Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and the nearness of God was felt in your heart. I had a good day on campus, Jonathon and DiLo (DiAngelo) each prayed with me to receive Jesus today. Their stories are below if you have a moment. Please pray they are sanctified in the Spirit.

Jonathon was sitting at the counter in the cafeteria eating some kind of wrap. He had on a gray zip up hoodie that read Chicago in Cubs blue and blue jeans on. He was a smallish guy with a boyish good-looking face a couple day beard coming out on his chin and under his nose. His dark brown wavy hair was a mop on top of his head. I asked him one thing he wanted to do before he died and he said, “Be free.” When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “I don’t know I don’t know a good reason to be let into Heaven yet. I don’t feel like I know a good reason.” He thought he had a 35% of going to Heaven.  He said he had been to Church when he was a kid. I began to go through the Gospel with him asking what Jesus had done to take away his sins. He said he didn’t know and it had been a while since he’d been to Church. So I just said “Well this is how it works,” and explained the blood shed on the Cross and righteousness of God earned by Jesus to his credit when God adopted him. I explained he could believe by faith. He listened and took an occasional bite of his wrap sandwich. Finishing the Gospel, I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else with God on the outside of his life using the 2 circles one with Jesus on the throne of your life on the right and one with Him outside it. After thinking a moment, he pointed to the circle on the right and said, “This one right here.” I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and talked him through if asking if it was the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he replied. So I said he could pray it silently and know he was forgiven. “Wanna do it?” “Sure,” he replied. And I said, “Just pretend I’m not here,” and he prayed to receive Jesus. I said the likelihood now he would go to Heaven was 100%. I began to go through the Christian life asking if he had a Bible. He did not have a Bible of his own so I gave him one showing him how some of the study tools worked. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front with John 8:31,32 and turned to it marking the book of John with the marker and read him the verse. I told him when I was a Philosophy major I was talking to a theologian and he asked me why I was a Philosophy major. I said I wanted to know the truth and be free, saying, “Doesn’t the Bible say, You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free?” He asked if I knew what the verse before it said and then turned to John 8:31 which read if you are in my word then you are my disciples and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” I reminded Jonathon what he’d said in the survey and I put a little star by the verses. “That’s a great verse,” he said. I agreed. I gave him Bible Promises for You and The Case for Christ answer Booklet and a Bible study, each with some explanation. I went on to finish the Christian life explaining living by the Spirit’s power, “Inside > Out”. “Thanks for this, I’ll take it all in,” he said.  I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after to bless him. We fist bumped because he had dressing on his hand. “I’ll see you in Heaven,” I said getting up to leave. “Thank you, I appreciate it,” he replied and I walked off.

DiLo was sitting at the end of a row of chairs just past the first NW 2^nd floor door of the BIC waiting for a friend to get out of class. He had on clay red pants with grey pockets and a big curly mop of hair but shaved on the sides. He was good looking, had a mustache and goatee, not too tall though.  He appeared Latino in coloring and had on a black winter jacket, (it was cold today). He said had maybe 5 minutes I asked him if he just wanted to answer the main question and he agreed. “You’re walking down the road and you get hit by a bus. You’re dead and you stand before God and He asks, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?” He said something like, “That’d be interesting to stand before God.” I asked if he would want to hear some Bible verses that told him how to get to Heaven. He agreed so I kneeled leaning against the wall to spare my sciatica pain. I began going through the Gospel on my knees. He tuned in, focusing. He knew Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world. I just went straight through everything God loved him, wanted to know and live inside him, could not because of sin, took away his sin with Jesus. I went through the cleansing blood the payment for sin, righteousness of God resurrection and adoption. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins trusting in Jesus had done or thought something else. “I would want to be forgiven,” he replied. I explained the prayer to him and asked if it was the desire of His heart. He said it was. I said he could pray it silently and know he was forgiven, “Wanna to it?” “Yeah he replied and I gave him the booklet and he said, “Thank you.” He read it a bit and then said “Can I have this?” I said sure and asked if he’d prayed and he seemed to have forgotten that part and prayed then to receive Jesus. I quickly explained the Christian life living “Inside > Out” and said, “Let me give you a book,” and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside of Bible Promises for You and also gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible Study. His friend had come so I said I would pray a Bible verse for him each day. He was grateful and I said, “I hope I didn’t make you late for anything.” “You’re good, you’re good,” he replied and he headed off, putting everything in his backpack.

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

In Him,

Bob