Hey Brothers and sisters in Christ,

I hope your day has been blessed so far with good things from the Lord. I had a doctor appointment still in search for relief from sciatica pain. But yesterday Lexi prayed to receive Jesus. Her story is below if you wish to spend time on your holiday weekend. Please pray she grows in her faith. 9 students prayed to trust in the blood and righteousness of Christ for their salvation this first week of classes at the College of DuPage.

RJ, Wendy, Jimmy, Jesse (Jesús), Jocelyn, Andrea, Kaleb, Gio, Lexi

Lexi was sitting in the PE lounge waiting for her basketball practice to begin. She was reclined in the seat at the table we sat at but seemed my height. She wore light grey thick sweats and had on a long sleeve shirt that fit like the top half of a fitted black Danskin type shirt. She had full long brown hair was a very pretty, looked like an athletic Selma Hayek with the coloring of a Latina, tan, pretty smile. She went to church each week at a Bible believing Church in Elgin. She said one thing she wanted to do before she died was, “Have a great relationship with God”.  I asked what she would say to God if she died and He asked her, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “I’ve tried my best to obey Him and be the best person I could,” she replied. When I asked her what the likelihood she would go to Heaven was she said 50% and then inched it up to 60% as she thought about it. I began to go through the Gospel with her and when I asked her what the big thing was that Jesus had done to take away her sins so God could live inside her she struggled a bit with an answer but finally landed on “He died on the cross.” There’s a lot of ways to ask the question so I may have just asked it wrong because the Gospel seemed familiar to her or at least she said short words of agreement as I went through it. Different churches have a different nomenclature. I explained with word pictures and stories the blood of Christ as a payment for our sin and the righteousness Jesus earned by perfectly fulfilling the Old Testament law in the way we could not. I explained that she inherited this when God adopted her. I explained she needed to receive this by faith and by grace she was saved through faith. I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins, trusting in Jesus, or thought something else. Then I asked on the heel of that, before she answered, if when she asked for forgiveness for her sins if she was thinking she was a good person and God would forgive her… she said, “Yes.” She cut off what I was going to explain so I said, “or have you been thinking I know I’ll be forgiven because Jesus died for me.” I paused and said, “I know you knew the story.” “When I’m asking for forgiveness I believe I’ll be forgiven because He knows I’m going to try harder to do better,” Lexi replied, missing my point. So I said, “Well that’s what you will do. What I’m asking is have you been trusting in what Jesus did, that he died for your sins and that is why God will forgive you, trusting in what He has done not what you do?” She thought and said, “Honestly I never thought that,” she said it dawning on her the first time. “Ok,” I said. “Well, if you would want to be forgiven trusting is what Jesus did for you on the cross there’s a prayer you could pray.” I talked her through the prayer and then said it says here, Is this prayer the desire of your heart? Would you say that it is?” She said it was, so I said she could pray it now and I wouldn’t hear you, no one would hear you,” I added since the lounge was filling up. “But God would hear you and then you’d know you are forgiven trusting in Jesus.” She took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained then that the likelihood she would go to Heaven was now 100%. “Because how righteous is Jesus, a 100% righteous. And what’s his righteousness worth? An infinite amount and His blood is worth an infinite amount because He is God and so it will pay for both of us. I’ve sinned way more than you because I’m old but if we both die right now God is not going to remember the sins we did but the good He made out of it.” I gave her a Bible Study on the deity of Christ and explained it a bit. I also gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside, telling her that’s the day she was forgiven and she can always remember. I told her I would pray a prayer for her each day from now until Spring and one year after. I explained living “By the Spirit’s Power” and that now by living inside her He could guide her. “Even in Basketball he could help you see the field. I mean the court,” I corrected myself and we said “Court” at the same time and laughed. I gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet also. She’d thanked me but as I got up to go she said, “Thank you, I really appreciate it.” ‘You’re welcome I’ll keep you in my prayers,” I replied. “Thank you,” she said and I headed out.