Beach Report – Results of the Work 3/18/21

3/18/21

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you day was blessed with all good things from above. I had a good day on the beach sharing the Gospel, though not as long as yesterday. Two guys Joshua and Wrangler each prayed with me to receive Christ today. It was really windy and it took me a while to get the sand out of my eyes when I got home, my left eye is a bit messed up and tearing as I write this. At first they were hitting me like little pinpricks and when I spoke I got some in my mouth but as I got further from the pier it wasn’t bad. Had a hoodie on as it was a little cold but there wasn’t anything changing the tan lines on most. 18 People have now trusted in Christ with me on the beach since Sunday.

 Joshua was sitting with another black guy on some wooden reclining benches with green cushions. He had 4-5 inch braids pulled back in a headband. He said he’d do a survey but his buddy said he wasn’t interested and walked away. His mannerisms were a bit on the artsy side of the ledger as was his voice. When I asked him what he would say to God if he was hit by a bus, died and stood before him. He said, “The things I needed to learn while I was here I took to know… What I needed I learned. And my sins, I repented of them. He thought he had a 50/50 chance of getting into Heaven saying, “Everyone has a 50% chance.” As I went through the Gospel I asked him what God had done through Jesus to take away his sin and he knew Jesus had given himself as a sacrifice.  I explained Jesus had also earned the righteousness of God that could be to his credit. I went through the rest of the Gospel and asked him if he would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus so He could live inside him or if he thought something else. “I would want to be forgiven,” he said. I explained then there was a prayer he could pray to be forgiven and walked him through it and asked if he’d like to pray quietly in his heart so only God would hear. He said, “Yes.” He then took the booklet and prayed to receive Christ. I explained living by the Spirit’s power. I said I had a book he might like and gave him a copy of Bible Promises for You. I wrote his name and mine in the front and “Just Ask” having explained everything God was asking him to do He would give him the power to do by the Spirit. I told him I’d pray for him, thanked him for taking with me and he said I was welcome and I headed down the beach.

 I passed a guy using a volley ball to play soccer with a girl under a volley ball net each taking turns kicking the ball past the other. I went down the beach and to the next set of chairs and then could not see anyone as far east as I could see down the beach so I decided to head back towards were I came in, there were not as many on the beach as yesterday. I passed the guy again but the girl who seemed to be his sister had walked off for some stuff. So I walked over to him and asked if he’d like to do a survey on what he thought about God. He said, “I haven’t really decided what I believe about that yet.” So I asked if he’d like to hear about Christianity and he agreed. Wrangler was about 17 I think. He had a mop of brown hair and a long sleeve white shirt on with a Nike logo on right chest, black shorts. When I asked him for 3 words to describe himself she was back on the other side of the net from us and said, “Cocky,” as she walked past. He said “I’m not cocky, I’m confident.” So I wrote that. He thought he had a 70% chance of going to Heaven. He was serious about what we were talking about so I adopted his demeanor. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “I’m a good soul. I’m sure I’ve made mistakes, I’ve tried to correct them over my time, things like that.” He listened to the Gospel and knew Jesus had died for our sins having been to church when he was younger with some friends but had fallen out of the habit. I explained everything to him and asked him if he would want to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else. He said he’d want to be forgiven. So I asked, “Do you believe Jesus is God, died for your sins and rose from the dead? Do you think that’s true?” He thought for a moment and came to faith and said, “I do yes.” I said, “Well if you’d like to place your trust in that to be sure you are going to Heaven there is a prayer you can pray and I walked him through it and said if he would like to pray that quietly in his heart God would hear and forgive him. He took the booklet and turn away a bit and I took two steps away from where we’d been standing and he prayed to receive Jesus. I told him he could keep the booklet and talked to him about walking in the Spirit. I gave him Bible Promises for You and The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet. I talked to him about Strobel and said he could look into some of his other stuff. I wrote his name in the front of both with mine and “Just Ask”. I said if there was anything he needed prayer for he could email me and I’d be on it. “I’m trying,” he said. I said that he shouldn’t try in his own strength but ask for God’s power and he’d give it. “Thank you,” he said and I said he was welcome and headed out. He was a great kid. His sister stayed away off a bit as we talked and as I walked past her on the way I out I said, “Thank you.” She smiled meekly and said, “Sure”.

 So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and evangelism today if you had a chance, in spite of the wind and weather God blessed.

In Him,

Bob