Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Hope you were blessed today and found comfort in the nearness of God.  I had a good day on campus and 3 guys prayed with me to receive Jesus: Grant, Malik and Aurelio.

Grant was sitting in the hall on the third floor of the BIC. He kind of looked like Kiefer Sutherland in the movie Young Guns, except he had a sharper nose.  He wore faded jeans and a button shirt and had a few days growth of beard.  I had been turned down by the first 10-15 kids I asked to do a survey and I took the elevator up the 3rd floor to try to kind of reset. Grant was sitting alone in that part of the hallway.  I asked if he’d like to do a student survey for our Bible study group and he said, “Ok, but I only have 5 minutes before I have to be in class.”  Normally I would just say, “Would you like to read a booklet on it on your own?” and give then a quick illustration about how the Holy Spirit wanted to live inside them but cannot because of sin.  But maybe because I had gotten turned down for the first half hour of the day I said, “Well there’s really one root question.  I’m Bob what’s your name?” “Grant” he replied. “Ok” I said, “So say you’re walking down the road, you get hit by a bus and you are dead. You stand before God and He asks, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?”  “Because I’m a good person I suppose,” he replied. I said the Bible had a different answer and asked “Do you wanna know what the Bible says?” “No,” Grant replied.  “You don’t wanna know?” I answered. “No I don’t know what it says” he said.  So I launched into the gospel and threw my name in there, as I was not entirely sure I’d given it to him.  As I explained the atonement Grant said, “Ok. I believe that.” But he wasn’t trusting in that for forgiveness of his sins.  I talked him through the prayer, telling him he could pray to be forgiven. “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?” I asked. He paused, read it again, and said “Yeah.”  I said he could pray it in his heart, with God reading his thoughts, and become a Christian.  And he did. He hadn’t really gone to church before he’d said, and didn’t have a Bible.  So I quickly gave him one and a Bible study, and offered him a book. But he said “I’ll just take this.” I explained living inside out to him. First God transforms you on the inside and then you act like that on the outside. He said “I follow.” I told him I’d keep him in my prayers and he said, “Thanks for this.” He got up and headed down the hall, a minute or two late for class.

Malik was sitting with some friends; two cute black girls Kayla and Taylor and a guy Jakobi who had enough game it seemed to get a prettier girl then him, since Kayla was obviously his girlfriend. I kidded him that way and he laughed.  All three of Malik’s friends were Christians.  It seemed like they road together to school, as they all accused Malik of making them late every day.  They were sitting on the back couches in the lounge attached to the far south end of the cafeteria. They all said they’d do a survey when Kayla said she would. Malik was an average looking guy, not too big, had on ripped up knee-length shorts and a t-shirt.  He had a short afro and a friendly round face.  Nice guy. They were all nice. They all responded with some form of agreement with Jakobi, who said Jesus was his Savior. Except Malik, who had said as to why God should let Him into heaven, “I accomplished everything I was set on earth to do.”  He thought he’d have and 80-90 % chance of getting to Heaven. He also said he wanted to be rich and felt like he had done some things that were bad.   I went through the Gospel and everyone enjoyed hearing it and was on the same page but Malik.  He thought, when he’d done something wrong, that he had been believing God would make it all work out and forgive him. But I helped him see that wasn’t the same as trusting in Christ to forgive his sins by dying on the Cross.  He decided he needed to pray to receive Christ and so I walked around to him and talked him through the prayer, which he then prayed silently.  I showed him how the Christian life was trusting in God’s Spirit for power.  I offered them all books. The girls took Bible Promises for You and Malik and Jakobi took 20 Things God Can’t Do.   I promised them I would pray for all of them, which they thought was great. They were good kids.  I got up to leave and said, “God Bless you guys,” and they said “God bless you too.”  I went back to the truck to get more books as I was parked pretty close and it was a nice day. I remembered I hadn’t given them all Bible studies, so I went back. They were happy to get them and I got Malik’s email and gave him the Rose Pub. handout on Identity in Christ.

Aurelio was sitting around upstairs in the PE lounge.  He was wearing indoor soccer shoes and a soccer shirt, athletic shorts.  He was from Mexico and had a bit of facial hair, unshaven for a few days, looked kind of rugged in his face.  He wanted to go to Spain and liked the idea he might have some Spanish blood from the Conquistadors when I suggested it.  When I asked what he would say if God asked him why he should be let into Heaven, Aurelio said, “I guess I’d say I did the best I could and I follow your teachings.”  He thought he’d have about a 60% chance of getting into Heaven.  He listened to the Gospel and knew Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world.  He wanted to be forgiven after the Gospel and that he could be “wrapped in a robe of God’s righteousness.” But when I asked if he had trusted in Jesus work to forgive him he said “I ask God to forgive me, but I have never asked [in Jesus name].  I asked if he would want to be forgiven, trusting in that, and explained the prayer to him to do so. He said, “The thing is I am not really a Christian. I’m Catholic.”  I explained the idea was similar and that the Mass could be a time for him when he remembered Jesus had died for him and thanked God he was forgiven.  But that he would be trusting in Jesus to save him and make him right with God.  I said “So you would have to decide if you wanted to trust in Jesus to be forgiven.”  He thought about it a moment decided he did want to trust in Christ and he prayed.  I encouraged him, “When you go to church they might say, ‘you should do this and you should do that’ and you’d be like ‘this is great but I’m going to forget this by Wednesday.’ But if you wanted to, if you feel convicted about something, you can ask God right then in the service to make you that kind of man. He will start to work and even if you have forgotten the sermon by Wednesday, God will already be at work.”  I explain the Spirit’s work in him and talked about being transformed on the inside.  I asked him if he had a Bible and he said, “I need to get a new one.” So I gave him one as well as the Identity in Christ foldout I had given Malik earlier. As I left him I said, ‘And the answer to this (the % likelihood you will go to Heaven) is 100%, because you are trusting in the righteousness of Jesus and what He did for you.”  He liked that. I said, “Your sins are forgiven. Not because I say so, but because God says it in His word.”  “Thanks man.” he replied.  “You’re welcome brother,” I said.

I also encouraged some other peeps in their faith and had a good day of ministry.  So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for Evangelism today if you had a chance. God truly blessed.

In Him,

Bob