Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you are having a good weekend filled with joy in the Lord of Hosts. I’m a bit behind on my results as I have been digging out of the snow and had Valentine’s Day stuff. But I had a blessed day of Evangelism on Thursday and Kevin and Jayda each prayed to receive Jesus. Their stories are below if you have some time. Please pray they grow in their faith.

 Kevin was sitting in a lounge on the first floor, north side of the BIC building. He sat on the first cushioned bench as you enter the lounge, which emptied of all other students off to class as we talked. He had the hood up on a grey sweatshirt, a mop of sandy curls poured above his forehead, a slight build.  He wore black sweats and had a good-looking boyish face, his skin showing the stress of school. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and were asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” He thought for a minute with an Um and said, “I don’t think there’s an answer to that really. There’s no specific thing you can do to earn your way into Heaven.” I agreed you could not earn it, you’d never know when you had done enough. I asked what he thought the likelihood was he would go to Heaven when he died. “I don’t have an answer to that either,” he replied. He figured he had a chance though said 50%. He said he went to Church but, “Not as much as I should.” I started to go through the Gospel with him, asking what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world. He remembered He had died. I explained then how he was reconciled to God. The blood of Christ cleansed him and so God then could enter him by the Holy Spirit and Christ’s blood was a payment to God. He had a good sense of humor and like the illustrations. I explained the righteousness of God earned by Christ to his credit, that you don’t go to Heaven because you are good but because Jesus is good and you’re connected to Him. God adopted him. He was saved by receiving Christ, believing in His name, not by works. So I asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done or did he think something else giving him a cliff notes version of Islam and the Buddha. “Definitely that one,” he replied pointing to the circle with Christ inside his life. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and talked him through it asking if it expressed the desire of his heart. He said it did. I said he could pray it silently and asked if he’d like to he said, “Yeah,” and took the booklet and prayed to receive Christ. I explained the likelihood he would go to Heaven now was 100% trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus. 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 explained this was the symbolism I the Mass, the wafer was symbolic of His body and the wine His blood, it memorialized Jesus had died for him and he was forgiven so when he took it he should just say, “Thank you.” He was grateful and smiling and as I got up to go he reached out and shook my hand and said “Thank you.” “You’re welcome,” I replied and I said I’d see him around the college and headed off.

 Jayda was sitting in the lounge by the payment windows. She had her phone propped up against her purse and though I did not realize it immediately was on face time as we talked. She wore a peach-colored track suit that had a zip up hoodie. She had what I guess you’d call a handsome face, a little less feminine, wore no visible makeup, her features were not full in the classic Africa American profile. She had an athletic frame. She had very long thin braids that parted on the right and swept over her head and were tied into a knot behind her head making a ponytail. I asked her what she would say to God if she were hit by a bus and died and was asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “I deserve to be in Heaven,” she opined. “I have faith. I follow; I have what’s enough.” I asked her then what she had faith in saying, “You had faith in that chair before you sat down you just plopped down on it. So did I. I just assumed mine would hold me.” We sat in the same chairs across the table from each other. “I have faith in my path, in Him delivering me.” I asked the likelihood she would go to Heaven and she replied. “100%, I’m there.” I began to go through the Gospel with her and I asked what Jesus had done to take away her sin so God could live inside her. She said, “He forgives you?” I said he did and this was how it worked. Beginning to give her verse for the atonement. I said we owed God a perfect life as Jesus had said “You are to be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” We had not lived a perfect life. So I explained how Jesus had died and shed His blood and “the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.” I said this was how God got paid and why He could forgive her. Jesus earned the righteousness of God and it was too her credit. She would not go to Heaven because she was good but because Jesus was good and she was connected to Him. Then God adopted her and made her His child. I explained that she needed to receive Christ to believe, “Jesus is God, He died for your sins and rose from the Dead.” Not that she just knew the story but that that’s what she put her trust in to be forgiven. “So if someone would say to you, “Why should God let you into Heaven you’d say, “Because Jesus died for me. That would mean you had faith in Jesus and the Bible says that it’s by grace you are saved by faith,” I explained to her. I turned the page and showed the 2 circles and said, “Which person would you want to be? Would you want to be forgiven for your sins trusting in Jesus so he could live inside you…” She cut me off with an emphatic, “I’m here!” pointing to the circle with Christ on the throne of her life. I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I talked her through it and said, “It says here does this prayer express the desire of you heart?” She said it did. So I said she could pray it silently. “I read it,” she said. “OK, Amen?” I said. “Amen,” she replied and I reached out and fist bumped her. I gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I also gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. She thanked me. I offered her a Bible study but she said she was good. “I needed this today. Thank you,” she said. I said she was welcome. I told her I would keep her in my prayers each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless her. “Thank you, this is my going to church today.” She said and I got up to head off and in reply to whoever was on the phone she said, “Yeah he is.”

 So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism last week God truly blessed.

 In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day has left you warmed and filled by the Spirit. Pretty cold and snowy here, so they called off school in the afternoon and told everyone to skedaddle by 3. It was a ghost town by 2 PM but Brendan prayed to receive Jesus today. His story is below if you have some time. Please pray he grows in his faith. Znyia (pretty small black girl with long curly/wavy hair to her elbows) heard a quick expression of pretty much just the atonement. She was talking an on-line class on her laptop but wanted me to tell her the Bible Verses quick of how she could go to heaven. So I will hope to run into her again.

 Brendan was sitting in a set of sofa chairs in front of a round knee-high table with a hole in the middle. There’s a kind of a corner lounge at the foyer beside the door to the cafeteria. He had on a hoodie with a puffy black coat over it and light grey sweats. His straight hair was pulled back into a ponytail that went at least a foot down his back. He had a clean-shaven face and full cheeks, his features were sharp though, the bridge of his nose flattened slightly at the end, like it had been clay someone had pushed down and made a platform at the end you could place nickel on. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and He asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “Probably not that I deserve to get into Heaven…  immediately,” he replied. He thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. He went to a Catholic Church each week. He was a nice guy with an easy laugh. Each of the illustrations I say that you could take with slight amusement made him laugh a bit. For example I often say that when Jesus says, “this is eternal life, they know you” means that the Holy Spirit lives inside you. “Like you’re the Energizer Bunny and God’s the batteries, you keep going and going when you die it’s like you don’t die because God’s inside”. Then I will say, “but God can’t live inside you because of sin. You know the stuff that used to tick off your mom when you were a kid.” So he enjoyed listening. When I asked what Jesus had done to take away his sin so God could live inside him he knew, saying, “He died on the cross.” I agreed and began to explain that Jesus wanted to die and shed His blood. And I quoted 1John 1:7 “The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin”. So now you match God and He can live inside you. I explained it was how God was paid, that we owed Him a perfect life. So Jesus blood and righteousness was worth an infinite amount so it paid God back for all the imperfect things we had done to His world that we owed God something perfect to repay. I explained the righteousness of God to His credit quoting Isaiah 61:10 and Galatians 2:37. I said that all Jesus had done needed to be received by faith. “That you believe Jesus is God, He died for your sins and rose from the dead. Not that you just knew the story but that that’s what you place your trust in to be forgiven. So if someone would say to you, “Why should God let you into Heaven?” you’d say, “Because Jesus died for me.” That would mean you had faith in Jesus. Your works can’t save you because your good stuff can’t fix your bad stuff. I asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done, then He would live inside him and give him strength taking him to Heaven when he died. “Or do you think something else?” “The first one,” he replied. So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I talked him through it asking, “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?” He nodded aggressively without a word. So I said he could pray it silently, I wouldn’t hear but God would and he took the booklet and seriously said, “Thank you,” looking me in the eyes. He prayed then to receive Jesus. I told him he could keep the booklet and read through the Christian life list in the back saying, “Everything in the Christian life is “By the Spirit’s Power.” I explained living “Inside out”. 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 and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told him I would pray a Bible Verse for him each day until Spring and one year after. I said the likelihood he would go to Heaven now trusting in Jesus’ blood and righteousness was 100%. He was grateful and we said goodbye 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 Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a blessed day walking with the Lord. I had a good day on campus and Emily who had talked to on January 30^th, but asked if she would pray at home, today said she read the entire booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. Sam prayed to receive Jesus today too. Their stories are below along with my run in with the anti-evangelism wheelchair lady, if you have some time. Please pray they grow in their faith.

 Emily was sitting next to Sam two seats over. She has brown long hair and long bangs, an oval cute face, her oval eyes had eyeliner end commas for the illusion of an almond shape. She had her coat on. As I mentioned she said she’d red the entire booklet and prayed. She was friendly. She had said she was from a religious family when we first spoke. I had given her Bible Promises for You. When I had asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven she’d said, “I always like being there for people, supporting them.” She was sure she would go to Heaven because she came from a “really religious family they got me into God and everything.” She somehow had not understood the Gospel at all but wanted to be forgiven and asked, “Can I pray this at home?” I said sure and she headed off and she said she’d prayed today. After speaking with her I walked over to Sam.

 Sam is a huge 6’4” D-back for the football team He was wearing a black watch cap with a Carhartt square label on the fore head. He also had on a black puffy coat and wore jeans. He had a round face with a smooth bump nose and a warm smile, great guy. He was sitting at the base of the staircase near the entrance to the bookstore in an oversized chair he filled up. I asked Sam, 2 seats over if he wanted to do a survey. (It might have helped that he’d heard the pretty Latina girl to his left had talked with me.) He said he’d do a survey so I sat on his right and went through the survey. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven. “Well God’s supposed to be forgiving. So I would say… I don’t really know,” he admitted. He thought he had a 75-80% chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him. He knew when I asked him what God had done to take away his sins, that Jesus had died. He listened to the truth that Jesus blood had cleansed him so God could live inside him and was a payment to God for what he had done. Because Jesus had earned all righteousness he would not go to Heaven because he was good but because Jesus was good and he was connected to him. I explained he received Christ by faith and grace by faith saved him. About then an overweight dye job red headed lady in an electric wheel chair rolled up and interrupted our conversation. She’s done this before at school every once in a while. She lined up her chair as if she was going to talk to Emily parking just off his seat. Then she interrupted us off her left shoulder speaking only to Sam. She asked if he wanted to talk to me, and was this conversation something he was interested in. He said it was and smiled at her pleasantly. “Because if you don’t’ want to talk to him we can do something about that right now,” She put in. He ignored her statement. She has never told me her name but seems simply to hate evangelism. I very quietly then suggested to Sam it was strange she’d think I could pressure him into anything, he grinned. She interrupted again and saying I had very “subtle pressures”. (I actually never pressure anyone as it’s a drag to talk to people who are disinterested. God just makes some people want to talk to me. So I just kept taking to Sam. She never stuck around before to hear what I say so today I spoke softly after. She began playing something on her phone really loud and finally gave up and tried talking to Emily getting her name. (Another guy, D, told me today her name is Elizabeth, might be. She’s an older white lady. He said she once complained to the cops he was playing his music too loud. D’s a tough fair skinned black guy. He just told the cops she was harassing him so they left. When he talked to the cops later complaining about her they told him she was handicapped so he had to let it go. Anyway she’s 0 for 5 or so going after people I talk to or trying to interrupt. I talked with Kiyla on January 27 in the cafeteria at the counter she seemed to deliberately run into the leg of her chair with her wheel transport. Kiyla ignored her agreeing she was mean and kept talking to me. So far the students just politely tell her that yes they want to talk to me and then later pray to receive the Lord. In fall she rolled up to me and told me I was dumping on students. I just walked away after repeating what she said back to her adding, “That’s great.”.) Sam said “The first one,” when I asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus or thought something else. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I read it through. Something from the discussion I was tuning out distracted him during it and he said, “What?”. I asked again if he thought he’d like to pray the prayer silently and know he was forgiven. “OK,” he replied and prayed to receive Jesus. I told him the likelihood he would go to Heaven now trusting in the Blood and Righteousness of Jesus was 100%. He said, “Thank you.” I explained the Christian life living By the Spirit’s Power” I said God could give him strength and help him even in a game helping him to see the offense, which put an interested expression on his face. I explained the Christian life was “Inside Out”. 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 with a piece of Strobel’s story. Finally I gave him a Bible study. I said I would pray a Bible verse for him each day asking God to bless him from now until Spring and one year after since I did not know if I would see him again. He said, “Thank you,” again and I said, “Sure,” and I headed off.

 I don’t know what the woman in the electric wheelchair said about me after I left, but I really don’t care. I only care that Sam held on to what Jesus had said about him.

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

 Peace,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a good day today walking with the Lord so far. I had a good day on campus and Thomas and Mercy, each prayed to receive Christ today after I told them the Gospel. Their stories are below if you have the time today. Please pray they each grow in their faith.

 Thomas was sitting in the long wide hallway that runs along the bookstore. He was sitting in come stuffed chairs in front of a circular ottoman. He had real short reddish-brown hair and black rectangle rim glasses. He had a ready smile of small teeth. He’s a smaller guy and was wearing a blue hoodie and light blue jeans—kind of baggie bell-bottoms (like Sunday’s half time rapper so I guess they are trending). He had the book-smart look. He said he hoped he’d get a stable career. I asked, “Say you are 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?” “Heavy question,” he replied and thought a bit and said, “I’ve been following God my whole life. I’m a Christian, though I haven’t been to church a lot lately. I’m a follower of Christ.” He thought he had an 80-90% chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him and told him God wanted know him, this meant to live inside him but the problem was sin. I asked him what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world and he knew Jesus had died. So I went on to explained the sacrifice of Christ and His cleansing blood that also paid for his sins. I explained Christ’s righteousness to his credit. I explained what Christ had done for him was his by receiving Christ by faith. Grace by faith saved him not works. I showed him the two circles then one where he’d ask for forgiveness for his sins and Christ would live inside him by the Holy Spirit and then the other where God is on the outside of your life, as in Islam where their god does not live inside them, is not a father, did not have a son, there’s no sacrifice for sin so they have a different God and a CliffsNotes version of the Buddha. “So when you’re asking for forgiveness for your sins have you been thinking, ‘I know I’ll be forgiven ‘cause Jesus died for me’ or were you hoping you’re good enough for God to forgive you? I know you knew the story but do you think you have placed your trust in that?” “I haven’t really thought about it a ton, I’m not gonna lie,” he replied. “Well, if you’d want to be forgiven for your sins trusting in what Jesus did there’s a prayer you can pray,” I replied and I talked him through the prayer and asked reading the line, “It says here, ‘Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?’ So would you say it does?” “Yeah I think it does,” he replied affirmingly. So I said he could pray it silently, “I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven. Wanna do that?” I asked. “OK,” he replied and he prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to him living by the Spirit’s power and “Inside Out,” asking God to transform him into a good man to do good things. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I also gave him a Bible Study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I said that I would pray a Bible Verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless him. I told him the likelihood he would not go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the Blood and Righteousness of Jesus to be forgiven. “Thanks for your time, I’ll see you in Heaven. Have a good one,” I said getting up to go. “Thank you, you too,” he replied and I headed off.

Mercy was sitting in a stuffed chair in the foyer outside the cafeteria. She was kind of squeezed in just kitty corner from some Muslims who appeared to be having a bake sale with Qurans on the table. I slid a folding chair from a different table on the other side of her so we could talk. She was from Cameroon in Africa. “Oh that’s supposed to be nice, by the ocean right.” I said and she agreed it was nice there; she had a slight accent. She had a round face and cheeks and had traditional full lips and a cute smooth nose and a stout build. She wore Jeans and had a sweatshirt, not very tall. No hair was visible (so I assume it was short) and she wore a light blue denim hat, frayed around the rim like cutoffs. It looked the style like a sailor’s hat with the rim pulled down (think Gilligan on Gilligan’s Island).  I asked her what she would say to God if she died and were asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “I believe my lifestyle is going to tell Him. He’s not to be questioned. If he sees you [have been moral] then he’s going to give it to you. If you live right then you’ll get into Heaven. If you live wrong He’s not going to give it to you,” she replied. She thought she had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. I went through the Gospel with her as well and she knew Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world. So I explained the atonement to her and payment for her sins in the sacrifice of Jesus blood, saying this was how God was paid. But He had to pay himself. Jesus’ righteousness could be to her credit and this was prophesied in Isaiah 61:10 and explained in Galatians 3:27 where Paul explains we are “clothed with Jesus”. Finally I explained receiving Jesus and grace by faith. I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in Jesus, then He would live inside her and give her strength and take her to Heaven or did she think something else showing her the two circles. She pointed at the circle with Christ seated on the throne of her life. I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. I talked her through it and asked if it expressed the desire of her heart. She said it did. I said to her as well that she could pray it right now, I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear and she’d know she was forgiven. “Wanna do that?” I asked. Then kind of musically with a pitch she said “Hmm… OK,” deciding. She took the booklet then and prayed to receive Jesus. So that was great. I talked her through the booklet adding some things. She had a Bible to read. I told her everything in the Christian life was living by the Spirit’s power. “You might go to Church and they’d say, ‘You should do this, you should do that.’ And you think this is great but I’m going to forget this by Wednesday.” She agreed. “But if you want to in that moment you can say to God, ‘please make me this kind of person,’ then if you forget by Wednesday it does not matter because God is already at work. The difference between Christianity and other religions is that in other religious you do good things on the outside and the deity is pleased with you and takes you to Heaven or the universe is pleased with you and you don’t come back as a cow or something, that’s not true anyway. But in Christianity you ask God to transform you on the inside, then you become a good person and you do good things.”  That sounded good to her. I gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” inside. I gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible study on ways Jesus claims to be the God of the Old Testament. I got up to go and she said, “Thank you,” then she reached in her purse quickly and handed me a $5 bill. “Thanks that’s OK I said,” refusing the money. “People give me money so I can buy books to give to people so I don’t need it from you.” This seemed to please her as she smiled. I told her I would pray a Bible verse for her each day asking God to bless her from now until Spring and one year after. She was grateful and I headed off.

So thanks for your prayer 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 all good things as the Lord promises to them that walk uprightly, so I’m praying God would make me upright. I had a good day on campus and talked mostly with Christians who enjoyed learning some new ways to talk about the Gospel, or wanted some advice. Alenka prayed to receive Jesus Wednesday. Her story in below if you want to take time to read it. Please pray she grows in her faith.

 Alenka was sitting on a counter height table on the second floor overlooking the lounge by the MAC Theatre. She was wearing a black and white plaid flannel shirt and black pants; she had rectangle black plastic rimmed glasses. She had a cleft chin and dark brown hair in a shag haircut, she had a kind sweet personality when I asked her 3 words to describe herself she said, “Little Quiet, changing, little hopeful.” She said she came from a Roman Catholic background and her family was originally from Slovakia but she had never been there. I said I’d never been to Sweden where my family was from, (at least more from there than anywhere else). I asked her what she would say to God if she died and He asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “I hope I was a good enough person.” I asked her what the likelihood was that she would go to Heaven when she died. “I don’t think that’s my place to say, He does that,” she replied. I agreed it would not seem like in the moment you could argue with God about it. I began to go through the Gospel with her saying God had to take away her sin. So like a blood transfusion, where you had to have the same kind of blood, God had to first make her His type so He could live inside her. I asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sins, she said, “The Eucharist.” I said what he did was symbolized in that and I went on to explain how the blood of Jesus cleansed her and was how God got paid. The righteousness of Jesus was too her credit and I told her an analogy of extra credit in a class. Jesus earned the righteousness of God, which was to her credit when she was clothed with Jesus and the Father adopted her. “Like if you marry a millionaire you got a million bucks. Or if you get adopted by a billionaire you get to live in the mansion and drive the cars. So God adopts you into His family and he gives you 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 and He fills you with His Holy Spirit. So you got some place to go, Heaven and something to wear when you get there, the righteousness of God.” She was bright and engaged the entire time and it was great to talk to her. I said that all this God had done for her. So how does she hook up with it to know she is going to Heaven? The Bible say you believe it or receive it. “As many as received Him to them he gave the right to become children of God. So you’re a child of God if you believe Jesus is God he died for my sins and rose from the dead. Not that you just know the story from growing up with it but that that’s what you place your trust in so that if someone asked you, ‘Why should God let you into Heaven?’ you’d say, ‘Because Jesus died for me.’ That would mean you had faith in Jesus.” Then the Bible says, “It’s by grace you are saved through faith, it’s not from yourselves it’s a gift from God and not by works so no one can boast.” So you should do good things to please God or you’d be a hypocrite but the good things that you do they wouldn’t fix your bad things. Like say you had a boyfriend for about 3 weeks. You thought he was pretty cool but then you found out he was cheating on you and stealing your stuff, so you cut him loose. Then he comes back in about a week and he says, “I know I did you really wrong, I was even stealing your stuff and selling it for drugs. But I just want you to know I’m gonna be nice to my next three girlfriends.” You’d be like, “that doesn’t help me at all, you can’t do good things over there to fix your bad things here.” But that’s how some people think it works but God says he has to turn your bad things into good things. It says in Romans 8:28 that all things work together for good for them that love God and are called according to His purposes. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done so He could then live inside her to give her strength and bring her to Heaven when she died, or thought something else She said she’d want to be forgiven. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I talked her through it and asked if it expressed the desire of her heart. She agreed it did. “You could pray it silently right now, I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven” I said.  “Maybe really quick,” she said meekly. She took the booklet and prayed then to receive Jesus. When she finished she looked at me and said, “Thank you.” I said, “You’re welcome.” I explained the Christian life to her then, Living “By the Spirit’s Power Inside Out.” I said I would pray a Bible verse for her each day from now until Spring and one year after, asking God to bless her. I gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I also gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible study. I said, “You might disagree with me but I think now the likelihood you will go to Heaven is 100% trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus.” She smiled. I got up to go and she said, “Thank you, you have really good analogies.” I thanked her again. And I headed off.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism if you’ve had a chance, God really blessed this week and 7 students prayed to receive Jesus.

 In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with good things from above, like manna in the wilderness the snacks of Heaven. It’s too cold today to envy gathering any manna but I had a good day of evangelism on campus and Zach and Stepan (not a spelling error but related to a similar English version of Stephen) both prayed to receive Jesus. Their stories are below if ya got some time, please pray they grow in their faith. I also spoke with a Wheaton College student for a while at a table set up by The College Church in town (it’s not connected to the academic school at all it’s just across the street). The school had become so woke he said was thinking of a transfer out of it.

 Zach was sitting in a lounge at a table up on the 3^rd floor of the BIC. He had a grey poly long sleeve shirt on and black sweats. He was a lean well-built kid about my height, dark brown hair and a black ball cap turned backwards. He had a couple days growth of beard. Good-looking guy. He reached out and shook my hand as I sat down. He hadn’t been living the Christian life but seemed to know the Gospel a bit. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and God asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” He thought a while and finally said, “Probably say You shouldn’t. I was baptized as an infant and in the last years I’ve let it slip away from me. So my honest answer would be you shouldn’t.” “Yeah, no reason to lie,” I said. He agreed. He said he had gotten busy and he’d had a girlfriend, she seemed to be past tense. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he believed in Jesus and seemed to know Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world. I explained all of the Gospel I usually do and he tuned in following very closely. He seemed interested to hear the way I explained the blood that cleansed him and the righteousness of Christ to his credit. He took salvation by faith to heart and I asked him if he would want to trust in what Jesus had done for him or thought something else. “Definitely,” he replied. So I explained that if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and after talking him through it I asked if it was the desire of his heart. He said it was. I said he could pray it silently and he said taking the booklet, “Can I have this?” “Sure, but if you wanted you could pray right now and know you were forgiven,” I replied. “OK,” he said and prayed then to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to him about reading the Bible and he said, “A friend of mine at the gym said he was starting a Bible Study this week and I said I would come.” I was grateful to hear that and said that was “Great”. I said that the Christian life was “By the Spirit’s Power”. I continued saying, “Say you go to Church and they say, ‘you should do this you should do that’ and you are like, ‘This is great but I’m going to forget this by Wednesday.’ But if you wanted to you could ask God, ‘Make me this kind of man.’ Then if you forgot by Wednesday God is already at work.” I explained that Christianity was “Inside Out not outside in”. “You ask God to transform you on the inside you become a good man and God transforms you on the outside.” I gave him Bible Promises for You showing him some of the topics and writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and told him Strobel’s story. I also gave him a Bible study on ways Jesus claims to be the same God as the God of the Old Testament. I said the likelihood he would go to Heaven now was 100% trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus. I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until a year from Spring asking God to bless him. We talked some more and I got up to go. He reached out and shook my hand and said, “Thank you. I appreciate you coming and sitting down and talking to me. Thank you for everything.” I said, “Your welcome.” And I headed off grateful.

 I came across Stepan sitting with his legs swung over a chair in a lounge on one of the arbor patios on the 1^st floor. He was up for doing a survey and I sat down next to him and he swung around to talk. He had an oval face like of the Pillsbury Dough Boy look. He wore clear rimmed classes semi round frames. He had on a white T-shirt and faded blue jeans. He had stick straight light brown hair the bangs were no more than an inch and pointed out. He had a bit of facial hair trying to make it, mustache and chin.  He was a kind nice person.  I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven if he died and he said, “You shouldn’t.” “Is there a ‘but’ in there or anything?” I asked. Well to me it’s mediocrity [the problem]. I don’t know if I’m worthy or what it takes.” He thought he had a 100% chance of going to Heaven nonetheless. He said J Cole (the rap artist) had a song “Snow on the Bluff”, where he said, “Well maybe ’cause deep down I know I ain’t doing enough.” He said it was about Cole thinking he thought he was trying but maybe he was not using his celebrity to do enough to change things socially. I read the lyrics on line when I got home and I think he’d gotten the point of the song. And when it comes to the message that you have to earn salvation, how would you know you had ever done enough with what God gave you? I began to go through the Gospel with him and he knew Jesus had died. He would say, “OK” a couple times as I went through following along. We were alone in the lounge. I finished talking about the blood and righteousness of Christ cleansing him and paying for his sin and too his credit. “Makes sense,” he said. So I said all Jesus had done for him could be his by faith, believing Jesus was God had died for his sins and rose from the dead. Then I read that it was grace, he had been saved by faith. Not then by works, his good stuff could not fix his bad stuff. I explained that thinking it would was really a category error in logic, you can’t do a different kind of good thing unrelated to another and repair the bad you had done. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done. Then He would live inside him giving him strength and take him to Heaven when he died. Or did he think something else. He said he would want to be forgiven. So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray. I talked him through it and asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. “I think it does,” he agreed. I said then he could pray it silently, I wouldn’t hear him but God would hear and he’d know he was forgiven. “Wanna do it?” I asked. “Yeah,” he replied and he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life then to him, he had a Bible to read. I explained to him also living “By the Spirit’s Power” “Inside Out”. I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. He was grateful. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and told him a bit of Strobel’s story. I gave him a Bible study also. I said the likelihood he would go to Heaven now was 100% trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus. I told him I would keep him in by prayers when I scribbled something down to remember him saying I’d pray a Bible verse for him each day until a year from Spring asking God to bless him and that I might not be able to picture him by this time next year but I’d try. “I’ll return the favor,” he replied and he wrote some notes in the booklet of what I looked like saying he’d pray for me and I thanked him as he noted I had blue eyes. His were grey. We talked about AI. He wanted to be an accountant. He said his dad drove a truck sometimes (an owner operator) and crossed state lines when I explained Ellen’s job. I finally got up to go and said, “Thanks for talking with me, it was really nice to meet you.” “Nice to meet you too Bob,” he said. “Have a good one.” I said, “You too,” and 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 Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you were blessed so far today with life and peace. I had a good day on campus and James, Melody, Quami and Shaun each prayed to receive Jesus today. If you have a moment please pray they each grow in their faith in Christ. There stories are below if you have the time to spend.

 James was sitting in the east side of the science and Health buildings on a second-floor balcony at a table that overlooked the lounge dividing the two buildings. He was wearing khaki pants and a dark grey t-shirt. He had a rag mop of dark hair parted on the side making a wave across his forehead. Looked like he hadn’t showered in a couple days and had about 3 days’ worth of beard on his large oval face and was working on an extra chin, big guy. But if there’s not a pretty girl in your class who cares—at his age. It’s not uncommon for me to talk to a girl in the science building who looks like she just rolled out of bed and pulled on some sweats. I’d walked by him once but he’d looked like he was studying on a dark grey laptop. I asked if he’s like to do a student survey for a Bible Study group. He said he was going to a Bible Study on Thursday. “Oh is that Intervarsity?” I asked but that didn’t seem to sound familiar as he got a look on his face like he wasn’t sure so I said, “Would you like to hear the big metaphysical question to think about until Thursday or are ya busy?” “Sure,” he said in a friendly way. “Say 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?” “That’s a good question,” he replied. He said something about hoping he’d done enough. “Would you like to hear some Bible verses that tell you how to get to Heaven?” I asked. “Sure,” he said. So I began to go through the Gospel with him. I told him God took away his sins so he would be perfect and Holy inside and God could live inside him. I asked what God had done to take away his sins. “He forgives you,” he replied. I agreed and said, “What does he do so He can forgive you.” He couldn’t think of anything so I said, “What’s the big thing Jesus does to take away the sins of the world?” “Oh his sacrifice on the cross,” he replied. “Right. Sorry I didn’t ask the question right,” I said. He smiled and half laughed and said, “No problem.” I went on to explain the rest of the Gospel and he knew of course knew the atonement and so I explained Jesus’ blood cleansed us and was how God was paid so He could forgive us. I explained the righteousness of God to his credit and that God adopted him. He was saved receiving Christ, that he believed Jesus was God had died for his sins and rose from the dead, not that he just knew the story but that that’s what he places his trust in to be forgiven for his sins. And grace by faith. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done, then He would live inside him and give him strength by the Spirit and he’d know he was going to Heaven. “Or is God on the outside of your life?” I asked, and briefly explained Islam and the Buddha. Saying then, “So when you are asking for forgiveness for your sins are you thinking in your heart that you hope you’ve been good enough and God would forgive you? Or are you thinking I know I’ll be forgiven for my sin because Jesus died for me. I could tell you knew the story.” “Yeah, I was raised in the Catholic Church,” he put in. “So were you trusting in what Jesus had done or were you hoping you were good enough?” “Definitely the later,” he replied. “Well, if you’d want to be forgiven for your sins there’s a prayer you can pray,” I turned to the prayer and read through it saying what it meant. And asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. He said it did. So I said he could pray it silently and I wouldn’t hear him but God would hear and he’d be forgiven. “Wanna do that?” I asked and he nodded and took the booklet and prayed to receive Christ. I went through the Christian life with him and he had a Bible so I told him the Christian life was living “By the Spirit’s Power,” and gave him an example of asking God to change him on the Inside and then he would do good things on the outside. I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I gave him a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. “Well ya got a Bible study to go to so that’s cool I’ll pray a Bible verse for you each day until Spring and one year after asking for God to bless you” I said. I showed him the card with the survey on it and the question asking how likely he thought it was he’d go to Heaven and explained that now trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus it was 100%. He said “OK,” seemed please and I headed out.

 I came across Melody in the PE building on the ground floor of the lounge. She was pretty and had her curly/wavy hair in a very short boy’s haircut. She had on a black shrink top and plaid long pants. Though African American in coloring and accent, her features were Caucasian, small nose and a sharp jaw line. I had spoken with her before but it was only to quickly go through the Gospel and leave her with a booklet. She’d been sitting under the stairs by the bookstore last year but I had forgotten her. Now she was sitting at a table alone and said we’d talked and I’d given her a booklet and just the other day she had read it, “Now all I need to do is get a Bible,” she said. I said I had a couple Bibles and if she’d like one I would give her one. She picked the more compact of the two. I asked if she had prayed the prayer in the booklet. She didn’t seem to know what I had meant. So I said a couple things and then explained the prayer. She said she’d read it but she had not prayed it. I asked if she would want to pray it and she said, “Yes,” and she prayed to receive Christ. I waited wanting to make sure I spelled her name right and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I said I would pray for her each day until a year from Spring asking God to bless her. She thanked me and I went and sat down for a minute and wrote her name in Bible Promises for You and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and I went back and showed them to her, “Can I have this one?” she asked of the promise book and I said they were both for her. I also gave her a Bible study and said if I saw her I would wave she smiled and said “OK” and I headed upstairs.

Quami was on the second-floor sort of laying on his side (like the last super) on a couch wearing a grey hoodie and light grey sweats. His head was on his backpack looking at his phone. Good looking African American guy he had a square chin with a bit of a beard and a mustache.  His dockworker block nose had small raised bumps on the end of it. I couldn’t remember seeing on a nose before, but I’m always grateful for something on a face to help me remember someone. He had an afro stacked straight up 5 inches but the top of it ended in thin 4-inch braids. He didn’t look that tall but said he wanted to play in the NFL. I talked about a friend I knew who made the NFL and asked if he played corner. He said he did so I asked if he had hops and he smile a proud grin saying he did. I asked if he knew a guy had gone to school here for a year that played I the Super Bowl, he knew. I asked what he would say to God if he died and He asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “I’d be like, ‘I’m a great individual at heart and I followed your ways,’” he paused a moment and added, “And I didn’t commit any really big sins.” He thought he the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. He went to Church. I began to go through the Gospel with him then and he knew Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world. I explained how Jesus’ blood and righteousness had cleansed him quoting 1 John 1:7. “I understand,” he said. I also explained the righteousness of God and how because Jesus did the work it was worth an infinite amount because he was God. He would not go to Heaven because he was good but because Jesus was good and he was connected to him. I compared it to a Quarter Back who wasn’t really that good but had a great Offensive line and a great running back and they made him look good. “And guys to throw it to,” he added.” I agreed, “He could just throw it up and they would go get it.” “He’s got his people,” he replied. Right Jesus is all your people. He liked that and stretched back listening with a grin. I explained he had to receive Christ, to believe He was God and died for his sins and rose from the dead. Not Just knowing the story but putting his trust in that. I explained everything and asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus. “I want to be forgiven for my sins,” he replied. So I said there was a prayer he could pray and I began to read through and explain it and realizing he was praying it as I went I paused a bit after the phrases. So I asked if it was the desire of his heart and he said it was so I asked if he wanted to pray it silently. “I was reading it,” he replied. “OK, Amen?” Amen,” he confirmed. I fist bumped him. I went through the Christian life with him. He said he had an app on his phone to read the Bible and had one at his mom’s also. I explained living by the Spirit’s power. I gave him, Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “Forgiven!” on the inside. “For real,” he said seeing the word. “Yeah,” I said. “Things have been going… I needed some guidance,” he said. “That’s why God sent me along,” I replied. I said the likelihood he would now go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the Blood and Righteousness of Jesus. I asked if he liked to read and he said “I like to listen. I can see things too.” I told him he was what’s called an auditory learner so I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and said he could look for the author’s stuff on line. “I appreciate you so much,” he said as I got up to go. And I stood up and shook his hand and said “Thanks.”

 I cut across to the BIC building outside, rare to do in January. I sat and wrote some notes down and just down the second-floor hall I came across Shaun sitting on a row of chairs. An African American he had a nylon cap on and some thick braids coming down from under it. His black jeans had no knees left, he wore a hoodie and a T-shirt. He had a wiry build and looked a bit like Russell Brand in profile, from the front his nose was flatter, he had high cheek bones a more Caucasian mouth. Nice guy he said he wanted to buy his mom a house. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven. The question really made him think and he said, “It’s a bigger question than that,” he felt like the answer would be longer than the question, to clarify. Finally he said, “I’m not too sure. I pray to Him. And then we’ve all done some good and some bad. I just pray and ask God to forgive,” he finally concluded. He thought he would have an 80% chance of going to Heaven. It seemed like he used to go to Church regularly but now he went mostly on Holidays and then thinking about it he said he just went on Holidays. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he didn’t immediately know what Jesus had done to take away his sins. I explained all of the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins and the cleansing blood of Christ as a payment for what he had done. “Hum,” he responded listening. I explained this was how God got paid so He could forgive him. I told him about the righteousness Christ earned to his credit. God wanted to adopt him and that he needed to receive Christ to believe Jesus is God, died for his sins and rose from the dead. This was a gift of God’s grace by faith. His good stuff could not fix his bad stuff. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done or if he thought something else. “This one right here,” he replied pointing to the circle with Christ inside him on the throne of his life. “Well if you want to be forgiven there’s a prayer you can pray,” I said and explained the prayer talking him through it. I asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. “Umhum,” he replied. I said he could pray it silently. “Ok, can I keep this?” he paused and asked of the booklet. I said, “Sure,” and he prayed then to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to him then, he had a Bible and I said everything in the Christian life was “By the Spirit’s Power” and that Christianity was living inside out, first asking God to change him on the inside so he would do good on the outside and then in everything he should “Just Ask”. God would help him in all things. I told him that the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the Blood and Righteousness of Christ. I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I also gave him, The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible Study. I told him I would pray for him each day through Spring and one year after asking God to bless him. I told him I would see him in Heaven and he should look for me. “Ok it’s Bob right?” I said it was. Good to meet you,” I said. “Good to meet you too sir,” 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 Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day has been a good one walking in the Light as He is in the Light. 6 students received Christ this week. I had a good day on campus Thursday and Ryan prayed to receive Christ. Emily, the last person spoke to in the day said she wanted to be forgiven. She had brown hair an oval cute face, her oval eyes had eyeliner end commas for the illusion of an almond shape, wore a pretty white print blouse. Latina I believe. She’d turned over her phone to ignore texts, (which turned out to be from her ride) for a few minutes so I could finish and asked if she could pray at home. I said, “Sure,” and gave her Bible Promises for You. So hopefully she will pray and I’ll bump into her again to find out she did. If you have a moment to pray two would be drawn closer to God I’d appreciate it.

Ryan was on the top floor of the PE lounge his back to a half wall separating out the equipment area. He had a reddish-brown beard and a collared shirt shaggy short hair and looked mature; a bit older than the usual student. He said he’d seen me around since last year but lately he had been trying to take faith seriously. It seemed this was provoked by encouragement from a girl with whom he was now serious. He had a lot of enthusiasm for the church he attended and the pastor. But Ryan had a works righteousness faith, which would be in keeping with what a friend I have who attended there in high school says it the basic message. A couple years back I had attended his Church, a large one west of my house by at least 30 minutes by car. The pastor there had offered a relationship with God never once explaining the atonement in any way. Neither the cross nor sin was mentioned or even Christ rising from the dead. It was announced 30 people had raised their hand to come to Christ at the end of the service in response. So I was not surprised Ryan was not saved. He hoped he’d be more likely to go to Heaven when he became more consistent in religious activates and knowledge for a longer period of time. He had kind of a weighted idea of how he’d hope to be judged that God would look more at his recent efforts. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” He said, “Umm, probably at this point—very recently I’ve started to become more religious—I’d hope that he would judge on recent events more than everything [from the past].” He thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven when I asked. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he knew Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world. So I explained that Jesus blood cleansed him and was a payment to God for all he owed. Jesus earned the righteousness of Christ and this was to his credit if God adopted him. All Christ had done could be his along with the Holy Spirit living in Him if he received Christ. He must believe Jesus was God, had died for his sins and rose from the dead. But not that he just knew the story but that he placed his trust in that to be forgiven. So if someone would ask him, “Why should God let you into Heaven?” he’d say, “Because Jesus died for me.” He asked me a question or two as I went through and I answered those questions too as he ate a late lunch. Finally I asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else. “Be forgiven, that one,” he said about the circle on the right. So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I walked him through asking if it expressed the desire of his heart. He said it did and nodded his head. So I said he could pray it silently and he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to Him “By the Spirit’s Power” and living “Inside Out”. I answered some other questions for him about the faith of the Jews in the Old Testament. I taught him a bit and I gave him Bible Promises for You I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet; he had never heard of Strobel. I also gave him a Bible study. We talked quite a while but I never criticized his Church as it seemed to have some aspects he thought would be good for a life of fellowship. I don’t criticize Churches as I believe people can grow in an unhealthy Church and the Spirit will lead them elsewhere in His time, if need be. Students are so spread out that I wouldn’t know what church to send them too anyway and I often do not know where they live. I told him I would pray for him through next Spring and one year after. I explained to Ryan that now trusting in the Blood of Jesus and His righteousness imputed to him the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I got up to go and he looked me in the eye and said, “Thank you.” I said “Sure.” And I headed off down the stairs.

 So thanks for your prayer 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 filled with Joy and you could Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; [Psa. 3 7:7] I had a good day on campus and Cody, Nyla and Anthony each prayed with me to receive Jesus. So that was great. I also went through the Gospel very fast with Trevor [oval face, black ball cap, smooth shaven, slight guy with braces on his teeth). He had almost no time before class and had talked with someone at a table. I slipped the question in on him and in reply he had a works righteousness thing going on. He said he’d go to Heaven by keeping the Commandments. “Have you ever told a lie?” I asked. “Yeah,” he replied. “Then you broke the commandment not to bear false witness against your neighbor,” I replied with a smile. I said God wanted to live inside him with His Spirit. I then took a booklet saying I could very quick show him some verses, so very fast touched on the points and showed him a prayer he could pray. “Thanks for going fast,” he replied and I said sure and headed off. I’ll pray for him some and hope to bump into him again.  I’d be grateful for your prayers to bless them and ask God to help them grow in faith. Their stories are below if you have some time.

 Cody is African American and was sitting in the PE lounge on the upper floor at a table by himself, his back to the wall holding a window looking out to the pool. He had on a black hoodie and light grey sweats with a black stripe up the sides. His hair was in tight ringlets about 5 inches long about as wide as the end of a Q-tip. He his nose was something of a flat triangle not very wide, he was shorter and his smaller face had sharp edges, good looking guy. His mustache and bit of chin beard were giving it a try. When I asked him one thing he wanted to do before he died he said, “Have a family.” which is the telling response that always means someone will pray to receive Jesus. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “Ahh…” he said thinking. “Right now would be, I don’t think I’d be worthy of going. I guess [it depends on] how I did, I did with my life. Then go from there.” I asked him the likelihood he would get into Heaven, a %. “I wouldn’t really know. I don’t know I hope that I do.” He listened closely to the Gospel. I explained God had to take away his sins so He could live inside him and he knew Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world. I went on to explain the atonement that he knew and the Righteousness to His credit. He had to receive Him, to believe Jesus is God he died for his sins and rose from the dead. Not that he just knew the story but that he placed his trust in that to be forgiven and then if someone would say, “Why should God let you into Heaven?” he’d say, “Because Jesus died for me.” That is faith in Jesus. He could be saved by faith. I asked if he wanted to trust in what Jesus had done to be forgiven or did he think something else. “Be forgiven,” he said. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray. I talked him through it and asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. He nodded. I said he could pray it quietly and I wouldn’t hear him but God would. He had a thought that distracted him for half a second. I asked if he’d want to do it. “Do what?” he asked coming out of a split-second muse. “Pray this prayer” I said. “Oh. Yeah,” he replied and he prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to him living, “By the Spirit’s Power.” And that Christianity was living “Inside Out not Outside in” where he could ask God to change him not only forgive him. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front explaining one day he could explain the promises to his kids and showed him some examples. I gave him a Bible study on some ways Jesus claims to be the God of the Old Testament and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet explaining Strobel’s story. I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until the end of the Spring and one year after asking God to bless him. “See you in Heaven,” I said getting up to go. “I’ll see you there,” he replied. “Be like hey you old man how’s it going,” I said and he laughed. “Thank you,” he said seriously and I said, “Sure,” and headed off.

 I bumped into Nyla sitting in a row of chairs that is along the stairway going up from the foyer in front of the cafeteria. She was a cute black girl with clear plastic glasses in the larger half circle style now popular. She had classic full lips of an African American and her face was a bit rounded she had straightened hair pulled back. She wore a light grey Nike fleece zipped up the front with a black stripe down the side. She wore jeans. When I asked her one thing she wanted to do before she died she thought for a bit and said she wanted to have a family. “I want to have kids, part of me that’s left behind.” I asked her what she would say to God if she died and were asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “That’s a good question too,” she replied. Then thinking a bit she said, “If I’m going to be honest I wouldn’t know how to answer. I just went to my first Bible study today. I submitted my life to God so I would hope because I began.” “Because you got started?” I asked. “Yeah,” she replied. (It turned out I knew the Bible Study she had gone to and the guy who taught it was an evangelical that stuck to the Bible.) I began to explain that God loved her and knowing God, and Jesus was eternal life. I asked if she knew what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world. She could not think of anything. So I began to explain the blood and righteousness of Christ for her and the payment made for her sins. When I had told her all of the Gospel I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done for her or thought something else. “Yeah,” she said she did want to be forgiven. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I talked her through it. I asked if it expressed the desire of her heart, “Yeah,” in a frank matter of fact way she said again. So I said she could pray it silently and she nodded and took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I began to explain the Christian life to her asking her if she had a Bible. “No,” she said. “Would you like one?” “Yeah,” she said. So I got out a Bible and explained some of the study helps and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave it to her. “Thank you,” she said. “This has been such a strange day. The Bible Study was so last minute but I went, and now I’m getting a Bible and didn’t have to purchase one.” She broke down a bit then and was starting to cry. “I’m sorry to be emotional,” she said. “That’s fine,” I said. That’s joy knowing God is taking care of you.” She nodded. I went through the rest of the Christian life explaining that everything is “By the Spirit’s Power.” And I explained living “Inside Out.” I gave her Bible Promises for You and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet explaining Strobel’s story a bit. I also gave her a Bible study. “Thank you so much, I really appreciate that,” she said about everything. I said the likelihood she would not go to Heaven was 100% and that as soon as she told God she believed His Spirit entered her and sealed her. I got up to go and I told her I would pray for her each day until Spring and one year after asking God to bless her. She was grateful. I bumped into her again a bit later and she was happy and I said I’m praying for you already and she lit up with a big smile.

 Anthony was down around the corner sitting alone in a big chair with a round ottoman in front of it. He was formerly Orthodox. He was wearing an oversized black t-shirt and black shorts. He had a decent sized cross around his neck and behind it was a trident on another chain. He had good looking feature, clean shaven with a solid jaw line. He had rings of curls that would wrap around a pinky finger in a mop in front of his face. He looked Greek; he was on the shorter side kind of a square build. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and were asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “I always made sure to treat people with respect, how I wanted to be treated.” I said that that was in the Bible and is called the Golden rule [Matthew 7:12]. I asked the likelihood he would go to Heaven when he died and he said after thinking a bit uncomfortably, “I’m going with 65% being honest.” I went through the Gospel with him. I asked him what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world and he knew Jesus had died on the cross. I couldn’t tell if the word was taking root and I was tired so I prayed as I went. Finally after finishing with the Gospel turned to the two circles one with Christ on the throne of your life and living inside you and the other with Christ outside your life asking if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Christ has done so the Spirit could live inside him and give him strength or if he thought something else mentioning Islam and Buddhism. “That first one,” he replied. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and after reading him through it I asked if it was the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he replied. I said, “If you wanted then you could pray it silently, I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven, wanna do it?” “Sure,” he said. And he prayed to receive Jesus. I told him then the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I gave him I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible Study explaining it a bit. I asked about the trident, he said he had planned to join the Navy but now had decided to be a Marine. He’d already tested and score high enough to be an MP so he was up for heading into the breach in June. I shook his hand and said I respected him for that. Seemed like he wanted to be a cop when he got out so we talked a little about it. I showed him stuff in the promise book that could help him in “Basic Training” and give him strength all the way through and I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day until Spring and one year after so he’d know someone was praying for him. He was grateful and I said I’d see him around and we fist bumped and I was off. I passed him in the hall later and we fist bumped as we passed each other he now with the strength inside that would make for a Marine.

 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 walking with God in the Spirit.  I had a good day on campus and went through the gospel with an atheist, Jordan, a huge back dude (on the fat side a bit but just big) with a beard who wasn’t a student at school but was willing to hear what the Bible said was the way you got into Heaven. He’d been through some dark days and he felt like God had not shown Himself to him and he’d lost faith. He took the booklet I’d gone through with him and The Case for Christ Answer Book. I also went through the Gospel with 2 Muslims as well with no apparent effect. But Gabe prayed to receive Christ today so that was great. His story is below if you have a moment. Please pray he grows in his faith.

 Gabe was sitting at the far end of the hallway from Bookstore that ends at what might have been the frame for fire doors, at one time. He said he’d do a survey. He had a mop of curls and wore wire frame glasses; he had a smaller mouth with a ready smile. He had on a dark sweatshirt and jeans, had a firm jaw line, friendly guy. I asked him what he would say to God if he’d died and were asked by Him, “Why should I let you into Heaven. He thought a second and said, “I mean, like, I’ve tried serving my life to what was right and righteous to show what a perfect human was. It’s in your hands because you know all really. He knows my sins.” I asked him the likelihood he would go to heaven. He thought it was 100% but qualified that saying, “I don’t have malice in my heart, I sin… [but] I do my best to follow the path of God. Everyone deserves to be in Heaven, or [at least] everyone has a chance to be saved.” He went to a Catholic Church and thought he wanted to be a teacher. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he followed closely and seemed interested in it all the way through. When I asked him what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world he said, “Sacrifice.” So, agreeing, I explained the Jesus had lived a perfect life and because he was God His life and blood were worth an infinite amount. When He poured out His blood it paid God back for all the imperfect things we had done that we owe God something perfect for. I said this was like the symbolism in the Mass. The wafer is his body and the wine His blood. I explained Jesus gave His righteous to us. I completed all I say in explaining the Gospel. I asked, “Which kind of person would you say you are or want to be?” I explained the two circles in the booklet one was trusting in what Jesus had done and other religions had God on the outside of your life or for Buddhists God was in everything and the world was an illusion. I then said, “So when you are asking for forgiveness for your sins have you thought, I’m a good person and God will see that and forgive me or have you been thinking I know I’ll be forgiven because Jesus died for me? I know you knew the story but had you placed your trust in that to be forgiven?” “I was trusting I was good and he’d forgive me,” he replied. “Well, if you would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done there’s a prayer you could pray,” and I walked him through it and said, reading, “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?” He said it did so I said if he wanted to then he could pray it silently and know he was forgiven, “I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven.” “Ok,” he said and he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I went on to tell him about living the Christian life “By the Spirit’s power” I said, “Christianity is inside out not outside in. Other religions you do good things on the outside and God is pleased with you and take you to heaven or the Universe is pleased with you and you don’t come back as a cow or something, that’s not true anyway. But in Christianity you ask God to transform you and you become a good man on the inside and then you do good things on the outside because God has transformed you and made you good.” I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Book and a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ. I told him I would pray for him each day until Spring and one year after, “I don’t know if I’ll see you again but I’ll be praying for ya.” He was grateful. I told him about ICR saying there was some stuff he could pick up there to teach to kids. Joe Rogan, Mel Gibson, and the Science They Missed | Expert Reacts

“Well I’ve taken enough of your time,” I said. “It’s all good,” he said cheerfully. And we shook hands. “God bless you,” I said. “God bless you too,” he replied and said thanks and I headed off.

 So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today, God blessed the work.

 In Him,

Bob