Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was filled with all things bright and beautiful, wise and wonderful. Seems a tall order these days but it is sunny and warm for February on our piece of the planet. I had a good day on campus and encouraged some Christians. Griffin prayed to receive Jesus.  His story is below. Please pray he grows in faith in Jesus.

Griffin had light brown hair parted on the left and swept over. He had some sideburns he was working on that were still not quite surfacing and looked his 18 years. He had a boyish face and was friendly, blue eyes. He was 5’6” wearing grey sweats and a green t-shirt sitting in the middle of the SSC lounge. It turned out he had a Swedish Bible that had English on one side. He asked if I was a protestant. I said I was if he meant the term as a non-Catholic, which he defined as—at least a few times a year plus holidays.  He asked for the main question when I asked him if he’d want to do a survey. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven and after thinking a bit he said, “Could I have done better?” He thought he had an 85% chance of going to Heaven saying he had some things he could work on. We went back and forth on the survey. I silently prayed at one point we could get back to it. His courses of conversation off topic weren’t boring, I just wondered if I could get to the gospel before he left for class. He was into Hungarian swordsmanship with a curved sword, something like a scimitar. He had 11 pupils who he was teaching this to and so had all the protective gear for himself and a student. He also told me about his brother a Marine Osprey pilot, or at least he was part of the 6-man crew. He had some things to tell me about his shotgun, showing me pictures. On two occasions he paused and said, is there anything else you were going to say and I’d get a bit more of the Gospel in each time. He knew Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world but as seen in his answers he wasn’t actually trusting in Christ’s work directly but more thought of it as a source of grace he could earn. I finally came around to asking if, when he asked God for forgiveness, he was thinking he’d know he was forgiven because Jesus had died for him or was it more that he hoped he’d be forgiven and he’d try harder to earn it. I said if he had never asked God to forgive him trusting in Jesus there was a prayer he could pray. I talked him through it. “Oh I pray,” he started to reply. “Yes, that’s great but that’s not really what I am asking and really you are justifying yourself again when you say it.” I pointed out he was really listing praying as another religious work. I talked to him about the Holy Spirit and living inside > out. He talked then about something he did by saying the quote he left in his HS year book. It was something like, “God provides the test and I conquer it.” I pointed out that for him not to be doing this in the flesh he should be asking for God’s power by His Holy Spirit get through a test. This had not occurred to him. He quoted the colloquialism that, “God will not give you a trial bigger than you can handle.” asking if I had heard that. I said that it was not directly in the Bible but derived from the passage (I paraphrased or quoted in part) that God would not allow a temptation beyond which you are able but will provide a way of escape. I said escape might be victory over temptation or to avoid it. He asked what I though the most common defensive move in swordsmanship is and I guessed, “to back up” and he said I was right. I went back to the prayer and helped him to see he was not trusting in what Jesus had done to save him but in what he was doing. “You’re changing my perspective,” he replied. I asked then if he would want to be forgiven praying for God to forgive him not based on what he had done but what Jesus had done. He said he would. I said then that he could pray that prayer silently and know he was forgiven. I said I could not even witness it because he would be doing it silently but it would be between him and God.  He decided to do so and prayed to receive Jesus. I told him the likelihood now he would get into Heaven, trusting I the blood and righteousness of Jesus was 100%. He had a Bible as I mentioned and I had already talked through the Christian life. I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front, The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible Study. He had to run to class then and I thanked him for the most interesting conversation I had had this year and he trucked on off.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a moment. God truly blessed and moved a heart to Himself.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with all good things from above and you’re healthy and well. I was told by a couple students today there is something “going around” that has a lot of people out sick. I imagine I had it last week. Still trying to get some energy back but Pearla prayed and trusted Christ today and another girl Megan was going to process it more, she had reddish brown hair in the MAC lounge. I gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet, which she seemed happy to get saying, I like books.”  Pearla’s story is below if you have some time.

Pearla was sitting at a table down a couple of stairs on the way to the little theatre the drama department uses. A couple other students have trusted Christ at that counter height table. She was wearing a powder blue puffy down coat and khaki pants. Latina, her hair was straight and to her elbows. She had a pretty oval face and was thin. I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven if she died. She thought a second and said, “I would say I’m not that bad of a person compared to like…” she paused. “Hitler?” I put in. “Yeah that’s what I’d say,” she finished. She thought she had a 50/50 chance of going to heaven. She went to Church off and on with her mom. I explained how God wanted to live inside her with His Holy Spirit but first would have to make her His type.  I asked, “So do you know what Jesus did to take away the sins of the world?”  “Yeah,” she replied then said, thinking a moment, “Well no I don’t.” So I began to go through the Gospel with her and she took it all in, the Blood that cleansed her poured out on the cross and that this was how God got paid, but He had to pay Himself. She listened to the righteousness of Christ and finally I said God wanted to adopt her and give her these things. She had to believe placing her faith in that Jesus was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead. I asked if she would want to be forgiven or thought something else. “I would want to be forgiven,” she replied. I said there was a prayer she could pray and talked her through it asking if it was the desire of her heart. “Yeah,” she said looking at the prayer. I said she could pray it right then and “I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear” and then she’d know she was forgiven trusting in Jesus. “Wanna do that?” I asked. “Um, Yeah,” she replied and she prayed to receive Jesus. I said she could keep the booklet and began explaining the Christian life reading the Bible and praying. Her mom had a Bible she could read so she did not want one but said she’d get one from me later if she did. I told her that now trusting in the Righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I told her I would pray a Bible Verse for her each day though Spring and one year after. This sounded good to her and she thanked me. I explained living the Christian life “Inside Out” by the Spirit’s power.  I gave her a Bible Study and Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front and she said, “Oh, thank you.” I explained she could use the verses as a prayer or just be encouraged buy them. I also gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I explained that the Mass was symbolic of what I’d told her, and she looked as if she did not have understanding so I said, “The wafer is symbolic of Jesus Body and the Wine symbolic of His blood” and when she took it she could just say, “thank you” knowing because He died for her she was forgiven. “Thank you for your time,” I said getting up to go. “Thank you, thank you so much,” she replied and I headed off.

Thanks so much for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance.

God truly blessed.

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a good week walking in the light of His word and love for you. I had a good week and 6 students prayed to receive Christ (Thania, Israel, Mariana, LeDonte, Lucas, Rulan) and 3 more committed to Christ saying they would pray (Gwen*, Tara*, Lilly*) Or in Lilly’s case intonating they would. Thanks so much for your prayers Rulan prayed to receive Jesus on Thursday her story is below. And a girl from a Hindu background Karina* might pray. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven or if she thought something else and she said, “I would like to be forgiven.” But then her father called and had come to give her a ride home in the middle of explaining the prayer. I’d only read through part of the prayer and she had to run waving to him through the window as she spoke on the phone. So I said, “Well here’s your free booklet, thanks for your time,” and she smiled and ran off. In Hinduism you can add a god to your pantheon without problem so it is hard to know where she landed.

Rulon was sitting in the hall of the Science building, seemingly early for class. She had on a purple hoodie that zipped up and a t-shirt, baggy leg pants. She had a round head, high forehead and sort of a flat face and dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her skin was fair and based on her eyes I’d guess she had come from Chinese heritage. She was Catholic in background. She said she wanted to travel particularly to Indonesia but had no family there. I asked her what she would say to God if she died and He asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “Um, I don’t know,” she said thinking hard. Then she made kind of an amused sound about being stuck and settled on “’Cause I’m a good human, a good person.” She thought she would have an 85% chance of going to Heaven and regularly went to Church. I began to go through the gospel with her and she was interested and listened. I told her God would have to take away her sin so He could live inside her and asked, “So do you know what Jesus did to take away the sins of the world?” She struggled thinking and then finally said, “I don’t remember,” I said, “Well, it’s reconciliation (hoping to use a word she might have heard) and this is how it works.” I began to go through the atonement and the blood that cleansed her the payment for her sins and the righteousness of God Christ had earned. I gave her all the Bible verses and used illustrations to explain them and then said, “So how do you connect with all God’s done for you so you know you’ll be forgiven?” Then turning the page I said, “You just believe it or receive it.” I told her she was save by Grace through faith. Asking then if she would want to be forgiven or believed something else giving a couple examples and then said, “Would you want to trust in what Jesus has done to be forgiven and the Spirit could live inside you?” “I believe that,” she replied. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I talked through it reading the line, “It says here, ‘Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?’” She nodded. “Well if you want you could pray it silently right now. I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and then you’d know you were forgiven. Wanna do it?” “Yeah, seems interesting,” she replied and she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I began to go through the Christian life just a bit with her. She had a Bible. I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I gave her a Bible study explaining it with the miracle of Walking on the Water. I also gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told her I would keep her in my prayers through next year said if I saw her I’d wave. “Well, have a good one,” I said getting up to go. “Thank you, you too,” she replied and I headed out.

Lilly had naturally curly brown hair almost to her shoulders and light brown eyes, a shy kid. We sat by the windows in the science lounge the sun coming through the windows made her eyes kind of sparkle. She had gone to Church more when she was younger. “I wanna be forgiven she said with conviction,” when I asked. She had to run to class but I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and quickly read through the prayer. “Ok,” she said in a resolute way. Saying she was sorry she had lost track of time, as a couple others sitting near us were gathering things to go to the next period, she headed off and I gave her a Promise book.

Thank again for the blessing of your prayers. God blessed this week.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with every good and perfect gift. I had a good day on campus. LeDonte and Lucas each prayed with me to receive Jesus. Please pray they grow in their faith to honor Christ. Their stories are below.

I encouraged some Christians as well. AJ (a 6’5” track guy) whom I had been praying for was moving closer to God. I gave him a booklet as (he seemed to have lost the one I went through with him last fall though he had a promise book he said he looked at) and it seemed he would begin a relationship with God in Christ praying to receive Him. So I’ve prayed for him again as I do each day in hope. I gave a NT to another Christian who I talk to from time to time and wrote down the Roman Road of salvation in the front and we talked about how he might share his faith with some friends he was praying for. Tara (a pretty blonde girl with straight hair down to her elbows, long eyelashes, dressed all in black) seemed to have her perspective reoriented and said she would pray later so I hope she will begin to trust in Christ alone for salvation. She had been trusting in her good works though she only thought she had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. I explained that trusting in the Blood and righteousness of Christ this would be 100%. She believed Jesus was God and had died to take away the sins of the world but had not been trusting in that. I gave her Bible Promises for You which she really liked.

LeDonte looked to be over 35. He had a thick rough top afro and a thick beard (not long) and mustache. His brown skin-tone was not deep black. He had an oval face and slightly lined, worn out looking eyes. He wore a yellow hoodie under a black puffy coat and wore black sweats. When I asked him one thing he would like to do before he died he said, “Leave some for my son… my child so he can be good.” I asked him what he would say if he died and God asked “Why should I let you into Heaven?” He said, “Because I’m a good person—that sometimes made bad choices but over all I’m a good person.” He thought he had a 10% chance of going to Heaven. So I began to go through the Gospel with him. I said God wanted to take away his sin so he could live inside him and that seemed to sound good by his body language, kind of a relief. When I asked him what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world he knew He had died to that purpose. I explained the blood of Christ to cleanse him and that this was how God was paid so it was just to forgive him. I explained the righteousness of God Christ earned that was to his credit and salvation by faith. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else. “I would like to be forgiven for my sins,” he replied. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and talking him through it, he nodded that it was the desire of his heart when I asked.  I asked if he’d like to pray it. He nodded and took the booklet and prayed. I explained the Christian life to him. He had a Bible and I told him the Christian life was always asking for God’s help in everything by the power of His Spirit. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. Then telling him the likelihood he would now go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the righteousness of Christ and His Blood to save him. I gave him a Bible Study on the deity of Christ and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and said I would keep him in my prayers. I asked if he had any questions, “No you covered everything I think,” he replied. He shook my hand and said, “Nice to meet you.” “Nice to meet you, I’ll see you in Heaven.” I said I’d keep him in my prayers through Spring and one year after. We were sitting in the hallway that headed toward the Book Store. I got up and headed down the hall and on the way back got his son’s name, Lamaree. I told him I would pray for him too writing his name in my book.

Lucas was sitting I the hallway just past the first outside door on the Northwest end of the BIC building. He had a tan watch cap on pulled down stopping at his black glasses, which were black frame, large near round ovals. He had a small pale face, pointed chin, I could not see any of his hair. Wearing a black coat on over a white shirt with grey sweats, he was a bit smaller than me in stature. He said he was already in a Bible Study. I asked him if he wanted to hear the big metaphysical question to think about and he said, “Sure, ok” I asked him “So you’re walking 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?” “I don’t know what I’d say,” he replied. “Would you like to hear some Bible verses that tell you how you get into heaven?” “OK,” he replied and I sat down and he said, “I have 24 minutes before class.” “Ok, it won’t take that long. So I began to go through the Gospel with him. He leaned forward, genuinely interested whenever I began to read a Bible verse out of the booklet to better follow along. I asked him if he went to Church and he said he went to “Church of God”. I asked him also what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world and he said, “He was a sacrifice”. I explained the atonement and resurrection and the righteousness of God Christ earned and that this was all had by faith. He would not go to Heaven because he was good but because Jesus was good and he was connected to Him. I asked if he wanted to trust in what Jesus had done to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else. He said “I would want to be forgiven. I was raised Catholic so.” I said there was a prayer he could pray and talked through it. He nodded when asked if it was the desire of his heart. I said he could pray it silently; I wouldn’t hear him but God would hear and he’d know he was forgiven and God would live inside Him. He took the booklet then and prayed to receive Christ. I explained the Christian life to him too. I said, as I always do, that Christianity was Inside > Out first asking God to transform you and then you become a good person and do good things. He had a Bible and I also gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and forgiven in the front. I gave him a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I said I think the Church of God talks about good works a lot but these do not save you and we do good works by the power of the Spirit. He agreed. I told him that if a church wasn’t working out for him he shouldn’t feel bad about leaving he could talk to God about it. He took that in and thanked me and I shook his hand and said, “You’re welcome and we both got up and he went to class.

So thanks for your prayers for the Ministry and for Evangelism today if you had a chance, God truly Blessed.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed withal good things and you walked the walk of the upright. I had a good day on campus. When I arrived the parking lots were near empty. My phone would not pick up the internet for news but calling home Ellen said they had canceled in person morning classes due to the ice. Everyone was remote learning. But I went in to see if I could find any stragglers. And Israel and Mariana each prayed with me to receive Jesus. There stories are below if you have some time. Please pray they grow in the faith.

 Israel, a solidly built Latino guy, was sitting at a counter height table outside the bookstore. He wore a flannel shirt with the sleeves cuffed up to his elbows revealing tattoos covering both forearms, his Bears hat turned backwards. His temples were shaved up to his cap and he had perfect skin looking younger than what must have been his years. He was former military and had been a cop for I think he said 8 years. He was now an EMT and was taking course work to become a fireman. He had a warm smile and squared off features. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” He thought for a moment with an “Um” and said, “I don’t think I’m worthy.” “Is there a ‘but’ in there at all?” I asked. I have had Christians tell be the same thing and then add the Gospel. But he said, “I feel like… trials and tribulations… You don’t know if God would think your actions are worthy or not.” I agreed there was “no list in the Bible saying if you pray every day or fast on Holidays or things like, that you could check off”. He said he’d been in a religious family and was forced Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday to go to Church and youth groups and that and rubbed him the wrong way. I asked what the likelihood was he would go to Heaven and he said, “1%, not at the moment.” I began to go through the Gospel with him saying it was different than what he’d thought. He stopped me occasionally as I spoke first telling him God loved him. “What about war?” I said there were debates about what made for a Just war, when you were under the orders of someone else. But it seemed to me from what I had been told by guys who were in the military once you were in the middle of it, it was just about keeping the guy next to you and you alive. He agreed. He asked, “What about taking a life?” after I had talked about sin. I said that a Navy Seal had once told me that God could not forgive some of the things he had done. Israel seemed to nod in agreement. I said, “I asked the guy if he had ever gone into a village and killed every man, woman, child, dog and goat, stolen all their stuff and walked away. He said he hadn’t. I told him David did that in the Old Testament and God forgave him and told him He loved him.” I later said, “If you think you have done something God could not forgive it is really pride because nothing you have done is greater than God dying for you. I told him about the cross and Christ dying to pay for our debt to God. He asked, “What about selfishness?” He said he was willing to help people but even in being an EMT he also did it to be paid, nothing he did was completely without getting something himself. I explained the idea of enlightened self-interest in a capitalistic world. Jesus said you were to love your neighbor as yourself, but His statement assumed you loved yourself. You can’t selflessly work yourself into collapse and keep going. The Bible requires you provide for your family or you are worse than an infidel. Providing for a stable family is one of the foundations of any society for it to function, even though in providing for a wife and kids you get a stable marriage out of it and your kids are not screwed up. This also is one of the basic lynch pins of the functionality of a greater society. David said, “Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over, it is out of what overflows from a full cup that we can give to others or we’d run ourselves into the ground and then need help ourselves. I finally finished explaining the righteousness of God that Christ earned. Our own righteousness does not get us into Heaven.  I said, “Like if you marry a millionaire you got a million bucks. If you get adopted by a billionaire you get to live in the mansion and drive the cars.” God by adoption gives you the gifts of His family, He gives you the sacrifice for your sins the blood that cleanses you and the righteousness of God that surrounds you so you got someplace to go, Heaven, and something to wear when you get there—the righteousness of God. I said that being a child of God was a right God gave you by faith in the name of Jesus. So if someone were to ask you why God should let you into heaven you’d say, “Because Jesus died for me.” I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else. “I would be forgiven,” he replied. So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I talked him through it asking if it represented the desire of His heart. “I would say that it did yeah,” he said. So I said he could pray it silently and know he was forgiven and God lived inside him to give him strength. “Wanna do that,” I asked. “Yeah,” he said he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I told him the likelihood now he would go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the righteousness of Christ and His blood. He didn’t have a Bible so I gave him one and wrote his name and the date and forgiven! In the front. I gave him The Case for Christianity Answer Book since he seemed to have more questions. I gave him a Bible study on the deity of Christ and Bible Promises for You saying he could turn the verses into prayers. I talked to him some more and gave him my contact info and he thanked me I told him I would keep him in my prayers and I headed out.

Mariana was sitting in a big chair just past one of the big support posts in the SSC lounge. I sat on the arm rest of the one nearest her since the post made a large gap between us. She had some time to do a survey. She’s Latina, her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail was wearing blue leggings and a dark blue sweatshirt that had COD on the front. She had a short, cute face with a bit of a pointed chin, kind of elf like and a ready smile. I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven. She thought about it for long time seriously and then said, “I’m trying my best to get closer to God.” She thought she had a 75% chance of going to Heaven. She didn’t go to Church and had only a bit as a kid. I began to go through the Gospel with her and she smiled at the stories I used all the way through and was engaged. I began saying God loved her and wanted to take away her sin so He could live inside her. “Do you know the story of what Jesus did to take away the sins of the world?” I asked her. She shook her head that she did not. “Well, this is what He did,” I said. I began to explain the atonement and the righteousness of God and God adopting her to make her His child if she had faith, then her faith would save her. I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins and she nodded and a friend came by saying they were going upstairs. She said, “OK,” but let me finish so I offered her the prayer asking if it was the desire of her heart. “I think so yeah,” she replied. So I said she could pray it silently and I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear and she’d know she was forgiven and God would live inside her. She took the booklet then and prayed to receive Jesus. She said she had a Bible and so I quickly gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and a date and “forgiven! In the front. I gave her a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I said I would pray for her and if I saw her again I would give her a wave. “OK, thank you,” she replied smiling. “You’re welcome, so nice to meet you,” I replied and she 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

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a good day walking in His will by the Word of God. I had a good day on campus. Gwen* (she said she would pray later, please pray she does) and Thania (pronounced like Tanya) each trusted Christ today. So that was good. I gave a NT Psalms and Proverbs (he wanted the KJV and I otherwise only had the NKJV in a complete Bible) to a lapsed Catholic guy named Ryan. I had interacted with briefly him last year. I also encouraged some Christians. Gwen and Thania’s stories are below if you have time. Please pray these students are brought nearer to the Lord and He brings the increase in their lives.

Gwen was sitting under the stairs by the doors near the bookstore. You could just see the roots in her blonde shoulder length hair She had a pretty face and a warm smile and wore jeans and a tan cable knit sweater, she had broad shoulders and kind of a softball player build to her. She had been through religious education in the Catholic Church until High school. I asked her what she would say to God if she died and He asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” She struggled to answer saying “Um I don’t know, um…” Finally she said, I don’t know I’ve kinda been feeling lost lately.” She said she wanted to get closer to God and that she thought she had an 80% chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with her and she did not know what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world. I said I thought it would come back to her and the cross did seem familiar a bit later. I finished explaining the resurrection and the righteousness of Christ and His blood cleansing her of sin. I asked if she thought she would want to be forgiven for her sins so that the Holy Spirit could live inside her or thought something else. “I would like to be forgiven for my sins,” she replied. So I said if she’d like to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. I talked her though it, asking if it expressed the desire of her heart. She said it did so I said she could pray it now. “I’ll pray it later,” she said. So I said “That’s fine” and explained the Christian life by the Spirit’s power. She said she lived in Glen Ellyn and her church was closing and she asked if I knew of one and I told her one I thought was Biblical. I gave her a Bible promise book and said I would keep her in my prayers and asked, “Do you believe Jesus was God died for your sins and rose from the dead?” “Yes,” she replied and would you want to place your trust in that to be forgiven?” She said yes again so I said, “Great then all that’s left to do is to pray and tell God about it. Maybe I’ll see you again and ask if you got to do it.” She agreed so I hope I’ll bump into her again. I told her I would pray for her and thanked her for talking with me and she thanked me and I said “You’re welcome,” and headed up the stairs.

I came across a faithful Christian guy I always seem to see and encourage, Alex, and that took a bit as we talked. But the timing was then just right for me to bump into Thania. She was sitting across from the adult learning classrooms on the hallway to the cafeteria. Thania is a cute Latina girl, shoulder length hair parted in the middle with wavy bangs. She had a slightly wider face one might have guessed to be Filipino with a septum piercing between her nostrils and a bar piercing on the left below her lip. She wore a zippered hoodie. I asked her what she would say to God if he asked her why He should let her into Heaven. “That’s a hard one,” she replied and she thought about it. “I would tell [ask] them what they think first. [To] reflect on my life and ask what He thinks. It depends on Him.” She thought she had a 60% chance of going to Heaven. She said she had not been to Church for a few years and then had recently been to celebrate Mary’s birthday. She had come under conviction then that she needed to believe and depend on one God. She said she had been trusting in many gods. Her mom wanted her to come back to Church and had asked her why she had left. It turned out she had been praying that her mom would be protected and then she got in a car accident and she felt like God had not heard her prayer, so she left her church. But when she told her mom this, her mom said that when she got in the accident she had seen Jesus had He had protected her (she was not badly hurt) and told her she needed to be kinder. She said this had changed her life. “So then I realized God had answered my prayer,” she said, finishing the story. I said that I had something I thought would help her be closer to God and I began to go through the Gospel with her. She did not know what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world. So I explained that God loved us and Jesus had died as a payment for our sins. I said she could receive Jesus, “So if someone would ask why should God let you into Heave you’d say, “Because Jesus died for me.” “Oh,” she said with something of an exclamation of understanding. I said this would mean she had faith in Jesus and it was by grace she was saved by faith. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done. She nodded she would. So I said there was a prayer she could pray and I talked her through it saying she could pray it silently. “Right now?” she asked and I said, “Sure,” and she prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to her and gave her a Bible and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I said she could live by the Spirit asking God for the strength to do anything He was asking her to do. “If you fail, God knew a million years ago you would fail and He’s not disappointed He forgives you and has a plan to fix it.” I told her the likelihood now she would go to Heaven was 100%. Trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus. “I’m much older than you and I sin every year so I have sinned much more than you but if we both died right now in an earthquake or something Jesus Blood and Righteousness is enough to cover us both. She smiled at that. I told her I would pray for her each day until a year from Spring and she thanked me and I said if I saw her again I would just wave. “Of course,” she said. I said I would see her in Heaven and 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

Third Watch Ministries, NFP                                                          Bob & Ellen Bollow

P.O. Box 1283                                                                                   December 11, 2023

Wheaton, IL 60187  

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent me draws him” John 6:44

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you have been blessed this Fall with life and peace and now joy in the season of Christmas. I had a good semester on campus of sharing the Gospel, which I’ve been describing in the Results of the Work emails I send out. 87 students have prayed to receive Christ after I told them the Gospel this semester so far. A few more were close it seemed. But some really just have not come into the faith as I talk to them. I try to give them a last word or a book if they will take it, in the hope God will work with that.  I have conversations of other kinds on campus and students can sometimes say things that give me pause. When it was yet summer, a student told me he did not believe in God. It came out this was because he believed in evolution. I suggested this belief structure could not be supported by science and many scientists were abandoning it as a satisfactory explanation in universities. He found that ridiculous and justified his beliefs by simply saying, “I went to High School.” His ride came and he left, refusing a booklet I offered him to read. He was frustrated and a bit angry and we talked only briefly, even for me and most of my conversations are brief. He never even did a survey. Hopefully God used something said to provoke a thought opening a door for the Word. There is an old saying, “You can’t push on a string.” But God can turn a staff into a snake and back again. I try to remember that in contact evangelism.

You might think evangelism is sales. But I’m not controlling the situation or the conversation. Evangelism is also different in that, if you were selling some object or intangible, you might discover the person you were speaking with clearly did not need what you were selling. Ya can’t sell a tank to the Amish. I am never speaking to anyone where that was true. But they have to decide. This may confound people if they read what I write about talking with people on campus. I say I am going out to “Look for the Elect.” [Matthew 24:31, Romans 8:33, 1Peter 1:2] I believe God is drawing people to Himself. [John 6:44] These are Biblical categories. On some level, people are free and “without excuse,” as Paul writes in Romans 1. So, this is understanding presently beyond our grasp as Søren Kierkegaard writes, “The fact that God could create free beings vis-à-vis of Himself is the cross which philosophy could not carry, but remained hanging from.”

 Sometimes, because I’ve developed some skills at evangelistic conversation, I can throw a bit too much of myself into it (I’m not sure how else to say it). Then during one of the verses I’ve stated many thousands of times, I pray for God to work as I state it and let go of the reins (I should not have grabbed.) I have experiences where it seems someone has recently gone to church again or their family has brought them and “everyone else” is a Christian, something a guy named Alex recently told me. But then after talking with me, he decided to become a Christian. When first talking with him, he gave no evidence of having heard the Gospel where he was saved by faith in the Blood & Righteousness of Christ. I meet churched kids every week who seem to have never processed the Gospel before. But then some have and God brings them to a point of conviction they somehow haven’t had before. Maybe it was not their moment. They were not yet “ripe for harvest” until they came across me. They may attend a church we’d consider evangelical that does not preach the Gospel. I have visited churches and heard invitations, but the Gospel was never stated, though an offer of eternal life was. Or some connection with God was solicited in the sermon. In different years for Christmas Eve, I have attended two of the largest churches in my area where this problem occurred. During the service, some kind of offer for a relationship with God was given. The Gospel was never stated. Just the simple facts of sin, atonement—by the Cross—and His blood, then resurrection, were completely absent from the statements made. I have spoken with students who say, “I’ve prayed a prayer before like this.” I’ll ask them then if they understood it. More than once they said did not and prayed again, this time to receive Jesus. I went to a funeral a couple years back where two men spoke. One was a famous man who was the former pastor of one of the most well-known evangelical churches in the US. The other was a former professor of theology, now a pastor. Neither stated the Gospel. Both offered a relationship with God of some kind, not saying how that could happen. Sometimes a student who prays with me knows the details of Jesus’ death on the Cross and just never trusted the Blood and Righteousness of Christ to be saved. I will sometimes ask again (restating what I have just said of the Gospel), “Do you believe Jesus was God, died for your sins and rose from the dead? Do you think that is a true story?” And if they say, “Yes,” I say, “And do you want to place your trust in that to be forgiven for your sins?” If they say, “Yes,” I encourage them to pray. They are always glad when they did.

These are the 87 students who prayed to receive Jesus after hearing the Gospel from me this past semester. (An * means they said they would pray later.) Alijah, Jordan, Ken, Kolton, Will, Alex, Kiya, Marshall, Ashlyn, Tony, Mitch, Toni, Maia, Nick, Gabby, Brandon, Jameson, Christ, Kate, Trevont, Ian, Kyra, Davon, Vincent, Ian, Andy, Ray, Shauna, Oscar, Chris, Ella, Ryssa, Tim, Kayla, Kendall, Janayah, Juan, Mia, Abrianna, Ayleen, Daniel, Braedon, Tessa, I’sis*,Marnita, Sno, Matt, Kathline, Brenda*, Brandon, Rebeca, Bao, Diego, James, Neeha, Justin, KB, Mariah, Ben, Simona, Joseph, Darion, Michael, Jimmy, Leo, Clare*, Cristina, Maritza, Pablo, Gabriel, Alissa, Christopher, Kadin, Emerson, Lexi, Caliah, Yami, Kailey, Alex, Jonathon, DiLo, Joseph, Rosa, Fernanda, Oliver, Joe, Atiba, Christian, Zach, Isaiah

Thanks for your prayers and support this year.  In 2023, there were 157 students that prayed to receive Jesus.

We wish you a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

In Him,

Bob & Ellen

bob.thirdwatch@sbcglobal.net

www.thethirdwatch.org

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a blessed day knowing we are we are in Him who is true. I had a good day on campus chatting up some Christians in discipleship and Zach and Isaiah each prayed to receive Jesus today. Please pray they are secured in their faith. Their stories are below if you have time.

Zach was sitting on the rim of the SSC Lounge, in a row of sofa chairs, his had a table attached I sat in one without beside him. There had been a meeting of some kind in the room at tables they’d brought in and it was breaking up. He was up for doing a survey. He had a large print red checked flannel shirt (It might have been something of a coat) on with a T-shirt under it of some kind of band. He wore grey sweats and had a couple days growth of beard, looked like a young lumberjack, handsome guy, solid build. He had dark brown hair in a short mop. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven and he said, “I’m religious. I’m a youth group leader for High School. I do worship You and preach Your teachings.” He thought he had about a 75% chance of going to Heaven. He listened to the Gospel right off. I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sins but nothing seemed to come to mind, when I tried asking it a couple different ways. I finally said, “Think of the Mass.” But that didn’t trigger it so I said “Well this is how it works,” and I began to explain that Jesus died, His blood cleansed him and was a payment for our sins. I explained the righteousness of God saying Paul said that it was not by his own righteousness but by the righteousness that was by faith. I read the passages stating Jesus rose from the dead. Then I said in the Mass the wafer is symbolic of Jesus body and the wine symbolic of his blood so the symbolism behind it commemorates that He died for you and so you are forgiven. “So when you take it you should just say Thank You.” I went on to say all this could be had by faith. If someone were to ask why should God let you into Heaven you’d say, “Because Jesus died for me.” I asked if he would “…want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done to pay for his sins or thought something else?” “I would want to be forgiven.” He replied and so I said there was a prayer he could pray and going though it asked if it represented the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he replied. I said he could pray it silently I wouldn’t hear him but God would hear and he’d know he was forgiven. “Sure” he replied and he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I told him he could keep the booklet and used it to explain the Christian life. Saying he should try to obey God but when he failed all God’s anger was poured out on the cross and God new a million years ago what he’d done so he could tell God about it and God would forgive him and has a plan to fix it. I Gave him a copy of Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” I the front. I gave him a Bible study on the deity of Christ and explained that when I was in college there was a meeting where a speaker had been brought in. He asked where Jesus said in the Bible He was God. No one knew so I stood up and said, “I and the Father are one.” He asked me where Jesus said it and I didn’t know at the time but my answer had triggered another guy who whispered to me, “John 10:30”. But I just sat down. I explained that when Jesus healed people he did not use the name of God and did not have to because he was God. I also gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet to read suggesting it might help him answer some questions for the kids. “Nice to meet ya,” I said shaking his hand. “Nice to meet ya too,” He replied and I headed out.

I discovered Isaiah sitting at the counter looking at his laptop in the cafeteria. He may have had a speech impediment or was a bit limited in speech but his conceptualization was spot on and he was willing to do a survey. A smart kid. He had a short curly head of hair on top very short on the sides and a well-trimmed beard. He was wearing black sweats with a white stripe up the sides and a gray sleeved thermal shirt with some kind of colorful picture on the chest I never got an angle to see. He was friendly and wore a face mask mostly half off. I could see his mustache and he pulled it up a couple times but it fell down pretty quickly.  I asked him what he would want to do before he died and he said that he had no thing he wanted to do but to spend time with his loved ones. He said his parents said that was important. I asked him what he would say to God if asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” He said he thought that, “If you stand before the man that created you, you would pretty much be speechless.” He thought he had a 90% chance of going to Heaven. I asked if he went to Church he said not often but he watched Joel Osteen. He knew Jesus had died for his sins saying he was “…nailed, crucified”. He listened to all I said and he had a Christian family and they prayed whenever they left home. He listened to the presentation of the Gospel and took it all in, the atonement and the righteousness of God. Then that God adopted him and gave him the blessings of his family. When I asked him if he would want to be forgiven or thought something else his speech was a bit hitched but pointing to the right circle and next to he read, “Life entrusted to Christ,” as his answer. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I talked him through it asking if it expressed the desire of his heart. “Um hum,” he replied. I said he could pray it silently and asked if he’d like to. “Um hum,” he said again and he prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to him and living “Inside > Out”. He did not want a Bible or any books but I gave him a Bible Study on the deity of Christ and another on prophecies about the birth of Christ and he wanted both of those. I wrote the date and “forgiven!” on the front of the booklet saying it would help him remember. “Thanks for talking to me,” I said. “I hope other people hear this insight,” he said. As I got up to go he said, “Take care.” “I will, take care,” I replied. “Spread the word,” he admonished me and I said I would.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was a victory in your spirit knowing greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. I had a good day on campus and Joe and Atiba prayed to receive Jesus today and I bumped into a guy named Christian also who I’d gone through the Gospel with (about a week ago) but was unsure. He said he had now prayed the prayer to receive Jesus and was reading the books I gave him. He had a short curly reddish blonde head of hair on top and real short on the sides. He said he was a Polish Catholic when we met asking why I believed. I talked before to him about prophecy God fulfilled in Jesus and gave him the Rose pamphlet “100 Prophecies fulfilled by Jesus” and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I also told him that looking at Christianized countries people lived better lives. This used to be true in Europe though now it is breaking down as they leave a belief in God. I talked to him about how India threw the widows of dead men on their funeral pyres until Christians stopped them and that this was the effect of Christ on a country. Joe and Atiba’s stories are below. Please pray all these grow in the Faith.

Joe a sharp-featured shorter guy with a mop of long curls on the very top of his head, wore a black jacket and blue jeans. Good looking guy. He was sitting at the counter looking outside when I walked up and asked if he wanted to do a survey. He hesitated, asking what’s it about. I said the main question was: “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?” “I believe in Jesus,” he responded without a hitch. So I said “That’s right. Would you like a little booklet to share your faith?” He nodded, so I began to go through it to explain everything. But when I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sins he could not think of anything and I tried rephrasing it, “What did he do to pay for you sins?” Still, he had no recollection. I finished the gospel with him and the righteousness of Christ and adoption by God—At that point he said words of agreement, possibly remembering the story of salvation. I went on to say he could be saved by faith and asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins there was a prayer he could pray. I read him through it and asked if it was the desire of his heart. He looked at it read it slowly, silently and said, “Yeah.” I said he could pray it silently right now. He took the booklet and closed it and said thank you. I asked if he had prayed it as he read it and he said, “Yes.” I shook his hand then and said, “God bless you man.” He went in to get his lunch. A girl had glanced at me and smiled and left her bag under the counter leaving us at the beginning. It turned out they were sitting together. He went in (leaving his back pack to also get his food) and she had not returned. While I went over to a table to write some things down she returned and then he did. So I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front of Bible Promises for You, and walking back over to the windows I placed it near him on the counter saying, “Promise book.” His face became serious then and he nodded to me and I left them.

Atiba was sitting upstairs in the athletic building lounge. I asked him if he wanted to do a student survey about God. He said, “Let’s do it.” He was a good-looking black guy, (on the short side for playing football). He was a receiver and a running back. He wore a black winter coat and some black shoes that looked like down slippers, nylon straight leg sweats. He had a sharp jaw line, square chin. His hair was short on the sides and had a rough-cut afro on top. He had understated classic black features, a good-looking guy. He said he wanted to finish college and was looking at one to transfer to. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven and he just said, “I don’t know.” I asked if he went to church at all and he said, “No.” “When you were a kid and he agreed, not since then. He thought he had a 50% chance of going to Heaven. I began to explain the Gospel to him and he knew Jesus had died to take away his sins. He listened attentively to all the word pictures I used and verses to give him the details of the Gospel, sin, atonement resurrection and the righteousness of God, adoption as sons and salvation by Grace through faith. I asked him if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done, then God would live inside him and give him the strength to live, or thought something else. I showed him the 2 circles pictures one with Christ on the throne of his life the other with the cross outside. “This one,” he said pointing at the one with the cross inside it. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I walked him through it asking if it expressed the desire of his heart. He agreed it did and I asked if he wanted to pray it silently and he said, “Um hmm,” and prayed to receive Christ.” I told him then the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I was an old man who had sinned a lot more than him after so many years but the righteousness of God was infinite and the blood of Christ was of infinite value. If we both died today God would save us both and he agreed. I gave him Bible Promises for You, writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I explained living the Christian life by the Spirit’s power “Inside > Out” and gave him a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told him I would keep him in my prayers each day until spring and one year after asking God to bless him. I said I’d pray he got into a good school. “Appreciate it,” he said as I got up to go. “Thanks for your time,” I replied “Merry Christmas.” “You too,” he said and I 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

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and you trusted in the Lord through it all. I had a good day on campus. Talked to some students I had met before and Oliver prayed with me to receive Jesus. His story is below if you have some time, please pray he grows in his faith. Thanks for your help in prayer.

Oliver was sitting in the Athletic Building in the PE lounge next to the gym at a table. He was up for doing a survey. He had reddish brown hair and the fair complexion of a red head. He had a mustache that nearly blended in with his face. His hair was thick and curly/wavy, parted in the middle not quite shoulder length. He had on a green COD hoodie and workout shorts. Turned out he was a pitcher and he was working on getting his speed up to 90MPH on his pitches. Oliver was a real amicable guy we hit it off. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “I’ve gone to Catholic school my whole life since High School. I’ve always believed so I don’t know,” He replied. He thought he’d had a 55% chance of going to Heaven. “It’s enough to get elected,” I said. (I now realize the double meaning.) “Yeah just over,” he replied. I explained Christianity was like a blood transfusion where God had to make you His type so He could live inside you. Then you would be one with what is eternal and the source of life. I asked what Jesus had done to take away his sins and he right away replied, “He died.” I went on to explain what that meant more broadly. His blood cleansed him and paid God back for all he owed. Jesus earned the righteousness of God and it was then given as one of the blessings of God’s family. He was saved by faith. He took it all in and I finally asked if he wanted to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus has done or thought something else. “Probably this one,” he said, pointing to the circle with Christ on the throne of your life. I said something like. “Well, you grow up in your family and just go along with what to believe. But if you have never asked God before to forgive you trusting in what Jesus has done there’s a prayer you can pray.”  I talked him through the prayer and asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. He thought it did so I said he could pray it silently I wouldn’t hear him but God would hear and he’d know he was forgiven. “Wanna do it?” I asked. “Yeah,” he said and he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the symbolism behind the mass as what we had talked about and when he took it he should just say thank you as it commemorated that Jesus had died so he was forgiven. I started to go through the Christian life with him. He said he only had a kids Bible so I gave him one I carry. (I’m almost out of them sadly maybe a great deal on a study Bible will pop up over Christmas break.) I showed him the study helps, marked the Gospel of John and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. He seemed glad to have it. I also gave him a Bible study on the deity of Christ, Bible Promises for You and The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet. I told him I would pray for him each day until spring and then a year after. I told him the likelihood he would now go to Heaven was 100%. “Because how righteous is Jesus—100% righteous—and what’s His righteousness worth—an infinite amount. And His blood is worth an infinite amount. With me, I’m old and I sin every year and ask for forgiveness but all told I’ve sinned way more than you. But if we were both to die right now there is enough of His righteousness and blood to cover for both of us.” He agreed saying, “We’d both get in.” I talked about how God could help him focus and even help him with his pitching if he asked. I stood up to go and shook his hand and said, God bless ya man,” “Yeah good to meet you,” he 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 on this the first day of the last week of class in 2023.

In Him,

Bob