Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I hope you were blessed today with all good things from the Love of God. I had a good day on campus and Kevin committed to Christ saying he would pray & Aaliyah prayed to receive Christ as Savior. Please pray they grow in their faith and walk with the Lord. Their stories are below if you have some time. Yesterday I had long interview discussions with two guys who had said they were atheists and as I left them described themselves more as agnostic. Nick, sitting a 1st floor BIC atrium lounge on the North side. He had boyish face was a future journalist with a baseball cap over short sandy hair. He took The Case for Christianity Answer Book. He was really grateful. Later in the science lounge on the second floor, overlooking the step down lounge that connects the buildings, I found Andy. He looked like a surfer kid with a blonde mop of curls short on the side. He a square chin, blue eyes. He took a creation magazine after I explained how all the animals could fit on the Ark.
Kevin looked Latino and goes each week to Catholic church. He was wearing read trainers and jeans and a t-shirt. He had a mop of straight dark hair and looked like his skin was still recovering from not having to wear a mask. He was sitting reading a text for class the size of a coffee table book, it held bright Medieval looking pictures as I glanced at it. I asked him if he wanted to do a student survey for a Bible Study about what he thought about God. “I’m reading about God right now,” He replied from a seat on a row of chairs off the student activities area. “Oh yeah,” I replied, “what class?” “European History,” We discussed the survey and I asked what he would say to God to get into Heaven. He said he thought that if you tried to please God and did basically good things you would go to Heaven. I began to explain the Gospel to him and went back and forth. He knew Jesus had died to take away his sin and I reminded him the Mass he took each week was symbolic of what Jesus had done and when he took it he should say “thank you”. I finally showing him the booklet and asking him if he wanted to be forgiven. “I would want to be forgiven,” he replied. I asked if he had ever told God he wanted to be forgiven trusting in Jesus or was hoping he was good enough and would go to Heaven. “The second one,” he replied. So I showed him the prayer and said he could pray it silently and he said sure took the booklet and then said I really do have to read this stuff. So I said sure sorry to keep you and I gave him Bible Promises for You. And said I’d see him in Heaven and took off having the impression he would pray as I left.
Aaliyah was sitting in the hallway of the BIC on the 1st floor. She was reading on her lap top but she said she’d do a survey. She was a black girl with full lips and kind of a button top nose, a had a fountain of teased out afro off the top of her head with a grey hoodie half pulled up, she wore nylon leggings with diamond shapes on the side. Cute kid, thin and small. She said she went to an Apostolic Church and wanted to have a career as a traveling nurse and go to at least 20 countries. When I asked her what she would say to get into Heaven she said, “Hmm what would I say… that’s a real good question. I would say even though I didn’t deserve to be in Heaven I always kept a strong faith. I always spread your word to lead people closer to you.” She thought she had a 75% chance of going to Heaven. I went through the Gospel and she knew Jesus had died and even had John 3:16 memorized. I asked her as I finished going through the Gospel if she would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done and she said “I would want to be forgiven for my sins,” she said with some enthusiasm. So I asked if she had ever asked God to forgive her trusting in what Jesus had done or if she was just hoping she would be forgiven. “I try to ask God to forgive me all the time,” she replied. “But were you trusting in Jesus when you did that,” I asked “Or were you just thinking God would forgive you. “I just was, hopefully,” she replied. So I said if she wanted to ask God to forgive her trusting I Jesus there was a prayer she could pray and I talked her through it and asked if it was the desire of her heart. She said it was. So I said she could pray it right there silently, I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear and she’d know she was forgiven. “OK,” she replied. I said, “Just pretend I’m not even here and she giggled with an actual “He, he, he,” kind of musically (I think thinking it was funny I would disappear) and prayed to receive Christ. I explained living “inside out” asking God to transform her. I said now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would get into Heaven was 100%. I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and forgiven on the inside and a Bible study and said I would keep her in my prayers and she was thankful. “God bless your plans,” I said getting up to go. “Thank you, you too,” she replied. And I headed off.
Thanks for your prayers today.
Bob