INTRO
WHAT IS LUKE 6 : 38? IS THAT A USUAL MEMORY VERSE? WELL, IT SHOULD BE. IT IS THE THEME OF THIS ORGANIZATION.
38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.[a]”
Or The measure you give will be the measure you get back.
For years now, I have been focusing on what it means to live by the Spirit and I even wrote a book on my findings (Come, Live in the Spirit on Amazon). In my eagerness to comprehend what Scripture has to say, I came across this verse and immediately started to wonder if we should take this literally or does have a hidden meaning? If this is a promise from God, may be we should take it literally, but few people do. Here is part of a paper I wrote on the verse.
We give can money if we have it, but we can give in many other ways also, especially if we are wealthy with things besides money: time, abilities, possessions, and other God given things. See the related paper called “Give and it will be Given”.
I found an article online that emphasizes that we are not talking about giving and getting money, but a being in a giving ministry. Man does not give back to use but God does. This is not a verse about how you can get rich but how you can boost yours and others ministry. The context of the verse is important.
OUR MISSION
On the advice of counsel, here is the mission statement for the ministry. It is expounded in this document into the details of what it really means.
The mission of Luke 6:38 Ministries is to be a channel for God, to collect money from those who have it and want to invest in the ministry and then to give the money to those who want to work in the fulltime ministry and are trying to raise support. One of the goals is to invest this money into a market where we can multiply the money and end up supporting many more people in ministry. Much of this is based on faith in God and we still invest as He leads. God has promised big returns on the money invested and with that we have big turnarounds in investments and greater support for the ministry. We want to be the ‘Hand of God’.
BEYOND TITHING
This is strange teaching about giving. We have been taught all our lives that we are required to give on tenth of what you have received or earned. This teaching does not preclude that command but enhances it. Tithing is an old covenant command, but we are discussing the new covenant enhancement of that command. The one tenth has been upped to giving more and even up to giving everything we have (with a possible hundred-fold return).
Giving of your wealth to God’s work without any expectations will result in many things given back to you, generously (not always money). This extra wealth given is not only for you to spend on your (and your family’s) ‘needs’, but mostly to reinvest it into God’s work. Imagine if everyone held to this thinking. The measure that you use when you give to God’s work, the same measure will be used when giving back to you (“A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over”).
With your tithes (and more), be sure to support those who work among you to help you spiritually (1 Corinthians 9:13-14) and not just money, but possessions as well (Luke 3:11).
PROSPERITY GOSPEL
All of this sounds like ‘Prosperity Gospel’ teaching but there is a distinct difference. So much of this kind of teaching out there is about us getting ‘rich’. We have become conditioned to ignore this teaching realizing that some (scoundrels) may be getting rich, but not everyone. I am not talking about us getting rich. I am talking about getting more wealth to invest in the gospel. It is not our money, but God’s money and is being funneled through us to the ministry. If we give it all away, we will not be rich, as some would teach. The more wealth we can put back into the ministry, the more ministry we will have. That could become our ministry – giving!
I am using money as a tangible example in this paper, but what you give to God and what He gives back to you can be so much more than money. You can give (and receive back) time, abilities, possessions, and help as well as all we have to offer (and receive) on the spiritual level. So do not let this physical example cloud your judgement – this is not about only money but about all our wealth we have to offer the ministry. Yes, money is part of the equation, but not nearly all of it. (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
OUR GALLERY
