Philippians 4:4 tells us to ”Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice”. There is always a reason to rejoice in the Lord, no matter what our circumstances are.

…. ”if there is any excellence” the gospel is by definition excellent. ”if there is anything worthy of praise”, our Savior is most certainly worthy of our praise. These are the things we ought to think on. Christ-centered thinking is what we need. It leads us to Spirit filled worship. Colossians 3:1-2, ”If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

By God’s great and incomparable power, motivated by love for us who are created in His image, Christ defeated death and reversed the order of life and death. Praise be to the living God for paving the way to life.