Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a blessed day knowing we are we are in Him who is true. I had a good day on campus chatting up some Christians in discipleship and Zach and Isaiah each prayed to receive Jesus today. Please pray they are secured in their faith. Their stories are below if you have time.

Zach was sitting on the rim of the SSC Lounge, in a row of sofa chairs, his had a table attached I sat in one without beside him. There had been a meeting of some kind in the room at tables they’d brought in and it was breaking up. He was up for doing a survey. He had a large print red checked flannel shirt (It might have been something of a coat) on with a T-shirt under it of some kind of band. He wore grey sweats and had a couple days growth of beard, looked like a young lumberjack, handsome guy, solid build. He had dark brown hair in a short mop. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven and he said, “I’m religious. I’m a youth group leader for High School. I do worship You and preach Your teachings.” He thought he had about a 75% chance of going to Heaven. He listened to the Gospel right off. I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sins but nothing seemed to come to mind, when I tried asking it a couple different ways. I finally said, “Think of the Mass.” But that didn’t trigger it so I said “Well this is how it works,” and I began to explain that Jesus died, His blood cleansed him and was a payment for our sins. I explained the righteousness of God saying Paul said that it was not by his own righteousness but by the righteousness that was by faith. I read the passages stating Jesus rose from the dead. Then I said in the Mass the wafer is symbolic of Jesus body and the wine symbolic of his blood so the symbolism behind it commemorates that He died for you and so you are forgiven. “So when you take it you should just say Thank You.” I went on to say all this could be had by faith. If someone were to ask why should God let you into Heaven you’d say, “Because Jesus died for me.” I asked if he would “…want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done to pay for his sins or thought something else?” “I would want to be forgiven.” He replied and so I said there was a prayer he could pray and going though it asked if it represented the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he replied. I said he could pray it silently I wouldn’t hear him but God would hear and he’d know he was forgiven. “Sure” he replied and he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I told him he could keep the booklet and used it to explain the Christian life. Saying he should try to obey God but when he failed all God’s anger was poured out on the cross and God new a million years ago what he’d done so he could tell God about it and God would forgive him and has a plan to fix it. I Gave him a copy of Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” I the front. I gave him a Bible study on the deity of Christ and explained that when I was in college there was a meeting where a speaker had been brought in. He asked where Jesus said in the Bible He was God. No one knew so I stood up and said, “I and the Father are one.” He asked me where Jesus said it and I didn’t know at the time but my answer had triggered another guy who whispered to me, “John 10:30”. But I just sat down. I explained that when Jesus healed people he did not use the name of God and did not have to because he was God. I also gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet to read suggesting it might help him answer some questions for the kids. “Nice to meet ya,” I said shaking his hand. “Nice to meet ya too,” He replied and I headed out.

I discovered Isaiah sitting at the counter looking at his laptop in the cafeteria. He may have had a speech impediment or was a bit limited in speech but his conceptualization was spot on and he was willing to do a survey. A smart kid. He had a short curly head of hair on top very short on the sides and a well-trimmed beard. He was wearing black sweats with a white stripe up the sides and a gray sleeved thermal shirt with some kind of colorful picture on the chest I never got an angle to see. He was friendly and wore a face mask mostly half off. I could see his mustache and he pulled it up a couple times but it fell down pretty quickly.  I asked him what he would want to do before he died and he said that he had no thing he wanted to do but to spend time with his loved ones. He said his parents said that was important. I asked him what he would say to God if asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” He said he thought that, “If you stand before the man that created you, you would pretty much be speechless.” He thought he had a 90% chance of going to Heaven. I asked if he went to Church he said not often but he watched Joel Osteen. He knew Jesus had died for his sins saying he was “…nailed, crucified”. He listened to all I said and he had a Christian family and they prayed whenever they left home. He listened to the presentation of the Gospel and took it all in, the atonement and the righteousness of God. Then that God adopted him and gave him the blessings of his family. When I asked him if he would want to be forgiven or thought something else his speech was a bit hitched but pointing to the right circle and next to he read, “Life entrusted to Christ,” as his answer. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I talked him through it asking if it expressed the desire of his heart. “Um hum,” he replied. I said he could pray it silently and asked if he’d like to. “Um hum,” he said again and he prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to him and living “Inside > Out”. He did not want a Bible or any books but I gave him a Bible Study on the deity of Christ and another on prophecies about the birth of Christ and he wanted both of those. I wrote the date and “forgiven!” on the front of the booklet saying it would help him remember. “Thanks for talking to me,” I said. “I hope other people hear this insight,” he said. As I got up to go he said, “Take care.” “I will, take care,” I replied. “Spread the word,” he admonished me and I said I would.

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

In Him,

Bob