Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today with all good things from above. I was blessed on campus and Ben prayed with me to receive Jesus. I also had a good conversation with Faizaan a Muslim guy. Their stories are below if you are interested to take the time. I would be grateful for your prayers of blessing on Ben’s new faith and even that there could be a door for the word for Faizaan who I also gave this tract

Faizann appreciated the presentation I gave him of the Gospel and asked what made me believe. I said that because God alone knows the future Christ’s fulfillment of prophecy would be the first reason. Then I gave him the example of His virgin birth born in Bethlehem and His lineage to David through Nathan avoiding the cursed line of Kings by Mary’s line in Luke. He was really into logic and philosophy and reason. I showed him Strobel’s book saying some of the arguments he has of theism would cross over for Islam. I explained the Trinity to him and gave him a Bible study of Jesus claims to be God. I said the next time I saw him I would appreciate if he thought Christians were reading into the verses to find claims or if they held up. I will be anxious to have an outsiders take on the Bible study in that way since I give it to so many people. The Muslim faith does not believe God is rational as it says we cannot know anything of God in His essence. But he might have a different take on that. I explained the Christians who were scientists in Europe developed the scientific method believing they could think God’s thoughts after Him. That God was reasonable and so had created an ordered universe. We talked about free will and other stuff too. We hit it off so I am hopeful we can talk more.

Ben was in a first floor lounge sitting looking at his phone. He has on a trucker style ball cap, a grey hoodie with white sleeves and grey sweats. He had a full beard and rectangular half rimmed glasses. Kind of had that regular guy trucker look to match the hat. He was willing to answer a few questions. He said he grew up going to South Park Church in Park Ridge. This is where I believe the now disparaged Bill Hybel’s began, doing youth ministry. I said I heard that church had a good youth program. He agreed. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “That’s a heavy question.” Then thinking he said, “I think I strived to be a good person all of my life.” He thought he had an 85-90% chance of going to Heaven. I went through the Gospel with him and he knew Jesus had died for our sins. I explained the imputed righteousness of God and that we don’t go to Heaven because we are good but because God is good. And then that it is not by works, out good stuff can’t fix our bad stuff. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins with God living inside him or thought something else and he said, “Well yeah, who wouldn’t want to be forgiven?” So I said if he wanted to be forgiven to trust in what Jesus had done there was a prayer he could pray and I walked him through it.  I asked if it was the desire of his heart and he said, “Yeah.” I said then if he never had a chance as an adult to tell God he wanted to be forgiven trusting in Jesus he could pray it silently. I wouldn’t hear but God would hear and he said, “Sure.”  He read it through then and then paused and closed his eyes and prayed for forgiveness. I gave him 20  Things God Can’t Do and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front having explained to him that we live the Christian life by the Spirit’s power, Inside out. He thanked me and I said sure and that I would pray for him each night for a year. I saw his face as I walked away.

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

In Him,

Bob