Details, details, details. . .

Pastor spoke from his heart today.

I know what a pastor is but I looked it up anyway. The Merriam Webster website defined the word as “a spiritual overseer; especially : a clergyman serving a local church or parish.” If you have a Pastor that cares for his local congregation, he should speak from his heart; especially if the Lord has given him a word to share. Remember that the overseer is responsible for what he “sees over”.

In the Bible this is demonstrated in the role of a shepherd. I looked up the word “shepherd”. The Merriam Webster website defined the word as “1 : a person who tends sheep 2 : pastor. Did you catch the second definition?

Look at the following verses.

John:10:14: I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
John:10:15: As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

This should be the relational role between the pastor and his congregation and the pastor and the Lord.

Back to what Pastor said.

Salvation is in the details. We are not to live in the general realm of Christianity. We are not to live within reach of the World.

The Bible calls us to be separate, distinct and peculiar. We are to be in this world but not of this world.

How do people know that you are different? Do they see Christ in you? Do they see a reflection of the world? It is in the details where Christ and the World are different.

As I was thinking about today’s sermon, the idiom “the devil is in the details” came to mind. I looked up what the general thought of the line is. Here is what goEnglish.com said.

"the devil is in the details"

When the hard part of what you are trying to do is in the many small details, you can say "the devil is in the details." Example: "I thought I would be able to write that article in two hours, but it ended up taking me five. The devil was in the details." The devil is known for always make life difficult for man in many small ways. Example: "I can sketch a basic outline of the plan for you and it may look very simple, but the devil is in the details."

My goodness, if the devil and salvation are in the details, how are we to be saved?

Ph'p:2:12: Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

How are we to work out our salvation?

Ph'p:2:14: Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Ph'p:2:15: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Ph'p:2:16: Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

Why with fear and trembling?

Ph'p:2:13: For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

You are working to please the Almighty God. This should not be done lightly, flippantly or without respect. Imagine you are physically in HIS presence. How would you act? That is how you should act here as well.

As I continued to process this information, I began to think about a practical application of this message; where the rubber really meets the road.

What is it about me that makes me different from other 40 something married women with children?

• I wear skirts and dresses.
  
• I don’t cut my hair.
• I teach my children at home.
• I don’t listen to mainstream music.
• I attend church on Sunday AND Wednesday.
• I meet with other ladies from my church every week to bombard the Throne of Grace for others requests.
• I make my own soap and laundry detergent.
• I make some of my own clothes.
• I knit socks for my husband.
• I sometimes make dinner from scratch.
• I garden.
• I don’t work outside my home.
  

I am not saying these things like I have arrived but to illustrate some things that I have consciously chosen to do. I do them out of love, some for me, some for my family and some for God. Some of these details may be the same as yours and some may not.

That is where, I think, Pastor was going.

We all can be categorized in a general sense. Each individual story is different. They are different in the details.

You can get lost in generalizations. But in the details, is where you see differences.

What details are required by the Lord? What details has your Pastor given you? Have you listened to the Lord and the man he appointed? What are the details people see in you?