Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today walking with the Lord. We had snow on the ground this morning but it’s in the 50’s by Wednesday we’re told so the leaves frozen to the ground can wait to be picked up. I had a good day on campus and Josh and Tyler each prayed to receive Christ today. Their stories are below if you have a moment. Please pray they grow in their faith.

Josh was sitting in the hallway down from Starbucks as you head to the entrance to the bookstore. When he told me his name was “Josh” I asked if he knew Jesus actual name in Hebrew was Joshua and he knew that and grinned. He was a fair skinned back guy with small face and features and a block chin, good-looking guy. He had a Michael Jordan mustache and a tuft of a goatee; his afro was mostly in 2- or 3-inch ringlets in a mop, the sides were a fade. He wore kind of wry smile as we talked and we hit it off. He had on a black zip neck fleece and sweats. He sat at a knee height table in a stuffed chair and I sat on his left. He wanted to travel. I asked him, “You’re walking down the road and you get hit by a bus. So you’re dead. And you stand before God and He says, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?” “That’s a good question,” he replied thinking a bit. “I don’t think I’ve ever committed any sins. I don’t think I ever lied on God. I think that’d be a good reason to let me into Heaven.” he replied. “Did you ever tell a lie?” I asked. “Yeah,” he said. “Do you know the commandment that says not to lie?” “No,” he admitted. I said it’s do not bear false witness against your neighbor. The Bible says if you are guilty of one you are guilty of them all. “I’d be cashed then,” he admitted. I asked him if he thought he would go to Heaven but he thought I asked what Heaven was like he said, “Angels and white clouds.” I asked again if he thought he would go to Heaven. “I think I would overall,” he replied. He hadn’t been to church since he was a kid. I began to go through the Gospel with him and asked what the big thing was that Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the world so God could live inside him, know him and give him eternal life. He could not think of anything. So I explained the Gospel and all I say about the blood and righteousness of Christ to cleanse him and be a payment to God. He listened closely interested. I said God could adopt him and make him a child of God by faith. Faith saved him. I asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done, then He would live inside him and give him strength and take him to Heaven when he died or did he think something else offering the CliffsNotes version of Islam and the Buddha. “So would you want to be forgiven?” I asked again. He looked at the circle and read the line under the one I had said had the Holy Spirit living inside him and said, “Life entrusted to Christ.” I said if he would want to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I talked through it. “It’s says here ‘Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?’ Would you say it did. “Yeah,” he said. I said he could pray it silently and I wouldn’t hear him but God would hear and he’d know he was forgiven. “Wanna do it?” I asked?” “Yeah,” he replied and then took the booklet and said, “Put my name here?” “You can just read it silently,” I said. And he prayed then to receive Jesus. I began to go through the Christian life with him and asked him if he had a Bible. He said his family had one so I asked if he would like one of his own. “Of my own? Yeah I’ll take a Bible.” he said. I got one out and showed him where John was to read and some study helps and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I said the likelihood he would go to Heaven now trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus was 100%. I gave him Bible Promises for You and said he could read them for comfort or turn them into prayers and I told him Strobel’s story and gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I gave him a Bible study too and explained it a bit and then went back and explained living “by the Spirit’s power” which unlike other religions was “Inside out” where you ask God to transform you and become a good man who does good things. I told him I would keep him in my prayers praying a Bible verse for him each day, asking God to bless him from now until Spring and one year after. He reached out and shook my hand and said, “Thank you.” “Thank you,” I replied and I headed off.

I came across Tyler sitting in the cafeteria. He was wearing a zippered fleece olive green fleece. He had stick straight hair and a gap-tooth smile that the braces on his teeth were correcting. He looked Filipino, though I never asked. He had a nearly round face with stick straight hair that laid flat making very short bangs. He leaned forward as we talked his biceps and chest hitting the table. He thought he’d like to travel to Europe. I asked him the survey question, “You’re walking down the road and you get hit by a bus. So you’re dead. And you stand before God and He says, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?” He thought and didn’t seem to have an answer asking if he was supposed to think of it personally. “Well the question is really asking what got you into Heaven,” I replied. He still didn’t have anything dawning on his face. I asked if he went to church and he said he went to Catholic Church every Sunday. So I said, “What would they tell you gets you into Heaven?” He still did not have anything that popped into his head. “Well what is it you would think you could do in this life to get into Heaven?” “Just be kind to others and love as God loves you,” he replied. He thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him and asked what Jesus had done back in History to take away the sins of the World. He said He had died in the place of all people. So I continued to explain the blood of Christ as cleansing for sin and a payment to God for what we owed Him and the righteousness of God Christ earned to our credit. I explained then to receive Christ would be to believe; Jesus is God had died for your sins and rose from the dead. “Not that you just know the story but that that’s what you put your trust in so if someone would say to you, ‘Why should God let you into Heaven?’ you’d say, ‘Because Jesus died for me.’ I asked then showing him the circles asking if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else explaining what that might be and then said, “Well, I know you knew the story. So when you’re asking for forgiveness for your sins have you been thinking you’re a good person and so God will forgive you or were you thinking I know I’ll be forgiven because Jesus died for me?” He didn’t seem to know so I asked. “Do you think you’ve ever asked God to forgive you trusting in what Jesus had done?” He thought for a moment and said, “I’ve probably never done that.” So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there’s a prayer he could pray. I talked him through it and asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he said. I said he could pray it silently and know he was forgiven. “Wanna do that?” “Sure,” he replied. “I’ll take that booklet.” He took the booklet and I couldn’t really tell if he was praying or not but he wasn’t saying anything for a bit so I finally said, “Amen?” He nodded in reply. I gave him a Bible promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible study. I explained living “By the Spirit’s power”, “Inside out”. I returned to the Question and said the likelihood he would now 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 bless him. He reached out and shook my hand and said, “Nice talking with you, God be with you.” Thank you.” I replied and I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob