Have you ever witnessed something so spectacular it made you feel like it was straight from heaven?  Maybe it felt like God was right beside you.  The Celtic Christians called these “thin moments”.  These thin moments would literally be considered an event that changed their life forever.  It was a moment when heaven and earth seemed to touch, where God seemed to hold back the curtain of space and time to reveal a little bit more of his glory.  Sometimes I think we believe “thin moments” only happen to some people, and consider our self to be too ordinary for such an experience.

Often times we view the people in the Bible as very special, and not ordinary people like ourselves.  However, if you examine the scripture closely they had the same doubts, fears, and questions as we do; but when called by God, they answered.  I will give you a few examples of the ordinary, turned extraordinary.

Moses was living in the desert for forty years.  He was on the run so to speak.  If you calculate this out it would be 480 months, 2,080 weeks, or 14,650 days.  I am pretty sure after this length of time, he never expected God to show up.  Certainly he never saw himself being called to such a huge assignment as freeing God’s chosen people. – Exodus 3

Do you really think Noah thought on his 500th birthday he would be building a huge boat, when it had not rained in forever?  He had been a faithful man all these years, but up until this assignment his life had been pretty ordinary. – Genesis 5

Did a young shepherd boy dream one day he would be summoned from his flock to be anointed as King?  His life consisted of taking care of smelly, nasty, sheep day after day.  I am pretty sure his life felt pretty ordinary to him. – David 1 Samuel 16

Did an orphan named Esther know she would grow up to be Queen?  Esther’s life was full of heartache.  She lost both her parents, she was taken into captivity, and then she was separated from her Uncle.  I am sure she did not feel like her life was anything spectacular.-- Esther

Did a young boy, who was solved into slavery by his brothers, know one day he would be second in charge of all Egypt.  At times he probably felt abandoned and alone.  I am sure he was not thinking of ruling over a nation. -- Joseph the dreamer Genesis 41

What about a ruthless man who set out to kill or imprison all Christians.  Do you think he ever thought he would be suffering for the name of the Lord?  However this was probably one of the most important events, besides the death and resurrection Jesus Christ. – Paul Acts 9

So when you look at all these events they all start with One Day.  One Day they had a “thin moment”; God manifested himself in their life.  I love those words One Day because it means it is never too late for God!  He never forgets us, he never thinks we are to old, to young, to dumb, to poor, to wayward, and the list goes on and on.  All these stories have another point in common; they were all shockers.  No one expected any of these people to accomplish the great task God laid before them.  I think that was the point all along.  By allowing ordinary people to accomplish God sized task, it was obvious who was in control.  God wanted his glory and power to shine through in every situation.

God so wants to take us to the mountaintops to see all his beauty.  Although we can’t live there all the time, I want God to show me as many of those moments as possible.  Are you selling yourself short today?  Do you think “thin moments” only happen to others?  God is waiting to take your breath away; all he requires is your obedience to the call.

Mark 12:41 Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, where people came to bring their offerings, and He watched as they came and went. Many rich people threw in large sums of money, 42 but a poor widow came and put in only two small coins[a] worth only a fraction of a cent.[b] Jesus (calling His disciples together): 43 Truly this widow has given a greater gift than any other contribution. 44 All the others gave a little out of their great abundance, but this poor woman has given God everything she had.

Have you ever been tempted to give something that was not your best?  Some times we are tempted to keep the good stuff for our self, and then give what we don’t want.  I love the commercial where the two brothers have to share the peanut butter sandwich.  One little boy does not want to share, so the mom allows him to cut the sandwich.  The little boy does not cut the sandwich evenly because he was going to keep the larger half for himself, and give the smaller one to his brother.  Technically, he would be sharing, but he would come out with the better half.   However, after the sandwich is cut the mom gives the larger piece to his brother.  We are like that in so many ways when it comes to giving to God.  We don’t want to be totally disobedient, but we are not giving our all either.  What in the world tempts us to operate in this manner?  It is simply our flesh.  We want to make sure number one (meaning our self) is taken care of first, and then we will filter the rest down out of excess.  However, this was not how Jesus instructed us to give.

Deuteronomy 16:17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.

The story of the widow who came to the temple is a great example to us.  Although, she gave only two coins, this was literally all she had.  When is the last time you truly gave from deep within?  A time when your giving might cost you a trip, a new couch, or some other material thing you desired.  Please don’t misunderstand, I am not only talking about money; God asks us to give of our time and talents as well.  It is easy to give when it does not interfere with any of our plans, but when God calls us to give more than we think is feasible, we begin to hang on to it as if it were ours.  Many people find it challenging to serve in the local church today because they are simply too busy to give of their time.  I  wonder "what if" God were simply to busy to bind up the brokenhearted, to save the lost, to restore a marriage, to bring healing to a weary body, to give us words of wisdom, to forgive us of wrong deeds, or to simply hear us when we call. Fortunately for us, God is never too busy. 

In the Message Bible it states  this "All the others gave what they'll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn't afford—she gave her all." Mark 12:43-44 MSG

Would God say we were extravagant givers today, or would we be considered stingy?  What if the love we had for Christ was measured in what we gave?  Would God know we loved Him with all our heart, soul, and mind, or would we simply fall short of showing our love for Him?  God gives us common sense to handle our finances properly, but He also calls us to trust in Him with our obedience.  When I read the story below, I thought it was a great example of how Christian giving should look.

Two Brothers – Author unknown

Once there were two brothers who inherited their father’s land. The brothers divided the land in half and each one farmed his own section. Over time, the older brother married and had six children, while the younger brother never married.

One night, the younger brother lay awake. “It’s not fair that each of us has half the land to farm,” he thought. “My brother has six children to feed and I have none. He should have more grain than I do.”

So that night the younger brother went to his silo, gathered a large bundle of wheat, and climbed the hill that separated the two farms and over to his brother’s farm. Leaving the wheat in his brother’s silo, the younger brother returned home, feeling pleased with himself.

Earlier that very same night, the older brother was also lying awake. “It’s not fair that each of us has half the land to farm,” he thought. “In my old age my wife and I will have our grown children to take care of us, not to mention grandchildren, while my brother will probably have none. He should at least sell more grain from the fields now so he can provide for himself with dignity in his old age.”

So that night, too, he secretly gathered a large bundle of wheat, climbed the hill, left it in his brother’s silo, and returned home, feeling pleased with himself.

The next morning, the younger brother was surprised to see the amount of grain in his barn unchanged. “I must not have taken as much wheat as I thought,” he said, bemused. “Tonight I’ll be sure to take more.”

That very same moment, his older brother was also standing in his barn, musing much the same thoughts.

After night fell, each brother gathered a greater amount of wheat from his barn and in the dark, secretly delivered it to his brother’s barn. The next morning, the brothers were again puzzled and perplexed. “How can I be mistaken?” each one scratched his head. “There’s the same amount of grain here as there was before I cleared the pile for my brother. This is impossible! Tonight I’ll make no mistake – I’ll take the pile down to the very floor. That way I’ll be sure the grain gets delivered to my brother.”

The third night, more determined than ever, each brother gathered a large pile of wheat from his barn, loaded it onto a cart, and slowly pulled his haul through the fields and up the hill to his brother’s barn. At the top of the hill, under the shadow of a moon, each brother noticed a figure in the distance. Who could it be?

When the two brothers recognized the form of the other brother and the load he was pulling behind, they realized what had happened. Without a word, they dropped the ropes to their carts and embraced.


If we could only find it within in our self to give the way God intended, what an abundance of blessings we would find.  John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.