Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope ya had a blessed day walking with the God of our salvation. I had a good day on campus and Jabari and Jorge each prayed to receive Jesus today. There stories are below if you want to spend the time. Please pray they grow in the faith.

 Jabari was sitting in a lounge about 7 minutes to the top of the hour. He was African American. He wore a black hoodie with the hood up and camo-print cargo pants. His hair was in a black nylon cap and poured out from under it in 10inch braids. He had a caterpillar mustache and an under the chin beard, a pump nose and full lips. He said he did not have time to do a survey as his class was about to start. I asked him if I could tell him the big question to think about for the day. “You can do that,” he said. So I said, “You’re walkin’ 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?” He thought for a minute and said he didn’t know what he would say. So I said, how he could think about it and began to go through the Gospel with him. I asked if he ever went to Church when he was a kid. He said he had and still went sometimes. As I explained the Holy Spirit in Him was possible because Jesus had taken away his sin. I asked if he could remember what Jesus had done to take away his sins and he thought for a second and said, “He died for our sin.” I agreed and explained that His blood cleansed us and was a payment to God. I explained the righteousness Jesus earned that he could inherit when he was adopted into God’s family. I explained receiving Christ, that if he believed Jesus was God, died for his sins and rose from the dead he had faith. Not that he just knew the story but that that’s what he placed his trust in to be forgiven. “So if someone would ask, ‘Why would God let you into Heaven?’ you’d say, ‘Because Jesus died for me.’ That would mean you had faith in Jesus.” I explained then that he was saved by faith. I asked then if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else. “The first one,” he replied. So I said then there was a prayer he could pray. I talked him through it and asked if it was the desire of his heart. He said, “Yeah,” it was. I said he could pray it silently God would hear him. “Wanna do that?” “Yeah,” he said and took the booklet. He finished praying and I said he could keep the booklet. I quickly explained the Christian life and that everything was by the Spirit’s power, Inside Out. I wrote his name and the date and forgiven in the front of Bible Promises for You. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Book and a Bible Study. “Sorry I made you late for class,” I said, letting him go. “No problem, it’s just down the hall,” he replied. I’ll pray for ya for a year,” I said. “Likewise,” he said. “You take care.” And he disappeared around the corner.

Jorge [George] was sitting right outside the cafeteria in some stuffed chairs with an ottoman in front of them. He was from a Roman Catholic Background. He had a slight accent I could not place. He wore black sweats, they looked cotton, and a nylon zip up black Jacket. He had black hair short on the sides and a bit curly on top. He had an under the chin beard, a mustache only slightly thicker than Michael Jordan. He had a small nose and mouth, thin lips. He was engaged in the discussion. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven. He struggled with a “Hmm,” and could not think of anything. To prompt him I asked what he thought it was that you did got you into Heaven. “Righteousness,” he replied. “The Ten Commandments from the Bible; if you like follow those, like faith and believe in Jesus.” He thought he had about a 30% chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him and said God wanted to know and live inside him. I asked what Jesus had done to take away his sins. “Death and shedding blood,” he replied. He seemed to agree with all I said as I made each point a couple time restating them in different words of agreement. I explained how Christ blood cleansed us and was a payment to God for our sins so God could be Just in forgiving us. I compared this to the symbolism of the Mass and said that it was to remind him that Jesus had died for him and so he was forgiven. So when he took it he could just say, “Thank You.” I explained then that he needed to receive Jesus and to place his faith in what he had done to be forgiven, then he was saved by faith. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else. “I’d want to be forgiven,” he replied. So I asked if when he prayed for forgiveness if he was hoping he was good enough or had thought that he’d know he was forgiven because Jesus had died for him. “I ask for forgiveness but then I do the same thing again, like in a loop,” he replied. I said if he wanted he could ask God to forgive him telling Him that he trusted in Jesus’ work. Then the Holy Spirit inside him could give him strength to be transformed. I said there was a prayer he could pray and talked him through it and he got out his phone to take a picture, so I let him and then said he could keep the booklet. “Oh ok,” he replied. I said if he wanted he could pray it silently now. “Yeah,” he said and he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to him. He said he had a KJV Bible and he found it hard to understand at times. I gave him a NKJV and showed him some of the study helps. It had a daily reading through the year and a list of Q & A with verses attached to it. I wrote his name and the date and forgiven in the front. I also gave him Bible Promises for You saying he could turn them into prayers asking God to give him strength. I also gave him a Bible study on ways Jesus claimed to be God, he had not heard the story of Jesus walking on water. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and explained there were several two-page chapters on Easter. I said now trusting in the blood of Jesus to cleanse and pay for his sins and His righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I said I would pray he gets out of the loop he is in and pray for Him each day. He was grateful and I thanked him and headed out.

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

 In Him,

Bob