Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with good things from the Lord and He protected you from every form of evil. I had a pretty good day on campus. I hopefully got some good seeds planted and an African American guy Fashawn prayed with me to receive Jesus. Please pray he is blessed. His story is below if ya want to spend the time.

Fashawn was sitting in the hall that leads one to the books store on a couch. He had thin braids in a mop 4 or so inches long, but the back of his head was mostly shaved. When I saw his face as I walked away at the end he had full lips and a slightly wider nose, handsome guy. He had black skinny jeans on with shredded knees and patches, a dark grey hoodie. When I asked him what he would say to God if he died and He asked “Why should I let you into Heaven?” he said without hesitation, “Because I’m a good person.” He thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. He had been to church, but covid had thrown off his attendance. I began to explain the Gospel to him and he leaned forward to listen, very interested. I explained each of the points, asking him what the big thing Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world was, and he knew why Jesus had died. I explained the Blood of Christ cleansing us from all sin and the imputed righteousness of Christ which seemed new to him. But he gave ascent to things I said, nodding, or by voice through his mask. As I finished explaining faith in the work of Christ saved him, I showed him the circles in the booklet.  I asked if he’d want to be forgiven for his sins, trusting in what Jesus had done and he cut me off before I could explain what other religions taught saying, “Nah, I’m the one on the right.” (The circle with Christ inside you on the throne of your life.) So I said, “It seems like you hadn’t had a chance to trust in this, put all this together before?” He agreed nodding so I said, “If you wanted to be forgiven, there’s a prayer you could pray.” I walked him through it, explaining it and said he could pray it quietly where only God would hear and he nodded and prayed to receive Christ. I explained the Christian life walking by the Spirit’s power “inside out”. He did not have his own Bible, saying he thought he had one in his room that was his brother’s. So I gave him a Bible, putting his name and the date and forgiven in the front. I showed him the “Where to Turn” section in the back to answer questions and encouraged him to email me if he had any. I gave him a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ and 20 Things God Can’t Do writing his name and ‘by the Spirit’s power’ in the front. I’d asked him one thing he wanted to do before he died and he said, “Make my mom proud.” So I gave him Bible Promises for You, saying he could tell his mom he’d received Christ and give her a present. Somehow it came up I rode a motorcycle and he said his dad used to until he almost killed his mom on it. I told him I prayed when I went on a ride. I told him that trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness, the likelihood he would go to heaven was 100%. I told him I would pray for him for a year and he said he’d pray for me too—what could he pray for? I said that I would be patient talking to Jerks. “Yeah we wouldn’t want you to bust a cap on anyone,” he replied and I agreed that would be a bad plan. I got up to go and he was grateful and I headed out.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and the weekend holds fellowship and joy in the Lord for you. I had a good day on campus and Cam a big offensive lineman on the football team prayed with me to receive Jesus. I also sat and talked with Tia, a small Latina girl (who is effectively in a cult group on campus). I have bumped into her on campus a few times. Those details are below if you have time. Thanks for your prayers for me and the students who come to Christ.

Tia knows the Gospel. She is a professing Christian but is in the Chicago International Church of Christ. This is effectively a cult-like group on campus that used to be called the Chicago Church of Christ and came out of the Boston Church of Christ. They teach that your righteousness and baptism save you along with the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Of course, we have no righteousness of our own to offer God. She asked me some questions and asked about baptism today; saying someone they had been teaching had rejected her pretty severely when she brought it up. We sat out on a bench in the sunshine outside the SRC building. I quoted Paul saying in 1Cor. 1:14 to her “I thank God that I baptized none of you” saying he would not have said that if it had been salvific to baptize. He would have gone after it right away with everyone.  I also explained that Peter teaches baptism saves you by an appeal to God for a clean conscience (1Peter 3:21). She asked, “What about Christ’s saying that they should baptize in Matthew?” I said that was a directive to the Apostles that they should baptize, but Jesus does not say that someone is not saved were they not baptized. If there was some kind of delay between their baptism and when they believed in Jesus as their Savior, placing their trust in Him, there is no passage that says this will send you to Hell. I explained that the Holy Spirit enters you when you believe and seals you. There is no place in the Bible that says the Holy Spirit enters you when you are baptized. You are one with the Holy Spirit then when you believe and you cannot go to Hell because the Holy Spirit cannot go to Hell. I said baptism is a religious work and there is no list in the Bible of good things you must do to be saved, though there is a list of evil things that if you do not do them you will not inherit the Kingdom of God. I recited some then and she agreed. I asked her what she thought the Bible taught about baptism and she said she had gotten a teaching on it when she had first gotten involved with the Church but had not studied it deeper. I accepted that. We talked a bit more and she ran off to work at Starbucks. So I will be praying we can talk further.

 Cam was sitting in the PE lounge. He is a very big dude, an offensive lineman for the football team.  He’s African American. He had a round face and soft features, a large nose (like John Krasinski from the Office TV show) and dark skin. His hair was pulled up into a ball over his head, and he wore grey sweats and a dark blue t-shirt, purple stud earrings. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “I don’t know. I tried my hardest even though I messed up and I’ll keep messing up. I think that’s all people can do. I know I failed you a lot, I have tried. If I had more time I’d keep trying.” He thought he had about a 60% chance of going to Heaven. He listened carefully to the Gospel then and agreed with me as I went. I asked what the big thing Jesus had done to take away his sins was and he said, “I’m not from here. Back at my Church in Indiana my pastor gave this sermon. It was before I believed anything about God, and it was like he was right in front of me like we are talking across the table.” Cam didn’t seem to be able to communicate the content of the sermon but he was trying to express when he felt like he’d had an experience with God. I’ve had people tell me about an intense experience in their lives when I asked that question before. “Well, God takes away your sin with Jesus,” I replied after we said a few more things about what had happened in that sermon, “and I think that your pastor would say something like this about how that happened.” I went on to explain the Gospel and Jesus’ cleansing blood, which he agreed with, and the imputed righteousness of Christ. I talked about receiving Christ by faith and not by trying to do good things. I asked him which kind of person he was. Did he want to trust in Jesus and what he had done to be forgiven for his sins or did he think something else? “I would love to be forgiven for my sins,” Cam replied earnestly. I said that if he wanted to be forgiven, there was a prayer he could pray and I talked him through it and asked if it was what he wanted and he said yes. I said he could pray it silently and I wouldn’t hear him, but God would hear and then he would know he was forgiven trusting in Jesus. He said “OK,” and I said, “Just pretend I’m not here.” And he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I told him he could keep the booklet when he had finished and used learning the plays on a foot ball team by drilling over and over and the outside would become the inside until it was automatic. “Right,” he agreed. “But Christianity is the opposite,” I said. “You ask God to transform you on the inside by His Spirit and then you become a good man who does good things on the outside. Everything is by the Spirit’s Power. The book of James says you do not have because you do not ask, so just ask. God will help you to do anything that He wants you to do and make you as successful in doing it as you need to be to continue on the path He has for you.” I told him if he was trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness, the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I gave him a Bible study on ways Jesus claims to be God and the book 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” and “By the Spirit’s Power” in the front. As I got up I said I would “pray for him each day for the next yea.r” “This is perfect timing,” he replied. “’Cause life has been throwing me a curve ball. I think this was meant to be,” he said happily. “That’s good to hear, thanks man,” I replied and I headed out having said I’d see him around.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day had joy and peace in Christ to guide it. I had a good day on campus by the day’s end when two African American students, Anthony and Laila, each prayed with me to receive Jesus. Please pray they are blessed. Anthony took a real step of faith. Juan was close to the kingdom, a soccer goalie at school wearing a Yankees cap in the PE lounge. Classic good-looking Latino guy with a short hair cut, businessman features. He felt he needed to think about a commitment to Christ.  Anthony and Laila’s stories are below if you have some time.

 Anthony is about 6’5″. He was wearing shorts and white socks and grey Crocs with a light gray hoodie. He had a round face (I saw as he walked away) and kind of a pug nose. His Afro was about 5 inches high pushing out of his hood. He was sitting under the stairs near the doors of the SRC building. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “I feel like I can’t really tell God. He should know. He sees all the bad people do. So someone could lie even though He sees everything but it would be a trap.” “Like a trick question?” I put in. He agreed. “The thought of Heaven is scary though—you die, where you go after.” I asked him the likelihood he would go to Heaven and he similarly said, “I hope, I can’t really say.” I went through the Gospel with him and the righteousness of God and asked him if he would want to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else. “The easy answer is ‘Be forgiven for my sins’. I believe in God, not the God that is taught.” He went on to say there were so many different likes of Bibles, (he meant translations I think). I agreed there were certainly more than 40, but they were like a teacher in a class having everyone put a sentence in their own words. They would be a little different but they would mean the same thing. There are not translations of the Bible that say Jesus is not God, did not die for your sins and rose again from the dead. None of the translations change doctrines. I said the Greek and Hebrew scholars have nailed down what the translations came from and you can get a Bible that is simply trying to be as close to the original as you can get in English.  (Cult translators btw might change a verse or two. But there are so many ways Jesus claims to be God and even Old testament passages saying the Messiah is God. They change a couple a bit, to try to get around Jesus deity, but miss the majority.] That really seemed to settle something for him, explaining something he had not understood. And he said, “You really changed my perspective.” I talked to him about the prophecy in the Bible, saying Isaiah 53 said Jesus would die between two evil guys and be buried in a rich man’s tomb. I said the Bible has many prophecies in it that are fulfilled in Jesus. The Gita of the Hindu faith and the Quran don’t ever predict the future. That is how you know God wrote the Bible. Other people wrote those books. Only God knows the future. I explained how Christ could live inside him, giving him the power to live the Christian life, and he would be forgiven. So I talked him through the prayer expecting to just say you could think about this and pray it later. But instead I offered it to him in that moment, asking if that is what he would want. I asked him if he would want to take a step of faith and ask God to continue to help him understand. He said the prayer was like what he had heard in a friends Bible study he had attended. (I imagine those people were praying for him.) He hesitated and I said I do not want to pressure you at all and he said it was weird praying, talking to someone you cannot see. I agreed, but then he prayed to receive Christ and seemed happy. I explained living by the Holy Spirit’s Power. I gave him a copy of The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet and providentially turned right to the chapter that was titled, “With all the differences between the New Testament manuscripts how can we trust the Bible?” I said that was kind of what he was asking. I gave him a copy of the Bible Study on the Deity of Christ which begins with Isaiah 9:6 and explained how the Old Testament taught the Messiah would be God. I also gave him the book Bible Promises for You encouraging him to read the Bible. I wrote his name and the date, “By the Spirit’s Power” (explaining he could ask for more faith or anything he needed from the Lord) and “forgiven!” on the inside and he liked that and thanked me. I said he could text me any question he had or email me and I gave him my number. He seemed happy about that. I told him I would pray for him every day for a year. “That’s hard to believe,” he said. I said it might be, but I make a list of people who pray with me and pray for them every day and it is a habit now. He accepted that and had to run for his ride. He flashed me a smile as his mask came off so I could picture him when I prayed for him.

Laila was sitting at a counter height table as I began to walk out past the bookstore. She said she’d do a survey. I was so tired at that point I was almost disappointed, having gone through the Gospel with quite a few students today.  She had a cute small face and did not seem very big over all, ran track at school. She had a hoodie on with some Anime characters on it and a ball cap with a long thick braid coming down out the back of her black baseball cap. She wore a black mask that she pulled up as we began to talk. So I got her name and began. I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven and she said, “So I can see my Grandma before He sends me down,” and she laughed. She thought she had more than a 50% chance of going to Heaven, that she thought would get more likely as she got older and got more done. She seemed to be listening attentively to the Gospel. Her pretty eyes seemed concentrated, but I wasn’t sure at all how receptive she was to the verses. When I finished I asked her if she thought she would want to be forgiven for her sins or thought something else. “I get a lot of people coming up and talking to me about this kind of stuff and this seemed accurate. The rest seemed like a load of bull.” I mentioned the Holy Spirit’s power to help her if He lived inside her and then said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I walked her through it. I asked her if it was something she believed and wanted to pray. She nodded and took the booklet and prayed to receive Christ. I told her then she could keep the booklet and said it had more about faith in it and explained living “Inside out” where first God transformed you and then you did good things. She said she liked to read, so I gave her the Bible Study on the deity of Jesus, how He claims to be God. I also gave her 20 Things Go Can’t Do explaining how anything the book said she needed to do, God would give her the power to do by the Holy Spirit in her. I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven” on the inside. She seemed grateful and I said, “Thanks so much for talking with me and praying with me. It’s so kind of you.” “You’re welcome,” she said cheerfully. “Have a good one,” I said walking away. ‘’You too,” she replied and I headed out to the truck.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with all good things in the Lord as you walked with Him. I had a good day on campus and Leo and Jake each prayed with me to receive Christ. Please pray a blessing on their lives in Christ. Jake had some personal struggles he was going through. Their stories are below if you have time. I have had no further contact with the police also so I am grateful for that, though my Lawyer has had me figuring some things out with others on campus.

Leo was sitting outside on a bench to the west of the doors into the SRC. He was enthusiastic about talking about God. When I asked him one thing he’d want to do before he died he said, “Find out the truth of God.” He looked and sounded Latino. He was trying to grow a beard here and there (had the Michael Jordan mustache that isn’t really one going). He was not a big guy; his ears had gages in them no bigger around than a pencil. He had a good looking face, kind of a young Ricardo Montalbán, crossed with Marlon Brando with much more youthful features. He had on a black and white shirt, styled like a bowling shirt, black Jeans and black tennis shoes with a white stripe. The top edge of a tattoo was just visible on his chest and he had some ink on one forearm. He said he had been a Methodist, a Mormon and a Baptist. When I asked him what he would say to get into Heaven he struggled with a response so I said, “What is it you think will get you into Heaven?” “Deeds and actions,” he replied. Then he said, “By how I behaved when I was alive.” He was sure he would go to Heaven, 100%. Though at first he said it was a hard question. I went through the Gospel with him, explaining that we don’t go to Heaven because we have done good, but because Jesus is good. I explained that his good deeds and actions pleased God on one level. But they could not pay for his sins, as only perfect actions could pay for destructive actions we’ve done. But we are not perfect so we cannot pay, so God pays Himself. He becomes a man and lives a perfect life for us, sacrificing Himself. As I finished the Gospel, I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins, trusting in what Jesus had done for him to be forgiven. He asked me to say it again not realizing I was asking a question. I said it a bit differently and he said, “Go with Jesus.” I said that if he wanted to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done, there was a prayer he could pray.  Then God could live inside him with His Spirit and give him the strength. The Spirit would transform him on the inside so he could do good things on the outside. I walked him through the prayer and asked if it was the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he replied. If he wanted to he could pray it silently to be forgiven, I told him and he nodded. He took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life more thoroughly and the Fruit of the Spirit. I gave him a Bible study on the Deity of Jesus and 20 Things God Can’t Do writing his name and the date and “Forgiven!” on the inside of the book along with “Just ask” and By the Spirit’s power. He thanked me and I told him to email me if he had any questions.

I said hi to Karina who was sitting without her mask, only seeing her later from a distance. I had not gotten a good look at her before with it on. I told her I was praying for her.

Jake was sitting in the cafeteria at the window counter. He was about to watch a paintball fight video on his computer. He had very short red hair on the sides and a slightly longer stick straight mop on top. He wore a red hoodie and green baggy pants, had earrings. Looked like the creative type. Thin face, sharp good-looking features, not a big guy at all. He said he wanted to travel out of the US and see Germany. He was German and Irish (the latter of which he credited for his bright red hair). He showed me the silver cross around his neck and I said, “This will be a good conversation then,” smiling.  When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “I may have made some mistakes but I have learned from them and become a better person because of it.” He said it had been a few years since he’d been to church. He also said, “I needed this,” and said, “Sorry I’m a little emotional,” as we talked. He seemed to have some hard stuff going on, though it did not seem to be his girlfriend who he mentioned or school. I later asked him if I could pray for anything specific or a category, he just said, “Personal.” I said, “Good enough,” and said I’d ask people to pray for him. Please pray he finds comfort or resolution. I went through the Gospel and Christ’s imputed righteousness and salvation by faith not by works. I asked if he would want to be forgiven, trusting in Jesus and he said he would. I slowly talked him through the prayer asking if he’d like to pray it. “I did as you were reading it,” he replied. I said, “Ok, Amen?” and he said, “Yeah.” I told him that the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness. I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I gave him a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ too. He thanked me a couple times and I shook his hand saying I would pray for him. “Nice to meet you,” he said as I grabbed my backpack to go. “Nice to meet you too,” I replied. I’ll see you in Heaven.” He smiled at that and I headed off.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. God truly blessed. 36 people have trusted Christ as Savior so far since school began this semester.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope ya had a great day walking with the Lord. It is still warm and sunny here, but a Grand Solar Minimum is predicted and a cold winter ahead. So I am grateful for the warm days outside.  Henry prayed with me to receive Jesus today. I’d be grateful for your prayers to bless him if you have a moment. I had a long hour and a half conversation with a Muslim guy, Anas (pronounced like Honest without the T. he told me). He took the Bible Study on places Jesus claims to be God in scripture. I offered him a Bible Promises for You Book but he said he could not carry that around, but had a bible on his phone he read sometimes. He grew up as a boy scout and learned some of Christianity there. He was disheartened by the lack of commitment he saw in the young Muslims he knew or had met. He had moral hopes for the world, but I said as Christians we believed most people would have no hope of even being moral without the power of the Holy Spirit in them, and they were not. He was a tenderhearted guy with a thick beard and mustache from Pakistan. His family has a booth in the mall where I get patches sown on my Biker vest so I hope to get in to see him sometime. Henry’s story is below if you have time.

Henry is African American and had a 4 inch afro with a rough top. He wore a black rock band t-shirt and grey sweats. His mask had been down when I first walked up and I saw he had a pencil thick mustache and a goatee. Good-looking guy. His glasses were the style with black tops and half-circle clear bottoms. He was sitting in the lunchroom beside a sandwich from subway still in the wrapper where it remained while we talked. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked why God should let him into Heaven. “I could say a lot of things…” he replied, paused and then said, “I always had faith in you.” Seeming not to want to sound proud, he said he had an 85% chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he was very interested to hear the explanations. When I asked, he knew Jesus was “sacrificed” for our sins and he went to a Bible-teaching church as he described it. I explained the righteousness of God Christ had earned on our behalf that can be to our credit by faith. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins, trusting in Jesus or if he thought something else, and explained other religious options. “I would want to be forgiven for my sins trusting in Jesus,” he replied. So I walked him through the prayer and read, “It’s says here ‘Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?’ Have you ever actually said to God you would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done to save you?” I asked. “I haven’t really said it, I gotta be honest,” he replied. So I said he could pray the prayer right now silently and know he was forgiven, trusting in Jesus. He took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I went on to explain living “Inside out” saying he could have power to live the Christian life “By the Spirit.” I gave him a Bible Study on the Deity of Jesus and 20 Things God Can’t Do writing his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front along with “Just Ask” and “By the Spirit” “Thank you, I appreciate it a lot.” He said.  I thanked him for talking to me and as I got up he said again, “Thank you I appreciate it a lot.” “Sure” I replied smiling. “I’ll see you in Heaven and you can tell me how things went.” And I headed out. Seeing him later outside the cafeteria I told him I would pray for him for the next year and he said, “Thanks appreciate it.”

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope ya had a good day and were free from grief, knowing God’s love. I had a good day on campus and the authorities did not contact me. I got a couple of seeds planted and Arielle and Slone each prayed with me to receive Jesus as their Savior. Please pray a blessing on them. The story is below if ya got the time.

Arielle was sitting in the Science building on the west side of the lounge on the second floor. She had jeans on, torn across both knees. She had a black fleece on and a mask, with straight dark hair with highlights framing her face. I never saw more than her eyes but she looked Filipino, her face was round. She said she wouldn’t have time for a survey. She had to leave in 5 minutes but how long would it take?  I said, “Would you like the short version?” and she said, “Sure.” I asked her the question, “You get hit by a bus, you’re dead and you stand before God and He says why should I let you into Heaven?” She replied, “’Cause I think I’ve been a good person most of my life. I treated people well. I made the right decisions.” She said she went to Church once in a while. I quickly went through the Gospel with her without many illustrations reading Bible verses to her. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven for her sins then, trusting in Jesus and she said, “Yeah.” So I read through the prayer with her, having explained living by the Holy Spirit’s power with Christ inside her. I asked if she would like to pray silently and she nodded and prayed to receive Jesus. She seemed moved and glad when I said she could keep the booklet. I quickly gave her the book Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven” in the front and by the Spirit’s power. She thanked me and ran off.

Slone was sitting on the sloped hill back up to the sidewalk going into the PE building. She had long rows of braids coming off her head pulled back into a group with a tie. Thin athletic build, bright yellow nails, African American. She had attractive features and a light mark on her right temple. She wore jeans and a black t-shirt. She said she wanted to have kids and I checked if she also wanted a husband and she said she thought the guy she was with now was the one. He reads “Our Daily Bread” every day. I asked her what she would say to God if she died to get into Heaven. “Because even in the hard times,“ she began, “I feel like I walked with God. I would just say, ‘God you know my heart.’” She said she thought she would go to Heaven 100% but then she thought about it and said, “I’m not perfect, maybe 70 or 80%.” She was fun to talk to and enjoyed hearing the Gospel. I asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sins and she remembered Jesus had died. I explained the rest of the Gospel to her, that it was His righteousness that was to our credit, that His blood cleansed us and so now she was made perfect inside and matched God and He could live inside her. I explained she could receive Him by faith and that her good stuff did not fix her bad stuff. I asked if she would want to trust in Jesus to be forgiven for her sins where God would live inside her or if she thought something else. “Be forgiven for my sins,” she said sweetly, she had kind of a child like pitch to her voice when she said it. So I explained she could pray to be forgiven and walked her through the prayer, saying she could pray it silently. She nodded and she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I talked with her a while then about living by the Spirit’s power and a bit about her boyfriend. I gave her 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. She said her boyfriend would like the book, so I gave her Lucado’s book of prayers for him and wrote his name, ‘To Dalvin’, in the front and ‘Praying for You’ saying I would pray for him too, having told her I would pray for her for the next year. I gave her a Bible Study on ways the Bible teaches that Jesus is God and said she could do it with her boyfriend. I explained that trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness, the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. We talk some more about what she wanted to do. She was going into fashion and marketing. I got up to go and she said “I got a friend at work his name is Bob too. He’s super cool, all Bob’s are cool,” she said kindly. “Thank you I’m gonna tell my wife, Slone said I was cool.” “You are cool” she said with a big smile. “I’ll see you around, “ I said, climbing up to the sidewalk. “See you around,” she replied, “much blessings”

So thanks for your prayers for the Ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. God truly blessed me and I praised Him in thanks.

In Him,
Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

I hope your day was blessed as mine was on campus. Karina prayed with me to receive Jesus (please pray for her to be blessed). Another girl Keema (had green tints all through her hair, tiny girl dressed all in black) was close, saying, after I walked her through the prayer, “I think this might help me.”  Then closed the booklet. I talked to her more and gave her a Bible Promises for You book.

I went to student activities and the girl at the desk said she had no knowledge of written conditions for the Public entering the school and that to the best of her knowledge it had been open to the public in the same manner it always was. I have a friend who works with a different organization you would recognize the name of on campus that does campus outreach and Bible Studies. He said no one has spoken to him about his movements on campus at all saying he has received nothing in writing concerning limiting his activities at school. His club reserved a large public room for their Bible studies so they obviously know he is there. Another campus group is (I believe) doing student surveys to begin the year and get contacts as I have talked to sever students who did them. Several who did surveys have prayed with me to receive Christ, some were not interested in hearing more. But I know this campus groups actions have not been critiqued (by officialdom at COD).  I don’t know if their staff has done the surveys along with the students but I assume so as that has been the modus operandi of past years. So I guess I will wait until the police wish to talk with me again and take notes for our lawyer if they do. Here is Karina’s story if you feel like taking the time.

Karina was sitting in the cafeteria. By the time I got there it was late in the day, only one other person was in the huge room. I first looked in and thought it was empty. But walking around the angle of the vending machines I saw her sitting at a table alone, seeming to study. She said she’d do a student survey and it turned out she went to a local church where friends of ours have attended. She was raised catholic, however. She walked thought the parking lot later when I was sitting talking on the phone in my truck and I saw she had kind of a Saundra Bullock look, squared chin and her dark brown hair was long past her shoulders. She had milk-white plastic framed glasses and skinny jeans with ripped knees. She wore a dusty dark green velour long-sleeved top. She had a black mask on with a Christian fish symbol with a little cross in it. When I asked her if she died and stood before God what she would say to get into Heaven she said, “Umm, hmmm,” thinking a while and then, “That’s hard.” Finally she said, “That He necessarily doesn’t have to let me into Heaven. She thought her chance of going to Heaven was 50/50. So I began to go through the Gospel with her and she knew Jesus had died for our sins when I asked her what He had done to take her sins away. But she had not been trusting in it. I explained the righteousness of God, saying earlier than I usually do that if she would trust in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I explained His blood that cleanses us from sin and believing by faith.  Saying there were two kinds of persons those trusting in what Jesus had done for them so that God could live inside them and those who did not. Then I explained that the Spirit gave us power to live the Christian life and then we could live “inside out” where God’s power changes us, we become good people and do good things. She was engaged all through, I could see in her eyes though her mask was up. I asked if she would want to trust in Jesus to be forgiven and know she was going to Heaven. She seemed to be thinking but I just went on and said, “If you’d like to trust in Jesus there’s a prayer you can pray,” and I talked her through it. I said, “It says here is this prayer the desire of your heart?” She nodded. So I said if she wanted she could, “pray it silently right now and be forgiven, wanna do it?” “Sure” she said evenly. And she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus, ending by crossing herself. I restated the Christian life, trusting in the Spirit’s power to transform us. I gave her a copy of 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven” on the inside flap. I also gave her a Bible Study on how Jesus claims to be God and she said, “Thank you. Thank you. I really appreciate it.” I said sure and I would pray for her each day for a year and said, “Now you’re all set.” She thanked me again and I headed out to the truck.

So thanks for your prayers for my ministry troubles and for evangelism today if you had a chance. God Blessed in spite of my recent angst.

In Him,

Bob

Abraham, Eddie, Beth and Devion each prayed with me to receive Jesus today.

Abraham was sitting in a lounge on the 3^rd floor of the BIC where it splits south west to hit the big lounge of the SSC building. He was a shortish guy with square glass lenses and a black mask. His hair was combed straight back with no part about an inch and a half on top of his head. He wore a shirt with LEVI’S on it and jeans. As I left he took off his mask to reveal a pencil width mustache, kind of an every-man looking guy. He did the technical support for the live feed for a church I have been to locally. I did a student survey with him asking, “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?” “That’s a tough question,” he replied. “I’m not sure. Christians should be more humble {but} they think just because they’re Christians they’ll go to Heaven. That’s not necessarily the case.” He thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. He seemed engaged then as I went through the Gospel with him from what I could pick up from eye movement. When I got to the two circles asking him if he would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus he said, “Oh yeah that one.” As if to say for sure. So I said if he’d like to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and talked through it asking if it was the desire of his heart. He expressed it was and so I said he could pray it silently and he said,”Sure.” And he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I wrote Just ask under some chapters that left an expectation that under one’s own power one had to do something to make God respond. I also gave him a Bible Study and getting up to leave I told him to say hi to his pastor.

Eddie was sitting on a bench outside the SRC building where the bus pulls up. He had a mop of curly brown hair pushing out from under a baseball cap and a slightly round face. Looked like he might have come from a Latino background. He had on a U of I logo sweatshirt and grey sweats and high tops. He was friendly and open to answering some questions. When I asked him what he would say to God he said, “Well I’m Catholic. I’d say because if I was born in God’s image we’re all His kids, I think He’d love to have all His kids with Him.” I said, “The Bible says we are all children of God in Acts and that God wills that none would perish so that is true.” He thought he had an 80% chance of going to Heaven. I began to explain the Gospel to Him and he knew Jesus had died. When I explained how the Blood of Jesus cleansed us from all sin in 1John 1:7, “So now you are alive inside and you match God now God can live inside you.” He said, “So that’s what that’s about [I think referring to the Mass]. Why don’t they tell us that?” I explained the righteousness of God was to his credit. I said by faith in Jesus believing He was God had died for his sins and rose from the dead he was saved. I asked him if he would want to be forgiven for his sins trusting in Jesus where God lived inside him or thought something else. “Yeah that,” he replied pointing at the circle with God inside. I said there was a prayer he could pray to be forgiven and walked him through it asking if he’d want to pray and he said, “Yeah,” enthusiastically. And he prayed out loud to receive Jesus.  I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I again wrote “Just Ask” under some chapters that left an expectation that under one’s own power one had to do something to make God respond. I also gave him a Bible Study on the deity of Christ. I then explained that confession to a priest was possible because God got paid by becoming a perfect man in sacrifice for us. Since we owed God a perfect payment we did not have to give. I went on using the analogy of an insurance agent for car insurance, where when you crack up your car you call the agent and he tells you, you are covered, and calls it in for you to the company. But the priest doesn’t pay the company pays. “Makes sense,” he said. I said that when he took the mass however he wanted to think about it symbolically he should remembered what Jesus had done and just say thank you. Getting up to leave I said I would pray for him each night for a year and he said, “Thank you very much.” And I headed out.

Beth was sitting in the PE lounge. I had seen her once before. She was also Catholic and since the room was basically empty and her back was against the post. She said she’d answer some questions. When I asked her why God should let her into Heaven she said, “Because I go to church every day.” I clarified she meant every Sunday and she agreed. She had long light brown hair past her shoulders with blonde hi-lights and was wearing black running shorts and a colorful tight shirt top ending a bit above her waste like I saw some of the Olympic runners wear, so I think she is a runner. She was just tracking some things on her lap top and phone. She was attractive with a medium size nose, kind of a tomboy cute, tan face. She listened attentively to the gospel smiling here and there her mask had been pulled down part of the time. After explaining trusting in Jesus and his righteousness I asked if she would want to trust in Christ by praying and she nodded and then nodded again after I walked through the prayer and I gave her the booklet and she prayed to receive Jesus. I gave her the booklet after explaining life in the Spirit. I asked her if she’d want a book with some Bible verses in it to read. She said, “Sure.” I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I then pointed back to the question of the likelihood she would go to Heaven where she had responded 50%. I said, “This is 100%. Because if you are trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be your righteousness; how righteous is Jesus? 100% righteous and what is his righteousness worth? An infinite amount.” She seemed grateful and I headed out the doors to the outside.

I then walked up the stairs outside and found Devion on a park bench by the big fountain and pool on the North side of the BIC building. He thought he had done a survey before but when I asked him the question about what to say to God he said he hadn’t done that but he thought he knew how to get into Heaven. I asked what he thought got him in and he said, “Do good things.”  So I asked if he’s want to find out what the Bible said got him into Heaven and he said, “OK.” He is African American with short braids covering his head. Good-looking guy with a trimmed thin pencil thin mustache and a beard on the underside of his chin, medium size nose. He had grey Crocs on his feet though they were kicked off and grey socks on, light grey sweats and a shirt with a famous black musician on the front, I never had quite the angle to get a look at. He said he was studying psychology. As I went through the Gospel with him he was affirming saying things like “That’s true.” I asked if he would like to be forgiven trusting in Jesus or thought something else and he said he’d like to be forgiven so I walked him through the payer saying he could pray it silently in his heart right then and he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained as I had to everyone on Thursday living by the Spirit’s power “Inside out”. I said that if he went into a counseling practice the Spirit living in him could give him insight into other people’s lives to help them because God knew the content of their hearts. I said God would give him the power to do everything He was asking him to do. I said I would pray for him each day as I also had said to the others. I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I wrote “Just Ask” under some chapters that left an expectation that under one’s own power one had to do something to make God respond. I also gave him a Bible Study and getting up to leave I said, “Cool to talk with you.” “It was, thank you,” he replied. And I headed out.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism yesterday if you had a chance. God truly blessed. We’ll see how the time there goes or if I am shut down going forward.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you had a good day walking in the light of God’s love for you. I had a good day on campus. Though it seems to be getting harder to find someone sitting around I have not spoken to, Katie prayed with me to receive Jesus today. I’d be grateful if you’d pray for her life in Christ to be blessed. Her story follows if ya got some time.

 Katie walked out of the food preparation area and sat down at a table and began to dig into her subway sandwich. She had silver gray hair pouring out past her shoulders from under a ball cap. She wore black skinny jeans that were shredded up on the front and a black shirt covered in rhinestones with a jacket over it. She had not put on makeup where her mask had been, but as we talked while she was eating I could see she was a pretty girl with a bright white smile. A smallish nose and a golden base around her eyes. Her eye shadow was green and she had pointed dashes painted off the edges of her eyes. She had long clear pointed nails, and looked like an art student, which proved to be true though she was taking general education courses. She wanted to travel. I asked 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 asks, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” What would you say?” She said, “It has something to do with faith.” I said that was true, but really Heaven wasn’t just a place. It was the presence of God, so we had to be changed to fit in there. “The philosophical word for it is ontology. Our being does not match God’s being. Like you are breathing air and you need to learn to breathe water. But you could not learn that. You’d have to be transformed into a different being.”  “Doesn’t everyone know deep down they deserve to go to Hell?” she replied. I agreed we all deserved it.  “For me I was raised by a pastor, it was constant rules and guilt. Existential fear.” She went on to say her parents did not want her to go to school but wanted her to take a minimum wage job so she would be dependent on a guy she married and stay home where he would earn the money. I had explained at one point that it was possible that her father’s placing all the rules he had on her might have been because he loved her and was afraid she would go to Hell.  But that sometimes people don’t speak the language another person needs to hear as love. I said people are all different and hear love differently at times. But I’m not sure where it fell in the conversation. I asked her what she thought the likelihood was she would go to Heaven. She said it was 50/50. I explained that the rule of Christianity according to Jesus is that you love God and love your neighbor as yourself. All the rules are supposed to be because you are trying to be loving. I explained that if she got up to go to the bathroom and her x-boyfriend walked in with a gun and walked up to me and said “Where is the girl who was sitting here?” I would tell him you went out the door the other way. And that would be the loving thing to do for you and for him,, so he would not have shot you and had to carry that through life. I began to explain the Gospel to her how God took away our sin with the Blood of Jesus and how His righteousness was to our credit. I told her that God adopted us and gave us all these things: The sacrifice for our sins, the blood that cleansed us, and the righteousness of God that surrounds us like a robe.  I explained she was saved by faith, in that Jesus was God, had died for her sins and rose from the dead. I said that if she wanted to be forgiven for her sins, trusting in Jesus, there was a prayer she could pray and I explained it. That she was asking God to live inside her and forgive her and make her the person He wanted her to be. Then I didn’t ask her to pray, but went to the back and explained living by the Spirit’s power to give her the strength to do anything God was asking her to do. She could ask Him to transform her and she would be able to do it. But if she was not ready to ask God to change her to do something, she could ask Him to change her into the kind of person who would want to ask Him to change her. God does everything, whatever we come across we just give it back to God. It says in James you do not have because you do not ask. “So Just Ask.” Then I turned back to the prayer and asked “So do you think you would want to ask God for forgiveness?” And she said, “Yes.” I said she could pray it silently so only God would hear, and she prayed to receive Jesus. And I was so grateful she did. I gave her 20 Things God Can’t Do writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front (and “Just Ask” on a couple pages that directed her to do things). I also gave her Bible Promises for You and a Bible study on ways Jesus claims to be God. She said, “You don’t have to give me any books.” But I explained that people gave me money for books to give to students. “I’m sorry I have to run to class,” she said packing up to go. I said no worries and that I would pray for her for the next year each night. She was grateful and headed out to English class.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was filled with all good things. I had a good day on campus and Victor and Natalie each prayed with me to receive Jesus today. I’d be grateful for your prayers to bless them today. I got through the Gospel with others; a Mormon named Leslie and Joey, an atheist with a mop of green curly hair on his head, who took The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet. A Filipino guy Kier said he would consider the Gospel. Their stories are below if you feel like taking the time.

Victor was sitting at the opening for the tunnel that goes over to the PE building. He had on blue crocs with white stars and described himself as patriotic when I asked. He had a gold pen with a gold eagle at the end of it. His mask had a small American flag on it. He wore glasses and had the dry-look Clark Kent hair cut and regular guy face. He wore navy blue shorts and t-shirt. He had grown up in the Catholic Church and said he had done all the things required there growing up, touched all the bases. When I asked him what he would say to God if he died to get into Heaven he said, “First I’d say it’s not really my choice. I feel like I’ve been a descent person to everyone I know around me.” He went on to say he was imperfect. He thought he had maybe a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. I went through the Gospel with him. I explained the sacrifice of Jesus, His resurrection and righteousness to our credit. When I offered him the circle to trust in Jesus as Savior, that he might be one with God living inside him he said, “I don’t really know.” He said that used to be more where he was at when he was younger, but things going on lately he’d lost enthusiasm for the Church, having once been the most religiously active kid in his family. I explained to him how the priest was like an agent you buy insurance for your car from. When you crack up your car you tell the agent and they take your information and say you are covered. But the agent does not pay, the insurance company pays. The priest, when you confess your sins to him, is telling you that you are forgiven as God’s representative. But it is God who forgives your sin. I said I can appreciate there are some things going on in the Catholic church that would be tough to endorse, but that he could have a direct relationship with God regardless of how things were going in the church. I said there was a prayer he could pray and I asked if he would like to be forgiven, having a relationship directly with God. I walked through it with him and asked if he’d like to do that, “Yeah,” he said shaking his head affirmingly. He took the booklet then and prayed to receive Jesus. Then he said of the prayer, “Can I take a picture of this?” I said he could keep the booklet. I explained then living “By the Spirit’s Power. Just ask,” and explained living “Inside Out”. I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do, writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I gave him a Bible study on ways Jesus claims to be God. I said the Church might change but wherever he found to go, he could know the likelihood he was going to Heaven now was 100%. I got up to go and said, “Nice to meet you.” “Nice to meet you too. Thank you.” he replied. And I headed down the hall.

Natalie was sitting in one of the lounges against the atrium on the first floor. She was a small girl and was wearing a denim jumper with a bib and straps, had on pink high tops and had nails painted bright yellow. Cute kid, long brown hair, looked Latina. She went to a Catholic Church. When I asked her what she would say to get into Heaven she said, “Maybe… Everyone deserves a second chance” I asked the likelihood she would get into Heaven and she said, “I  don’t know, only God can say, I don’t know.” She listened closely to what I had to say and laughed a couple times engaged in the stories. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven, trusting in Christ for the forgiveness of her sins or believed something else. She said, “This one,” nodding affirmingly and enthusiastically and pointing with a long pinky nail at the circle with Christ inside your life. I said there was a prayer she could pray to be forgiven and walked her through it. I said she could pray it silently and she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained a life in Christ “By the Spirit’s Power,” and explained living inside out where the Spirit transforms us and then we do good things. I asked her if she would like a book with some verses to read and she said she would. So I gave her the book ­Bible Promises for You and The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet. I also gave her a Bible study on ways Jesus claims to be God. She had never heard the story where Jesus walks on the water. “Thanks so much for talking with me,” I said getting up to go. ”Thank you for explaining things,” she replied. And I headed out.

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

In Him,

Bob