JOEL 2 GENERATION

my wife and I have been working with a group of teenagers at Church for a couple of months.  much of what we have emphasized has been fundamental stuff - Lordship, Love and the Kingdom of God.  we've been teaching them what the Kingdom looks like - when there are sick, it looks like healing.  when there are the demonized, it looks like them getting set free.  it looks like God speaking prophetically.  it looks like those who are rejected, being loved. we've done some praying for the sick and also we've shared a number of testimonies throughout the weeks of people being healed.  today was a golden opportunity to "swing the bat" as one of our youth limped in and could barely walk.  a bad collision in his basketball game had left his knee swollen, painful and unable to be bent. one of the youth join me and we began to pray.  after the first prayer, he said it felt "cold" (not the thing that happens when people are laying hands on you in a warm room).  

this morning I'm thinking of how GLORIOUS it is that God has made our assignment so incredibly simple.  the Jews had counted up 613 commandments from the OT.  How absolutely confusing!  (of course, Paul tells us later what the purpose of all those laws was, "tutors to lead us to Christ").  Jesus comes along and boils 613 down to 2 - nice Kingdom math!  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength AND Love your neighbor as yourself".  Paul thinks about it and decides some years later - "still too complicated"!  He boils it down to 1 single commandment in Galatians 5 - LOVE OTHERS.  That's it.  Just go and LOVE and as we love others with the Love of God, we are in fact LOVING GOD with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.  I used to hate math, but I love this Kingdom math.  1 simple equation - Go and Love and in doing that we are fulfilling EVERYTHING God requires.