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world he said, “He suffered.” Right. He died for you,” I replied and went on to explain the payment for sin and forgiveness and the righteousness of Christ. I said he could be forgiven by faith and asked if he’d want to be forgiven or thought something else. “I’d want to be forgiven,” he replied. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I talked him through it asking if it was the desire of his heart. He said “Yes,” and I said if he wanted he could pray it silently and know he was forgiven. “Could I change a couple words?” he asked. “Sure, it’s more of a template, it’s not a formula,” I replied. He took the booklet prayed then to receive Christ. I explained living by the Spirit’s power and he said, “I like thinking about stuff like this, about beliefs.” So I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven! in the front. He seemed to really appreciate that. I also gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told him I would be praying a verse for him each day until Spring and one year after and he thanked me sincerely with the praying hands gesture and a nod and I headed off.

Toni was sitting just south of the Book Store in the hall there. She said she’d do a student survey. She was African American and had straightened her hair and dyed it blonde, which was past her shoulders. She had a braid on either side of her head. She has a cute face, fair skin, kind of a smallish pug nose and a full mouth, big eyelashes. She had cut a T-shirt into a v neck and the bottom was cut off to make it into a shrink top. She had on blue jeans torn at the knees. I asked her 3 words to describe herself. She struggled a bit kind of grooving side to side in the oversized chairs we were sitting in when she answered questions. And then listening was very serious in expression. I asked her what she would say to God and she said, “Hm,” paused and I said, “Do you ever go to church?” “Yes,” she replied. “What do you think your Church would say gets you into Heaven?” I asked, which did not help. “I’m very giving,” she replied then. She thought she had a 50% chance of going to Heaven. I went through the Gospel with her and she knew Jesus had died to take away her sins. I explained the Gospel to her and how the blood of Jesus cleansed her from sin and paid her debt with God. I said she could have the righteousness of God by faith and her good stuff could not fix her bad stuff agreeing it wouldn’t work for her with a guy. I asked if she wanted to be forgiven or thought something else. “I want to be forgiven,” she said. So, I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and reading it through I asked her if it was the desire of her heart. “Yeah,” she said. I said she could pray it silently and she went from being very serious to having a big smile on her face and she took the booklet and laughed. I’m not sure if it was nervous reaction or quite happened but then she prayed to receive Jesus. I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven! in the front I also gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and Bible study.  I had told her I would pray for her each day. Getting up to go I said, “I’ll keep you in my prayers.” “Alright, thank you,” she replied and I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today and if you live near Chicago you are keeping cool. It was so hot and humid today that the school’s cooling system could not seem to keep up. It had to be over 85 in places in the school. It varied in different hallways. Kiya, Marchall, and Ashlyn each prayed with me to receive Jesus today. Their stories are below if you want to take the time. Thanks so much for your prayers. God has truly blessed this first week as 9 students have prayed to receive Jesus in the last 3 days. Today also Victoria, an attractive blonde girl from Moldova who was Russian Orthodox said she would pray tonight. Another tiny girl Gabby, pretty Latina (in coloring) long wavy hair said she’d think about it but that she believed the story.

Kiya was sitting in the PE lounge on a counter height table. She’s African American and had long braids past her shoulders and a cap on. She had a pretty, wide, mature looking face and wore braces on her teeth. She had a black t-shirt on the front of which was covered with daisy’s and wore black leggings. She was nice. I asked her what she would say to God if he asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” She struggled a bit saying, “Because I never lost sight of you. I’ve always had you in my life.” Then she said she wished she had a more spot on way of saying it. I said I would give her one in a minute. She thought she had a 60% chance of going to Heaven. As I went through the Gospel with her she seemed familiar with the Gospel story. I asked what Jesus had done to take away her sins and she thought for a minute and said, “He was crucified.” I explained how God was paid, by the blood of Christ and about His righteousness. She got into the analogies somewhat and seemed under conviction. I quoted John 1:12 and said she had to believe in his name, not just know the Story but place her trust in that Jesus was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead. “So if someone asked you why God should let you into Heaven you’d just say, “Because Jesus died for me.” I said that was the thing she could say in brief and she seemed to have a moment of realization. Saying forgiveness was by faith I asked her if she wanted to be forgiven and she did. She said she felt like she had been “on the ledge” not truly giving herself over to God. I said something like “It’s kinda like you have not fully trusted in what Jesus had done to forgive you or told the Lord you wanted to trust in what he had done for you to be forgiven.” Yeah that,” she replied.  So I said there was a prayer she could pray and talked her through it and said she could pray it silently and be forgiven. She nodded and took the booklet and prayed in a soft voice to receive Jesus. I said the likelihood she would go to Heaven now was 100% trusting in the righteousness of Jesus. I explained living by the Spirit’s power now in her “Inside>Out” and I gave her ­Bible Promises for You I wrote her name and the date and forgiven and she was really happy with that. I gave her a Bible Study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and told her I would pray for her to be blessed each day until Spring and the entire next year. She thanked me. And I headed out of the PE building after saying hi to a couple girls I knew.

Sitting alone at a table, Marshall had his hair pulled back into a ponytail. His hair has some wave to it. If I had to guess he was mixed race in coloring. He had fair skin and a wide smile. Good looking kid with a sharp jaw line and the occasional freckle. His face had newbie sideburns and a patch under his chin and a thin mustache. He was sitting in front of a receipt-book for his power washing business and had on a white T-shirt and black sweats. He was talkative and friendly, energetic guy and threw off a young vibe. He went to a Vineyard Church. I asked him what He would say to God if he died and was asked why should I let you into Heaven. He started right in like he was talking, “Well God, like I been looking out my faith for a while and I follow the word of God and in your footsteps every day.” Then talking to me more he said, “I don’t feel entitled to heaven but I feel like I should.” “Like you belong there?” I asked and he agreed. He thought the likelihood he was going to Heaven was 100%. As I began to go through the Gospel with him he tuned right in and knew John 3:16. Then when I asked what the big thing was that God had done to take away his sins. He struggled then to be more clear, “What did Jesus do?”  he did not know. He tossed out some things someone would do. I pointed out those were things you would expect someone to do if they were a Christian but I’m asking you what God did. I started explaining to him then that Jesus had died and His blood cleansed him from sin and was a payment for sin.  I explained the righteousness of Christ to his Credit. And He had risen from the dead. Marshall did not seem to be familiar with the Gospel. I asked if he would want to be forgiven so God could live inside him. He said, “Yeah.” I said it did not seem like he had put all this together before, he nodded that he hadn’t. I explained there was a prayer he could pray and after going through it I asked if it was “The desire of his heart.” “Umhmm,” he replied. So I said he could pray it silently and only God would hear and he took the booklet and prayed in a soft voice and received Jesus. I explained the Christian life to him too living “Inside ≥ Out” by the Spirit’s power. I gave him Bible Promises for You which he said he thought was great and he’d keep it in his car and use the index to find a verse each day. He took a Bible Study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told him I would pray for him through a year from Spring. I’m not sure what kind of classes he’d signed up for but they began on campus in September. He told me he’d like to contact me then to do a Bible Study once in a while so I gave him my number. He went on to tell me about his business and some friends he had and he thanked me and I headed out of the cafeteria where we were sitting.

I went down one of the connecting halls on the ground floor of the BIC and there is a lounge half way down one of them. As I walked by I saw a couple girls sitting on couches so I thought I would go in and ask one of them. Ashlyn was the first person I asked and she was up for doing a survey. She was tall and quite pretty, had blonde hair and a diamond shaped face with a pointed chin, broad smile and the occasional freckle in just the right place. She wore a White T-shirt and had black pants that flared at the bottom. She had a “good person” vibe, describing herself as “Patient, Kind and Respectful” when I asked the 3 words to describe yourself question. I asked one thing she would like to do before she died and she said, “Get closer to God actually.” I asked her what she would say to God if asked why should I let her into Heaven. “I would say… umm, that’s a good question.” Then after a second she said, “Because I’ve walked with you for my whole life.” I asked what the likelihood was she would get into Heaven and she said “99.9%”. She said she lived a couple blocks from a church in Naperville that had actually let me baptize a girl there after their service. Her sister went there and she had gone “About 3 times”. As I went through the Gospel with her I assumed she was tracking well and asked what Jesus had done to take away her sins so the Spirit could live inside her. She struggled with that and said, “Well I know He loves you.” I agreed He did, and then began to explain how Jesus was a perfect payment for her sin and that we had to be perfect and we owed God something perfect for anything we did that damaged his stuff.   I explained that Heaven was not just a place but was the presence of God. You had to be transformed to be there, to be purified. Like if it was water and you had to be able to breath water. You had to be able to breath in God and if you were not made pure you’d be like a paper bag trying to hold fire. I explained all I usually say about the righteousness of God. I said that she had to believe this by faith. I explained that her good stuff could not fix her bad stuff. “Say you had a boyfriend for about 3 weeks, you thought he was pretty cool but then it turned out he was cheating on you and stealing your stuff, so you cut him loose,” She nodded that that would definitely happen. “Then he comes back in about a week and He says, ‘Ashlyn I know I did you wrong, I was even stealing your stuff and selling it for drug but I just want you to know I’m gonna be nice to my next 3 girlfriends.’” “That’s really horrible,” she exclaimed. “Right,” I said. “But some people think God is like that that if they do a bunch of good stuff it will make up for their bad stuff but when you make it personal you realize that would not work.” I told her then God has to change our bad stuff into good stuff, quoting Romans 8:28 and saying God controlled the future. I asked then if she would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done. She said she would. So I said it did not seem like she had put all this together before, and she nodded. I said there was a prayer she could pray to be forgiven and explained it asking if it was the desire of her heart. She said it was so I said she could pray it silently and be forgiven. She took the booklet then nodding and closed it. I said without thinking, “No, pray it right now,” I almost never have told someone to pray. But it might have been from the Lord as I don’t think she hadn’t understood she could because she was like “Oh,” and prayed to receive Jesus. I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front and a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet.  I told her I would be praying for her each day through the Spring and a year after and she thanked me.  I thanked her for talking with me and headed out as her class was gathering outside the door.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with good things. I had a good day on campus.

Kolton, Alex and Will each prayed with me to receive Jesus today. Their stories are below if you have time. Thanks for blessing the work with your prayers that I might find them. Andrew, a small Latino Catholic with round glasses saw the truth of the Gospel laid out for him clearly for the 1^st time and I think came to an understanding. He felt being Catholic he had believed already so hopefully he’ll fully trust in Jesus.

Kolton was sitting under the stairs in the PE building and had a square jaw and a full mop of sandy wavy hair with teenage skin. (He looked like a better hair version the actor Breckin Meyer, as seen in an ad for a movie I’ve never seen called “Road Trip”.) He wore a blue shirt and blue sweats. He said his brother was in a Bible study group and was really into it all but he wasn’t. We talked about the genetic scientific impossibility of evolution (mitochondrial “Eve” and “Y chromosome Adam” were now generally accepted the be the pair of humans everyone else came from) and about a former physical trainer he’d had. That guy who was “spiritual” seemed to believe in the “Well of Souls”, that we were preexistent before birth. I said we did exist as a thought in the mind of God as our names were written in the book of life from the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8). “So if God is thinking about you does that mean you in some manner exist, I don’t know,” I said. We talked about reincarnation and that it denied nearly everyone’s experience as no one they knew had any memories from a past life. I quoted Hebrews 9:27 to him. I suggested Karmic guilt from a life you could not remember and so did not learn from seemed implausible and it was a bad story, “Who wanted to keep having to do Junior high over and over again?” With the increase in world population where did all the extra souls come from if people were being reborn? He agreed.  I finally asked him what he would say if he’d died and God asked “Why should I let you into Heaven?” He said, “I don’t know. I’d probably say a couple different things… I’ve care greatly. I’d also like to see my relatives.” I asked if he had some who had died and he said he’d had a cousin that had live with their family for 7 years who had died young. She was close friend and they played together as kids. He thought that he’d have a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he knew Jesus had died for the sins of the world. I explained there was a payment to God in the Blood of Christ and God was just to forgive us. I explained the righteousness of God to our credit. He could believe by faith and put his trust in what Jesus had done for him. I asked in if he’d want to be forgiven, trusting in Christ. “For sure,” he replied. So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray. Talking him through it I asked if he’d want pray to be forgiven silently and God would hear. “Sure,” he replied. “This is a great booklet,” he said when he finished. I said he could keep it and explained living the Christian life by the Spirit’s power. I explained that now trusting in the righteousness of Christ to be his righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. ‘Thanks Bob, this was a great conversation,” he said. He did not have a Bible so I let him pick between the two I had one smaller than the other showing him the “Where to Turn” section in the one he picked explaining who had bought them for me to hand out. I put his name and the date and “Forgiven!” in the front. I also gave him a Bible study and Bible promises for You and The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet. I said he could quiz his brother and he agreed, amused, saying he’d “see how much he knew of this stuff”. He shook my hand and thanked me again and I told him I would pray for him and if I saw him around I’d give him a wave and headed off.

I went up an elevator a bit later and while in it thought I might go to the 3^rd floor having pushed 2. I got out at 2 and had the thought I really wanted to go to 3. I turned around to go to the elevator and saw Will as a result sitting off to my left at a folding table. There were 2 chairs there over by the door south of me, exiting the Student Services Lounge. I thought I’d ask him and then go upstairs but he enthusiastically said he do a survey. He had sharp features and was wearing a white tank top. His hair was light brown, he was good looking, kind of a surfer kid look. He seemed really up beat and I’d only asked him a couple questions when a girl walked up who was very visibly pregnant. She had a pretty wholesome face and wore a peasant style dress, she had long brown hair and could have gotten the part of “The Virgin Mary” in the Christmas play. He introduced her saying, “This is my fiancé Alex.” I stood up to shake her hand and asked if she’d like to do the survey too and she agreed. I insisted she take my chair, given her condition, which worked out great as I kneeled across from them. When asked one thing you’d like to do before you die, he thought he’d already said he’d like to go skydiving and she said after thinking a bit, “Well, I would have said, have a family but I already did that.” I said that was fine to say that, she hadn’t quite done it yet. (It turned out later she was due September 14^th but they were going to have to induce due to the risks of her being type 1 diabetic which he was as well.) I asked them what they would say to God if asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “You shouldn’t,” Will replied. I thought there would be a “but” after that but he said no more and then she said, “You shouldn’t,” also. I asked what the likelihood they would get into Heaven was, she said, “Zero.” “1%,” Will said. I said, “The last part of this is going through this little booklet with you it tells how you get to Heaven.” I actually do not use much of the booklet except the verses, with these Will seemed familiar. I write in it and explain things with other verses as well he hadn’t known. (The booklet is a version of the 4 laws which does not say, Jesus is God or mention His blood or righteousness or even Hell.) I began to go through scriptures with them and both of them knew Jesus had died for the sins of the world but neither had been trusting in that to save or even forgive them. I explained the righteousness of Christ to their credit. I asked if they would want to be forgiven. I said there was a prayer they could pray and they both wanted to be forgiven. And after I walked them through the prayer they each said, “Sure.” Will said he had done some evangelism with people. I said it was possible some had become saved listening to him. But he was not forgiven based on his responses to me, though he knew Jesus had died he had not trusted in that to be forgiven or have eternal life. So his actions were not of the indwelling Spirit. He then said he thought he could have been doing it for himself, not led by God. I explained living “Inside > out” trusting in the Holy Spirit’s power. They said they’d been looking for a church and I said Ellen and I could meet with them when they asked about a Bible study. They live in St Charles and he works a lot so I gave them my number if they thought later they wanted to meet. They both had Bibles and so I gave them each a Bible Study and Bible Promises for You writing their name and the date and “Forgiven!” in each one. I gave them each The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet. They were happy and we talked a bit more. They said they had named their girl “Desa” (pronounced like Odesa the city in Ukraine). I said I would pray for their little girl too that she would be a healthy baby that loved them and loved Jesus (having told them I would pray for them for the next school year and a year after). I said it was great to meet them and to feel free to call if they wanted to do a Bible Study.

Thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. God truly blessed. Please pray a blessing on these students as well.

In Him,

Bob