Hey Brothers and sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was a blessed one walking with the Lord. I had a good day on campus and Cam and LaShawn each prayed with me to receive Jesus. Their stories are below if you have some time and you want to read the exchange. Please pray they grow and a given the sanctification without which not one will see the Lord.

Cam was sitting in the PE building lounge on a couch just past the elevator doors. I went to the elevator and pushed the button. His brown hoodie was up. It was a crisp fabric and shielding his face and I thought he was someone I had talked to before. But realizing I really could not see his face I gave it a shot. When I got close I asked if he’d do a survey and he looked up and I didn’t know him. He agreed so I got his name and we started in. He had a roman nose, nice complexion, a mustache that stopped at his lips, which were classic looking for a black guy. He had some under chin hair beneath. I had to get his name twice he had a bit of a stutter. I asked one thing he wanted to do before he died and he said, “Make my mom proud.” 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?” He said, “I spread the word at times. I pray.” He thought he had a 70% chance of going to Heaven and had been to church. He listened attentively to the Gospel just checking the time on his phone once. Twice, Black guys who say hi to me regularly and are Christians fist bumped him as we talked. One gave me the nod and the other I missed looking at as I was reading until he walked off. I asked what the big thing was Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the world. “Not sure,” he replied after a moment of thought. He took in everything I said about the blood and righteousness of Christ. I asked him if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done, said the quick options of Islam and the Buddha and asked again if he’d want to be forgiven. He did he said nodding. I said there was a prayer he could pray and went through it but the end was broken by a phone call from his ride. His stutter kicked in on the second syllable so he spoke into the phone and said, ‘Come,” instead of “Coming”. I finished it and asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. “Sure,” he said. I said he could pray it silently. He took the booklet and said, “Appreciate it.” He turned the page to look at the booklet so I asked, “Did you pray the prayer?” He turned back to it and began out loud with a hitch so I stopped him and said, “You can pray it silently.” He continued in silence and prayed to receive Christ. When he finished I knew he had to run. I quickly explained living by the Spirit’s power. I gave him Bible Promises for You and I wrote his name and the date (asking him for it) and I wrote “forgiven!” “Appreciate it,” he said seeing what I wrote. And then I handed him the book. I gave him Strobel’s book and a Bible study and I quickly told him the likelihood he would now go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the Blood and righteousness of Jesus. He said, “Appreciate it,” again. He got up to run for his ride and said I would pray a Bible verse for him each night. He looked back and me and said for the third time, “Appreciate it.” And he was off down the hall out the east side of the building.

LeShawn was sitting under balcony that looks out to the stairs along the wall going to the exit near the bookstore. He had a black hoodie up over his head and black pants on. He was shorter and had a roundish face and cheeks, had classic black nose and lips. Dark complexion, though clean shaven but the shadow of where his beard would come in was visible. He was cheerful and upbeat. He wanted to get rich. I laughed and said takes a lot more money these days, you tell some you got a million dollars and they say, “So what.” He laughed. 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?” “That’s a tricky question,” he replied. “I don’t know, ask Him to forgive me.” He thought he had a 60% chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him. He said he went to Church. When I asked him what Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the world he said, “He died.” He took it all in voicing agreement and saying, “Right,” and other affirming kind of words to the concepts of the blood and the righteousness of Christ as a payment for our sin. I told him he was saved by receiving Christ, believing on His name or His reputation; that Jesus was God died for your sins and rose from the dead. “Not that you just knew the story but that that’s what you put your trust in. 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.” He was saved by faith. So I said the last question is do you want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus or do you think something else giving him the CliffsNotes version of Islam and the Buddha as well. And then saying, “When you are asking for forgiveness for your sins have you been thinking you are a good person and trying and hoping you’ll be forgiven 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 ever really put it together like that?” “Not like that no,” he said with a smile. 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 was the desire of his heart. “Um Hum,” he replied. I said he could pray it silently would he want to and he replied, “Um Hum,” again also nodding. I handed him the booklet and he prayed n barely audible words. When he finished he said, “Can I keep this?”  I said, “sure.” And showed him the end of the booklet; going through the Christian life with him. I asked if he had a Bible and he said he did on his phone. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I told him Strobel’s story and gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I gave him a Bible Study and told him I would pray for him each day. “Have a good one,” I said, getting up to leave. “You too, thank you,” he said, gratefully. “You’re welcome Happy Easter,” I replied and he said “You too.” And I headed up the stairs.

 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 blessed with every good and perfect gift from above. I had a good day on campus and Sophia prayed with me to receive Jesus. I had some long conversations with some Christians I often talk to as well sharing some things. Please pray Sophia is sanctified by the Spirit. Her responses are below if you have some time.

 I had a sense I was supposed to head over to the PE lounge so I did and I found Sophia sitting on a bench seat towards the indoor track area. She was very petite; looked Latina. She had a small cute face with no makeup her skin looked a bit like it was losing a battle with stress. She wore a light grey hoodie zipped up the middle and slight darker grey baggy sweats. She had pretty, naturally curly hair parted down the middle and falling just past her shoulders. She has a straight jaw and a small nose and a nice smile. 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 asked if she ever went to church she said she did and that last Sunday her brother had had his confirmation and she went. I asked what she thought her Church would say gets you into Heaven. “Devote yourself to learning God’s word,” she replied. I wrote that down as part of her response and asked, “How likely is it you will go to heaven when you die? 10% is low, 100% you’re sure.” “50/50” she replied. I began to go through the Gospel with her and telling her Jesus said Eternal Life was knowing God I said that mean that God lived inside her but first He had to take away her sin. “What is the big thing Jesus does back in History to take away your sin?” I asked. “Crucified,” she replied. I agreed and said this is how it works and explained the blood and righteousness of Jesus and that He rose from the dead. She was engaged throughout. “God adopts you and makes you His child and 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. So you got someplace to go, Heaven, and something to wear when you get there, the righteousness of God. And then He fills you with His Spirit and give you strength.” I explained all God had done is received, believing. “That you believe Jesus is God died for your sins and rose from the dead. Not that you just know the story but that that’s what you place your trust in, so if someone asked why should got let you into Heaven you’d say, ‘Because Jesus died for me.’” I said faith saved her and her good stuff could not fix her bad stuff and she agreed. I asked her if she would like to be forgiven or thought something else. I explained Islam had a different god and a little of what we knew of the Buddha. “So would you like to be forgiven for your sins or do ya think something else?” I asked again. “I would like to be forgiven,” she replied. So I said if she’d like to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. I talked her through it and said, “It says here does this prayer express the desire of your heart; So would you say it did?” She nodded. So 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 that?” She nodded again so I handed her the booklet and she prayed to receive Jesus. I began to explain the Christian life with her, prayer reading the Bible obeying God. I explained the Christian life was, “By the Spirit’s Power.” That it was “Inside out not outside in.” She had a Bible. So I gave her Bible promises for you reading one and turning it into a prayer. She seemed to really enjoy all I explained. I told her the likelihood she would now go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus, which were worth an infinite amount. I gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I handed it to her and she said, “Thank you.” Also gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and told her Strobel’s story. I retold the story of Jesus walking on the water and gave her a Bible study on the Deity of Christ. I told her if I saw her I’d wave. “It was nice to meet you,” she said. “Nice to meet you too,” I replied. “God bless you,” she said. “God bless you too,” I said and she smiled and I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and God gave you the strength to do all the good things the faith He’s placed in you prompts you to do. If in IL I hope ya got to vote. I had a good day on campus. Nina, Valariia and Antanyia [ann ta nee ah] prayed to receive Jesus. I also came across David. I had been praying for him and praying I could find out if he’d prayed to receive the Lord; he committed to Christ last we spoke. He had prayed; I told him I had been praying for him and gave him another book. Caitlin had long straight thin hair and wire rimmed semi round glasses and a red birthmark dot on her temple the size of a BB; Pretty, frank face. Her boyfriend is a Christian; she was grateful to hear the Gospel. After hearing she was between a decision but thanked me. She really liked the way I went through the verses with humor she said. Some people don’t see any humor in it, but I change the way I say it depending on how serious they are sometimes, it came out that way for her by providence I believe. I gave her the booklet saying if she decided the prayer was the place to begin and explained it and living by the Spirit’s power. She took The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I feel sure she’ll come to the Lord in the future now, understanding everything. She’d just begun to consider Christianity after several different exposures in different sects through life, grew up Lutheran for a minute, spent some time in the Methodist Church, played softball at a Catholic school.  Please pray these students are sanctified by the Spirit.

 Nina was sitting at the counter in the cafeteria that runs the glass wall. She had a cute smaller face with a pointed chin and reddish-brown long hair just past her shoulders. She wore no make-up had thin lips. She wore leggings red velvet Bundt cake color tucket into black short boots and a pink hoodie with printing on it I never made out.  She seemed in a hurry so I went through as quick as I could. 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?” “Hm, wow. That’s a good question,” she replied. She thought a bit and then said, “I believe in you.” I asked her the likelihood she would go to Heaven and she said, “100%.” I began to go through the Gospel with her. I said knowing God was eternal life and that meant God wanted to live inside her so she would be one with God. I asked her what Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the world. She thought about it but could not think of anything. So I said something like “This is how it works.” I said all I usually say about the perfect life of Christ, the sacrifice of His blood as a payment to God. His righteousness inherited through adoption and the resurrection and salvation by faith. “So the last question is what kind of person are you or would you want to be? Would you want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus has done? Then His Spirit would live in you by faith; He’d give you strength for everything and take you to Heaven when you die. Or do you think something else?” and I gave her the brief Islamic God idea and the Buddha as options. “I’d be the first one,” she replied. I asked her, “If you’d want to be forgiven there’s a prayer you can pray and went through it and she read it as I did and said, “OK.” “Amen then,” I replied and I began to go through the Christian life with her. She said she wanted a Bible but then remembered she had a small one and she’d like to use that. I gave her Bible Promises for You. I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. “Thank you she said with a pleased smile. I also gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible study explaining that and Strobel’s story. 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. “Thank you,” she said again her face bright. I said if I saw her I’d give her a wave and headed off. I sat at a nearby table and realized I left the questionnaire card there and went back and got it saying, “I have to write down what you look like so I can remember when I pray for you.” She smiled warmly and I went back to sit and she gathered her things and left. I saw she had 5 minutes to get to class.

I was walking on the south side of the BIC and about to enter the tunnel over to the PE lounge when I got a nudge to turn and go to the MAC Arts building instead. So I just headed over there via the other tunnel in the hope God had an appointment. I came across Valeriia. She had a slight Eastern European accent. Her brown hair was parted down the middle, a little wavy and a bit fly-away. She had a round end on the tip of her nose; a cute narrow face and her teeth had some gaps on the side. She wore light blue jeans and a white sweater with narrow horizontal green stripes separated by 5 inches. She was a very nice person. She said she wanted to have a family. “Yeah someone to love ya when ya get home, your kids run up and greet ya, stuff like that.” She agreed. 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?” She thought for a moment and said, “Because I tried to spread His love with other people.” “Great,” I replied. She thought she had an 80% chance of going to Heaven. She said she hadn’t been to Church in a while, “But I’ve been meaning to go back.” I began to go through the Gospel with her and when I read John 3:16 she said, “That’s beautiful. Thank you.” I continued through the Gospel explaining everything as I always do and she knew Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world. I explained He lived a perfect life for us; the sacrifice of His blood cleansed us. His righteousness earned by perfect obedience and fulfilling the Law was to our credit. As I made each point she gave some form of verbal ascent with an agreeing sentence. I said He rose and was the only way and then said she was saved by receiving Christ; believing on His name, that He was God died for her sins and rose from the dead. “Not that you just knew the story but that that’s what you put your trust in so that if someone were to 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.” I read then and said, “For it’s by grace you have been saved by faith, it’s just faith.” “Oh,” she said realizing. I asked if she would want to be forgiven or thought something else and then asked, “When you are asking for forgiveness have you been thinking, you believe in God and He would be magnanimous and forgive you, or were you thinking, ‘I know I’ll be forgiven because Jesus died for me’? Or hadn’t you really put it all together before?” She shook her head saying Yes to the last idea. So I said, “If you’d like to be forgiven there’s a prayer you can pray.” I talked her thought it and asked if it expressed the desire of her heart. She said it did; I said she could pray it silently. I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear and she’d know she was forgiven. She took the booklet then and prayed to receive Jesus. She thanked me and said something like it was, “beautiful.” She had a Bible and I went through the Christian life with her living by the Spirit’s power, inside out. I gave her Bible Promises for You showing her how to turn one into a prayer. I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I said it was the easy English version and said she might like her Bible better. “That’s the one I have,” she said. “An NIV.” “Oh great that’s fine,” I said. I explained the symbolism in the mass as she said she had gone to a Catholic Church and said, “When you take it you can just say ‘thank you’, remembering He died for you so you are forgiven.” I’ve only once had a Catholic express a belief in “Transubstantiation.” So I don’t explain that. as it is extra Biblical. It is actually nonsensical as Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” And if He was actually in it as blood and flesh you would not be remembering Him, but experiencing His physical body. The problem that His body is glorified now is also a theological issue. There’s a great deal you would just have to make up which would lead to questions for which there’s no Biblical understanding. I gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible study explaining “Walking on the Water” and Strobel’s story. 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. “I’ll see you in Heaven, it’s a big place but we might bump into each other.” “That’s really nice, no one ever said anything like that to me,” she replied. “God bless you,” I said. “God bless you too,” she replied and I headed off.

As I was headed out with my coat on, thinking I wanted to get to the polling place before the after-work crowd might appear, I walked past Antanyia. She sat a t a counter height table just outside Satbucks. I thought I might not have asked her before and since she was looking down I looked back to try see her face. I couldn’t see it but thought I’d just ask and if she looked up and I recognized her I’d apologize and say have a good day. She looked up and had a cute circular face with a small nose and full lips and milk chocolate brown skin and I knew I’d not seen her before. She wore a purple hoodie and sweats that matched. She had long braids to about her elbows and they had brown highlights in them, African American. I asked her if she’d want to do a student survey for a Bible Study group. She said she didn’t have time right now to go to a Bible study. She was a nice kid. I tried to explain it was just a questionnaire. And then said, “The main question is ‘You’re walking down the road and you get hit by a bus. So you’re dead. And you stand before God and He says, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?’ So it’s really the answer to that question? So would you like to hear the Bible verses that answer that and tell you how you get to Heaven or not so much?” “I don’t know them,” she replied, “OK.” So I asked her name and wrote it on my hand and got the spelling later. I asked her if she knew what Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the world.  “I don’t know,” she replied after a moment of thought. So I explained the gospel to her and said everything I always say about the blood and righteousness of Christ, His sacrifice to cleanse her and be a payment to God. God adopted her and gave her the blessings of His family. I said she needed to “believe on His name,” and receive this by faith; her faith saved her. She tracked well with all of it. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done, “Then He would live inside you and give you strength, take you to Heaven when you die. Or do you think something else?” I told her them Islam had a different god who did not live inside people he was not a father because he did not have a son and there’s no sacrifice for sin. I explained the Buddha a bit. “The first one,” she replied. I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. I talked her through it and read asking, “It says here does this prayer express the desire of your heart? So would you say it does?” “Yeah,” she replied. 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 that?” “Yeah,” she replied and she took the booklet. “Just pretend I’m not here,” I said and leaned down to the floor to get books out of my pack. She said, “OK’. She prayed then to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to her. She had a Bible and I explained living by the Spirit’s power inside out. I said the likelihood she would not go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus. I asked if she ever went to Church. She said she went to Church, “Sometimes”. “Well, now you know what is going on there,” I said. She agreed. I gave her Bible Promises for You. I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I also gave her a Bible study explaining it by retelling the miracle of walking on the water and she smiled throughout. I told her I would pray a Bible verse for her each day from now until Spring and one year after. “Thank you so much,” she replied.  “If I see ya I’ll just give you a wave. “Thank you, nice to meet you,” she replied. “Nice to meet you too,” I said and I headed off. I sat down around the corner to write some notes down. I hadn’t given her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet as I had run out of them but I remembered I had The Student Edition of The Case for Faith in the back pocket of my daypack. So I got it out and brought it over to her and asked if she liked to read. She said she did. I explained Strobel’s story and said she might enjoy reading it over Easter Break. “Thank you,” she said and I said, “Sure,” and headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed walking by the light of His word. I had a good day on campus having some conversations that went well encouraging Christian believers and Anna prayed to receive Jesus today as well. Her story is below if you have time. Please pray she is sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

  Anna was sitting against the wall at a table in the east most lounge of the third floor of the BIC. The windows look out on the PE building they were at her back and she sat against the wall. She was alone at a table her lab top open doing homework. Her monthly planner was in front of her as well; she seemed pretty organized. She had brown hair long past her shoulders the bangs were split into points. She wore a black form fitted shirt. She had a cute elf-like face without make-up; her left nostril was pierced and she also had a septum piercing that look to be the shape of the Greek letter Omega. 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 would say, that I’ve been a good person. I’ve been fair,” she replied. I asked her the likelihood she would go to Heaven when she died. “I would say I’m not sure,” she said. She said her family went to Church but she didn’t have much time right now. As I began to go through the Gospel with her she closed her laptop to listen politely, looking right at me across from her. Her lips parted slightly in a brief smile twice and she did not say much. So I prayed as we talked God would move in her heart not knowing if she was receptive. I began to go through the Gospel with her saying knowing God was eternal life: this meant God would live inside her. First God had to take away her sins. I asked her what was the big thing Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world. “I don’t know actually, “she said after thinking a brief moment. So I began then to explain all I usually say about the blood and righteousness of Jesus that He paid for her sins so God could be just to forgiven them. He rose from the dead and God adopted her. I said she needed to receive Jesus by faith to be forgiven and her good stuff would not fix her bad stuff. I asked if she wanted to be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done, then He would live inside her and give her strength for everything and take her to Heaven when she died or thought something else giving her the quick version of Islam and the Buddha. “I guess be forgiven,” she replied. I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. I talked it through with her and asked if the prayer expressed the desire of her heart.  “I would say so,” she said. I said she could pray it silently if she’d like and know she was forgiven. “I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven. “Wanna do that?” “Sure,” she replied and she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I began to show her the rest of the booklet going through the Christian life. She said she thought there was a Bible somewhere at home. “Would you like your own Bible I have one I can give you?” I asked. “Yes,” she replied. So I gave her one showing her the study aids in it and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I explained living “By the Spirit’s Power.” I told her that Christianity was different from other religions it was “Inside out not outside in” asking God to transform her. I asked her if I could give her some free books. “Yes,” she said. I gave her Bible Promises for You and The Case for Christ Answer Book. I also gave her a Bible study on the deity of Christ and told her the story of Jesus walking on the water, it really didn’t seem like she had heard it. 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. Finally I told her the likelihood she would now go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus. If I saw her I would just say hi. “Sure,” she replied. I’ll see you in Heaven,” I said and I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a blessed week walking with God in Christ; knowing no one can snatch you out of His hand. I had a good week on campus. On Monday Charles had to run for his ride but said he would pray at the end of presenting him the Gospel. I found out Thursday he had prayed to receive Jesus. He was sitting in the same place so I gave him some books and a Bible study. Jeremiah prayed to receive Jesus on Tuesday. Thursday Daniel prayed to receive Jesus. His story is below if you have time. I had the chance to be encouraging to several students helping them assurance of faith. A couple times lately it has brought tears to students’ eyes to be reassured they are saved by His righteousness not their own. Sharon teared-up in the MAC this week and said, “Thanks so much I really needed this today.”

 I had a sense I should go to the MAC arts building when I was near the entrance to the bookstore. So I climbed the stairs and headed over on the bridge past the library and asked a couple people on the way through the BIC (no takers). I then just felt like I should head right over. I talked to a girl in the big lounge there who said she did not believe in God. She then changed her view after I tried a couple superficial, “Who made it all?” questions. She admitted that she thought there was a god but didn’t believe what everyone else in her family thought; they were Christians. She seemed to be enjoying her identity as a rebel in her family. So I let it go to part amicably with her as she said she “knew everything”.  A black girl with some of the longest thin braids I had seen all year so I left giving her a compliment on her hair, had red colors through it. I found Daniel sitting at a counter height table outside the bagel shop in the MAC arts building. He had a mop of brown hair and a thin Michael Jordan mustache separated in the middle. Looked a fair skinned Latino. He was a bit unsure about what a survey might involve so I said, “The big question is, you’re walking down the road and you get hit by a bus. So you’re dead. And you stand before God and He says, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say? So it’s about the answer to that question. Ya got any interest in the verses that answer that or not so much?” “Ok let me have it,” he replied. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he looked right at me interested the entire time a half expressed look on his mouth I couldn’t read. Had kind of a paused wrinkle. Did not smile but once. He didn’t know Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world. He said he had gone to Church as a kid. After he heard of the blood and righteousness of Christ and that he was saved by faith not works I asked, “So what kind of person are you or would you want to be? Would you want to be forgiven for your sins trusting in what Jesus had done? Then He lives inside you and is on the throne or the driver’s seat of your life. His Spirit gives you strength, takes you to Heaven when you die. Or do you think something else?” I gave him the short version of Islam and the Buddha and asked again, “So would you want to be forgiven for your sins? Or think something else?” “I would probably be forgiven,” he said. So I said “Well if you’d want to be forgiven there’s a prayer you could pray.” I talked him through it and asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. He agreed it did. 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 could do that,” he said. He read it through silently and I said, “Amen.” He nodded. I went through the Christian life with him “Living by the Spirit’s Power, Inside out.” His dad had a Bible and he seemed to want to read that so I gave him Bible Promises for You showing him how to turn a verse into a prayer. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible study. 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. I appreciated it,” he replied. “Well God bless your day,” I said getting up to go. “God bless you too,” he replied. “Thanks,” I said. I’ll take that blessing.” And I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with every good and perfect gift from above. I had a slow day on campus; remote learning has emptied it out along with the end of the kids of the baby boomers I suppose. But Jeremiah prayed to receive Jesus. His brief story is below if you have time to spend. Please pray he is sanctified by the Spirit.

Jeremiah was in the PE lounge. He had a 4-inch rough top afro that was shaved on the sides over his ears. He had a wider nose and no facial hair, a block shin and high cheekbones.  He was wearing a Sponge Bob black hoodie and blue sweats. I asked if he wanted to do a student survey for a Bible Study group. “I go to my Grandmother’s Bible study,” he replied. I said that was cool and asked if he would want to hear the Big Metaphysical question he could bring to the Bible Study. He said “OK.” 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?” “I don’t believe I am good enough to go to Heaven,” He replied. I asked if he would want to hear the Bible verses that explained how to get to Heaven. He said, “OK,” again. I went through all I usually say about the Gospel and in explaining the righteousness of Christ expressly I said as I always do, “So you won’t go to Heaven because you are good but because Jesus is good and you are connected to Him.” I explained his good deeds could not fix his bad ones. He’s known Jesus had died for the sins of the world saying, “He was killed,” when I asked. I asked if he would want to be forgiven and asked, “Had you put all this together before?” “I put it together before, I’m a Christian. I just don’t believe I am good enough to go to Heaven,” he replied. I guess what I said went by him somehow. So I explained, “Say I meet a billionaire and he owns a baseball team. He says one day, ‘Hey your team is the Cubs right?’ ‘Yeah,’ I reply. ‘Well my team is playing them the last game of the year and I don’t want to win, if we lose I’ll get a better draft pick. My left fielder just broke his leg. I’m gonna put you in left field, if the ball comes to you try to catch it is you drop it toss it to the centerfielder and let him throw it in. If they throw at your head at the plate don’t worry we got a designated hitter. I’m even gonna give $500 to each of the guys in the dugout to be nice to you.’ So I say, ‘Great,’ and I get to pay in a professional baseball game in Wrigley. But they bring in a pitcher who had Tommy John surgery and didn’t get his contract renewed to try him out at middle relief. He only faces 3 batters and strikes them all out. They pay him $100,000. I played the whole game and all I get is a uniform. Why does the pitcher get more? Because it matters who does the work. If Jesus does the work it is worth an infinite amount because He is God, it pays for our sins. If we do the work it isn’t worth anything because we can’t do anything perfectly. It matters who does the work.” He seemed to get it. I asked if he would want to pray to trust in what Jesus had done so he would be forgiven and go to Heaven. He said he did and he prayed to receive Jesus. He wouldn’t take any books but he took the booklet and I headed out.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. God 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. I help a couple Christians see assurance of salvation and they were very grateful and helped another with some questions on the reliability of Gospels. Charles* committed to Christ asking to photograph the prayer as his mom pulled up. I said he could keep the booklet and asked if he believe Jesus was God had died for his sins and rose from the dead. He said he did. I said and would you want to put your trust in that to be forgiven. He said “Yes,” so I said OK.

Charles had an oval face an inch high rough afro and a thin mustache a beard only under his chin a bit. He had one sleepy eye. He was a nice guy doing medical studies.

He’d said to answer the question, “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 think I done anything bad. I never stole anything. I’ve never been disrespectful. I’ve done my best to follow His example.” In asking the likelihood he would go to Heaven when he died he said, “Right now?” I nodded and said “Yeah.” “40%. Because like I’ve never outwardly been bad but I feel like I could do more to get into Heaven. He understood the blood and righteousness of Christ to save him for the first time and had known Jesus had died to take away the sins on the world. He’d gone to Church some. So hopefully I will bump into him again to discover he gave his life to Christ by faith in His work on the cross that I explained to him sitting outside the cafeteria in a row of chairs.

 So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and evangelism today. God blessed and I had people to talk to regularly as I walked around.

 In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your week was blessed walking with the Lord in the power of His Word and you have successfully sprung forward on your clocks. I had a good week on campus talking with students about the Lord and life and Andrew, Javon, Gio, Myaa, and Tyler prayed to receive Christ, as did Xander on Thursday. Please pray that these students might be sanctified by the Spirit. Xander’s story is below if you have time.

 Xander was sitting on the end of the lounge that is the last corner of the BIC on the 1^st floor on the north side on a bench. The glass wall of the lounge was behind him, his foot resting on a skateboard tipped on its side. He had on a red and blue, sectioned, windbreaker, black t-shirt with some graphic I could not make out half under his coat and off-white jeans. He wore a black cap the brim of his cap was purple. He had brown hair and a beard and thin mustache and wore rectangle black rimmed glasses. He was up for doing a survey. He had skin like mine at his age and warm eyes medium face sharp nose. I asked him to describe himself and he said he was “Shy and restless”. When I asked one thing he wanted to do before he died he kind of paused and struggled for words and said, “Be like… worth something.” I began to go through the Gospel with him and 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?” He thought a moment “I’m really sure what I’d say.” I asked what he thought it was that might get someone into Heaven. “I’m not entirely too sure, being good and stuff, believe in God, trust in His safety,” he replied. He thought he had a 40% chance of going to Heaven. It turned out he had gone to church as a child. Then his grandmother had taken a fall and went from a walker to a wheel chair and they family stopped going. He didn’t remember the time well and wasn’t sure if the fall had anything to do with why they stopped going. I began to go through the Gospel with him and said, “Eternal life is knowing God because He lives inside you and you know Him that way.” When I asked what Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the world he said, “He came and told people things and they killed Him. He died for our sins.” I went on to explain what that meant and that Christ lived a perfect life for us; His blood cleansed us and was a payment to God to the life we owed. He rose from the dead. Believing on the name of Christ would save him; that He was God, had died for his sins and rose from the dead. “Not that you just knew the story but that that’s what you put your trust in so that if someone would ask you, ‘Why should God let you into Heaven?’ You’d say, ‘Because Jesus died for me.’ That would mean you had faith in Jesus.” I asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting I what Jesus had done, “Then the Spirit would live inside you and take you to Heaven when you died.” and spoke of a couple other options. “Be forgiven,” he replied. So I said there was a prayer he could pray and talked him through it and asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. He said it did. So I said he could pray it silently. “Wanna do that?” “Yeah,” he replied and took the booklet. “Just pretend I’m not here,” I said. He then prayed to receive Christ. I began to go through the Gospel with him and asked if he had a Bible and he said he had a couple. So I said reading John was a good way to start. I told him the likelihood he would now go to Heaven trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus was 100%. I said, “You know you said you’d like to be worth something.” He looked at me in acknowledgment. “Well if weren’t worth something God wouldn’t have died for you.” He smiled. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I told him how he could turn the verses into prayers. 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. I gave him a Bible study explaining it a bit and told him a bit of Strobel’s story and gave him, The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I got up to go and said, “I’ll be praying for you,” ‘Thank you,” he replied. “I’ll see you in Heaven,” I said and he smiled with a brightness in his eyes and I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and God granted you a heart of praise and joy. I walked out the door to a flat tire trying to leave for school but had a spare. God’s way of telling me I need new tires it seems. There was a plan on campus though and Myaa and Tyler each prayed with me to receive Jesus today. Please pray they grow in sanctification by the Holy Spirit. Their stories are below if you want to spend the time.

 Myaa was sitting just a bit down the hall to the west of the last doorway out to the south side patio in the BIC. She is a short round African American girl with classic black features a small round head and a pointed chin. Her hair was brushed back into a bun. She had on a zip up gray hoodie that had CREW across the front and faded blue jeans. She wore clear plastic framed semi-round glasses. She wanted to give her mom a house someday. I said they were a lot of work. 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?” “That’s something to think about,” she said musing the question. “I would say I did all I could do before and I love you.” I asked the likelihood she would go to Heaven and she said 77%. I began to go through the Gospel with her telling her that eternal life was knowing God, meaning He lived inside her with His Holy Spirit. So God wanted to transfuse His life into her but first He had to make her His type by taking away her sin. “What’s the big thing Jesus did back in History to take away the sins of the world?” I asked. She thought for a minute and then said, “I don’t know.” I said not to worry it would come back to her and I began to explained the sacrifice of Jesus for her sins the blood that cleansed her and the righteousness the Christ earned. God gave this to her when he adopted her. She agreed with it all seeming to remember a bit of it. I explained this was received by faith. Faith saved her and so I asked if she wanted to be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else telling her of Islam and the Buddha. I asked if when she was asking for forgiveness for her sins if she hoped she was good enough or was trusting in that Jesus died for her. She thought a long time and just didn’t seem to know. “I believe in Jesus,” she said. “But I don’t know, maybe both?” I said well if you wanted to be forgiven for your sins trusting in Jesus there’s a prayer you could pray and I talked her through it and said, “If you don’t think you’ve told God before you wanted to be forgiven for your sins trusting in Jesus and you thought you still needed to do that you could pray it silently and know you were forgiven.” She really just seemed like a person who was going to Church and hadn’t thought about the atonement, since it didn’t come to mind when I asked her. “Sure,” she said. She prayed to receive Christ then and was visibly happy. I told her then the likelihood she would now go to Heaven trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus is 100%. I explained the Christian life to her living “By the Spirit’s Power” “Inside Out”.  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. I gave her Bible Promises for You I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I explained a Bible Study to her she could do and I gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. “We all need something in our lives,” she said. “We do,” I agreed “and now you can be confident God is with you.” “Well it was nice to meet you,” she said. “Nice to meet you too,” I replied and headed off.

I went over to the PE building and Tyler, wearing a black sweatshirt and light gray baggy sweats, was sitting at the end of the long row of tables alone. He was on his phone and later showed me he’d been reading the Bible. He was a Latino with curly hair piled on the top of his head2 inches high, short on the sides. He was good looking with a thin mustache and a beard under a square chin, he had a sharp jaw line small nose. He said he’d do a survey it if would help me out. He like a lot of students thought he’d like to try skydiving. 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 don’t know.” He replied. It really is His option. He knows everything I’ve done. He always knows the specifics about that to act.” He was 100% sure he would go to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him, asked what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world saying, “Crucifixion,” he replied. I explained the blood and righteousness of Christ saying we did not go to heaven because we were perfect but because Jesus was and we were connected to Him. I said he needed to receive this believing 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 put his trust in, “So if someone would ask, ‘Why should God let you into Heaven?’ you’d say ‘Because Jesus died for me.’” I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins trusting in Jesus or if he thought something else, with the CliffsNotes version of Islam and the Buddha. “If you’d want to be forgiven there’s a prayer you could pray,” I talked him through it and when I’d finished he said, “Amen.” Having prayed it in His head. I said, “Well, it says here does this prayer express the desire of your heart so I guess it did.” He agreed. I said the likelihood now he would go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus. I asked if he had a Bible and he showed me he used his phone. I talked him through a Bible study talking about how Jesus walked on the water and Peter doubted. He said that he had been reading in Acts in Peter’s sermon condemning the Jews for their unbelief. I explained living “By the Spirit’s Power.” Saying Christianity is inside out not outside in. You ask the Spirit to transform you and you become a good man who does good things. I said I had a couple books for him and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front of Bible Promises for You. “Thanks I appreciate it,” he said. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. “Thanks I appreciate it,” he said again. We talked more about Christianity and culture and a few things and I got up to go. “I’ll see you in Heaven,” I said. “I’ll see you there,” he replied. “Be safe.” “I’ll do it thanks,” I said 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 Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with good things from above walking with Him. I had a good day on Campus and Gio prayed to receive Jesus as Savior. Please pray he grows in his faith. His story is below if you want to spend the time.

I first met Gio yesterday in the PE lounge. He was sitting with a friend wearing a red 49ers jersey. He didn’t have time to talk before his class and his friend didn’t want to do a survey. Today he was sitting alone waiting for his ride home to get out of class. He was in one of the side cutouts off the edge of the SSC lounge. He’s got a mop of curly thick hair and a wide oval face with a barely visible mustache and something of an emerging extra chin, had a tummy on him. He wore a puffy quilted black jacket and had light grey baggy sweats on. He recognized me and said he had time and was just waiting. As we began to talk as I sat across from him at the table, it’s kind of a booth. I asked him, “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?” “Honestly I don’t even know. I’ve been asked that before. I never knew. I’ve asked for forgiveness for stuff. I’ve done some bad things, I’ve done some good things.” In thinking about it he thought he’d talk about the good things. He thought he had a decent chance of going to Heaven. He hadn’t been to church since he was a kid when his Grand Parents took him, but they moved away. I began to go through the Gospel with him and asked him what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world so God could live inside him. “He died for our sins,” he replied. So I began to go through the Gospel with him saying all I usually do about the sacrifice of Christ, which cleansed him and was a payment to God. We owed God a perfect life that Christ provided to us when he earned the righteousness of God by fulfilling the Old Testament law and by His perfect obedience. God adopts us and gives this to us. Jesus rose from the dead. And believing He is God died for your sins and rose from the dead is faith in Jesus. Having this faith you are saved. I asked him using two circles in the booklet. On the Right Jesus is on the throne of your life living in you by His Spirit and giving you strength and takes you to heaven when you die. On the Left God is on the outside of your life like in Islam.  I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins trusting in Jesus or thought something else explaining the options. “Definitely the one on the right,” he replied. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray. I talked him through the prayer and asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he replied. I said he could pray it silently, “Wanna do that?” I asked. He nodded and took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. He didn’t have a Bible so I gave him one showing him some of the inside and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. He thanked me and went on to explain the Christian life living “Inside Out” asking God to transform us by the Spirit’s power.  I then gave him Bible Promises for You and showed him how to turn a verse into a prayer. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet telling him Strobel’s story and a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ explaining the miracle of walking on the water. I told him the likelihood he would now go to Heaven trusting in Jesus’ blood and righteousness was 100%. I would pray a Bible verse for him each day asking God to bless him from now until Spring and one year after. “I’ll see you in Heaven,” I said getting up to go. “I appreciate it,” he said thanking me. “Thanks for your time,” I replied. “Hope you have a great day,” he said shaking my hand and I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob