Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your week has been blessed so far. Yesterday I found no one to go through the Gospel with, there are very few students around. But today, Wednesday, after the Bible study I walked around a couple hours and James prayed with me to receive Jesus and I went through the gospel with a couple Muslims and though neither was truly interested in the things of God. James’ story is below if you want to spend the time. Please pray he grows in his faith.

I had walked by where James was sitting earlier in the day. He had long brown hair His head was turned down and his hair hid his face. A guy yesterday had turned me down and had long brown hair sitting in the same seat in the same lounge. I thought he was the same guy. I walked around over at the PE building with no one interested and seeing James again as I came in the SE corner door of the BIC I walked past the lounge. I thought I’d just ask him again. When he looked up James was not the same guy. His hair was longer, down to his elbows. He had the Errol Flynn mustache and a bit of a goatee. He looked a bit like Errol slightly broader nose. He had black skinny jeans on and black military boots, a black t-shit under a jacket. He said he’d do a survey. I asked him what he’d say to God if he died and was asked Why should I let you into Heaven?  He said, “I try to always do right by people, try to do the right thing even though people say I shouldn’t.” He thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. It turned out he had Roman Catholic parents but no longer went to Church.  When I asked him what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world he said, “He was crucified.” I said, “Right,” and I went on to explain what Jesus’ death had meant to cleanse believers from sin and pay God for what we owed Him for wrecking His stuff, ourselves and others and the earth.  He listened to the righteousness of Christ and salvation by faith and the resurrection. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins trusting in Jesus or if he thought something else. “I guess through Christ,” he said. So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I read it through and asked if it expressed the desire of his heart, he nodded and said “Yeah.” I said he could pray it silently and know he was forgiven and he said, “Sure.” And he prayed to receive Christ. I began to go through the Christian life with him. It turned out he didn’t have a Bible of his own so I gave him one and showed him the cross references and maps and study aids. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. He said, “Thank you.” There was only one other person in the lounge a girl who stood then and interrupted me asking if I was a student there. Sensing she was the self-appointed thought police, I said I taught a Bible Study here and had been here for 20 years. I said, “I got a lawyer and carried a letter from the administration giving me permission to talk to students on campus.” “I was just checking,” she said and left the lounge. “There’s also free speech,” I said to James when she was out of earshot. He smiled. She was rude to interrupt a private conversation and wrong to assume that I would have to explain myself to her at all. But I’m not interested in a confrontation or correcting some random student on her failure to grasp inalienable rights. She’d heard enough of the Gospel to be opposed to my telling it to someone. So I continued with James. I explained living Inside > Out by the Spirit’s Power. I also gave him a Bible study, explaining how Jesus’ walking on the water was a way Jesus claimed to be God. I said that He really made the claim every time He healed, without using God’s name or asking Him, seemed in His own authority. He was the creator recreating what was broken by a command. I gave him Bible Promises for You and gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told him if I saw him around I’d give him a wave.  I’d pray for him each day until Spring and one year after. “Well, thank you,” he said again. “Sure,” I said and I headed off.

Thanks for your prayers for the ministry. God blessed today and we’re having a Bible Study too, so that’s great.

In Him,

Bob