it applies to giving

can i get another opinion on this?

On giving -

Luke 6:38 (New International Version)
38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

The abundance of Scripture certainly appears to support the belief that when we give the Lord will bless us with His abundance . The danger for us is when we give in expectation of receiving we walk dangerously close to trying to define the blessing we have been promised in return . Which is more important , that the Lord return my " investment " 7 fold for my personal gain or that He bless my children with health instead ? Would I rather have an over-abundance in times of plenty or a blessing of help when I face a time of need ?

Remember that we constantly pray that He " ...give us this day , our daily bread " which is just a fancy way of asking the Lord to meet my needs for today and today only , as I trust that He will provide tomorrow according to His promise .

You have taken Luke 6:38 out of context as do most pastors. Read verse 37. This is talking about judging others, not giving. Judge others and it will come back to you.

what its really talking about is the law of sewing and reaping. whatever you do there is a return you will recieve for it

if you call someone a name. you will be called a name

if you give you will be given to

if you judge you will be judged

Sorry, but there is no mention of money in Luke 6:38.

The comparable verses in Matthew are:

Matthew 7:1 (KJV) - Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Matthew 7:2 (KJV) - For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Nothing to do with giving money at all.

wow, someone who uses the original text.. i cant stand versions outside of KJV and NKJV , somtimes ESV, but everything else is too
watered down, in my opinion.

Tithing was specifically for the Jews in that day. Which basically came out to about 10% of what you make. Something crazy about those days, if you borrowed an item from your neighbor and it broke. Under the law, you not only had to pay him... back but u were obligated to give back the equivalent of 2 tithes(20 percent)!! God expects us to give at least 100% if not more to him now days. But something to think about. God is not interested in our money. In fact does "give caesar what is due him" ring any bells??! God is not merely interested in your physical giving because we serve a God who is Spiritual. So give God what he deserves, your heart! 100%.

I struggled with this too at times. To me it was important to realize that a gift from the heart is greater than a gift out of command or obligation. Only if it's like $5 once a year to something that really pushes your heart, like a food drive etc., I think that God would be pleased. And if you happen to have more time then money on your hands, considering investing your time in something for the church or community. Time is money afterall as they say.

This post was edited by Quoz on Sep 20 2010 10:37pm

i can see why you might think that all God wants is our love and thats true to a sense.
when you tithe, you're really giving to the work of the lord, not necessarily to him.
i probably don't give quite 10% like i should either. i usually just give all the cash that happens to be in my wallet whenever i'm at church