Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with joy and peace in believing by the Spirit’s power. I had a good day on campus and Keagan and D’Andre each prayed with me to receive Jesus. A young black woman with 6 inch braids dyed blonde, Josie talked with me for a half hour in and around going through the Gospel with me. She seemed close to coming to a relationship with Christ. There seemed to be some political correctness in the way. But she said she wanted me know the conversation was really just what she needed and she thanked me for listening to her. She was really grateful to have talked. It seemed she had a lot of things going on and changes in her life so I hope she will receive Christ so she can be guided by the Spirit from the inside. She took the booklet.  Thanks for your kind help in prayer. I’d be grateful if you would pray a blessing on these lives. Their stories are below if you have the time.

 Keagan was sitting in a windowed in second floor lounge in the BIC building on the northeast corner. He didn’t seem to have a lot going on and said he’d answer some questions. We ended up talking a while. He had dark mop of red hair on top that was brown and cut short on the sides, a thin mustache and some growth of beard. He had a grey fleece on with a zippered collar, thin guy, sharp nose. He said he went to a Lutheran Church. When I asked him what he would say to God he thought for a bit then replied, “I would say I wouldn’t try to fight for my place in Heaven. If He thought I deserved it I’d respect that if he thought I didn’t I’d respect that.” He thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven saying, “’Cause I mean Religion is important to people in as long as you’re forgiven, and believe, you’ll be let into Heaven and at the same time no one really knows for sure.” He went on to suggest he didn’t know what to do to be forgiven. I agreed that though there were lists in the Bible of things that if you did them you would not go to Heaven there was not an exhaustive list of things that if you are sure you did them you would go to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him. I said that if God lived inside him, if he knew God that way, God was eternal and the source of life so he’s have eternal life being one with God. God could not live inside him because of sin I explained. But he did not know that Jesus had died to take away his sin or seem to know the Gospel at all. He listened, very interested, to the perfect payment for his sin in the death of Christ. I explained receiving Him by faith. When I finished I asked him if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done and he took a moment but then said, “Be forgiven of course.” 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 paused for a moment and then said he could not prove it true it that way, “But I believe it.” So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I walked him through the prayer saying if he wanted to he could pray it silently and God would here and he’d start up with God. “OK, yeah,” he replied and he prayed to receive Jesus. I explained more a life in Christ by the Spirit’s power and gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet writing his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I gave him Bible Promises for You and the Rose publication “Why Trust the Bible”. I gave him a Bible Study on the ways Jesus claims to be God connecting to the Old Testament. I got up to go after we’d talked for a while and said, “I’ll see ya in Heaven,” shaking his hand.” He thanked me and I headed out.

 D’Andre was sitting a chair length away from the next guy at a table full of football players in the PE lounge, (all of which are probably all sick of my asking them to do a student survey). But several have said yes and come to Christ. They probably don’t get up in my face because all of them have Grandma’s that are Christians. D”Andre was very a big dude. He said they’d turned him from defensive back to offensive line because he had put on some weight. The top of his head were ringlet curls that were brown the sides were short, he had lighter skin and a smaller nose, thin mustache and chin beard, good looking guy. He wore shorts and a red hooded sweatshirt. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “Damn.” I kidded him right away that was the thing he for sure shouldn’t say and he smiled and thought some more. Finally he said, “I honestly don’t know.” It turned out he had not been to Church except with grandparents as a kid. He later said his Dad prays every night and has prayers memorized and he doesn’t know how he memorizes them and he wouldn’t know what to say. I said, “He probably prays for you and that’s why we are talking.” That suggestion made him think a moment. When I explained God had to take away his sin to live inside him and asked him what Jesus had done to take it away he could not think of anything. But he tuned right in as I explained how Jesus blood and righteousness saved him by faith. I asked him if he would want to be forgiven or thought something else and he said, “Definitely be forgiven.” So I said there was a prayer he could pray and after explaining it said if he wanted to be forgiven he could pray it silently and start up with God and he nodded and I said, just pretend I’m not here. I gave him the booklet then and explained living by the Spirit’s power “Inside Out”. I said anything God gave him to do he should ask for help to do it. God would give him as much strength to succeed as would not be harmful to him or lead him off a path God had for him. So I gave him Max Lucado’s Pocket Prayers and wrote his name and the date and forgiven and I gave him Bible Promises for You and another copy of it to give to his dad, hoping it would provoke a conversation. I gave him a Bible study too. I got up to go and said, “I’ll see you in Heaven.” “For real,” he replied enthusiastically and I headed out.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. God blessed again and I’m grateful.

In Him,

Bob