Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a blessed day standing on the promises of God your savior. I had a good day on campus and Colton and Tania each prayed with me to receive Jesus. Their stories are below if you have some time you want to spend. Please pray each of them grows in their faith.

Colton was sitting in the hallway on the south side 2^nd floor of the BIC building. He was wearing an NBA logo ball cap turned backward, a black hoodie and black skinny jeans. He had kind of a symmetrical angled nose, perfect skin and 8-inch braids poking out the back, parts of which were tinted brown. Had a firm jaw line, good-looking guy. He had a large silver cross around his neck so I asked if he wanted to do a student survey for a Bible study group. “I’m not a student here,” he replied. I asked if he’d be up for hearing the big metaphysical question to can ask people about God. He said OK and I asked him, “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’d have to think long and hard about that,” he replied. “Would you like to hear the Bible verses that answer the question and tell you how you get to Heaven?” I asked. He was up for it and sitting down I asked if he wanted to do the survey or just hear the verses. “I’ll do the survey,” he said amicably. I started in and he said he wanted to try snowmobiling and I told him some tales of woe. I asked him the question again about what he would say to God and he struggled. “I’m not sure what I would say…” I said it would probably be overwhelming to stand before God. So look at it another way, what would you say it is that gets you into Heaven. “I shared my testimony with my friends and the Holy Spirit would tell me what to say to give them the right advice.” He seemed to be was appealing to a relationship with God. He thought he had a 60-70% chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him and asked him what Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the world. “He crucified Himself,” he replied. I said that was right and went on to explain everything I usually explain about the cleansing blood of Christ as a payment for sin and His righteousness to our credit when God the Father adopts us. I said he could receive this by faith. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins trusting in Jesus or thought something else. “Yes,” he replied. “Well it seems like you never really put all this together before?” I asked. He agreed he hadn’t so I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I talked him through it and he felt like he had seen one like it before. I think he might have prayed some kind of sinner’s prayer but then had not really been trusting I the blood and righteousness of Christ to save him. I asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. He said it did. So I said he could pray it silently right now, I wouldn’t hear him but God would and he’d know he was forgiven. “I was thinking I’d pray it at my house,” he replied, I think meaning before I asked he had intended to pray the prayer. He gave me a look like “I was gonna get to it.” Like he was a step ahead of me. Then he prayed silently to receive Jesus. He didn’t have a Bible saying he men to get one also saying he had given it to his brother. So I gave him one and I showed him some of the study helps and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven”. In the front. I gave him Bible Promises for You and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after. I told him the likelihood he would now go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus. “I appreciate that man,” he said. I got up to go and said, “Appreciate you.” “Sure,” he replied. I rolled back later to give him a Bible study and his girlfriend walked up and said hi to me like she knew me from seeing me around and I headed off.

 Tania ((tah n ya) was sitting on a couch in the MAC arts lounge in front of the elevator on the first floor. She had dark brown hair parted in the middle and had a round pretty face with raised cheek bones. Her chin was a button a little smaller than a quarter with an indent dot directly in the center. She had on a light blue pullover blouse and even lighter blue baggy jeans cuffed at the bottom. She had very fair skin and looked Caucasian. I asked if she went to church and she said she didn’t even as a kid. Later said she’d gone to a Spanish speaking church with her mother attended by only 12 people so I miscommunicated the question somehow. She was interested as we spoke. When I asked her one thing she would like to do before she died she said, “Retire my mother.” She later explained she wanted to buy her a house in retirement; she didn’t have one. “That’s really sweet of you, that’s a lot of money,” I replied. That’s why I’m in school,” she replied. “To get a job to make money,” I said matter-of-factly and she agreed. I thought then how I had been blessed to have a house. (I talked to a Christian guy I say hi to sometimes today who told me he was transferring to DePaul and it was $70,000 a year and I told him I could have bought a house for that when I got out of college.) I asked her, “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?” “Um.’ She said thinking. “I don’t know. I’m a sinner. I know He forgives but I don’t know.” I asked her the likelihood she would go to Heaven when she died. “If I follow His word maybe I’d have a chance,” she replied. I began to go the through the Gospel with her but before I got started just taking out the booklet she said, “Oh are you a part of this Church that’s just a mile from here?” I said I wasn’t. She showed me a flyer she had gotten from a book table. I knew the Presbyterians had a table up today and I was friendly with them and we talk, they were OPC, they seemed to think I was up to the right thing. The name of the Church was on the back and I told her a bit more where it was. I said I had gone to that church the people there were good folks and what the place looked like inside. She had made a plan with them to go there on Sunday at 9:30 and was encouraged. I began explaining that God living inside her would give her eternal life and first God had to take away her sin. Then like a blood transfusion He could make her his type. He could transfuse His life into her, live in her with His Holy Spirit. Since I thought at that point she had not gone to Church at all I explained that Jesus lived a perfect life for her and His blood cleansed her from sin. It was how God got paid what we owed him for the damage we had done. I asked if she understood and she said, “sort of,” So I just repeated, “His blood pays for our sin.” She nodded. Then I explained Christ’s righteous life that was to our credit. (Earlier in the day a Christian girl Eva told me, “I’m washed in the blood.” In answer to the question and it hit me how to many people that statement, which was true, would explain nothing to some people. I’ve had Muslims tell me it did not make sense to them that someone else could pay for their sins. Their society, usually Pakistan, did not even have the idea of social benevolence let alone personal substitution and grace.) I explained Christ Righteousness like extra credit gifted to her in a class and that hit home with Tania and I went on to explain she was save by faith receiving Christ, believing He was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead. Not that she just knew the story but that that was what she put her trust in, “So that if someone asked, ‘Why should God let you into Heaven?’ You would say, ‘Because Jesus died for me.’” I asked if she would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done. “Or is God more on the outside of your life?” Before I could explain any more she popped in with, “The first one.” So I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I talked her through it asking if it expressed the desire of her heart. “Yeah,” she replied. I said she could pray it silently and she took the booklet and said, “I can read it in my head?” “Yes,” I replied and she prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to her living “By the Spirit’s Power” and “Inside out”.  I told her that now trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I told her I would pray a Bible Verse for her each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless her. She had a Bible and I said John was a good place to start reading. 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 a Bible Study. I got up to go. “Thank you Bob,” she said. I said “Your welcome,” and 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 you had a blessed day walking with the Lord in His will and it brought ya joy. I had a good day on campus and Taylor and Zach each prayed with me to receive Jesus. David also turned I believe, a 5×5 black dude with a watch cap on and a teddy bear face, wearing a blue hoodie and black sweats was in the science building. He struggled with the idea that someone far more wicked them him would also be forgiven, though he’d said he wasn’t a great person and did not know why God would let him into Heaven. “I’ve never killed somebody… that’s not really a good reason,” he admitted. I went through the Gospel with him and he knew Jesus had died. He had questions about the payment for sin. I finally pointed that that was the root of some of his questions and asked, “Say I offer to give you a million Dollar lottery ticket but if you take it I am going to give a 5-million-dollar ticket to some exceptionally wicked guy over there. Would you take it?” “Well yeah!” he said. “Ok then brother just take the ticket, let God deal with the other guy. If he says he believes,” I replied and he smiled. I said, the evil guy might be a psychopath that’s lying anyway.  I showed him the prayer said he would pray later. I asked as he got up to get to his ride in the Science Building hall on the first floor. “Lemmie ask you; Do you believe Jesus is God died for your sins and rose from the dead? Do you believe that is a true story?” “I’ve always believed that was a true story,” he replied. “And do you put your trust in that to be forgiven for your sins,” “Yes,” he replied. I reached out with a fist and said “Then your sins are forgiven Brother.” He fist-bumped me and got a big smile and said, “Thanks.” And he headed off.  The other 2 stories are below if you have some time. Please pray they grow in faith and please pray that David will pray to solidify it in his heart.

Taylor was sitting in one of the cut outs where there’s a table and chairs facing out on the student services lounge. She was a pretty African American girl with tight curly hair pulled back in a bun. She had an oval face and fair skin; her nose pierced in the septum with an omega shaped silver piece was sharp. She wore a white blouse and black leggings. I asked her if she wanted to do a student survey for a Bible study group. “Oh I’m in a group,” she replied. I asked what it was called just out of curiosity and she said she had just joined it at a Church in Naperville so I asked her if she’d like to hear the question you can ask to help share your faith. She agreed so I asked, “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?” “Because I’m a good person?” she replied. I asked if she’d like to hear the Bible verse that tell you how you get to heaven, “Or not so much?” “Ok,” she replied and I began to go through the Gospel with her saying all I always do about the blood and righteousness of Christ, His death and resurrection, salvation by faith and not by being good enough. She hadn’t seemed to remember that Jesus had died for her sins. I asked if she would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus. “Yes,” she said. So I said there was a prayer she could pray and talked her through it and asked if it expressed the desire of her heart. She nodded. I said she could pray it silently and asked if she would like to do that and she that and she nodded meekly and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life, living by the Spirit’s power, “inside out”. I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven I the front. I also gave her a Bible study on the deity of Christ and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told her I would pray a bible verse for her each day from now until Spring and one year after and she thanked me and I thanked her for talking with me and headed off.

 I talked to Zach in the PE building. He was a slightly built guy, short, with a mustache and somewhat angular features. His hair looked like the top had been shaped by a bowl and it fanned out into curls. He ran cross-country and was a mile runner on the track team. He wore a black hoodie with tie-dye blue rings and black pants and white tennis shoes. I asked him “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 thought a bit and thought there was a word for it. He finally said, “I don’t know. I’m still working on that, trying to be a better person.” He thought he had a 50/50 change of going to Heaven. Nice guy, he only went to Church on Christmas Eve and said it was a Presbyterian church. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he knew that Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world. He really tracked with everything I was saying and tuned right in. When I had finally explained that “God got paid” by the blood of Jesus and also He lived a perfect life for us, His righteousness to our credit by adoption. I said he was saved by faith. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done or if he thought something else (with the CliffsNotes version of Islam and the Buddha) asking again, “Would you want to be forgiven for your sins?” “Obviously,” he replied with a smile. I said that 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 nodded. I said he could pray it silently, “Wanna do that?” “Yeah,” he replied. “Just pretend I’m not here,” I said. “OK,” he said and then prayed to receive Christ. He didn’t have a Bible but used his phone so I gave him one showing him some of the helps and showing the marker in John. “I read that already on my phone,” he replied. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I explained living “By the Spirit’s Power” and “Inside out.” I gave him Bible Promises for You and a Bible study on the deity of Christ and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless him. “Thanks,” he said. “I needed this, I’ve been trying to get closer in my relationship with God.” I said that was great and I didn’t know if we’d cross paths again but I would be praying and not to worry if a year from now I forgot his face, God knew his name. He grinned and said, “Alright.” Then I headed out. I was at the bottom of the stairs leaning against the wall for some back pain and writing down what he looked like as he came down and headed past and he gave me a wave. I waved back and he headed out the doors to the lot.

 So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance though I forgot to send a notice. I know someone was praying, God truly blessed.

 In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and the nearness of God was your good. I had a good day on campus and Connor and Amelia each prayed with me to receive Christ today. Please pray they both grow in faith. Their stories are below if you have time you want to spend.

Connor was in the hallway that leads down to the bookstore sitting in on of 4 stuffed chairs at a surrounding a circular ottoman. I sat down on one. He had brown curly hair poking out of the back strap gap on a truckers hat he’d turned backwards. Clean-shaven he had kind of a young David Hasselhoff look. He wore a winter coat and jeans. He was friendly. I asked him, “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 really good question,” he replied. “I am a believer in God. I committed myself to Him. I try to walk in His commandments. I’m a good person, I repented of my sins and I try to get better and better.” After hearing this I thought he was Catholic.  I asked the likelihood he would get into Heaven. He thought he had a 50/50 chance saying, “Ultimately it’s not up to me.” He added that he did not think you could be 100% certain or know until the end. I asked him if he went to church at all. He had been going to church locally but had been away at a different college and hadn’t reestablished the habit. Growing up he had gone to Wheaton Christian Grammar School and the Christian Academy for HS. Then he said the church he’d gone to, which I didn’t think was a good one, but it would have been technically evangelical. I began to go through the Gospel with him, he liked the idea of Christianity as a blood transfusion, God transfusing His life into you with His Holy Spirit. But first God had to take away your sin to make you His type. “What’s the big thing Jesus does back in history to take away your sin?” I asked him. “Baptism?” He guessed. Seeing he hadn’t got it right (I guess my expression tipped him off} he then said, “Evangelists?” I said I was an evangelist. I asked how Jesus had been a payment for his sins. “Oh he died on the cross,” he replied. I agreed and began to explain how that worked. He tracked with everything and I said all I usually say to communicate the Gospel. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else. He said he wanted to be forgiven so I asked if when he asked for forgiveness he thought he would be forgiven for being a good person and trying harder or if he thought he’d been forgiven because Jesus had died for him (reiterating his previous conditions). He had not been trusting in Christ. “If you want to be forgiven there’s a prayer you can pray.” I talked him through it and asked if he had asked for forgiveness before trusting in Jesus. He said he prayed and had heard a prayer like that before but had never prayed one. I said he could pray it silently and I wouldn’t hear him but God would hear, “Wanna do that?” I asked. “Yeah, I think I’ll do it.” He replied and he prayed then to receive Christ. I said he could keep the booklet, “Oh thanks!” he said. I explained then the Christian life to him and that God forgave him when he asked. I said everything in the Christian life was accomplished by the Spirit’s power. Christianity unlike other religions was living “Inside out not outside in.” First we ask God to transform us we become good men, and then we do good things. I said the likelihood he would now go to Heaven trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus was 100%. I gave him Bible Promises for You. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave him a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told him I would keep him in my prayers each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless him. He thanked me and I said if he was curious about a Bible study he could email me about the one I had described earlier and I headed off.

 Amelia was sitting in the PE lounge upstairs and said in helping me spell it, “Like Amelia Earhart”. She had freckles and was cute with an oval face and brown hair, stick straight in a sort of shag haircut that framed her face, thin lips with no crease under her nose like a Kim Possible cartoon. She had on a grey sweatshirt that was torn out around the neck and wore black leggings. She had seen me before because she worked at the desk in the PE. She’d been to a church that met on campus with a guy and his wife. They had moved away fortunately as they were preaching a work’s righteousness gospel plus baptism to save you. They might have been the New International Church of Christ though I had thought they met downtown; they just changed their leadership. It’s not uncommon for me to encounter kids going to their group who have not heard the Gospel of Grace. A couple of their students have prayed with me to receive Jesus. She wasn’t attending the group. I asked her, “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?” “It’ His will, His choice. I can only do everything I can in that. So it’s based on what I’ve done in life so I wouldn’t try to convince Him. He already knows everything.” I asked her the likelihood she would go to Heaven when she died. “At this point I don’t [think I would go to Heaven]. It isn’t very likely. I haven’t repented and I haven’t been baptized. I’m a religious person but I’m not one that calls other people to religion.” I began to go through the Gospel with her and she liked the analogies and clicked with what I was saying. When I asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sin so God could live inside her she knew Jesus had died. I explained Christ’s perfect life, His blood and righteousness. God adopted her and gave these things to her and she could receive this by faith. It was not her works that saved her, or baptism, which was a religious work. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven for her sins after explaining the CliffsNotes version of Islam and the Buddha. “Yes,” she replied. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. I talked her through it. “I pray, nothing like this,” she replied. I said she could pray it silently and I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear and she’d know she was forgiven. “Wanna do it?” I asked. “Yeah,” she replied. She prayed then to receive Christ and after a minute or so she ended with a little burst of rejoicing and clapped 3 times happily. I explained the Christian life to her and I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and forgiven in the front. “So you can have a record,” I said. I also write Ephesians 1:13 in the front and told her as soon as she believed the Spirit entered her and sealed her. “So He is stuck there,” she said. “Never coming out,” I replied. Jesus says “No one will pluck them out of my hand.” She was happy and said, “Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.” I said “Thank you for talking with me.” I said I would keep her in my prayers from now until Spring and one year after, praying a Bible verse for her each day asking God to bless her. She was grateful and I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob

Third Watch Ministries, NFP                                                           Bob & Ellen Bollow

P.O. Box 1283                                                                                         December 2025

Wheaton, IL 60187  

“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,

that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither;

and whatsoever he does shall prosper.” Psalm 1:3

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

We hope you have had a festive Holiday Yuletide time as we wind round through the Holidays. Our tree stood unadorned for over a week in its stand but it’s all lit up and ornamented now.  We got the star up on the chimney right before the first snow, which would’ve kept me off the roof. Then lots of shoveling that temporally knocked out what I would consider a pain-free back. God put me back together enough to make it through at school. But now the rain between the cold snaps makes me wonder why we didn’t just throw the vehicles into 4-wheel drive and call it winter wonderland.

A lot of life seems like labor in vain. It would not be hard to convince me that letting my driveway turn into a sheet of ice might end up with my sliding into my house while backing down the driveway. The dog walkers want my sidewalk cleared. And hey I like dogs. But some days I will walk around campus and no one comes to Christ and I have said ‘Have a good day’ or ‘God bless you’ to a dozen people who will not talk to me. But then someone, who was not sure they were going to Heaven, hears the Gospel and says then that they believe they were trusting in Jesus and are encouraged. Maybe these kinds of students fall into the category of Christians whose Churches are not regularly preaching the blood and righteousness of Christ. They were at one time saved by faith possibly, but all their church preaches is love and good works. They have come to believe they could not possibly be good enough to go to Heaven, which of course is true. These students often bump into me later and greet me like I am a good friend and say ‘God bless you.’ God gave them assurance of their faith when they talked to me.

I don’t know how many of the students I talk to fall into that group. But more than half of those I talk to believe they are Christians. I went through the Gospel with 218 students that I have a survey card for this semester. (Frankly all by itself that feels like a lot of work and I’m kinda tired.) Afterward, 85 of these prayed to receive Christ and 3 or 4 of those told me later they had prayed, though they had not when I was with them. A few more said they would pray later and I’ve yet to bump into them to find out if they did. Sometimes a student has false doctrine and I will offer them something to read. A few times they were agnostic after a childhood in the Church but took a book. A few were Muslims. Some are struggling with lies from their classrooms. Some have just seen me talking to others or walking around and want to find out what it is I have to say. I know that they might have seen me on a day I felt like nothing very positive happened. A few years back a girl said to me, “This is the third time you’ve asked me [to do a student survey]. OK fine I’ll do it.” That girl prayed to receive Jesus. A lot of things cannot be known about the labor of our lives or work for the Lord. I have had students tell me, “You sound like my grandmother.” And then after hearing the Gospel they pray to receive Christ and I know God is answering their grandmother’s prayers.

Oswald Chambers once wrote about how the Christian’s life is the source of a stream of living water [John 7:38] and they cannot know what it will nourish on the banks further downstream. Thanks for being willing to be that source for our ministry. We have a small Bible study going and Ellen still volunteers her time to run our books and keep us afloat in many ways. We are a tiny ministry, a “drop in the bucket” of God’s great plans. But “if a drop in the bucket is all I can be, at least what drops in the bucket is me.” Thanks so much for being willing to help us through your gifts and prayers to get to the bucket. We are really so very grateful for your giving us the opportunity to do something for the Lord and His kingdom.

These are the students who have prayed to receive Jesus this semester. An * means they said they would pray later.

RJ, Wendy, Jimmy, Jesse (Jesús), Jocelyn, Andrea, Kaleb, Gio, Lexi, JP, Michelle, Abby, Kylie, Tali, Brady, Matthew, Joey, Laly, Manuel, Johan, Lu, Alexa, Vell, Cooper, Leah, John, Tae, Ben, Marquese, Shawn, Emily, Jaylin, Tate, Teinua, Kaden, Jahmi, Luke, Prodigy, Antonio, Victoria, Daisha, Hubert, Lynette, Thalia [ta lee a], Damian, Jacki, Dayra, Q, Cynthia, Judith, Daniel, Chris, Dylan, Emmanuel, Zeke, Jamesha, Alex, Vincent, Jessica, Danny, Mimi, Naomi, Zianna, Khalel, Vinny, Eldon, Josh, Tyler, Chris, Tessa, Bobbi, Maryellen*, Londyn, Ethan, Justina [Hustina], John, London, Jack, Griffin, Kris, Natalie*, Ashley, Ohanny, Jasa, Braiam, Aaron, Connor*, Jesús, Clarissa*

May God bless you with a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, filled with His light and life, that all you do will prosper. Psalm 1:3

In Him,

Bob & Ellen

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed walking with the Lord. I had a good day on campus. I found out Jesús [hey-suess] who I went through the Gospel with maybe 4 weeks back had prayed to receive Jesus. He had bleached to top of his curly hair and was a good-looking Latino guy with a narrow face and square chin, tall. After meeting him and going through the Gospel I bumped into him again 3 weeks later (last week). I reminded him of the prayer for salvation after he told me he was praying and trying to get closer God. I gave him Bible Promises for You explaining how the Bible verses could be turned into prayers. He’d said he was a former Catholic. I explained the Spirit as our guide and instructor and said asking for forgiveness based on what Jesus had done would allow the Spirit to live inside him and guide him. Then today, I came across him and he said he’d prayed to receive Jesus. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and I wrote his name and “forgiven!” in the front and said I would be praying a Bible verse for him each day. Later in the Cafeteria Clarissa* committed to Christ after hearing the Gospel saying she was kinda shy and would like to pray tonight. I asked, “Do you believe Jesus is God died for your sins and rose from the dead, to you believe that is a true story. “Yes,” she replied. “Will you trust in that then to be forgiven for your sins?” I asked. She said “Yes again. “OK great!” I said then when you tell God you will know you are forgiven. So I gave her Bible Promises for You and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. She was smiling then. She had two colors of brown in her straight hair and glasses that were wire curved on the top and stop signs on the bottom and had a few pretty freckle birthmarks and a gold tiny cross around her neck.  I’ll be praying for her.

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 with good things from the Lord’s kind hand. We are getting a bit of a thaw here. I had a good day on campus and Aaron prayed to receive Jesus today and Connor (a curly haired, slight, blonde guy) said he would pray later. He had to run to Baseball practice saying after hearing the gospel and the prayer, “Yeah, that’s what I’ve been trying to do.” He thanked me and ran off. So I explained living by the Spirit’s power. Please pray for these guys. I’m grateful for your help. Aaron’s story is below if you have some time.

Aaron was sitting in a lounge with vending machines on the south side ground floor of the BIC. There are skylights at one end and some tables. He was wearing a green parka and sweats. He had an oval face sharper nose and sandy straight hair swept over in bangs from the left, clean-shaven. (He looked a bit to me like the comic actor Jason Sudeikis, though not as tall.) He was friendly. He thought he’d like to travel, was a kind guy. He later said he went to a Lutheran Church. I asked him, “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 thought out loud for a moment with a, “I would probably say ah…” and then said, “I feel like I’ve been a good person. I would like to leave that judgment up to you. I wouldn’t feel I’d be worthy enough to decide.” He thought the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 60-70%. I began to go through the Gospel with Him and when I asked him what Jesus had done back in history to take away the sins of the world (so God could live inside him) he knew Jesus had died. I began to explain the blood of Christ, cleansing us from sin and as a payment to God. I explained his righteousness. He would not go to Heaven because he was good but because Jesus was good and he was connected to Him. This was ours through adoption if we believed by faith. He seemed to agree with everything as I spoke. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else and then asked if when he was asking for forgiveness if he had put it all together before to trust in it. He said, “I’ve been leaning that way.” “Well if you want to jump all the way into the pool there’s a prayer you could pray,” and I talked him through it and he said, “Alright.” I said he could pray it silently and know he was forgiven. “Sure,” he replied and he prayed to receive Jesus. “Thank you so much,” he said after. I explained living the Christian life asking to be transformed by the Spirit’s power “Inside out”. I said now trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I talked him through a bit of a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told him I would keep him in my prayers each day praying a Bible verse for him until Spring and one year after. “Thank you so much,” he said again. “You’re welcome,” I replied. Then shaking my hand he said, “It was nice meeting you.” “It was nice meeting you too,” I replied. I’ll see you in Heaven.” “I’ll see you there,” he said back and I headed off.

So Thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. God truly blessed. I’m off to teach a Bible Study.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today walking with the Lord. I had a good day on campus and Braiam prayed with me to receive Jesus. Please pray he grows in his faith. His story is below if you have time.

Braiam was sitting in a row of chairs on the south side of the BIC building just before the last lounge as you walk west. He was wearing a black quilted winter coat and blue and black plaid pajama pants and was small in stature. He was athletic. He had inch long black bangs with flat straight hair on top, a fade on the sides and a sort of pointed nose and straight jaw line. He was clean-shaven. I asked him one thing he wanted to do before he died and he said, “Find peace, be OK with life. Be peaceful.” I asked him then, “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 would say proley (sic) that I know I committed sins, there is no reason to let me in…,” he paused then for a moment and said, “I actually don’t know.” I asked the likelihood he would go to Heaven and he thought 50/50. He went on to say, “I’m Catholic I have to say I’m sorry for my sins to and stuff get into Heaven.” I began to go through the Gospel with him and saying God had to take away his sin so He could live inside him I asked what Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the world. “He sacrificed His Son,” he replied. I said, “Right he died for you.” I went on to explain the blood of Christ cleansing him from sin and being a payment to God. I told him that Jesus earned the righteousness of God, which was to his credit and that God adopted him and gave him all these things. He needed to receive Jesus by faith, believing Jesus was God, had died for his sins and rose from the dead. “Not that you just know the story but that that’s what you put your trust in so that if someone would say to you, ‘Why should God let you into Heaven?’ you’d say, ‘Because Jesus died for me.’”. Grace by Faith saved him. I asked then if he would want to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else and gave him the options in short of Islam and the Buddha. And then asked if when he was asking for forgiveness for his sins, if he was hoping that he was doing enough with church and stuff, or if he was trusting in what Jesus had done to be forgiven, or if he had not really put it all together. He said he compared himself to Jesus as a model. “Well, if you’d like to be forgiven for your sins trusting in what Christ has done there’s a prayer you could pray,” I said and talked him through the prayer. I asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. He nodded so I said he could pray it silently, I wouldn’t hear him but God would hear and he’d know he was forgiven. “I’ll pray it silently,” he replied and he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I went on to explain the Christian life, praying and reading the Bible and confessing to God when you fail. I explained then the Christian life “By the Spirit’s Power.” And then said Christianity was unlike other religions where you simply do good things on the outside but that you instead ask God to transform you on the inside; you become a good person and then you do good things. I explained the fruit of the Spirit giving him Galatians 5:22,23. I recited them and then said he could ask for more peace from God and ask for more faith when he had doubts and said, “Doubt your doubts and ask God for more faith, faith is a gift.” He appreciated that and then I told him the likelihood he would now go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the righteousness of Jesus. “Yeah,” he said agreeing. “Thank you so much,” he said. I said I didn’t know if I would see him again as it was the end of the semester but I would pray a Bible verse for him each day, from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless him. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front and he was grateful. I gave him a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet explaining each. I also said that the symbolism of the Mass was that the wine was symbolic of Jesus blood and the wafer symbolic of His body and it is to remind you that He died for you and so you are forgiven. “So when you take it you should just say, “Thank You.” The students were going into his classroom so I said, “If I see ya I’ll just say hi.” “Thank you so much Bob,” he replied. “You’re welcome,” I replied and he headed into class.

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 the knowledge of Him and His love for you in every place. I had a good day on campus Thursday and Ashley, Ohanny and Jasa [Jay Sha] prayed to receive Christ so that was great. Please pray they grow in their faith. Their stories/responses are below if you have some time. Everyone was a bit different.

Ashley was sitting at the end of the row of chairs at the end of the hall coming out of the SRC into across the SSC at a right angle to the hall going to the cafeteria. She looked between 25 and 30. She was African American and wore a green Camo print jacket and black leggings. She had straight hair in kind of a pixy cut, pretty classic black features, lips etc. She was friendly and said she wanted to travel. I asked her “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?” “Um, who… that’s a good question,” she replied and then said she really didn’t know so I asked what she thought it was you had to do on earth to go to Heaven when you died. “Living according to God, being a good person,” she replied. She had gone to Church when she was a kid. I asked her what she thought was the likelihood she would go to Heaven when she died, “10%’s low 100, you’re sure, 50/50 ya got a shot?” “I think I’ve got a shot. I don’t know if it’s 100%,” she replied. I began to go through the Gospel with her and saying Knowing God was eternal life, that God lived inside her but God had to take away her sin. I asked what Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the world but she could not think of anything Jesus had done. So I began to explain the Gospel to her in the way I usually do and I could tell she was believing all the Bible verses of the blood of Christ to cleanse her sin by His sacrifice so God could live inside her and His righteousness to her credit when God adopted her and made her His child. She needed to receive Christ by faith. I asked if she wanted to be forgiven for her sins. “Yeah,” she said. I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I talked through it with her and asked reading,” Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?” “Yeah,” she said again. I said she could pray it silently. “I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven, wanna do it?” “Sure,” she said brightly and she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to her living “By the Spirit’s Power” and reading the quote in the booklet as I always do if there is time, “Your walk with Christ depends on what you allow Him to do in and through you empowered by the Holy Spirit, not what you do for Him through self-effort.” I explained, “So the difference between Christianity and other religions is that Christianity is inside out not outside in. Other religions you do good things on the outside and the deity is pleased with you and takes you to Heaven or the Universe is pleased and you don’t come back as a cow or something. But in Christianity you ask God to change you on the inside and you become a good person, then you will do good things on the outside because you were transformed by the Spirit.” I said then the likelihood she would go to Heaven was now 100% trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus. I gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and forgiven in the front, “Awesome,” she said after I had written she was forgiven taking the book. I gave her a Bible study on passages where Jesus claimed to be God. And also gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet to which she again said, “Awesome,” after I’d explained the content. I told her I didn’t know if I would see her again as the semester was ending but I would pray a Bible verse for her each day from now until Spring and one year after. She looked at her watch and said, “I gotta get to my bus. “See you in Heaven,” I replied and her eyes widened at the thought. “God bless you have a wonderful Christmas.” “Thank you,” she replied, “I appreciate you.”  “You’re welcome, I appreciate you too,” I responded, grateful to see her faith. And she headed off.

Ohanny was a Latino guy with a curly mop of hair and a square chin. I asked him if it was a family name but he didn’t know and I later looked it up on line and it seemed no one is really named that either so hey. He was clean-shaven, good looking with a slight build. He had a slight accent. He was sitting at the counter of the cafeteria. He wore pale purple baggy sweat pants and a black puffy waffle stitched coat. For 3 words to describe himself he just said, “Like my space.” I asked him, “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?” “Well, I feel like at least for me I don’t see it as being a believer. Certain things I don’t agree on. [So] Just to be good, being nice to everyone shouldn’t be a problem,” he replied. I asked the likelihood he would go to Heaven when he died. “I hope it’s 50/50 I really honestly believe it’s 50/50 for everybody. At least how I see it people born in other religions still could be good people. Sometime more religious people are bad people,” he replied. “It says in the Bible that though some people are very religious God says, ‘Their hearts are far from Me,’” I replied in agreement. I said that the way I thought about people of other religions around the world if I met them I would tell them about Jesus. But as to where their relationship with God is it is really none of my business. I said God created them and as their creator God has a relationship with each one of them and what He is doing in their lives is up to Him. I said there were thousands of people in Iran for example Jesus was appearing in their dreams and telling them to pray to Him alone but not telling them much else so they were going out and finding Christians asking them what to do. He seemed to accept those ideas and I remembered later he’d said, “Liked my space.” So each person being know to God individually probably appealed to him on a personal level. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he knew Jesus was crucified to take away the sins of the world. I told him everything I usually say about the blood and righteousness of Christ and that he needed to receive this by faith. He leaned forward to follow the verses as I stood next to where he was seated at the counter. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done and he said, “Yeah.” I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and talked through it asking if it expressed the desire of his heart. He nodded in reply. I said he could pray it silently he acknowledged it did so I said he could pray it silently. Saying I couldn’t hear him but God would and he’d know he was forgiven, “Wanna do it?” I asked. “Yeah,” he replied and I think said, “Appreciate it.” He took the booklet and said, “The thing about me is this is the first time I have done this in English,” he added. He prayed to receive Jesus. I got out a Spanish booklet that explains the Gospel [a friend had given me a couple] and gave it to him saying he could read it if he wanted as it explained things in Spanish. When he finished I told him now the likelihood he would go to Heaven trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus was 100%. He said then when I asked he went to a Catholic Church. “You know how you take the Mass?” he nodded. “Well the wafer is symbolic of Jesus body and the wine symbolic of His blood so it is reminding you He died for you and you are forgiven so when you take it you should just say, “Thank You.” I explained the Christian life to him; he had a Bible so I said he could read in John. I explained living, “By the Spirit’s Power,” and then living “Inside out”. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front and he said, “Thank you, I really appreciate it.” I gave him a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told him I would keep him in my prayers each day praying a Bible verse for him until Spring and one year after. He shook my hand I said, “Have a blessed Christmas you and your family.” “You too,” he said and saying he had to run to class I apologized for keeping him to long and he headed out.

I saw Jesa from up above over the glass belly high railed wall on the second floor of the Student Services center building. You can look down on an area where there is seating. I had met her the day before talking to a solid Christian guy I know, Jordan. He sits at a counter height table near where she was on Mondays. I can some days spend an hour answering Bible questions for him and other black guys near where she sat. Jesa is a pretty black girl her hair is past shoulder length and naturally in tight curls really full with some lighter tint in it here and there. She wore black leggings and a pullover sweatshirt. So I thought I would go down and see if she would do a survey. She was sitting alone with her back to the wall at a table for 4 and I asked her if she would do a student survey about God and stuff. “I got you,” she replied. So though I had only got her name before I think Jordan had told her about me as after I had left them and she was willing to help me out on my quest. She pulled her bag off the chair beside her so I could sit. I asked her one thing she wanted to do before she died and she just said, “Be happy.” She wore braces and was pretty with something of a button nose and otherwise classic American black features. I asked her, “You’re walking down the road and you get hit by a bus. So you’re dead. And you stand before God and He says, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?” “I don’t know,” she replied. I mean I don’t really think it’s based on your actions, I think it’s based on your heart. Some people have changed for the better. I think I have a good heart that’s why.” She thought she had a 90% chance of going to heaven and said she went to a Christian Church. I began to go through the Gospel with her and telling her knowing God was that He lived inside us and this is eternal life. I asked her what Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the world. “Well he did a lot of things, He floods the world,” she replied. I said, “Yeah, well this is what Jesus did.” I went on to begin to explain the Gospel and when she saw the cross she said, “Oh,” in a way that said she remembered now. I explained the blood of the sacrifice of Christ and the righteousness of God he earned to her credit when God adopted her. All God had done was hers if she received this by faith. Not that she just knew the story but that that is what she put her trust in as an adult so if someone would ask her, “’Why should God let you into Heaven?’ you’d say, ‘Because Jesus died for me.’ That would mean you had faith in Jesus.” She was then saved by that faith. I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins or thought something else, giving her the CliffsNotes version of Islam who had a different god or the Buddha. “Definitely that one,” she said pointing to the circle I’d described as God inside to give her strength and take her into Heaven when she died. I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I talked through it and asked if it Expressed the desire of her heart. “Yeah,” she replied I said she could pray it silently and I wouldn’t hear but God would and she’d know she was forgiven. “Wanna do it?” asked. “Yeah,” she said and I handed her the booklet and she prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to her living “By the Spirit’s Power” Christians are living “Inside out”. I gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and forgiven in the front and she said, “Thank you” grateful to see it written down as I handed it to her. I gave her a Bible study on passages where Jesus claimed to be God. And also gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told her then, the likelihood she would now go to Heaven, trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus was 100%. I told her I would pray for her from now until Spring and one year after. “Thank you,” she said as I got up to go. “Thanks for giving me your time,” I replied. “Of course,” she replied cheerfully and I headed off.

The last guy I talked to was a Christian in the PE building, Burton, A tall lean black guy with an Errol Flynn mustache neatly trimmed afro. “I was gonna go home but this was why I stayed,” he said. “So you’d have some stuff to share with people?” I asked. “No for me,” he said with a smile, encouraged.

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

In Him,

Bob

Third Watch Ministries, NFP                                                            Bob & Ellen Bollow

P.O. Box 1283                                                                                    November 29, 2025

Wheaton, IL 60187  

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 136:1

 Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Well it is officially the Christmas season as I have gotten my star on the chimney atop, before the snow today, on the old cape cod we call home. I can still get up there, though I’ve begun to use my age in my presentation of the Gospel on campus.

You might wonder how being old helps to talk to the young? I think God makes students talk to me in truth, and I’m not sure what their specific thoughts are in being willing. There’s plenty of Professors in their classrooms who appear older than me (ha, at least to me). But I will throw my age in at the end if they have prayed to receive Jesus. I’ll say, in revisiting the question of my student questionnaire, What’s the likelihood you will go to Heaven when you die? “The likelihood you will now go to Heaven is 100%, trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus. ‘Cause how righteous is Jesus? 100% righteousness. And what’s His righteousness worth? It’s worth an infinite amount! And His blood is worth an infinite amount, so there’s enough for you and me both. When you think about it, I’ve sinned way more than you, because I’m old. You know you sin every year. So if we both died right now, I’d have a big pile of sin though God forgave it each year, and you’d have a little pile. So if God looked at our piles, you’d have a little pile because you are young and He might say to me ‘We need to talk.’ But He’s not going to look at our piles. He’s going to look at the good He made out of them. So it seems like cheating, but if we both died right now I would get in too.” Sometimes I will add, if the student is not already packing to run to a class, “The Bible says, He will remove our sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12) and remember them no more (Hebrews 8:12). That’s how God forgets our sin yet remembers us.  He remembers us as those who partnered with Him to do the good.

Once, long ago in seminary, I said this in a presentation against Atheism: In an evil world like ours, you have to be all-powerful and all-knowing to know and do the Good. You have to be all-knowing (Omniscient) to know what the good thing is to do. And then you have to be all-powerful (Omnipotent) so that the action you do can remain good in its effects in an evil world, in perpetuity. So only God can know and do the Good. So Jesus said, in Mark 10:18 ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.’

 My neighbors next-door are gone today. But the kind man to the east, Dan, just shoveled their driveway as I wrote this. I’m a little back of the storm since it is still falling and all I did was the first pass of blowing off the cars and the deck with my leaf blower (a trick I learned a couple decades ago from my friend across the street who parks on his driveway). So you might say to me, ‘Your neighbor Dan just did a good thing.” But for Christians we know that the good things done are only kept good in their final outcome by God. If we partner with Him by His indwelling Holy Spirit we can then do the Good. Calvin once called this “Common Grace,” where God’s benevolence is ensuring the world holds together in some measure.

It matters who does the work. When God does the work, it’s worth an infinite amount.  And that is frankly what I am trusting in on campus as I walk around and tell the Gospel to students. That God will be doing the work to bring them to Himself. And then I pray for them each day until Spring and then one year after, that they might grow in the hope that as Christ says, “No one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:28&29)

We are so grateful for your help in doing college ministry. It keeps me on campus and provides the evangelism materials I use & give to students. This year so far, with a few weeks left, 79 students have prayed to receive Christ with me or told me they would pray later and I found out they did. Also, Maryellen committed to Christ at the resale shop when I was Christmas shopping. She worked at the counter. So I’m praying for her too.

Please mention these students in your prayers.

RJ, Wendy, Jimmy, Jesse (Jesús), Jocelyn, Andrea, Kaleb, Gio, Lexi, JP, Michelle, Abby, Kylie, Tali, Brady, Matthew, Joey, Laly, Manuel, Johan, Lu, Alexa, Vell, Cooper, Leah, John, Tae, Ben, Marquese, Shawn, Emily, Jaylin, Tate, Teinua, Kaden, Jahmi, Luke, Prodigy, Antonio, Victoria, Daisha, Hubert, Lynette, Thalia [ta lee a], Damian, Jacki, Dayra, Q, Cynthia, Judith, Daniel, Chris, Dylan, Emmanuel, Zeke, Jamesha, Alex, Vincent, Jessica, Danny, Mimi, Naomi, Zianna, Khalel, Vinny, Eldon, Josh, Tyler, Chris, Tessa, Bobbi, Maryellen*, Londyn, Ethan, Justina [Hustina], John, London, Jack, Griffin, Kris

May the Lord bless & keep you as we begin this Christmas season, celebrating the Gospel message.

In Him, 

Bob & Ellen

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your finding rest and peace with a grateful heart as we head into Thanksgiving Day. Classes are cancelled on campus on Wednesday before thanksgiving as students used to not come for the most part anyway. But I had a good day on campus on Tuesday. I had a long friendly talk with a former Muslim who described herself as between religions. We hit it off and I’ll be praying for Maya. Griffin and Kris each prayed to receive Jesus. Please pray they grow in their faith. Their stories are below if you have some time.

Griffin was sitting in a row of chairs as I come into the buildings through the computer center (inside tip it’s beside the parking lot closest to a door and Illinois has cold winters). They removed the lockers across from him but I have a secret place to lock my coat. He had a black t-shirt with a white graphic on it and black sweats. He had a mop of wavy hair the bangs swept from left to right. He had a round face and a day’s growth of what looked like a full beard. He seemed a pretty meek soul but described himself as competitive. It might have been he just didn’t have a lot to say. He was an online gamer and when I asked him one thing he wanted to do before he died he said, “Definitely have kids.” I replied that he’d be the cool dad who could teach gaming. Saying you want a family is a tell every time (so far in my limited experience) that you are a Christian or will pray to receive Christ.  I asked him, “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 would say that it all depends on my actions. If I truly deserve heaven he would let me in and if I don’t I don’t deserve it.” He went to Church “sometimes on Sundays” and thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to heaven. As I went through the Gospel I asked him what the big thing was back in History that Jesus did to take away the sins of the world. He either misunderstood the question or didn’t know at all. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he had kind of a bemused shape to his mouth; I frankly could not tell if it was responsive or just the natural resting shape of his mouth. But I just prayed in my heart he would hear and said what I usually say about the blood and righteousness of Christ his sacrifice and resurrection. This he could receive by grace through faith. I asked if he would want to be forgiven or thought something else and he said, “I want to be forgiven.” 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 nodded it did. I said he could pray it silently and asked if he’d want to, “Yeah,” he replied and took the booklet and prayed to receive Christ. I quickly explained the life in Christ “By the Spirit’s Power” living “Inside out” transformed by the Spirit. And I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. He had to go so I quickly gave him a Bible Study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told him the likelihood he would now go to Heaven trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus was 100% and told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless him. And he was on his way and I headed off to sequester my jacket.

Kris was a Latino guy, mop of brown hair, sitting in the hallway of the north side of the BIC on the second floor, just down from where we have Bible Study. He said before I’d done more than asking him to do a survey, “I’m in between. I go to Church sometimes. I don’t know which way I’d go,” I saying he wasn’t sure he was going to commit long term to a Christian church going life. He wore glasses that had black frames across the top and a mustache with about a day’s growth of beard, full lips. He had a warm face with a ball chin and a kind demeanor. Had on a jacket and sweats. I asked him one thing he would want to do before he died and he said, “Get married to someone I love.”  I asked, “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?” “Wow. I feel like if you… I always had a pure heart; I never had intention to do evil.” I asked what he thought the likelihood was he would go to Heaven. “Zero to 100?” he asked. “Yeah,” I replied. He thought he had an 80% chance of going to Heaven and then said, “Maybe a little bit optimistic.” I said all I usually say about eternal life, it is knowing God—that He lives inside you but has to take away your sin. He did not seem to know or remember in the moment what Jesus had done to accomplish that. I went on to say we owe God a perfect life and must be purified to enter God’s presence, Heaven isn’t just a place it’s the presence of God. Jesus lives a perfect life for us and His blood and righteousness are given to us by God adopting us. He could receive Christ by faith. I gave him the options in CliffsNotes versions of Islam and the Buddha and asked “Do you want to be forgiven of do you think something else?” “I think I will probably be forgiven,” he said in a tone of voice suggesting the other was not really an option for him. “Well if you’d like to be forgiven there’s a prayer you can pray,” and I went through it with to him asking reading the line, “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?” He nodded it did saying, “Yeah.” I said he could pray it silently and know he was forgiven. “Wanna do it?” I asked. “Yeah,” he replied and he prayed then to receive Jesus. I began to explain the Christian life to him. He had a Bible. I said to read in John and to pray and that when you fail God always forgives you because of Jesus. I told him the likelihood would now go to Heaven trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus was 100%. I also I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. “Thank you,” he said pleased taking the book. I gave him a Bible Study, explaining it and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I stood up to go and told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless him. God’s plan to change the world is to make good people by living inside them with His Spirit. They change the world. I’m just looking to for people to sign up.  “Thank you,” he said shaking my hand. “You’re doing a good thing here.” I thanked him and was on my way.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism last week if you had a chance. God truly blessed. Two weeks of classes are left.

In Him,

Bob