Philippians 4:8-9 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

When I hear or read the word “excellent” I am often reminded of my father. He instilled in me at an early age that you should always put your best effort into everything. It doesn’t matter what you are doing, you should strive to do your best with the abilities God has given you.

However, we all fall short of excellence on a regular basis. That is why knowing and believing in Jesus Christ as our Savior is such a wonderful thing. He was indeed the most excellent of all, living a perfect life and offering that as the payment for every sin. Because you know and believe that, you can rest assured that you have forgiveness and life everlasting. That needs to go with you as you journey through life.

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.  Paul said that, offering himself as an example to follow because he was following the example of Christ. Who do you follow? As you journey through this world, you learn who not to follow. It is probably not a good idea to follow someone who says, “Hold my beer and watch this!” Yet learning comes from seeing and making mistakes. So keep learning from those things. Repent of your sins, take the forgiveness Jesus earned for you, and go on. And follow good examples.

The reason you can be confident following the example of Paul is because he follows Jesus. That is the real source of excellence. Jesus embodied all those words Paul mentioned: true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable. Jesus is all that and more because of who He is and what He has done. He came to live among us, one of us, without sin. And He took the sins of everyone to the cross to make the payment necessary for everyone to be forgiven. You need to have this faith on your journey.