This has become more and more of an issue closer to the end of the month, as I’ve read this same passage during my morning Bible study than any other in my life.

I’m praying before I read The Word, and I always pray that the Holy Spirit would guide my mind and bring it into His control…but at more than a few times I find my thought train running off the track regardless of my prayers.

I’ll keep my eyes open for a solution to this issue. As I have been learning more and more about health I am starting to become very convinced that this is a physiological issue more than it is a spiritual issue. There are certain vitamins, hormones, and supplements that produce a lack of concentration when they are out of balance.

There’s probably some out there saying that God can overcome our weakness in any area…and He can. Then of course, that begs the question as to why doesn’t He?

It can’t be because my prayer immediately before my Bible study session is out of the will of God. It IS the will of God for us to read and study His Word. Period.

Thus the question begs…if God promises to provide for all our needs, if He has promised us that He will give us whatever we ask for if it is in line with his Will, and we make a request that is within his will and don’t receive what we ask…then what is going on?

I think it all comes back to a major principle taught throughout the Bible. The principle of sowing and reaping. What we sow we WILL reap.

An example would be an unsaved person who is piled in debt and worry. He gets saved…but he is not instantly debt free. He still has to reap what he has sown in this area of his life.

I’ll look into it further but I believe that as I sowed destruction to myself by abusing my body for so many years by stuffing filthy non-food into it. Just because The Lord has called me to a closer walk with Him, just because He’s given me the way and means and desire to study His Word every day does NOT mean that I get a free pass to skip on by the whole reaping process of what I sowed into my body.

Now that I’m fighting to find ways to put less and less of that stuff into my body, I have a great hope that a new clarity of mind will come about that will enable me to yield greater benefits from reading God’s Word. Problem, of course, is that nobody likes the whole “sowing” stage of these types of life overhauls…we want to reap our rewards NOW.

The power of the spirit is ours and we should hate sin. Imagine yourself as a slave in ancient times that was cruelly mistreated by your master all your life. In fact, each and every slave that your master had was so abused that they always died. Some sooner, some later, but they all died sometime.

Now imagine that a good master came along and bought you from the evil master. Not only did he buy you, but he freed you and made you a servant who was asked to willingly server your new master.

Now imagine that as you go about your new master’s business, bartering in the market for grain, or cattle, or whatever, that you are constantly coming in contact with your old master. You see him all the time. Not only do you see him, but every time he sees you he tries to order you around to do his business even though you now no longer belong to him! How would you feel?

I’m guessing you would hate him. Deeply. With every cell in your body. This is the type of revulsion we, as The People of God, should have toward sin. It was a wicked slave driver that was doing nothing for us but cutting us off from our creator, our sustainer, our source of all meaning and purpose and joy. This despot (sin) is all this and more. Truly and fully evil.

Unfortunately, we as Christians don’t very often have this approach to the matter. A lot of it has to do with the fact that sin is still woven into the fabric of our flesh for a time, but the greater part has to do with our own actions.

Instead of strengthening the ‘inner man’ through faithful Bible study, prayer, and active obedience, we instead seem to gravitate towards the old things. Ridiculous!

We all need to memorize Romans 6:12-14. Ever time we pass through the counter at Wal-Mart and trash is kicked in our face, we need to recognize it for what it is. We need to cling to this passage. Recite it to yourself, recite it to your kids. Let them know exactly what the inner man thinks of the filth that is the food of the flesh.

I’ve written those three verses down on 3×5 cards and am working to have them memorized by the end of the month. I would encourage you guys to do the same. Time to strap on some armor. The only way to keep your Sword ready is if you have it written on your heart.