We are usually more aware of our temporal needs than of our spiritual...

This devotional rings so true… when our temporal needs are so great, it keeps us before God and as we cry out for what we can see that we know we need, He uses that time of waiting on Him to bring to the surface things that we were not even aware of that are lodged in our hearts… fears, unforgiveness, judgements of others, selfishness, pride, idols (the things we look to more than Him)… ALL of these things the Lord has in the past year shown us and now we can truly rejoice in our trials because we see our great need of His mercy and His wise ways in delaying to bring these things into His light, so that we can forgive as we have been forgiven..

Give us this day our daily bread, & forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.    Matthew 6:11

"After we have prayed for the glory of God, we also make mention of our temporal needs.  Spiritual things are our greatest need, but God also allows us temporal blessings.  We enjoy them as we might enjoy a visit to an inn.  We refresh ourselves with the comforts there, we are travelling.  We are thankful for the world’s provisions during our journey, and we enjoy the bread we pray for as a support in our passage home.  Our Saviour, in his providence, gives us heavenly blessings as a happy addition to the earthly blessings he daily bestows upon us.  We are usually more aware of our temporal needs than of our spiritual, and our Saviour by degrees raises our desires from the one to the other.  We are invited to pray for the supply of our temporal necessities, but these are trivial in regard to the necessities of our souls.  We ought to be much more earnest and importunate with God for our spiritual mercies.  Bread can only nourish my vile carcass for a few short years and then it moulders into dust, and becomes meat for worms.  How much more important it is to seek pardon for my sins and the spiritual mercies without which my soul must eternally perish!  Bread figuratively denotes all provisions necessary for this natural life.  They are both needful and God has promised to give them to us.  Whatever you enjoy is from bounty.  He spreads your table and fills your cup.  He is your health and strength, and he loads you daily with benefits.  Do you have riches, honour, friends, joy, and comfort?  It is God who fills you with these good things.  He is the great Lord and proprietor who brings forth abundantly from all his stores for the use and service of man."
~ Ezekiel Hopkins

from Voices of the Past: A Puritan Devotional

MANNA: It was February 28, 1993...

It was February 28, 1993 when Josh and Jon were 4 and 2 years old.  

We had been on staff with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) since 1987 and had now been iving & working with the NY YWAM Center in Elizabeth, NJ since the fall of 1991.  We lived a couple miles from the Center in an apartment that cost $700 a month and our monthly support was $900, which covered rent and utilities and God provided faithfully for food and other needs over the next year and a half. 

We had been doing children’s ministry in the inner city projects of Elizabeth and felt we needed some training, so we looked into the Principles of Children & Youth Ministries training that YWAM offered in Scotland and had been asking God since Jan. for the provision to do so. 

Since deciding to go, our support came in very intermittently and that month we had received only $320 from our supporters. Though we had paid rent for Jan. and Feb. we were two months behind on utilities and obviously did not have rent for the next day. This was a huge test of our faith... and we were struggling. After putting the boys to bed we committed to pray into the night and we started with, ‘Lord, we don’t need less, we need more!” Our training school started  in 5 weeks on April 7th and in addition to rent and utilities, we needed to rent a moving truck and a storage unit and secure flights to Scotland in the next few weeks. So we prayed and prayed and read through a wonderful book called DARING TO LIVE ON THE EDGE: The Adventure of Faith and Finances by Loren Cunningham, in order to see if we were off in our plans in anyway. As we prayed and examined our hearts, Roger said he felt that there was an intentional veil so that we could not see ahead of is how things would work out much like Abraham. As he shared this, I had my finger on a verse that I wanted to read which said:

"His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His people) Eph. 4:11a

After that late night prayer time, we felt we were to continue to believe that God could and would provide for us to go.

The next day at the YWAM Center, the accountant said he was looking for us and I asked, "Why, did someone give us a $1000?" and he said, "No, but close"

As it turned out, our home church had incorrectly filled out February's monthly support check of $200 and it had to be sent back, so by rights if they resent that with the March support, it would have been $400, but the check was for $750!!!  We were overwhelmed and overjoyed! When I told the missions committee Director from our church about how that had met our needs so beautifully and asked why that was the amount sent, she said she had no idea.  

I wish I could go back and read in my journal all the details of how the 4 of us boarded that plane for Scotland at the end of March. What I do remember is that fellow missionaries from Brasil needed a car when they came home on furlough and felt led to offer to buy ours from us, so that covered the taxes we owed and the our airfare!! There is so much more to this story as we spent 6 months in Paisley Scotland... even a story about "Miracle NON-provision" that we could tell you about one day.  

So, here we sit on Wed. June 18th, 2014, asking God in much the same way... Is it your will that Jonathan go to this FARMING GOD'S WAY training in North Carolina on Sunday? We are trusting that if it is, then He will provide the remaining $ needed for his airfare and tuition, as He has so many times in the past and, if it is not in His plan, then He has another plan. 

Jon's first garden that he initiated when we lived in Nashua!

"Oh God, you are My God, and I will ever praise You,

I will seek You in the morning and I will learn to walk in Your ways and

Step by step you lead me and I will follow you all of my days." ~ Rich Mullins 

Clinging to Him through Trials … a letter to a friend.

God has us in impossible circumstances that He will work in, because we are His children. I know it is a very real struggle to keep our eyes on the Lord and to cling to the hope that is ours in Him.  The wind and the waves are so distracting and all consuming and overwhelm us for sure!!! There,  we are being trained to keep our eyes fixed on the Commander and Chief and our Father, Who is over all.  He knows our frame and frailty and the habits of our flesh, which is why He is drawing us to Himself, teaching us to abide in Him our only hope. He is completing the work He has begun in our lives THROUGH THE TRIALS… He said it would be so… "In this world you will have trouble, but fear not, I have overcome the world!"

"The New Testament writers tell us that we should not be surprised when we face trouble, trial, and suffering... in this broken world and should never conclude from our trouble that God has forgotten us. They say that for God’s children, the opposite is true. Trials are the result of His covenant love. We experience difficulty, not because He doesn’t love us, but because He loves us. God will not neglect us so that we can experience the ease that we want. No, He rather will take us where we do not want to go in order to produce in us what we could not achieve on our own."  ~ Paul David Tripp

Trials force me to run to Him… with things completely out of my control… and I prefer being in control… I learn to abide in the vine and see that all I need is found in Him and how very much I have been relying on my own strength, and on what I can do. I am compelled to cling to Him for ALL THAT HE PROMISES HE WILL DO… oh the precious promises of our God!  That reminds me of a scripture…let's see if I can find the address…

1 Peter 1: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. THIS IS WHAT GOD IS DOING IN US AS WE CLING TO HIS PROMISES THROUGH TRIALS!!!

9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins... THERE ARE THOSE WHO HAVE FORGOTTEN OR NEVER REALLY SAW THE DEPTH OF THEIR OWN SIN, THEY HAVE THEIR EYES SO FIXED ON THE SINS OF OTHERS THEY HAVE BECOME BLIND TO THE HUGE LOG IN THEIR OWN EYE AND ARE CONSUMED WITH UNFORGIVENESS & BITTERNESS… ONLY THE LORD CAN OPEN BLIND EYES AND DELIVER THEM!!!

FOR ME… RECENTLY, GOD HAS BEEN OPENING MY EYES TO AREAS OF SIN THAT I HAVE BEEN BLIND TO AND WHEN I REALIZE HE HAS SEEN IT ALL ALONG, I AM HUMBLED. I STRUGGLE WITH FEAR, CONTROL, PRIDE, SEEKING THE APPROVAL OF MAN JUST LIKE OTHERS I HAVE JUDGED… IT IS SO EASY TO SEE THAT IN OTHERS WHILE WE ARE BLIND TO THE WAYS WE DO THE VERY SAME THING.

I AM HUMBLED BY HIS PATIENCE WITH ME ALL THESE YEARS AND SEE THAT THE TRIALS WERE NECESSARY TO TEST MY METAL… TESTING IS NOT A PASS/FAIL TEST… TESTING THROUGH TRIALS BRING TO THE SURFACE OF HIS CHILDREN THE VERY THINGS HE IS AFTER. HE IS WORKING TO PURIFY OUR HEARTS, REPLACE LIES WITH HIS TRUTH, EVEN AS OTHERS RAGE AGAINST US, AS THEY RAGED AGAINST HIM… HE SAID THAT IF THEY PERSECUTED ME, THEY WILL PERSECUTE YOU. IT IS SO HARD AND YET WE ARE NOT COMPLETELY INNOCENT, AND THERE IS MUCH HE IS DOING IN OUR HEARTS AS WE CLING TO HIM

10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; BUT WHEN WE DO STUMBLE, BECAUSE WE ARE HIS CHILD,  WE WILL NOT BE HURLED HEADLONG B/C HE IS THE ONE HOLDING ONTO OUR HAND… OH WHAT AN AMAZING FATHER WE HAVE!!! 11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

12 Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present within you. 13 I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder…"

"These relationships and circumstances, these problems and trials, and these times of grief and suffering come from his hand. They are tokens of God’s wonderful grace, given to deliver us from the power of remaining sin! Behind the circumstances is a God of love who is relentlessly at work to make us holy. Praise that comes from hearts of worship is the only legitimate response to these circumstances. Rather than telling us that God has forgotten us, our circumstances shout to us that he has remembered us and will not leave us until his work is complete!" ~PDT

"For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning [to Me] and resting [in Me] you shall be saved; in quietness and in [trusting] confidence shall be your strength... 

And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!  ISAIAH 30:15 & 18

He's calling us to ABIDE!

Keep clinging!

MANNA: Where He guides, He provides

Back in April 2012,  while we were living on Prince Edward Island, Jon had finished his discipleship school & as he prayed about his future, it occurred to him that he was "not designed for the west". So he began looking for an opportunity to travel elsewhere to see how God would direct his path and this search put us in touch with William Levi who said Jon could come on his next trip in 2013.

We returned to the US for a wedding in mid Sept. 2012 and William had asked Jon to begin his involvment by attending a conference in NC with him in late October where they would have a booth to tell others about the work of Operation Nehemiah in South Sudan.  As we prayed, we felt led to ask God if He would provide for us all to go as a family with the Levi's.  At the time we did not even have the money needed to travel back to PEI and were waiting on the Lord.

As time went on, we felt strongly about going and made a plan to see dear friends at the 1/2 way point and to see my brother before the conference.  As the conference neared our church offered to cover a rental car and gas so that we could make the trip more inexpensively instead of flying. This encouraged us to keep believing that we would go and we hoped to stay in the same hotel with the Levi's

When we went to bed Thursday,  before our Sat. planned departure, & we still only had our rental car secured… we had not registered for the conference, nor did we have money for hotel at the conference or food for the 11 day trip.  Very few knew we had any need at all and no one knew exactly what we needed & that we had no resources to draw from. We had no savings and no credit cards to fall back on, only the Lord.

I woke up at 3 am Friday and had an urgency to talk to God… 'Lord, do we start packing tomorrow in faith? Show us if we are wrong about the trip. Please clarify your plan.' etc.  After an hour with the Lord I checked my emails and dear friends had PayPal-ed us some money that would help us secure a hotel room!! With that great encouragement, I thanked God and slept peacefully and we got up later that Friday morning to pack, trusting God would provide the rest.

Later on, the Levi's called to tell us that they had received a generous gift and they were going to be able to cover the conference registration for all of us!! So now all we needed was food and other extra expenses covered.  Earlier in the week mom was not in a position to help out and expressed that. We assured her that we did not expect her help, God would supply somehow. But lo and behold, that afternoon she received a totally unexpected check for something she never thought she'd be reimbursed for and she asked me to run to the bank and cash it and gave most of it to us!! That was God's provision for food & other needed things for the trip!! We were so excited.

We left on time and had a wonderful visit with friends and my brother, Mike and family.  We have a God who cares about relationships and is so faithful to see to it that we are right where He wants us to be!!

Well… here we are, once again... trusting Him to provide for a trip to NC, this coming Friday, June 20, 2014 (Jon's birthday) so that Jon and Roger can attend the FARMING GOD'S WAY training, to equip them in methods of farming in the third world. We invite you to pray with us and expect that God will again provide.  We see, now, His wisdom in God calling us to make our needs known so that you can rejoice with us as He provides and celebrate how very faithful He is!!   As you watch & wait with us, may He be lifted up as our Jehovah Jireh & Father Who sees, and knows and cares… in more ways than just financial!! He is a God of relationship and He is knitting hearts together for His purposes and causing us to cling to Him!

Roger and Jon hope to participate in this week long intensive training in Marion, North Carolina June 22 to 27.   Would you pray with us and if God puts it on your heart, would you help towards this months expenses? which are as follows:

Remaining tuition: $800 for the week of training, room and board.

Rental Car & travel expenses: approximately $600

Operation Nehemiah East Office monthly expenses $1000

= $2400 total

See Jon's blog for more on FARMING GOD'S WAY 

http://fromjoninafrica.blogspot.com/2014/06/exciting-farming-training-opportunity.html

Thank you for your prayer support.  God has been so faithful in the past, we will be sure to keep you posted about the trip as it unfolds. We are excited to go forward as He leads in order to be prepared to help others in Africa.

Humbled and grateful,      Roger, Patty, Jon & Emma

To send support for the Lueken family's work with Operation Nehemiah:

*ONLINE at: * www.operationsnehemiah.org/Nehemiah_Light_House.html

*PayPal* onlighthouse@gmail.com  or plueken55@gmail.com   

*Mail a check made out to Operation Nehemiah*  & send to Operation Nehemiah (East) 86 E. Bacon St. Plainville, MA 02762

STOP-MAIL DATE IS JUNE 14 to be sure it gets to him before his home coming!!!

LUEKEN, JOSHUA

TF CATAMOUNT 2-87

FOB SHANK EAST

APO AE, 09364

MANNA in 1984 - Trusting God as we started our life together

Back when Roger and I were engaged & after our year of missionary training with YWAM ended in Feb. 1984, we had committed to travel with a mobile ministry team for 6 months. We also had chosen a date for our wedding of Oct. 7 and we would be arriving home from the tour only 7 weeks before our wedding.  So we had no employment income for a year and a half, only gifts of support from those who supported our desire to Know God and Make Him Known. With this in mind, we told the Lord we would have a wedding according to whatever He provided… from having family only to inviting all the relatives.  So off we went across the country, and while we were on this tour God, through others, took care of so many details… my brother offered us his old car, friends realized I love dusty rose and they gathered bridesmaid dresses from those who they were in a wedding with previously. They even mailed them out to the three friends who were in our wedding and they fit perfectly.  To top it off,  a friend of my mother's, who never married, contacted her and asked if she could be the mother of the bride and pay for our wedding!!!!!  I never expected such overwhelming provision, but God is more faithful than I have ever believed!

We arrived home 7 weeks before the wedding and immediately sent off invitations that my brother had beautifully created and printed for us.  Then we had to find jobs, a place to live and furnishings in 6 weeks… when I think of that now, I marvel at how much peace we had through it all, except for one day in particular, when we headed out...  That day was very stressful and we got in our first real argument. Dear friends, we were staying with, told us we needed a day off, since we had hit the ground running since our return. Frankly, we were ready for a break.  So we went to breakfast and per our friend's suggestion went to see a house that was way out of our league.  With no income for one and a half years & no current employment, we only hoped for a 3 room apartment.  How could we know what we could afford at this point anyway?!  So off we went and when we drove up the driveway into a clearing in the woods, we saw a house that looked like Better Homes and Gardens. It was a 5 year old, 2 story, salt box with floor to ceiling windows with a southern exposure… way nicer than anything we could have ever hoped for!! The lady turned out to be a Christian and she wanted us to have it, so she lowered the rent and offered to sell us the wood needed to heat the house for the winter for what it cost her before it was spit & stacked.  We did not even have the money to give her a down payment, so we borrowed that and the next week Roger returned to the area and he found a job!!

Fall 1984 outside our first home

I still marvel that we actually lived there as we started out.  God so overwhelmingly provided… a couch on the side of the road (our current couch was provided the same way), a table on clearance and chairs from a yardsale that matched. A single friend gave us her queen sized bed, deciding to get herself a single. Wedding gifts took care of kitchen needs and linens etc. and our honey moon was financed by all the monetary gifts we received plus two wedding gifts of cottages to stay in for free that friends and family owned in NH & Maine. Wow! I still marvel at all God did on our behalf!

When things got tough in our marriage, we could always look back and see God's hand of encouragement as we set out together and remember His faithful confirmation of our union. Thus began an an adventure that has taught us so much about the faithfulness of our God!

The adventure continues…..