Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was filled with Joy and you could Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; [Psa. 3 7:7] I had a good day on campus and Cody, Nyla and Anthony each prayed with me to receive Jesus. So that was great. I also went through the Gospel very fast with Trevor [oval face, black ball cap, smooth shaven, slight guy with braces on his teeth). He had almost no time before class and had talked with someone at a table. I slipped the question in on him and in reply he had a works righteousness thing going on. He said he’d go to Heaven by keeping the Commandments. “Have you ever told a lie?” I asked. “Yeah,” he replied. “Then you broke the commandment not to bear false witness against your neighbor,” I replied with a smile. I said God wanted to live inside him with His Spirit. I then took a booklet saying I could very quick show him some verses, so very fast touched on the points and showed him a prayer he could pray. “Thanks for going fast,” he replied and I said sure and headed off. I’ll pray for him some and hope to bump into him again.  I’d be grateful for your prayers to bless them and ask God to help them grow in faith. Their stories are below if you have some time.

 Cody is African American and was sitting in the PE lounge on the upper floor at a table by himself, his back to the wall holding a window looking out to the pool. He had on a black hoodie and light grey sweats with a black stripe up the sides. His hair was in tight ringlets about 5 inches long about as wide as the end of a Q-tip. He his nose was something of a flat triangle not very wide, he was shorter and his smaller face had sharp edges, good looking guy. His mustache and bit of chin beard were giving it a try. When I asked him one thing he wanted to do before he died he said, “Have a family.” which is the telling response that always means someone will pray to receive Jesus. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “Ahh…” he said thinking. “Right now would be, I don’t think I’d be worthy of going. I guess [it depends on] how I did, I did with my life. Then go from there.” I asked him the likelihood he would get into Heaven, a %. “I wouldn’t really know. I don’t know I hope that I do.” He listened closely to the Gospel. I explained God had to take away his sins so He could live inside him and he knew Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world. I went on to explain the atonement that he knew and the Righteousness to His credit. He had to receive Him, to believe Jesus is God he died for his sins and rose from the dead. Not that he just knew the story but that he placed his trust in that to be forgiven and then if someone would say, “Why should God let you into Heaven?” he’d say, “Because Jesus died for me.” That is faith in Jesus. He could be saved by faith. I asked if he wanted to trust in what Jesus had done to be forgiven or did he think something else. “Be forgiven,” he said. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray. I talked him through it and asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. He nodded. I said he could pray it quietly and I wouldn’t hear him but God would. He had a thought that distracted him for half a second. I asked if he’d want to do it. “Do what?” he asked coming out of a split-second muse. “Pray this prayer” I said. “Oh. Yeah,” he replied and he prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to him living, “By the Spirit’s Power.” And that Christianity was living “Inside Out not Outside in” where he could ask God to change him not only forgive him. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front explaining one day he could explain the promises to his kids and showed him some examples. I gave him a Bible study on some ways Jesus claims to be the God of the Old Testament and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet explaining Strobel’s story. I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until the end of the Spring and one year after asking God to bless him. “See you in Heaven,” I said getting up to go. “I’ll see you there,” he replied. “Be like hey you old man how’s it going,” I said and he laughed. “Thank you,” he said seriously and I said, “Sure,” and headed off.

 I bumped into Nyla sitting in a row of chairs that is along the stairway going up from the foyer in front of the cafeteria. She was a cute black girl with clear plastic glasses in the larger half circle style now popular. She had classic full lips of an African American and her face was a bit rounded she had straightened hair pulled back. She wore a light grey Nike fleece zipped up the front with a black stripe down the side. She wore jeans. When I asked her one thing she wanted to do before she died she thought for a bit and said she wanted to have a family. “I want to have kids, part of me that’s left behind.” I asked her what she would say to God if she died and were asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “That’s a good question too,” she replied. Then thinking a bit she said, “If I’m going to be honest I wouldn’t know how to answer. I just went to my first Bible study today. I submitted my life to God so I would hope because I began.” “Because you got started?” I asked. “Yeah,” she replied. (It turned out I knew the Bible Study she had gone to and the guy who taught it was an evangelical that stuck to the Bible.) I began to explain that God loved her and knowing God, and Jesus was eternal life. I asked if she knew what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world. She could not think of anything. So I began to explain the blood and righteousness of Christ for her and the payment made for her sins. When I had told her all of the Gospel I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done for her or thought something else. “Yeah,” she said she did want to be forgiven. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I talked her through it. I asked if it expressed the desire of her heart, “Yeah,” in a frank matter of fact way she said again. So I said she could pray it silently and she nodded and took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I began to explain the Christian life to her asking her if she had a Bible. “No,” she said. “Would you like one?” “Yeah,” she said. So I got out a Bible and explained some of the study helps and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave it to her. “Thank you,” she said. “This has been such a strange day. The Bible Study was so last minute but I went, and now I’m getting a Bible and didn’t have to purchase one.” She broke down a bit then and was starting to cry. “I’m sorry to be emotional,” she said. “That’s fine,” I said. That’s joy knowing God is taking care of you.” She nodded. I went through the rest of the Christian life explaining that everything is “By the Spirit’s Power.” And I explained living “Inside Out.” I gave her Bible Promises for You and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet explaining Strobel’s story a bit. I also gave her a Bible study. “Thank you so much, I really appreciate that,” she said about everything. I said the likelihood she would not go to Heaven was 100% and that as soon as she told God she believed His Spirit entered her and sealed her. I got up to go and I told her I would pray for her each day until Spring and one year after asking God to bless her. She was grateful. I bumped into her again a bit later and she was happy and I said I’m praying for you already and she lit up with a big smile.

 Anthony was down around the corner sitting alone in a big chair with a round ottoman in front of it. He was formerly Orthodox. He was wearing an oversized black t-shirt and black shorts. He had a decent sized cross around his neck and behind it was a trident on another chain. He had good looking feature, clean shaven with a solid jaw line. He had rings of curls that would wrap around a pinky finger in a mop in front of his face. He looked Greek; he was on the shorter side kind of a square build. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and were asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “I always made sure to treat people with respect, how I wanted to be treated.” I said that that was in the Bible and is called the Golden rule [Matthew 7:12]. I asked the likelihood he would go to Heaven when he died and he said after thinking a bit uncomfortably, “I’m going with 65% being honest.” I went through the Gospel with him. I asked him what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world and he knew Jesus had died on the cross. I couldn’t tell if the word was taking root and I was tired so I prayed as I went. Finally after finishing with the Gospel turned to the two circles one with Christ on the throne of your life and living inside you and the other with Christ outside your life asking if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Christ has done so the Spirit could live inside him and give him strength or if he thought something else mentioning Islam and Buddhism. “That first one,” he replied. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and after reading him through it I asked if it was the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he replied. I said, “If you wanted then you could pray it silently, I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven, wanna do it?” “Sure,” he said. And he prayed to receive Jesus. I told him then the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I gave him I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible Study explaining it a bit. I asked about the trident, he said he had planned to join the Navy but now had decided to be a Marine. He’d already tested and score high enough to be an MP so he was up for heading into the breach in June. I shook his hand and said I respected him for that. Seemed like he wanted to be a cop when he got out so we talked a little about it. I showed him stuff in the promise book that could help him in “Basic Training” and give him strength all the way through and I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day until Spring and one year after so he’d know someone was praying for him. He was grateful and I said I’d see him around and we fist bumped and I was off. I passed him in the hall later and we fist bumped as we passed each other he now with the strength inside that would make for a Marine.

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

In Him,

Bob