Our pastor has been doing a series on conversations that can change the world – or in other words, redemptive conversations.

It’s interesting to look at Jesus and the conversations he had with outsiders.

John 4 is a great example of Jesus spending time with a seeker who did not know Him and really spending time with them. He was patient with their questions and asked them questions also.

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

It’s amazing that Jesus actually revealed Himself to her as the Messiah!

This shows how much He valued the conversation with an outsider like her.

When Nicodemus came to speak with Jesus, he also had an amazing conversation with him.

In fact one of the most quoted verses came from this conversation:

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

He obviously cared about Nicodemus and his questions.

I love how this story is portrayed in the Chosen series. The heart of Nicodemus is so tender .

Luke 19 has the wonderful story about Zacchaeus and his amazing conversion with Jesus.

8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

So as we look at the example of Jesus, we also need to value our conversations with outsiders.

Today on my walk, I got to have two significant interactions. This one lady, Nanette, kept pouring out her heart to me and was quite surprised how comfortable she felt. I got to tell her I cared about her, would pray for her and thanked her for sharing her heart with me. It’s someone I have prayed for a lot and really wanted to run into her again.

I also saw two guys that looked like twins and had a good conversation with them. They are Italians and I am also half Italian. It was nice to just be friendly and make some new friends.

So I want to encourage you to keep the conversation going. You never know when someone’s heart will start opening up to you.

We have a friend who owns a salon in our building and we just keep the conversation going with him since he grew up in a Christian home and is quite open to God. He can see our genuineness and love toward him and we have had some great times together with him having meals and flying kites here in Chicago.

So let’s keep the conversation going with outsiders! Don’t miss opportunities to pray for people in your neighborhood!