Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your week was blessed and you have some joy looking forward to the weekend. I’ll be in the wedding of a friend who I met in college ministry when he was a student. Joy & grace abounds. Cameron and Lupita each prayed to receive Christ Thursday, so much for your prayers.

Cameron was a young looking guy, a bit on the short side with a mop of sandy hair covering his ears, wearing sweats, nice kid. When I asked him what he would say to God if He asked him why should I let you into Heaven he said, “Because I’m always caring.” He had gone to Church on Saturdays when he was younger but had not been in a while, having gotten busy with school. So I gave him a card for the Compass church when we parted, suggesting he could listen to some sermons. He thought he had about a 75% chance of going to Heaven. He listened attentively to the Gospel without much reaction or eye contact; he did not know what God had done to take away his sins. I asked him if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done on the Cross or if he thought something else. I showed him the two circles in the booklet, describing them as representing a life with God inside or one living for yourself. I said Islam did not believe God’s Spirit could live inside them so they had a different God. And the Buddha had left his wife and children to seek enlightenment saying, “So he’s not looking for God he’s just trying to get his head straight.” “I agree with this one,” he replied, pointing to the circle with God inside. I asked if he believed Jesus was God, had died for his sins and rose from the dead. He thought for a moment and said, “Yes.” I explained that if he wanted to place his trust in that to be forgiven for his sins and know he was going to Heaven, there was a prayer he could pray and I walked him through it. I said he could pray it silently and be forgiven “Wanna do it?” I asked. “Um, sure,” he replied and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained that if he trusted in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness, the likelihood he would go to Heaven was now 100%. He did not have a Bible, so I gave him one, writing his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front and showing him the sections in the back on where to turn and prophecies fulfilled and Christ’s words in red. I explained living “Inside Out” trusting in God’s Spirit to change him. I also gave him a copy of 20 Things God Can’t Do explaining that he could ask for God’s power in everything and wrote “By the Spirit’s Power” in the front. He was grateful and I gave him a Bible study. He seemed like a pretty simple hearted guy and talked to me about his issues of jealousy with his girlfriend Sarah (he was quiet and she talked to other guys a lot). So I told him I would pray about that and encouraged him to pray about it, and I said goodbye as another woman walked up who seemed to be some kind of guidance counselor,

Lupita was wearing black leggings, a jacket and Uggs. She was a pretty girl, looked Latina, and had fair skin, an oval face and long dark hair past her shoulders. She was sitting in one of the cubbies that looks down on the Science building lounge from the second floor. She was nice and smiled sweetly here and there as we talked. She said she was Catholic. When I asked her what she would say to God she said, “I tried to do what was right.” She thought she had about a 90% chance of going to Heaven and regularly went to Church. I explained to her that we had to trust in the righteousness God provides in Jesus. She knew Jesus had died for her sins. As I finished she said she would want to be forgiven but did not seem very decided, but then I asked her if she believed Jesus was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead. She said she did. I said if she wanted to trust in that to be forgiven, there was a prayer she could pray. I offered her the chance to pray it and thinking, she said firmly with a smile “Yeah.” Lupita prayed to receive Jesus then. After she finished, I said, “You grow up in the church and don’t think about things much. But when you become a woman, you have to decide for yourself, and she agreed. I gave her 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I gave her Zwingli’s view of the mass as symbolic, saying it was to remind her Jesus had died for her and so she was forgiven and so when she came to that time in the service she could simply say. “Thank you”. She thanked me and I gave her a Bible Study too. I also explained that if she was trusting in the righteousness of God to be her righteousness that it was 100% sure she would be in Heaven. I got up to leave her, saying maybe I’d see her in Heaven, “Who knows, it’s a big place.” She smiled and I said, “God bless you.” “Thank you, God bless you too.” I nodded and headed out.

So thanks for your prayers for the Bible Study and for evangelism Thursday if you had a chance. God truly blessed.

In Him,

Bob