The book — It has been published and is available at Amazon. The following link should take you there, but if for some reason it does not, the title of the book is Waiting for the Train: Biblical Food for Growing Before Going. The listed author is S. Tory Teller.
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“I was talking with a neighbor last night,” Stan commented, “and he was telling me about an experience he had recently with a used car that really solidified a Biblical truth for him.”
“A used car?” I said. “How so?”
“Well,” Stan replied, “it seems he was looking for a used car for his daughter to take to college when she returns to school next fall. My neighbor said he had been looking in classified ads in the newspaper and ran across a car that sounded really good. He called and went to look at the car.”
“How was it?” I asked.
“He said it looked great and the price was about what he was thinking he would need to pay to get a good car for his daughter.”
“So he bought it?”
“No,” Stan said. “He asked the person selling the car if would be okay to take it and have it checked out. That’s what he did. He took it to Mike over at Mike’s Auto Repair.”
“Mike knows just about everything about cars,” I commented. “A good man to know!”
“That’s right,” Stan replied. My neighbor took the car to Mike to check out with the result that even though the car looked great, it wasn’t. Mike told him he wouldn’t buy it for his daughter to drive anywhere, let alone all the way to college.”
“So your neighbor didn’t buy the car?”
“That’s right,” Stan said, “and he said that’s where the Biblical truth came in.”
“How so?”
“Looks can be deceiving,” Stan replied. “Jesus talked about doing things to look good as not being what God intends. As well, the apostle Paul wrote about the same thing. What’s important is what is on the inside, not what I look like on the outside.”
“The car may look nice, but looking nice won’t necessarily get me to the intended destination,” I commented.
“Exactly,” Stan replied, “and I always, always have to remember that God looks under the hood of my life to see if everything is as good as it needs to be to get me from where I am to where He wants me to be!”
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Bible verses to consider:
And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. Matthew 6:5.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside may become clean also. Matthew: 23:25-26.
We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, that you may have an answer for those who take pride in appearance, and not in heart. 2 Corinthians 5:12.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for the new life you have provided through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thank you for the truth of your provision of that life as a free and gracious gift that only needs to be accepted by faith so I have the assurance of spending eternity in your presence when it’s time. You also provide all I need to be transformed and head in the direction of greater spiritual maturity so my life here is what you intend, manifesting the life of Christ, based on a true new life, not on one that just looks good. I confess that there have been times when I sought only to look good on the outside without the true transformation on the inside. Please help me to follow every step of your lead so I am transformed, not just attempting to look like it. Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Think on this: Do you have the assurance of salvation for when your time here is completed? If no, why? If you do have that assurance, how are you doing with manifesting the new life you have been given? Are you manifesting that new life or just trying to look like you are manifesting it? What’s the difference? Why does it matter? If you sense you may be only trying to look good to impress other people, rather than walking in obedience to who you are in Christ, what can be done about that? Is that what you want?
Waiting for the Train 
Congratulations on publishing your book! I am praying that God will use it to bring many people to Him.
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Ordered the book and waiting for its arrival! The wisdom gleaned and the challenges presented with the insightful thoughts and questions asked, have been a growing experience for me these past several years. Love passing it on to others to experience! Now, I will be able to pass it on in hard copy form for those who prefer to hold something in their hands while gleaning biblical insights! Congratulations on the book publishing!
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