Philippians 1:12-18

Philippians 1:12-18
English Standard Version (ESV)

  It's a little hard to imagine how this conversation would have gone over the phone.
  "Hey, it's Paul, and I just wanted to give an update..."
  "Great, Paul.  So glad to hear from you.  How are things?"
  "Never better.  Really glad with the most recent developments."
  "Yeah -- what's going on?"
  "Well, I'm in prison, and it's just the best thing."
  "Huh.  Prison, you said?  Doesn't sound good.  Not good at all."
 
  When I worked at the church, we'd always get flyers in the mail from accounting firms who wanted to work on our financials to help us avoid getting in financial trouble.  On the front, they'd always warn, "Don't start your prison ministry" and have a picture of a minister in jail.  It was funny.
  When it come to actually going into jail, most of us don't see that as good.  It's really hard to see the positives, but Paul is so Gospel-focused that he sees God at work in this.  He sees his imprisonment as an opportunity for the Gospel to be proclaimed, and he's not worried about his reputation at all -- this is all for the good of the Gospel, and so he's thrilled.
  Leading us to the question -- what are the things going on in your life that are opportunities for the Gospel?  I know that I have things in my life that I view negatively that could be seen as opportunities.  What's critical is changing our mindset -- so that we're not self-focused, but rather God-focused, and so a prayer for today is for God to give us the vision to see the world the way that God sees it.  In doing so, people and circumstances that are viewed negatively might change in our minds.  When I have a tough day/week/month at work, I need the courage to pray for God to help me look for opportunities to positively approach work as a place to proclaim the Gospel in word and deed. 
  What are the areas in your life?