ICS Daily Devotions
Start a Conversation
John 3:2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
John 4: 6, 10 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman had a divine appointment awaiting them – it was the plan of salvation revealed to them when a conversation was started with Jesus.
The Samaritan woman whom Jesus spoke with was considered immoral and ungodly because the man she was living with was not her husband. We cannot lie to ourselves though we can choose to live in deception. Those invisible wounds inside of her caused her to live in misery and hopelessness. She probably felt condemned because of her lifestyle. Even though Jesus was weary from His journey, He still made it a point to reach out to her.
Nicodemus, in contrast, was a religious man who practiced the law and was probably burdened by the yoke of religion. The law was able to reveal sin to him but it wasn’t able to save him – it kept the religious people and the ungodly people in condemnation.
John 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Are you glad that Jesus didn’t come to condemn you but to save you? Why are you feeling condemned? Maybe, you are religious in thinking and attempting to achieve God’s acceptance through your own actions and good works. The devil is also busy trying to make you feel unworthy and condemned. However, if you are not a follower or believer of Jesus Christ, then your conscience is pricking you and the Holy Spirit is also revealing to you that you need a Savior!
2 Cor 5:19-20 That is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
Both Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman at the well, received God’s love. It was simply because Jesus took the time to have a conversation with them. God wasn’t imputing the sin of the Samaritan woman on her, neither did He condemn Nicodemus but Jesus merely showed them the way of salvation.
The Holy Spirit who lives in us is God and He is working through us to reach out to the lost with the truth of the gospel. The people who live around us, people whom God has placed within the circle of influence in our lives have been entrusted to us by God so that we can start a conversation with them and bring them to Christ! Tell them the good news that God does not condemn them no matter how ungodly their lifestyle and how unworthy they feel in life. God loves them!
What if the people are not ready to receive Christ? It is alright to sow the seed and allow others to reap the harvest in the future.
It may not be easy to start a conversation and share the gospel with a friend, colleague or neighbor. However, there are several things that we can do in order to achieve the opportunity to share.
The first thing that we can do is PRAY.
The second thing that we can do is to give a GIFT.
The third thing is to believe God for the opportunity to start a conversation to SHARE.
Let’s build relationships with our neighbors, colleagues and friends with the intention to share the gospel with them. Let’s believe that they’ll be saved!
Sermon Series: Nicodemus
