Becky Crenshaw

When you were little, did you play the game Memory?

The classic flip-card game where children lay out all the cards facedown and flip them over two at a time to make a match. The player with the most matching pairs of cards wins.  I loved this game as a child and when my boys were small, too.

Also, can you recall the worksheets in grammar school where the instructions called for us to draw a line to match the identical shape. Or count the number of candles on the cake and draw a line to its matching number.

All these exercises were designed to help us learn a concept.

SAME.

Which two pictures are the same? Which quantities are the same? What two cards are the same.

Developmentally, this is a skill we must learn. Not only because it is helpful for day to day function, but because it is foundational for other basic life skills.

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.  Romans 8:11

Ok let’s play a game today.  Similar concept but for grown-ups. This will be fun!

SAME.

Just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by the SAME SPIRIT.

So picture with me. Jesus is dead. In a cold, dark tomb. And a power comes over his dead body and brings it BACK TO LIFE.

Sit with this.  

He didn’t just pop up on His own. No. His corpse was embodied by a POWER. The Holy Spirit. And new breath filled His inactive lungs and He sat UP RIGHT.

I. Can’t. Even. It is just too much.

Now, back to our worksheet. All of my drawing skills halted in the 4th grade, so if I were to draw this, I would draw on one side of the paper a tomb, a cute stick figure Jesus standing with a smile and a little round sunshine above the open grave.

K? You still with me?

Then on the opposite side of the worksheet, I would draw a stick-figure Becky. Pigtails. Triangle skirt. Stick arms straight out from my side. Smiley face Becky.

The instructions on the worksheet say “Draw a line to match the same Spirit.”

So I take by oversized pencil and draw a straight line across the sheet from the resurrected Jesus to Pigtail Becky.

SAME. SPIRIT.

If you are a believer in Christ Jesus, the power which resurrected our Lord and Savior LIVES IN YOUR BODY RIGHT NOW.

This passage isn’t ONLY referring to the raising of our bodies upon our death.  Jesus raises us to life TODAY.

All the dead places inside our soul that sin buried deep…. He can bring to LIFE.

A dead marriage.

A dead faith.

A dead friendship.

A dead hope.

A dead-end of any kind that suffocated due to years of shame, guilt or suffering can have brand new breath. The pneuma (breath) of God. 

SAME. SPIRIT.

Friends, I don’t know about you, but I feel this is foundational and life-changing knowledge. To take this grade-school principle and apply it to such profound TRUTH regarding who you are…. Earth-shattering.

There is NOTHING impossible for us. The Holy Spirit living inside of us CONQUERED DEATH (#sameSpirit)…. so why do we take a knee to ANYTHING?

You are POWERFUL because of this gift. You can OVERCOME anything else but Him!?

Reflect on the dead places within you and apply this Truth. Right now.

The tomb will roll back. You will come out. And these places will have life once again.