Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you had a great day walking with the Lord. I had a good day on campus and God led me to some people who wanted to hear and be forgiven though I only got through the gospel with 3 students. Michael, Tom and Byron each prayed with me to receive Jesus today.

Michael was the first guy I spoke to right in the hall immediately down from row of lockers I use on a row of chairs. He was wearing a runner’s zipper jacket and jeans. Smaller guy and thin with a mop of brown hair swept back and the occasional freckle (the ones girls call beauty marks). Good looking kid, kind of magazine good looks except I suppose for his size. He was friendly and wanted to start a computer game business. When I asked him what he would say to God to be let into Heaven he said, “I’d say that I followed His commands.” It turned out he had been turned off as a Roman Catholic kid by the institutional church, which has admittedly had a myriad or the worst kind of corruption problems. But he felt like he still lived a life of faith and was 100% sure he would go to Heaven. He knew Jesus had died to take away his sins as we talked. I explained the imputed righteousness of God, Jesus had earned by fulfilling the Law and that he wouldn’t go to Heaven because he was good but because Jesus was good and he was wrapped up with Him. “OK,” he said understanding. I told him he needed to trust in that and the cross of Christ to be forgiven and asked him if he wanted to be forgiven with God inside or thought something else. He thought for a moment and then pointed to the circle with Christ on the throne and said, “Be forgiven.” So I said there was a prayer he could pray and talked him through it. “Is this prayer the desire of your heart?” I read to him and he thought it was. Asking if he’d like to pray silently to be forgiven I offered it to him and he said, “Yeah,” and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life living by the Spirit’s power Inside out reading some stuff to him in the back. “This is a good booklet,” He said. I agreed it lined everything up but one of the best parts is what I had added about the Righteousness of God being to his credit, as it meant he did not have to earn it by good things since none of our actions were perfect. He agreed. I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do writing by the Spirit’s power” and his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front explaining everything God was asking him to do He would give him the power to do by His Spirit. I gave him a Bible Study too. He had to run to class so I gave him a Bible study on the deity of Christ and said I’d cut him loose. “Thank you,” he said as I got up to go. And I sad he was welcome.

Tom was sitting in the cafeteria an hour or so later in the day. He had tight curly hair, very short on the sides and what was almost a perfect afro on top except he was blonde and blue eyed so the curls were bigger, being Caucasian, than that of someone of African heritage. He had on a grey t-shit and what looked to be faded blue jeans. He was extremely friendly and nice, not in a fake way but if he lived in your neighborhood you’d want him greeting new peeps on the block. Kind of naturally affirming. He said he wanted to have a family, which is one of the telltale responses that mean a guy will accept Christ. When I asked him what he would say to God he thought out loud a little and finally landed on, “I tried my best. That’s what I’d say.” I asked him the likelihood he would go to Heaven and he said, “I don’t practice so I’d say zero %.” it turned out his dad had asked him to check out Roman Catholicism when he was a kid but he hadn’t been to church since then. He listened closely to the Gospel and could not think of anything when I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sins. “I feel like I probably know this…” he said. So I began to go through the Gospel with him and explain the death of Christ to pay for his sins and His blood that cleansed him so God could live inside. He said he’d want to be forgiven so I asked if he thought it was true Jesus was God had died for his sins and rose from the dead. He more or less said he thought so but though he could not be sure he wanted to “Take a leap” and trust in that. So I offered him the prayer in the booklet explaining it and asked if he would like to pray it silently so God could hear and forgive him? “Definitely, especially recently.” So I gave him the booklet and he took his time and prayed to receive Jesus. So that was great. He did not have his own Bible so I gave him one showing him the “Where to Turn” section and told him there was section too on prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I also gave him a Bible Study and 20 Things God Can’t Do writing by the Spirit’s power” in the front explaining the Christian life “Inside Out” and that everything God was asking him to do He would give him the power to do. I asked what he meant by “especially recently” and he said that about 6 months ago he just somehow began thinking he just couldn’t believe there wasn’t a Heaven. That thought had stayed with him. He said about our conversation, “You could call it a coincidence.” “Or providence,” I suggested. “Yes providence,” he agreed smiling warmly. He had to run to class. I got up to go and he said, “Thank you, good luck!” He meant that I would find more people to believe in Jesus as we’d talked about what I was up to and how I had to trust in God to make good out of my actions, or I would be afraid that I might do more harm than good talking to people about God. Thanks,” I replied and he headed out of the cafeteria to class.

I walked around some more and when I got to the PE lounge headed up the stairs walking beside Jerry, who had prayed to receive Jesus the other day. He was sweating having played some pick-up basketball. I shook his hand and said I was praying for him and he said he’d prayed for me too so I thanked him. Byron was lounging on a sofa upstairs. He was a good looking guy with a 4 inch braids on the top, short on the side, afro. Good looking black guy with a short wide face and a little bit of beard coming through sort of randomly. He wore a gray and white zip up camo hoodie and nylon black workout sweats, black sox and sandals, had some style to him. He was about my size with an athletic build. He wasn’t too interested in doing a survey so I asked if he’d want to know how to get to heaven, “the short version”. He seemed amenable so squatting beside him nearer his head I said, “Like if you died and God asked why He should let you into Heaven what would you say?” “I guess I’d say I’m a good person.” I asked if he wanted to know what the Bible said and he seemed open still, “Christianity is like a blood transfusion,” I said. “I have A+ blood so if they fill me full of B- in the hospital I would clot up and die. God wants to fill you up with His Holy Spirit but first he has to take away your sin, then you are his type and He can live inside you. Then it’s like you are the energizer bunny God is the batteries, you keep going and going and when you die it’s like you don’t die cause God’s inside.” He liked that and acknowledged everyone sinned. So I asked what Jesus had done to take away his sins but he could not think of anything. So I began to explain the Gospel and used the booklet writing down some verses. It turned out he went to church regularly. I asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in Christ and he said he did so I offered him the prayer and explained it telling him he could pray silently and be forgiven with God inside, giving him strength to live the Christian life. I asked if he’d wanna pray and he said , “Yeah,” and prayed to receive Jesus. I also gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do writing “by the Spirit’s power”and his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I gave him a Bible study too. I showed him the survey he hadn’t done and wrote down his answer that he was good saying now he’d say, “Jesus died for me” and he agreed. I showed him the likelihood he would go to heaven was 100% because he was now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness. He was grateful and as he got up I was still on my knees when he shook my hand and said, “‘Preciate  you.” “‘Preciate you too,” I replied. and he headed out and I headed towards my locker.

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

In Him,

Bob