Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your morning has been blessed so far and you had a blessed day yesterday. My sciatic nerve pain in my legs is really bothering me today so I’m going to take a day off from walking around campus with a backpack full of books. I’m pretty tanked, long day. But yesterday Dan and Mel each prayed with me to receive Jesus so that was great. Though only one girl, a Christian, had been willing to hear me go through the Gospel for the first 2 hours I walked round school. I squeezed in a bit of the Justice of God and answered a question as to why God would become a man with Suleiman, a Muslim, and gave him a tract, black African guy. The last 3 conversations were great though.

I went through the Gospel with Laz in the cafeteria and he really understood his faith better for the first time and received what I explained with Joy. As I headed out, Dan was sitting waiting for his ride. He was a clean-cut sandy brown haired GQ looking guy, sharp jaw line and features, conservative 1970’s hair cut, wry smile he wore through most of the Gospel as I told it to him. He was Roman Catholic. He had on Blue tweed narrow at the ankle sweats and a winter ski lodge print on the shoulders, zip up sweater. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “I tried to live my best life; I haven’t always gone by the Bible.”  He thought he had a 50% shot at going to Heaven saying, “I tried to have good values.” I knew the time would be short so I stayed narrow in illustration and I could see he was interested but he was suppressing a smile here and there. Finally when I explained the imputed righteousness of Jesus, he tipped his head back and grinned with a short laugh, understanding he could be forgiven. I explained this was true symbolically in the Mass that commemorated that Jesus had died so he was forgiven. I then explained he could be forgiven by faith. When I asked him if he wanted to be forgiven with God inside or something else he said, “I’d pick God inside.” I explained there was a prayer he could pray to trust in that and explained it and said he could pray it silently so only God could hear. I saw he had begun to read and pray as I held out the booklet. When I saw he’d finished I said, “Your sins are forgiven,” cheerfully and fist bumped him. He smiled. I quickly explained living inside out by the Spirit’s power so I hope he got the picture of the fruit of the Spirit as his ride had showed up. So I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do writing his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front along with “Just Ask By the Spirit’s Power.” He stood up and said, “Thank you.” ‘Thanks for your time,” I replied. “Thank you,” he said again and headed for the doors with the Holy Spirit now in him to sanctify him entirely.

I walked down the hall, planning to head to my locker and go home and edit my Bible Study for the evening. I looked back from 15 feet past the corner of the hall that goes down to student activities to see a guy with his head down toward his phone in his lap, sitting on the corner of a row of chairs. From a distance he had the same hair as Byron a guy who’d come to Christ last year and I thought it might be him. As I approached his afro wasn’t in 4 or 5 inch braids but more kind of thin rolled narrow tubes. So I asked him if he wanted to do a student survey about God and stuff and he said ok. Mel had on quilted jeans and a jacket and had a beard and mustache that grew in a little inconsistently but about par for the course for 18 years old. He was thin, 140 6’2”. His nose was like a wide flat pyramid. Good looking guy. Later he said he’d gone to jail and been in some trouble but had recently decided he was done with that, which he credited to his mother’s prayers and being a bit scared straight by the bad food and conditions in jail. He’d first been in juvi and more recently in Cook County and somehow his record had been expunged and he’d worked at Target and Walmart saved some money was living with his mom who was out in the suburbs with his stepfather. He’d been impressed with how nice COD was, like he’d just walked around for the first time so I don’t know if he’d just begun a midterm class. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “Because I’ve forgiven a lot of people in my life.” He thought he had a 50/50 shot of getting into Heaven. He went to a small church in the city. As I explained the Gospel he was engaged and we hit it off. I explained Jesus had lived a perfect life for him and that His blood cleansed him so God could live inside him and give him Eternal Life. “And this perfect life Jesus lived you need that,” I said. I explained that if he wrecked someone’s car he had to pay the deductible and it went to a body shop and they made it perfect again. I explained if we damage someone’s stuff we owe them something perfect in return. Everything belongs to God. “So if I damage you or me or something else I the world I owe God something perfect in return, but we can’t do anything perfect, so were screwed.” He laughed at that in acknowledgement. “So God becomes a man and His life is worth an infinite amount because He is God. When He dies it pays God back for all the things we’ve done that we owe God something perfect for. God forgives us then because He gets paid and He is Just and can forgive us.” “That was a really good explanation,” he replied. “Thanks,” I said, “God tells me stuff and I tell it to people.” He laughed again. I explained the imputed righteousness of Christ saying, “In God’s eyes you get an A.” “A+,” he responded. And that he needed to receive Christ by faith. And that God then could turn his bad things into Good things over time. “So,” I asked, “Would you want to be forgiven with God inside or do you think something else?” “Like Islam doesn’t believe God can live inside people or that he is knowable, they got a different god. Or the Buddha he left his wife and kids to go seek enlightenment, but he’s not looking for God he’s just trying to get his head straight.” “Option A,” he said definitively. “Ok Option A I said writing it on my hand (it was a good response I didn’t want to forget it). I offered him the prayer and walked him through it; he acknowledged it was the desire of his heart. So asking if he’d want to pray it silently he said “Yeah,” and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life living “Inside Out” and by the Spirit’s power. I gave him 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I invited him to Bible study and he said he’d think about it. We talked some more and he asked which way to was to where you could get something to eat. I told him it was just around the corner behind him. I asked if he had any money and he said he did, saying he was a good saver and he told me he’d been working. I gave him a Bible Study we said good bye and he was grateful and we both headed out.

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

In Him,

Bob