Hanging out with Jesus.

On Friday night I got the urge to hang out with Jesus, so I looked at the calendar to see what was up for Saturdays "Holler day". Being that it was ministering to Asheville's homeless I called a friend to join me. Three of us ended up going with the mission to 1. Hang out and help Jesus remembering His promise, "whatever you do unto the least of these you do onto me". 2. We can't stop talking about our Father and what He's done. We just want someone to share it with. Someone who's hungry for it. 3. Lastly, we understood many homeless are believers and we wanted to meet the need of the body of Christ. If we could just meet one need, we'd be happy.

This particular experience was amazing. Two grown men crumbled into tears pierced by the Spirit through prayer and humility. Men fallen into homelessness within 1 day to 2 weeks (a blink of an eye). Addicted to Heroin and other drugs, redeemed by the Savior on the path to Glory. A gentleman with a Masters degree who's business failed and cost him everything. Now, he'll have to catch a serious break to get his feet back on the ground. One guy found himself with 2 black eyes and a stolen car b/c he found himself on the wrong part of time.

The highlight had to be the seed we planted that grew in front of our eyes. D admitted to us that his mom was right and it was a series of mistakes in rebellion that got him in this predicament. After a long talk at Denny's over hot chocolate we encouraged him that he should, "seek 1st the Kingdom" and make it right with his mom b/f anything else. He took us seriously and borrowed the cell phone and made the call right then and there. His mom hadn't heard from him in a week so he assured her that he was safe, covered and well fed. He told her not to worry and that she was right and he had made a mistake. She, in turn invited him to Monday night RAW with his father for Monday night! I was afraid she'd drill em, but she was very compassionate, forgiving and gentle. Our Father is amazing!

While in the car with this guy, if you tried you could smell the aroma of homelessness. I like to call it the aroma of Christ! I absolutely love that smell. There's a sense of fulfillment found in it. To me, it hits close to Home. It's a hard scent to describe. You have smell it to understand it. Many of us have seen or heard about poverty but have we touched and smelled it?

As for needs met. This time, Jesus needed prayer, encouragement, a cover from the cold and prayer. It was a blast! Thank you Father for considering us faithful and appointing us to your service!

Ask for Nothing Day!

At church on Sunday Rich told the students that he hated thanksgiving. Not because there's something wrong with it, but because it reminds of him of the time his dad was diognosed with a terminal illness. After 10 yrs of hating and struggling he figured out a way to cope: He would be thankful on Thanksgiving. Imagine that. No really, he would be thanful. He would ask God for nothing the entire day, and it worked! If you search the Scripture you'll realize that so many powerful prayers will filled with praise and thanksgiving, not requests. It's God's will for us to Rejoice always, Give thanks in everything and Pray w/o ceasing. After hearing Richs' talk I knew this is something I had to do. Join me this Thanksgiving. Ask for Nothing.

Samaritans Purse Update!

In a previous post we told you about our friend Christa who is having a party to make and collect shoeboxes. Well she had about 15 people come, but previous to that several people had given her money. They ended making 76 shoeboxes over 4 hours!! Check out their blog to see pictures and more info.

Imagine if we did this all over the States! The impact we could have on a lost and dying world.

Rebekah

Worth dying for.

I just signed a form that basically states that if I get held hostage, no one is going to pay the ransom. You might ask, what have I gotten myself into? This is part of the paperwork for the Children's Hope Chest Vision trip to Russia this February. For me, I can't think of a better way to die than in the midst of a mission trip.

In the past I've seen parents and friends discourage their loved ones mission plans because they fear for their safety. I've even seen discouragement in regards to service projects in our very own Jesus Town (7th avenue). Finally, it came to the point I had to go to my Father in private prayer. I expressed my frustrations and I asked Him why? He answered me, but He also told me something else.

He told me to worry so much about it and He turned the focus on myself. He tole me to "Live a life worth dying for". In reality, I should always be asking myself, "Is this worth dying for?", in everything I do. The crazy truth is that we live in a dangerous world. Just stepping out our door and getting in our cars can be a life threatening endeavor. I've begun to question everything I do. Is this farm work I've begun to do worth dying for? Is going to church tonight? The movies? This or that? I also realized that there's so much we do that can be worth dying for if we just make the effort. Church would be worth it if we really grew, built relationship and impacted the Kingdom. Going to the grocery store could be more meaningful if I gave a track or simply smiled. My friend Jody and I once wrote what we'd like a 10 word ephitaph about ourselves be. His included the phrase, "Lived a life worthy of the cross. Non of us know when our time is up, shouldn't we live like it?

As for the Vision trip, I will be checking out unsponsored orphanages to connect the members of 1st baptist and people of the Holler to sponsor individual kids from an orphange. I hope to film, take pictures and talk to the actual kids who we'll help. It's excited to think the Father is going to connect profound relationships between orphans and supporters. When Rebekah and I were at Orphanage Emmanuel in Honduras we realized just how important the sponsor was to these kids. Many times, they considered the sponsor as a set of parents and it is a huge deal to simply have a sponsor, receive mail and gifts from them. A visit was just beyond this world!
I hope to connect us with an orphanage that we'll not only sponsor, but also visit each year.
The trip costs $2800 and I don't have it. I told Father if He wants me to go, He'll provide. Just days before the Nov $250 deadline some dear friends gave me $500! Pray with me that God will continue to provide and that He'll be glorified in the process of raising the money and going on the trip.

I can't think of a better way to go than being the Fathers Hands of Hope to these kids. I hope you'll join me in prayer and provision for His beloved fatherless children.

Bill Cosby on Child Birth

As Momma and I are preparing for childbirth (Jonah's due Dec 6th) we ran across these videos:

What if....

What if we filled just 1 shoe box full of goodies and sent them to needy children all around the world with the message of the gospel? What if we sent 2,3,4,5...? What if we mobilized others to give? We visited the Samaritans purse headquarters last year and heard some amazing stories how children were impacted by this simple gift. One kid accepted Christ and was killed 2 weeks later. That shows the urgency involved in reaching these people. My friend, Christa is throwing a shoe box party tonight! Who know what the eternal impact will be. I hope one day we'll get to meet all the strangers we've impacted for the Kingdom. Another guy is running across the state of North Dakota. Check out the video.

That's what their doing. What are you doing? Please share. It's not late to pack a box. Collection dates go until the 19th or you can get involved online. Check out Operation Christmas Child for more info.

First Fruits

A strange elderly lady called me and barely said, "Who's this?". I said, Justin Rhodes, to which she replied, "Good luck with your business" and she hung up. Bless her heart, it took about 5 minutes for her to get that out, but she was sweet as could be. I imagine she was calling in response to the Hendersvonville News article that came out the same day. That same night I got a call from a local man who owned a saw mill and wanted to donate wood to the cause! I was blessed to have this guy come out to the Holler at 9AM Wednesday morning. One of the things he told me was that God has burdened him to give above and beyond his tithe. During some difficult financially times his wife pointed out a scripture calling for us to give God our "first fruits" and he's been walking on water ever since! I knew this guy was different when he scheduled a 9AM appointment on a weekday to give of his services! Since his commitment 5 or so years ago to give, God has blessed his business this guy still continues to set aside time to help his brothers in helping Jesus, in the form of the least.

Super Power(s)

I saw a young mom wearing a shirt that read, "I made milk today, what's your super power?"

It's so true, but they produce so much more than milk.

A year or so ago a friend of mine, half jokingly, told me he was going to have as many children as he could b/c he considered them to be soldiers in the Kingdom of God. I think I agreed, but it didn't really hit home until I was looking up a "cute" little verse you all have probably heard, "Children are a gift of the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward". That's found in Ps 127:3. It's a beautiful verse, but this time I was captured by the rest of Ps 127, particularly v4:

"Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth".

I know I'm young, but what's this other stuff? It caught my attention and I began to let it really sink in. Children are like arrows in the hand of a warrior! It takes verses like this to remind me that I'm a warrior in the midst of a battle and I need ammunition. My kids are my ammunition of the gospel. Notice the analogy here: "like arrows". If our children are like arrows and we're the warrior, we're responsible for sending them out. We're to use them in our mission for the Gospel and send them out for that purpose.

V5 "How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them..." Blessed? Quiver full of them? I know, sometimes I view children as a burden or a job. I, especially feel pressure to limit our quantity of them. Why? Perhaps we've given too much to our children. They've become the centers of our universes and we've expected way too little of them. It seems we've turned quantities of children into a curse instead of a blessing. We aren't using them, they're using us. The traditional American farmer of the good ol' days comes to mind. Quantities of children weren't burdensome, they were necessary for survival. Just like arrows were necessary for the bowman, so are children necessary for our battle in Gods' Kingdom.

This brings me back to mommas. They produce more than milk, they produce ammunition of war.

Hands of Hope.

Momma and I are proud to announce the premier of Hands of Hope Ministry to the Fatherless. It's an orphan ministry of FBC Hendersonville to minister to the orphans locally (adoption/foster support), regionally (Work projects at the Broyhill group home) and internationally (mission trips and orphan sponsorship). We happy to be heading up the missions end of the ministry.

Check out the promo that premiered in all 3 church services today:

Holler in the news.

"'To love God and people and teach others to do the same, that's what we're about,' Justin Rhodes explains when sharing the purpose of the newly-formed, non-profit youth ministry he and his wife, Rebekah, have started...."

Check out the article online here or pick up to days Hendersonville Times News.

I got a strange call from an older lady yesterday who just asked who I was and then told me, "best of luck with the business" and then hung up. I imagine this was in response to the paper. Another guy called me and told me he owned a sawmill and wanted to donate custom wood! I'm having him out on Wednesday. Honestly, I didn't know I needed so much wood, but I'm going to step back and see what God wants. I'll simply give this guy the tour and see what God's doing with this. Many people came up to me at church with lots of encouraging words. One lady wants to help sponsor my vision trip to Rissian orphanage this winter!

Speaking of the vision trip. I haven't announced that yet, but I'm planning on going with Children's Hope Chest on a vision trip to connect our churh with an unsponsored orphange. I told Keith, our churh missions minister, if it's alright with him I would move forward with the paperwork, signing up etc... even though we don't have the money. If the Father wants me to go He'll provide. It's going to be a total of $1,800. $250 is due Nov 15th. I was beginning to wonder how and when the Father was going to provide and then I ran into a dear sister who said she and her husband wanted to help with the trip. Long story short, I got the $250, plus the money for the December Deadline. All $1,800 is due mid January.

Your loved and wanted!

It was over 3 yrs ago that we were talking to Brody from Camp Snowbird in our research to start a camp. One of the many things he told us was that we'd want to write at least 100 letters to our closest friends and family when get started. Now, here we are. It's been a long wait, so we're super excited about getting our ministry announcements out.

Know that your loved and prayed for. We're sending nearly 200 letters, but we're spreading it out over the month of November so that we can spend time praying over each family. We'll be including a hand written note with each one and I'll be praying for you specifically. We want to give everyone a chance to be a part of our ministry should they feel led.

The picture is of my letter writing station. Notice the black board with over 100 names. Chances are, if your reading this, your names on that list. It's a visual reminder of those who love us, but also an opportunity for us to remember you in prayer.

Be praying for us this month as we send these letters out. Pray for the Fathers provision for the $80,000 1st year budget.

If for some reason you don't get a letter by mid December contact me and I'll make sure you get added to the list.

Chickens at the Holler

Mr. Hendrix was simply walking by when he asked, "do you guys want some chickens". Heck yes, we wanted some chickens. We had just been talking about it. About a month later Momma and I are picking up our 1st farm animals as a married couple. We hope to produce vegetarian fed, free range, non fertilized eggs for our neighbors. Hopefully this is only the beginning of the Holler Farm's outreach to the community. On top of outreach, our long term goal is for more self sustainable living and possible fund raising efforts.

We picked up 4 laying egg hens yesterday. Now there's only 2. As I was in the stall with them setting up their perches and baskets the door behind me gradually opened and 3 escaped. I managed to corner 1 and return it to safety, so 2 are still out in the wild. Chickens are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain. Think about it. Here's just some of the chicken eatin predators:

Men
Dogs
Cats
Bears
Hawks
Foxes
Rats
Owls
Cars
etc...

This got me thinking. Follow me here. It's to my glory that these birds produce eggs. Ultimately to get eggs I've got to love these chickens. I've got to fence them, feed them, water them, give them a place to perch and give them a place to lay eggs. Yes, it's for my glory but it's in their best interest to comply and submit. It's those 2 chickens that escaped and ran when I chased them that will die unnecessarily. Momma had a good point today, she said "we don't have to worry so much about fencing predators out, it's fencing the chickens in".

Do you see the parallels here? God just wants to use us for His Glory. To do that, He wants to love us. This love includes providing for us and keeping us safe from the predators of death. Why do we run from God and His commands? We really don't have to worry so much about the predators getting in as we do us getting out to the predators. It's a much safer spot to be in God's will than to escape to do our own thing.

11/5/07 Update: Our neighbors dog ate 1 and then killed and deliverd the other one to our neighbors living room. The 2 that remained in my will are safe, secure, warm and purched in a stall as we speak.

Death Row.

A couple of us ministered at the Hendersonville Rescue mission this morning. We cleaned tables and walls, led the chapel service and served lunch. We couldn't help but hear from the clients that one of their fellow clients had died last night. Saddening situation, but it only put an urgency on the message God had given me from 1 John 2:1-2.

"But if anyone sins,"

We've all sinned. We've all fallen short of God and His Glory. On top of that, the wages of sin is death. We've all committed crimes worthy of death.

We're on DEATH ROW!

That's the bad news, here comes the good:

", we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;" We've (those of us who are Christians) have called Jesus along side to help. He's our Intercessor. Some versions say He's one who speaks to the Father in our defense.

Think of it like this: He's our lawyer and God's the Judge.

"and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins". That word propitiation means there's a satisfaction for God's wrath. God's ticked off and Christ has become a satisfaction for His wrath! Some versions say He's the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

So here's a lawyer that will not only defend us on death row, but he'll take our punishment. He'll serve our time and pay our fine. In this case, he'll give of His own life to save ours. And He's FREE, we just have to fully submit our whole selves to Him. He's one of those lawyers that requires complete control and why not, He's the master. If we think about it our lawyer as a special connection with the judge. He's His son. Now that's an advantage in court.

Now, let's imagine Christ's attorney ad in the phone book if he had one. For starters it would be small and humble, but it might read something like this:

The Advocate, Christ Jesus
Free of charge, but you must submit your all.
Defendant must plead guilty.
When you loose, the advocate will serve your time and pay your fine.

We're all appointed to die and then judgment. The question is, who's your advocate? Is it your own self? Is it some other God? A false idle? Will they hold up in court? Will they take your punishment.