Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your week was blessed and you are getting in a thankful Christmas Spirit. 6 Students trusted Jesus this week. Joseph, Rosa and Fernanda each prayed with me to receive Jesus Thursday (Alex, Jonathon and DiLo earlier in the week). So I was grateful for that blessing from the Lord. Those who prayed Thursday have their stories below. Thanks so much for your help in prayer.

Joseph was sitting in the hall on the third floor. He had stick straight hair and a full, well-groomed, beard, round head. He was not that big of a guy. Though not fat at all when I shook his hand as I left him it was fleshy without a grip, nice guy. He had a light blue button neck golf shirt on and blue sweats with a white stripe up the leg. Looked like “everyman” not very distinguishable from the crowd. He said he’d like to find his dream job and just be happy. I asked him the likelihood he would go to heaven and he said, “I’d say because I did well… tough to answer,” he said. He struggled a bit to put words together. He thought he had a 90% chance of going to Heaven and went to church regularly. When I asked him what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world so he could be cleansed and God would live inside him he knew Jesus had died saying, “He was crucified.” He listened to the Gospel following along well and after I had explained that Jesus had also lived a perfect life and when he poured out His blood it paid God back for all the imperfect things we’ve done that we own God something perfect for. The real reason God forgave him was because He got paid, but he had to pay himself. I said he could receive Jesus, believe in His name, by faith. I asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done or if he believed something else.  “I would like to be forgiven trusting in Jesus,” he replied. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I talked him through it reading the line that follows it in the booklet, “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?” “I would think so,” he replied. I suggested he pray it silently and I wouldn’t hear but God would hear and he’d know he was forgiven. “Wanna do that?” I asked. “Umm sure,” he replied and he prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to him living “Inside > Out” asking God not just to forgiven him but to transform him by His Holy Spirit. I said that now trusting in what Jesus had done the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to blessed him. He had a Bible. I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I gave him a Bible study explaining it a bit and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. He seemed happy and I shook his hand saying I’d see him in Heaven. He asked, “What was your name again?” I told him it was Bob and said it was in the email. “Oh, ok.” (If I did not write a student’s name down right away I would forget it after a few minutes too, often enough. I memorize everyone’s names when I get home so if I see them again I can call it to mind but sometimes forget in the first moments talking to them.) “Thanks for your time,” I said. “Of course,” he replied. And I headed off.

I came across Rosa in the Cafeteria. She had a full attractive face and mouth, and long stick straight black hair, a big bright smile. She wore black leggings, white Crocs and a black winter jacket. She had a medium build to her. When I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven if she died she said, “I would say I grew up believing in God. I used to go regularly to Church and I used to be closer to God before.” She thought she had a 60% chance of going to Heaven. I explained that God wanted to live inside her with His Holy Spirit but first he had to take away her sin, to make her His type (like a blood transfusion). I asked what the big thing was that Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world but she could not recall in the moment. She was very engaged as we talked and laughed at a couple of the illustrations. I began to go through the atonement with her and she was very tuned in. I said she could receive the blood and righteousness of God in Christ by faith. Finally, I asked. “Would you want to be forgiven based on what Jesus has done or do you think something else.” “Be forgiven,” she said without hesitation. I said there was a prayer she could pray and asked if it was the desire of her heart after explaining it. “It dies,” she replied. So I said she could pray it silently and God would hear. “Wanna do that?” I asked. “Um Hum,” she replied and she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. It turned out she did not have her own Bible so I gave her one explaining all the study helps. I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. She was grateful for the Bible. I explained the Christian life to her as well “By the Spirit’s Power”, living “Inside > Out” I told her I would pray a Bible verse for her each day until a year from Spring of next year.  I gave her Bible Promises for You and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I also gave her a Bible study on the ways Jesus claims to be God.  She wanted to be a Vet so at the end I gave her a Creation Magazine (https://www.icr.org/aaf) and told her a few quick defeaters for Evolution (which she also disregarded as impossible) as we parted.  I explained that now trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. “So nice to meet you,” I said getting up to go. “So nice to meet you too. Thank you so much.” She said in reply. “You’re welcome, Merry Christmas,” I said and she wished me Merry Christmas too and I headed off.

Fernanda was sitting on the second floor near main North SRC doorway on a small balcony area that overlooks the stairs going down to the bookstore. She had a grey Hoodie on that had block printing the looked like it might be a school. Since I was knelling at her feet and leaning on the wall a bit to spare my sciatic nerve pain I didn’t get the angle to ever see it. She was a pretty girl with a pointed chin a small nose and mouth and near round glasses flat at the top. The right knee of her powder blue jeans was completely torn away showing 9 inches of kneecap and leg as she sat. Her name would suggest she was a Latina but she had very fair skin. She had curly/wavy brown hair past her shoulders. She asked if the survey was on line I said, “No right here, I write things down and I walk away. The main question is: ‘You’re walking down the road and you get hit by a bus. So you’re dead. And you stand before God and He asks, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?’ It’s basically what the Bible says is the answer to that question.  So ya got any interest in that or not so much?” She said OK so I gave her my name and got her name (one I had never heard before though I think it is pretty common from looking on line) and started in. When I asked her something she’d like to do before she died she said “Sky Diving” and when I asked her why God should let her into Heaven she said, “I’m a good person”.  I get many different answers but those two are the ones I get more than others. I asked her the likelihood she would get into heaven and she said, “70-80% I would hope.” She listened to the Gospel and she knew Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world. I explained everything I usually say and told her some word pictures which got a cleaver smirk. She had a nice smile. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven for her sins or thought something else and she said, “Well this is what I’ve been taught my entire life,” she said pointing at the circle Jesus on the throne.” Well,” I replied, “When you’ve asked for forgiveness for your sins were you thinking God would forgive you because of what Jesus had done or was what he’d done a story you know and you never really processed it before?” “I never processed it before,” she replied. I suggested, “You grow up and for a time you are covered by the faith of your parents but then you have to decide for yourself. If you’d want to be forgiven for your sins and you’ve never told God you would want to be forgiven, trusting in what Jesus had done, there’s a prayer you can pray.” I walked her through the prayer and asked if it “expressed the desire of your heart?” She said it was. I said “If you want you can pray this silently right now, I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven. Wanna do it?” She seemed to agree and she took the booklet and then said, “Right now?” “Yeah sure,” I said. “Out loud?” she said like she was a bit scandalized by that. “No. It’s none of my business,” I replied. “Just between you and God.” She looked down at it then and prayed to receive Jesus. I had explained that the Bible verses I read were the symbolism in the Mass as I often do with Roman Catholic students. “The wafer is symbolic of His body and wine is symbolic of His blood, so when you take it you should just say, ‘Thank you.’ as it is reminding you you’re forgiven.” When she finished praying I explained the Christian life to her too, “By the Spirit’s Power” and said, “Everything in the Christian life is “Just Ask”. God wants to give you all the strength you need to live.” I said I would pray a Bible verse for her every day until a year from spring. I gave her a clever pocket-size book of John with a million dollar cover  another student group gave me. I gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside which she liked. I also gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible study on the ways Jesus claims to be God. As I got up to leave I said of the little stack, “So there you go Merry Christmas.” She put on a big smile and said, “Thank you.” “You’re welcome. Have a good one,” I replied. “You too, thank you,” she said again and I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob