Six Thanks-Blessings

I hope everyone is ready for Thanksgiving this Thursday. I will be deep-fat frying one of the 45 million turkeys that have given their life for this wonderful holiday. One thing I am thankful for is that I can get mine from the frozen food section at the grocery store. I would hate to have to hunt one down to eat for Thanksgiving because wild turkeys are actually rather elusive.

Turkeys have a keen sense of hearing and range of vision of about 270 degrees as compared to 180 degrees that we can see. They can run twenty miles an hour and burst into flight approaching speeds of 55 mph.

There are other ways of killing turkeys. If you can rig up a surround sound system and lure them in, then hit them with the sound of a sonic boom, there is a good chance they will drop dead of a heart attack. Or place a sprinkler system over them, turn it on, and get them to look up. There’s a possibility they will drown.

However, I would rather get mine from the store. As a side note, I saw a rather funny posting on Facebook. It read “I shot my first turkey today. Liked to scared everybody to death in the frozen food aisle.”

Today I want us to discover six blessings in the Bible that we are to say “Thank God” for.

Thank God you’re a slave.

Romans 6:16 “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.”

I recently finished reading a book about the story of Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesus. They were three girls that were kidnapped by a deranged individual in Cleveland and held captive for 10 years. During that time they were brutally abused and molested. For most of the years in captivity they were chained to pipes and fixtures and deprived of the simplest accommodations of life. Amanda Berry actually bore his child, although Michelle Knight was kicked, punched, and starved to cause her to have five miscarriages.

During this time they began to show him emotions and say loving words to him. He would in his trial paint a picture that they had been consensual in all that had taken place. The reality is they had come to realize that in order to have a more peaceful lifestyle it was easier to give in to his demands.

People can become like those three girls. They get so wore down from the pressure of temptation in a sinful lifestyle that it becomes easier to give in to the demand of fleshly desires. And in doing so they suffer a spiritual death.

But, with the help of the Holy Spirit, they could also choose to obey God. They could choose to walk in obedience to his word and live a righteous life. This leads to a spiritual life filled with peace and joy.

Romans 6:17 “Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you.”

Paul emphasizes the need for thankfulness for the freedom that those who sought it found. If you are in that group, if you have been set free from sin, then say “Thank God.” It was through the blood of Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit, and your willingness to surrender that your freedom sin came about. However, as I said be thankful you are a slave.

Romans 6:18 “Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.”

In the spiritual realm, you are a slave. You always have been. You always will be. You may be the captain of your own ship in the physical world, free to make choices. But in the spiritual realm, you have a master. Your master is either Satan or God. That is reality. To be a slave to Satan is to be a slave to a harsh taskmaster. To be a slave to God is to be treated as He treats his own Son. If you have become a slave to righteous living, then thank God you are a slave.

Thank God you’re miserable.

Romans 7:21-24 “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?