We’ve just passed the halfway point in the year, so I think it’s time for a spiritual check-up for all of us. Here are a few questions to consider to gauge your own pursuit of the kingdom of God:

• To what or whom have you given the bulk of your time this year? To what or whom have you given your mental energy this year? To what or whom have you given charity this year?
• Who have you taught this year? Who have you corrected in a spirit of gentleness? Who have you grown close with? To whom have you shown hospitality? Who have you encouraged? Who have you served?
• In what ways have you become more whole (or more balanced [cf. Lk. 2:52]) this year?
• How well have you achieved the spiritual goals that you made at the beginning of this year?
• What can you do to maximize your spiritual pursuits through the remainder of 2025?

These aren’t meant to be guilt-trip questions: they’re just for honest self-assessment. Maybe you’re having the best year of spiritual growth that you’ve ever experienced. Maybe you realize that you’re drifting away from God, either antagonistically or apathetically. Maybe you’re struggling against some great suffering or discouragement. Maybe you’re just lukewarmly ‘going with the flow’ of life and not being really pursuing spiritual things at all. Maybe you're doing so well that you're fostering great spiritual growth in others.

I don’t know how you are with God right now. But you can know that. And God does know that. I just think that mid-year is a good time to take stock of our faith, pray about it, and decide what’s truly best to do next.

I love you, and I prayed for you today. God bless you, my brothers and sisters.

- Dan Lankford, minister

Captains Lewis and Clark led the expedition that mapped a route from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean in the time before any road system, no matter how primitive, could connect the two places. It is remarkable (to me) to think of the comparatively long times that all travel and communication took in their time. In their time, it took a stagecoach three full days to go from Boston to New York; a distance we travel today in 4 hours or less. So while a land trip like Lewis’ and Clark’s might take us two to four days, it took them well over a year.

That sort of slowness and difficulty is a very different foundation for understanding the world than I am used to. From my perspective, it takes an almost otherworldly level of diligence to not become discouraged in the face of such long and daunting commitments.

Diligence is a crucial component part of Christian perseverance. It’s an outlook that always keeps a clear objective at the forefront of our minds. It’s an outlook that receives difficulties, setbacks, and disasters as bad but also surmountable. It’s an outlook that dwells short on difficulties, choosing to focus unwaveringly on doing the next right thing. It’s an outlook that does what’s required, even when there’s no reward in sight for doing so. It’s an outlook that never, ever gives up or turns back. And it's an outlook that allows us to realize the full assurance of our hope (Hb. 6:11-12).

Since the Christian way is a lifelong pursuit, we will be continually adding diligent steadfastness to our faith. Peter doesn’t get far past his initial instructions about faith additions before he is again encouraging us to be diligent in our walk of faith: “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall” (2 Pt. 1:10). The concepts must go together, and together they keep us in forward motion at all times, regardless of the exacting or tiring nature of our journey. They keep us devoted over the long (or sometimes VERY long) haul. They keep us from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

- Dan Lankford, minister

If I were to ask you if you had self-control, then you would probably give me an answer somewhere in the neighborhood of, “It depends on what we’re talking about.” Our ability, our willingness, to control ourselves fluctuates based on what trials and temptations we face. Maybe you have gluttony under control, but when it comes to gossip you struggle. Maybe you’ve got a handle on sexual immorality, but drinking tends to be a problem. Maybe you do a good job at keeping the rules and living out your faith, but you wrestle with forgiving those who sin against you and judging those who fall short or aren’t as far along. 

Do you have self-control? Well, it depends…

That’s why Peter tells us to add patience or perseverance to our self-control (II Peter 1:6). That word in II Peter 1:6 might read different based on your translation. NASB reads “perseverance,” CSB reads “endurance,” and ESV reads “steadfastness.” All of those words are translated from the Greek word, “Hypomone,” a word that means, “a patient enduring” or “a staying under.” I love that concept. What Peter is advising here is that we learn how to stay in our place. He wants us to be the kind of people who stay in our place regardless of what happens.  

It seems to me that in many cases the life of a Christian is characterized by wild fluctuation. This month we’re on fire for the Lord, but next month we drop off. When I’m tempted by sexual immorality, I do okay, but when I’m tempted by alcohol I tend to fail. When life is going well, I control myself, but if things are a little rocky, self-control goes out the window. That’s often the way it goes, isn’t it?

Peter encourages us to add patience, perseverance, steadfastness to our faith. We need to be people who stay in our places no matter what life throws at us. We need to level out those wild fluctuations. Our spiritual lives should be characterized not by flashes of spiritual brilliance followed by devastating failure, but by constant loyalty, devotion, and faithfulness.

For the next few weeks, we’ll talk about to add perseverance to our faith.

- Jonathan Banning

It’s tough tolerating mystery and ambiguity. We like to understand exactly how things work. But sometimes, God asks us to be comfortable with a little ambiguity in spiritual things. In Matthew 4, Jesus says that when a farmer plants a seed, he doesn’t know how the seed grows. But he plants it and goes to bed knowing that it will, even though he may not understand how that works (Matthew 4:26-29). Just because we don’t fully understand something doesn’t mean we cannot make use of it or benefit from it.

That’s the principle we ought to keep in mind when we think about self-control and the Holy Spirit.

The scriptures are clear that Christians are strengthened by the Holy Spirit for greater self-control. Paul tells us that self-control is the fruit that the Spirit produces in us (Galatians 5:22-23), that, in baptism, we are renewed by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5-7), and he prays for the Ephesians to be strengthened with power in the inner man through the Spirit (Ephesians 3:16). Remember also that Paul tells the Romans that it is through the Holy Spirit that Christians put to death the deeds of the flesh (Romans 8:13). There’s no denying that the Spirit strengthens Christians.

Yet, there is ambiguity in that; we don’t fully understand how that works. That’s why we need to remember that principle: just because we don’t fully understand something doesn’t mean we cannot benefit from it. Of course, we must be careful not to abuse that ambiguity. Sometimes our attempts to clear up ambiguity lead us to false conclusions (e.g. being strengthened doesn’t mean that He takes over your body and overrides free will). Still, Christians ought to appreciate that we are strengthened by the Spirit and take advantage of that gift even if we don’t fully comprehend it.

Like the farmer who plants, waters, and trusts that God is doing his invisible work to bring about growth, we trust God’s invisible work in us, even if we don’t understand it completely. So let’s pray, “God, strengthen my soul in your Spirit.” And let’s be assured that as we add self-control, God will “keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful” (II Peter 1:8).

- Jonthan Banning

“I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Cr. 9:7)

Growth in self-control can often be greatly helped by a focus on the rewards that it will yield. Self-control is, in fact, not far removed from the concept of self-discipline—that same kind of mental drive that motivates athletes to get up earlier, push harder, dream up new challenges, and go back to the gym day after day after day. And that kind of self-discipline isn’t just punishment. Over time, it has a way of becoming an extremely important blessing to us.

I love meeting or hearing about people in their 60’s and beyond who remain exceedingly active and healthy—who are walking or biking or lifting weights or doing yoga every day, and who’ve been doing that for many years. In conversing with such people, they almost always end up saying the same thing: “At this point in life, my day just doesn’t feel right if I skip it.”

That little observation shows us one the blessings of self-control: That it’s not only good because it helps us obey God’s rules, but there’s a life-giving power about it. In the same way that self-disciplining the body brings helps us just feel better, self-controlling our spiritual life (which is to say, our WHOLE life) brings about a deep kind of joy—an underlying steadiness that is difficult to describe, but which leaves us “just not feeling right” when we neglect it.

Self-control in regards to our spending, our eating and drinking, our words, our sexual activity, our emotions, our time, and our thoughts… largely boils down to being deliberate. Decisive. Purposeful. Intentional. And in order to truly make the most of that and receive all of its accompanying blessings, we’d do well to take a disciplined approach to life. It leads to a peacefulness that runs deep—a life-giving peacefulness that some might even say “surpasses understanding.”

- Dan Lankford

Ben Franklin listed thirteen personal virtues for life. The first one said: “Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.” Franklin was not a Christian, but that self-prescribed advice has both practical and spiritual value. It distills the principle that excess—whether of food, drink, luxury, sex, entertainment, comfort, etc.—is not healthy. We are much better off with a governing amount of self-control.
 
Excess dulls our minds. Like a bear waking up from hibernation, our minds become groggy, weary of the work required by life and relationships. And this can’t be the state of people who take every thought captive to Christ (2 Cr. 10:5), who know how to answer each person (Co. 4:6), and who continually prepare our minds for action (1 Pt. 1:13). We are called to have clear minds with strong wills tuned to serve God skillfully.
 
Excess dulls our spirits. Jesus was forever telling us that people who need something respond best to him (cf. Mt. 5:3, 19:24, etc). But if our lives are glutted with all sorts of comforts and indulgences, what will we feel that we truly need? What will cause us to desire Christ and not simply acknowledge him? It takes a certain degree of ‘soul hunger’ to desire the spiritual fullness that he offers (cf. Mt. 5:6). Excess doesn’t lead to that.
 
Therefore, we practice self-control. We choose contentment. We shouldn’t torture ourselves with starvation and the like, but we would each be wise to self-impose some moderation—to stop eating before we’re full; to fast and pray; to put marital sex on pause and devote ourselves to prayer; to just walk in some less comfortable shoes once in a while. And we should be generous, letting go of our excesses (God once condemned the Northern Kingdom after its fall with these words: “she… had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy” [Ez. 16:49]).
 
Over time, those of us who practice the wisdom of God will eventually develop an aversion to excess. Not that we’ll resent all comforts, gifts, and blessings; but that self-control will make us averse to what leads to dullness. It teaches our hearts and minds to need only that which will truly satisfy: God.

- Dan Lankford

As a 90’s kid and a public-school attendee, I vividly remember the D.A.R.E. programs and the “Just Say No” campaign. These were anti-drug abuse programs that encouraged children to exercise self-control and, “Just say no to drugs.” According to them, overcoming the temptation to use drugs was that simple, “Just say no.” In more recent years, those programs have been roundly criticized for their ineffectiveness. Ultimately, they just didn’t work. 

Typically, people take one of two extreme positions on self-control; either it is as simple as just saying, “No,” or we are incapable of truly controlling ourselves. Yet, I believe the Bible paints a more balanced picture than that. Here’s what it teaches us…

First, it is possible for us to not only exercise self-control, but to gain self-control. Everyone has moments in which they control themselves and subdue their passions, but Peter seems to be talking about something more impressive than this when he advises us to add self-control to our faith (II Peter 1:6). He means that this can become a part of our character. We can become the kind of people who, as a rule, control ourselves.

Secondly, self-control must be added. The big mistake of the “Just Say No” campaign was the assumption that all school aged children naturally came equipped with remarkable powers of self-control. Peter indicates that self-control doesn’t come naturally. We’re not wired that way. It’s something we must add. The natural state of man is not defined by inner strength, but weakness. As Jesus cautioned His apostles, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). 

Thirdly, self-control is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). That means this quality is added to our faith when we are filled with the Spirit. So often we seek to add self-control by simply trying harder to “Just Say No,” and yet the best way to add self-control is to focus on filling ourselves with the Spirit letting the word of Christ and His glorious Gospel fill our hearts (Ephesians 5:18). When the Gospel fills our hearts, self-control is the inevitable result. 

- Jonathan Banning

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. I think we understand why that is. The only reason a chain is effective is because all the links are interlocked. If one of those links breaks, the whole chain becomes useless. Therefore, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

When Peter writes the “Add To Your Faith” passage, he doesn’t just give us seven qualities to add, he gives us seven qualities that build upon one another – seven qualities that are linked to one another. First, he tells us to add “Arete” to our faith. In other words, we should pursue excellence in spiritual things, but what good is excellence without knowledge? So, Peter tells us to add knowledge to our excellence. He does the same with knowledge. We should add knowledge to our faith. We should seek to discern God’s will for us, but what good is that knowledge if we do not possess the restraint necessary to live by it? So, Peter tells us to add self-control to our knowledge (II Peter 1:6).

The word translated “self-control” is the Greek term, “Egkrateia,” and it means temperance, strength, power and mastery over self. Peter tells us that Christians need to possess the ability to control our passions and desires. We need to learn to master ourselves.

It seems to me that, for many of us, this is where the chain of faith often breaks. We’re content to strive for excellence. We’re happy to add more and more knowledge. Yet, when the moment of temptation comes we struggle to choose good. Self-control is often our weakest link. I think we ought to own that and determine together that we are going to do something about it.

For the next few weeks we’ll dig deeply into what the Bible has to say about how we can add self-control to our faith.

- Jonathan Banning

When it comes to adding spiritual knowledge to our faith, the prime source for that knowledge is obvious: it’s the Bible (cf. 2 Tm. 3:16-17). But what about the abundance of other sources available? Books, magazines, blogs, sermons, podcasts, and even these articles all purport to teach; but how do we know if we’re getting trustworthy knowledge from them?

While some books, organizations, and people claim to be teaching the Bible, they’re doing it wrongly and often in self-serving, harmful ways (Paul warned that this was happening in his time; cf. Phil. 1:17, 2 Cr. 10-12). So how do we know if we’re getting correct knowledge? How do we know if it’s what God really wants us to know?

Here’s one piece of advice that will go a long way: Consider the *assumptions* that the teacher/writer is working from.

If they assume that right and wrong are determined by men, that the Bible was written by men, and that religious doctrine is from men… If they begin with the assumption that God revealed more of his will to someone else after the apostles’ work was finished… If they assume that the Christian way is mostly determined by a particular culture of men… Or if they work off the assumption that a particular Christian group’s word is authoritative simply because it’s that group, then we should look elsewhere.

If, on the other hand, the teacher/writer assumes that the Holy Spirit revealed his will truthfully and completely in the Bible, and if their goal is to expound that without changing it, then we can almost always learn something valuable to our faith from a source like that! If they point us back to God himself and persuade us to trust him, then we can be grateful to learn from them.

These checks on assumptions work well whether applied to commentaries, podcasts, YouTube videos, sermons, blogs, workbooks, devotionals, or ‘Christian living’ books. The firmer the teacher’s commitment to God’s will in God’s word, the more we can be sure that we’re learning something worthwhile from them. It’s not just that we would stand against certain types of sources, but that we should have some wisdom to guide our pursuit of spiritual knowledge from all potential sources.

- Dan Lankford

When Jesus was only 12 years old, His family made the trek to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. After all was said and done, the family made their way back home assuming that Jesus was tagging along somewhere in the group when, in fact, He’d stayed behind in Jerusalem. When they found Him, He was sitting in the temple in the midst of the teachers (Luke 2:41-45).

I don’t know about you, but for some reason I’ve always had the impression that Jesus was in the temple teaching the teachers. As if little boy Jesus was showing up all the seasoned veterans. Yet, that’s not quite true. Luke tells us that He was listening to them and asking them questions (Luke 2:46). The preteen Jesus stays behind in the temple, not to teach, but to learn. When He tells His parents that He must be about His Father’s business, that business was not preaching to the grown ups but learning from them - adding knowledge to His faith (Luke 2:49). Later, Luke records that as Jesus aged He grew in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52). Isn’t that fascinating?

No one fully understands all the intricacies and dynamics of what it means for Jesus to simultaneously be God and Man, but one thing seems to be clear - that Jesus added knowledge to His faith just as I must add knowledge to my faith. That fact should helps us appreciate two things...

First, that we should hunger and thirst for knowledge of His word like He did. We need to understand that being busy in our Father’s business is not just a matter of engaging in good deeds, it also involves learning. In fact, as it was with Jesus so it is with us, our involvement in the Father’s business should begin with seeking to understand His will and grow in His wisdom.

Second, if we develop such a hunger and thirst, we can grow in wisdom and knowledge as He did. Of course, there are some attributes of Jesus that we’ll never share, but we have the opportunity to grow like He did. If I dedicate myself to listening, learning, and asking as He did I will continually add knowledge to my faith.

- Jonathan Banning