Ever heard, when it rains, it pours? It’s been one of those weekends, emotionally that is. It began with the news my step-father was going into a nursing home. His health problems finally reached the level where Mom couldn’t provide the 24/7 care he requires.  A quick trip to a North Carolina nursing home. Emotions.

Today, began at breakfast with my son and his family. Emotions! They’re home for a few days because they are deploying to Hawaii for two years. Emotions. The early afternoon was hard; I preached a funeral for a 31 year old young man. Emotions. In the late afternoon, I did a wedding. Emotions!  Tomorrow morning I’ll be with the New Branch Community Church family as they celebrate their first anniversary as a church. Emotions! And it’s all taking place on the 10th Anniversary of 9-11.

What a roller coaster. There’s a certain irony in the fact that I’m planning to conclude the weekend at Bush Gardens (you guessed it) riding roller coasters!

As I sit here trying to process through all this, I’m struck by the experiences our Lord Jesus has every hour, every day. Day after day. Joy. Pain. Highs. Lows. All of the emotions of the human experience. He is touched by them all because He loves us so much. But I don’t think the deepest low He feels comes when we are grieving or lonely. I think it’s when we try to deal with our emotions (whatever they are) without including Him.

It occurs to me that I may not figure out (this side of eternity) why all these things happened on a single weekend. Truth is, it’s not really important that I do. What’s important is that I remember how much He loves me, and that I love Him back just a little more. Somehow I know, everything is going to be alright.

It looks like it’s going to be an exciting weekend.  If you consider hurricanes exciting that is! Phones, Facebook pages and Tweets are buzzing with questions about whether Irene will hit us and whether we will gather for worship on Sunday.  I’m thinking about the hurricane that hit us in 2003.

Damage was in the billions of dollars. Trees fell on houses, on cars and across roads. Electricity was off for days and days and days. Stores closed for lack of electricity or simply because they ran out of basic goods.

When the question of Sunday services came up in 2003, someone said, “We can’t have church. We don’t have any power.” I felt strongly the church family needed to get together if at all possible. I finally said, “We may not have electricity, but we definitely have power! Let’s trust our people to decide what’s safe for their families.” Eight years later those were among the most memorable services in our church’s history.

Eight hundred people showed up. Members of the praise team brought acoustic guitars. Kim called the words out to the songs as we sang. We shared Communion. Afterward, I shared a brief message and we broke into informal circles to share experiences and needs. Arrangements were made, chain saws gathered and the power of community ensued! When we finished at one another’s homes, we went across streets and neighborhoods helping where ever we could.

That’s power. No amplifiers. No microphones. No projectors. No electricity. Just power–the Holy Spirit empowering a family to function the way Jesus called us to.

Today, nearly a hundred community groups do hundreds of acts of kindness for each other and for their neighbors every week.  That’s the power of God operating through the people of God.

Will Irene hit us? Will we have services on Sunday? I guess that remains to be seen. This much I know. We have power–the power of the Holy Spirit unleashing hope through the lives of his people. I, for one, consider it the honor of my life to be a part of it.

Last Sunday, Pastor Michael taught that as sons and daughters of God we have access to the Throne of God anytime. What great news; we have a Heavenly Father who welcomes us into His presence anytime! Then, he told us there was a catch. In order to take advantage of our access, we have to “access our access!” We actually have to talk with Him. That sounds obvious, but the truth is, we often struggle to actually talk with the people we love the most.

Kim and I are empty-nesters who have been married for more than 35 years. We clearly have access to each other. Yet, now and then we can get so busy with life we can go for days without talking. We talk, but only about the business of life, not about our love for each other.

One time, when we realized we had fallen into that pattern, we decided to go on a date. We also decided we would avoid the topics of work, home repair, bills; the everyday stuff of life. It was almost hilarious. We found ourselves saying things like, “How’s your bread?” We’d been married for three decades and couldn’t think of anything to talk about!

Finally, one of us asked, “How are you feeling about life these days?” It wasn’t long before we found ourselves talking about our dreams, hopes and plans. It was like we were going back to the days when we first fell in love.

I wonder sometimes if we squander our access to God by only talking with Him when we need something. What if we “accessed” Him just to talk about our relationship. I wonder if we find ourselves falling in love with the Lord all over again.

Kim and I have kept our marriage fresh over the years by keeping that in mind. Jesus and I have too!

Difference makers don’t measure their success by the number of goals they’ve achieved or trophies they’ve been awarded. They measure it in terms of the dent they have made in the problem they are trying to solve.

Many consider Western Branch Community Church to be a successful church. By many standards it is. It’s larger than 98% of other American churches. 60% of its members were unsaved and unchurched before joining the church.

We at WBCC don’t measure our success in those terms. We measure it by scanning the horizon and seeing tens of thousands of people around us still desperate for help and hope. We celebrate what’s been done, the lives that have been changed; but we have a long way to go! We’ll rest on our laurels when they’ve all been reached for Jesus!

Is God still speaking today or is that something the Bible says ended centuries ago? Is it possible to know what God wants you to do or are you doomed to struggle through life hoping that you’re getting it right? Assuming He does still speak, when you get an idea that you think might be from God, how can you know?

The good news is, God does still speak and the Bible provides clear direction for knowing whether your idea came from Him or you just ate too much pizza last night!

“Did I Just Hear from God” (AKA The Seven Filters booklet) is a quick read that provides an overview of how to get that direction. It’s available free at the Western Branch Community Church bookstore. Check it out!