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Stan’s main takeaway for each day this past week.

The full version of each posting can be found at www.waiting4thetrain.com

Note: Please forward this to friends, family, colleagues, etc. as a way to introduce them to Stan,  S. Tory Teller, and the conversations about faith, discipleship, and what it means to be a Christian.

Also, don’t forget that S. Tory Teller’s book, the 100-day devotional, Waiting for the Train — Biblical Food for Growing Before Going, is available from amazon.com, other on-line book sellers, and directly from the publisher at www.s-toryteller.com 

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Monday, May 29 (It’s all about who you know) — Much that happens in life depends on who we know. It’s the same for eternity, except that everything depends on Who we know. How are we doing with that?

Tuesday, May 30 (Look again at transformation) — The Christian life is about transformation, being something we’ve not been before. Some transformation is immediate, while other takes more time. Where are we with being transformed?

Wednesday, May 31 (Then what?) — We’re all going to die. Then what? That’s the essential question for eternity, but it also has meaning before then in how we live this life. How are we doing with that?

Thursday, June 1(Why is being a living sacrifice so hard?) — We are to be living sacrifices, but that’s easier said than done. Why is that?

Friday, June 2 (Asking God for clarification) — What do we do when we’re not certain we understand what God is telling us?

I decided to have something different for breakfast, but I couldn’t see anything like what I wanted on the menu. I wanted something with fresh berries, some yogurt, and maybe a little granola or something, but I wasn’t certain Cook would do anything like that. When I tried to explain to Ricky what I thought I wanted, he asked some questions. We soon got to the point where he said, “Yeah, Cook will do that!” And off he went.

Stan looked at me and said, “That was interesting. Kind of like Peter, John, and Jesus getting ready for their last meal together.”

“What do you mean?”

“As you may remember,” Stan replied, “when Jesus and the guys got to Jerusalem just before He went to the cross, it was time to get ready to celebrate the Passover or the Feast of Unleavened Bread.”

“Right,” I said. “The Last Supper. What about it?”

“Jesus told Peter and John to go and prepare the Passover,” Stan replied.

“And they did that, right?”

“They did, but not right away,” Stan said, “and that ’s the part that looks to me to be important.”

“How so?”

“Let’s look at it,” Stan replied. “Jesus told them to go and prepare the meal, but they didn’t know where to go, so they asked Him. Jesus gave them some more details. They followed what He said and they found everything to be just like Jesus said. Looks to me like it’s to be the same thing for me.”

“If you don’t know where you’re supposed to go to do what you’re supposed to do,” I said, “It’s okay to ask God for clarification. Is that it?”

“That’s it,” Stan replied. “First, I’m to hear what God has for me to do, but if I don’t quite understand, it’s okay to ask for more details. God wants me to do what He has for me to do, and He’s very aware that I can be a slow learner, so I think He’s happy when I ask for clarification.”

“Seems to me,” he continued, “God would prefer that I ask some questions, rather than just wander off on my own going where and doing what I think best.”

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Bible verses to consider:

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” And they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare it?” Luke 22:7-9.

And they departed and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover. Luke 22:13.

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for all you have for me to do for you and your kingdom while you keep me on this side of eternity. Thank you, too, for your patience in leading me where you want me to go to do what you have for me to do. Please help me to always ask for clarification if I’m not certain what it is you have for me. Help me to not just wander off on my own, doing what I think without being certain about what it is you want. Thank you that I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Think on this: When you’re not certain what God has for you to do, what’s your response? Do you ask for clarification? Do you go off on your own doing what you think is right? Do you do nothing because you’re not certain about what to do? Do you agree that it’s okay to ask God for clarification when you’re not certain? Why or why not?

The apostle Paul wrote that we are to be living sacrifices, but that’s easier said than done. The posting for October 18, 2022, focused on this with Stan remembering the first time he heard a pastor mention that in a joking way. Take a look at this again by clicking on the link below and spend some time with God in prayer to hear what He might have to say to you about how this applies to your life.

Click here to see the listed posting

After Ricky took our breakfast orders and left the table, Stan said, “You ever notice how much our lives depend on the answer to ‘Then what’?”

“Then what?” I replied. “I’m not sure what you mean. Help me out!”

“Simple example,” Stan said. “We just told Ricky what we’d like for breakfast. Then what?”

“I guess he goes and tells Cook,” I responded.

“Right,” Stan said, “and then what?”

“Cook prepares our food,” I said, “and then Ricky brings it to us.”

“That’s it,” Stan replied. “And we could go on and on talking about then what happens. But there’s really only one that’s important.”

“Which one is that?” I asked.

“We’re all going to die,” Stan responded. “Then what?”

“I guess that depends on what has happened here, whether or not we have accepted God’s free and gracious gift of salvation.”

“Good guess,” Stan replied with a smile. “And there are all sorts of ‘Then whats’ that come into play after we’ve accepted God’s gift of salvation.”

“Oh,” I said, “like what the apostle Paul wrote about concerning working out the salvation that’s been worked in. That we’re supposed to do something because we’ve been saved.”

“That’s right,” Stan replied, “Because we are Christians, our lives are supposed to be different than they were before. The apostle James also wrote about that concerning our faith being dead without works.”

“Dead faith,” I commented. “That doesn’t sound very good.”

“It doesn’t,” Stan agreed.  “But the other day I was looking at something Jesus said about this that does sound real good.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s where after describing Himself as the door, He went on to say that anyone who enters through Him will be saved. Then He pointed out a ‘Then what?’ about what being saved means.”

“What’d He say?”

“That they shall go in and out and find pasture,” Stan said.

“Go in and out and find pasture?” I replied. “What’s that have to do with salvation and a ‘Then what’?”

“It seems to me,” Stan said, “that it has a great deal to do with it. Let’s take a look. Jesus said that those people shall be saved. And then what they get to do is to go in and out and find pasture, which, it looks to me, means finding whatever God has for them to find in being a part of His kingdom.”

“Oh,” I replied. “Be saved. Period. And follow that by the ‘Then what’ of whatever God wants. That sounds pretty simple.”

“Yeah,” Stan said, “but remember that just because something sounds simple, it doesn’t mean it’s easy. If it were easy, everyone would do it. But you and I both know there are a lot of ‘then what’s’ that never get done!”

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Bible verses to consider:

I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. John 10:9.

So then , my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:12-13.

For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. James 2:26.

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for your free and gracious provision of life eternally with you. Thank you, too, for wanting me to be a part of what you are doing for your kingdom while you keep me on this side of eternity. I know that because of the salvation you have worked in through the cross of Christ, I am to work out that salvation by being and doing what you have for me. I confess that too often I do not do the “Then what?” that is to follow my salvation. Please help me follow every step of your lead so, in fact, I do so. Thank you that I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Think on this: Have you accepted God’s free and gracious provision of life eternally with Him? If no, why do you want to remain separated from Him? If you are a Christian with the assurance of salvation and redemption, how are you doing with the “Then what’s?” in your life? If you sense the need for change in any of this, how is that going to happen? Is that what you want? Why or why not?

Being a Christian is about transformation, being something we’ve never been before. Some transformation happens immediately and some takes more time. The posting on October 17, 2022, dealt with this subject. Take another look at it (link below) and focus on where you are now compared to where you used to be. Is there a difference? Maybe, just maybe, there might be room for further transformation!

Click here to see the referenced posting

As I sat down across from Stan, he said, “You look kind of down this morning. What’s going on?”

“You’re very observant,” I replied. “I’m feeling kind of down over something that happened — or didn’t happen — yesterday at work.”

“Want to talk about it?” Stan asked.

“Well,” I said, “it’s not that big of a deal, but I had applied for a new job a few weeks back. Last week I had an interview, but yesterday I found out I didn’t get the job.”

“Any particular reason?”

“Nobody said it,” I replied, “but I’m pretty sure it was because the person who got the job knows someone I don’t. And you know how it is, that so much depends on who you know, not necessarily on what you know.”

“What you just said,” Stan responded, “is a pretty good statement of what the Christian life is supposed to look like, but too often doesn’t.”

“In what way?”

“Knowing God,” Stan replied, “versus knowing about Him. If I happened to know all there is to know about God, but I don’t know Him personally, all that head knowledge won’t amount to anything.”

“Didn’t Jesus say something somewhere about how important it is to know God?” I asked.

“He did,” Stan replied. “I think you may be referring to where Jesus related knowing Him and His Father to eternal life.”

“Remind me what He said.”

“While He didn’t use these exact words about eternal life,” Stan replied, “it seems to me that He was saying, ‘It’s all about who you know’!”

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Bible verses to consider:

And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. John 17:3.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16.

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for giving Jesus so I can have life eternally with you. Thank you, too, for giving me the opportunity to know you, truly know you, not just know about you. I confess that too often I don’t seek to know you as deeply as you have available. I do that because that’s what I choose. Please forgive the foolishness of that. Help me to follow every step of your lead into the deepest possible relationship based on an ever-deepening knowledge of you, not just about you. Thank you that I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Think on this: Have you accepted God’s free and gracious gift of life eternally with Him? If no, why do you want to remain separated from Him? If you are a Christian with the assurance of salvation and redemption, how are you doing with knowing God as well as He has available? If you sense the need for change in any of this, how is that change going to happen? Is that what you want? Why or why not?

Stan’s main takeaway for each day this past week.

The full version of each posting can be found at www.waiting4thetrain.com

Note: Please forward this to friends, family, colleagues, etc. as a way to introduce them to Stan,  S. Tory Teller, and the conversations about faith, discipleship, and what it means to be a Christian.

Also, don’t forget that S. Tory Teller’s book, the 100-day devotional, Waiting for the Train — Biblical Food for Growing Before Going, is available from amazon.com, other on-line book sellers, and directly from the publisher at www.s-toryteller.com 

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Monday, May 22 (Who left?) — God does not wander away from us, but we sure do wander away from Him. Why do we do that?

Tuesday, May 23 (Re-purposing some old stuff) — The Christian life is about transformation, being something we’ve not been before. Where are we with that?

Wednesday, May 24 (Time to listen, repent, and obey, not time to scoff) — Some Pharisees scoffed at Jesus for something He said. Do we do that?

Thursday, May 25 (It’s really hard to be in two places at once) — Early disciples had to get out of the boat in order to follow Jesus. Does God have someplace different for us to be?

Friday, May 26 (Glorifying God with a loud voice) — Do we glorify God so He, along with others, can hear?

As we waited for Ricky to bring breakfast one morning, Stan commented, “I was reading in Luke’s gospel the other day and saw a simple statement about what someone did that seems to have application about how I praise God.”

“Praise God about what?”

“Anything and everything,” Stan replied.

“What were you looking at?”.

“Quick summary,” he said. “Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem.”

“To go to the cross?”

“That’s right,” Stan said. “He was always on His way to the cross. That’s why He was here. As He was on His way, He encountered ten lepers who asked Him to have mercy on them.”

“Have mercy on them? You mean like curing them?” I replied. “Did He do that?”

“Jesus told them to go show themselves to the priests,” Stan said, “and as they were going they realized that they were healed.”

“So the point is to do what Jesus says, is that it?”

“That’s another story for another day,” Stan replied. “Here I want to talk about the one guy who turned back to thank Jesus.”

“Only one thanked Him?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Stan replied, “That, too, is another story for another day! Here, the point is how he thanked Jesus.”

“How he thanked Him? What’d he do?”

“It says that he glorified God with a loud voice,” Stan said. “I think I’m supposed to do the same thing.”

“Glorify God with a loud voice? Why?”

“At least two reasons,” Stan replied. “First, I am to glorify God loudly enough so He can hear my praise and thanksgiving. Secondly, it seems that I am to glorify God loudly enough so the people around me can hear and know where I direct my praise, honor, glory, and thanksgiving.”

“So that it might make a difference in their lives and relationship with God? Is that it?”

“That’s it,” Stan replied. “If I don’t praise and give glory to God loudly enough for them to hear, how are they going to know?”

“I guess they won’t,” I said.

“Good guess, my friend,” Stan replied with a smile.

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Bible verses to consider:

Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. Luke 17:15-16.

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for all you have done, and for all you do, for me. You have given me life eternally with you. You provide all I need to live this life for you and your kingdom. I confess that too often I do not thank and glorify you in the way I should. Please forgive me. Help me to follow every step of your lead so I do, in fact, give you all praise, honor, glory, and thanksgiving to you in ways that are loud enough for you to hear and know what’s on my heart. Help me to speak it loudly enough so those around me hear and know that I am focusing on you and your provision so that it may make a difference in their relationship with you. Thank you that I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Think on this: Have you accepted God’s free and gracious provision of life eternally with Him so you can and do give Him all the glory for what He has done? If no, why do you want to remain separated from God? If you are a Christian with the assurance of salvation and redemption, how are you doing with giving God praise, honor, glory, and thanksgiving in ways that are loud enough for Him to hear, as well as loudly enough for those around you to hear? If you sense the need for change in any of this, how is that change going to happen? Is that what you want? Why or why not?

“I can’t be in two places at the same time,” is a common expression that reflects the need to make choices about what we do. It was the same thing for the early disciples who were sitting in their boats mending nets when Jesus said, “Follow Me.” They couldn’t stay in their boats mending nets and follow Jesus at the same time. The posting for March 31 (link below) was on this subject. Take another look at it and spend some time in prayer about whether God has somewhere else for you to be, doing something different than what you are doing now.

Click here to see the March 31 posting.

As we waited for Ricky to bring breakfast, Stan mentioned, “A few weeks ago, we talked about some people who laughed at Jesus. Do you remember that?”

“I do,” I replied. “Some people laughed at Jesus because they thought they knew more than He did about a child dying.”[Note to reader: See the posting for March 15, 2023, “Laughing Because of Unbelief”].

“Why do you ask?”

“Earlier this morning,” Stan replied, “I was reading in Luke’s gospel about a similar situation with some Pharisees, but they weren’t so blatant about it.”

“In what way?”

“They didn’t laugh out loud,” Stan said, “but they did scoff or ridicule Jesus for what He was telling them about the use of money.”

“Why would they do that?” I asked. “Why would someone ridicule what Jesus had to say about anything?”

“They didn’t like what they heard because it was contrary to what they wanted to hear,” Stan replied. “It can be the same thing today.”

“What same thing?”

“Let’s look at what was going on and see how it might apply to us,” Stan said. “A quick summary. Jesus had just spent quite a bit of time talking to some Pharisees about money, being good stewards, giving to the needy, and things like that. Luke writes that they scoffed at Jesus. They ridiculed Him for what He had just told them.”

“Any idea why they scoffed?”

“Luke writes that they did so because they were ‘lovers of money’.”

“Oh,” I said. “They loved money more than they loved hearing what Jesus had to say about them and money. So they ridiculed what He had to say. Is that it?”

“That’s it,” Stan replied. “And it’s a good lesson for me.”

“In what way?”

“When I read or hear something God has for me, and I don’t like what I’m reading or hearing,” Stan replied, “it’s time for me to take a closer look at what’s going on. Is there something that God is pointing out that I love more than I love Him? If I just scoff at what I read or hear, rather than taking it to heart, I’m on the wrong road heading in the wrong direction. It’s time to turn around.”

“Turn around,” I said. “You mean like repenting?”

“Exactly, my friend,” Stan replied. “It’s time to listen, repent, and obey, not the time to scoff!”

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Bible verses to consider:

Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things, and they were scoffing at Him. Luke 16:14.

And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others, let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.” Luke 23:35.

If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. John 14:15.

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for your free and gracious provision of life eternally with you through the cross of Christ. Thank you for those who brought me to that truth so I could accept it. Thank you, too, for all you have to say to me about living for you and your kingdom. I confess that too often what you say is contrary to what I want to hear and, as a result, I do not obey. Please forgive that foolishness. Help me follow every step of your lead so I truly listen to what you have for me. If what you say is not what I want to hear, please help me look at why that’s so and make whatever adjustments need to be made so I do obey you. Thank you that I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Think on this: Have you accepted God’s free and gracious provision of life eternally with Him? If no, is that because you don’t believe and you are ridiculing and rejecting God, as well as those who do believe? If that’s what you are doing, take some time to reflect on why you want to do that. If you are a Christian with the assurance of salvation and redemption, how are you doing when what God says is something you don’t want to hear? Do you just reject it, or are you willing to take a look inside of yourself to see why you don’t want to hear what God has to say? If you sense the need for change in any of this, how is that change going to happen? Is that what you want? Why or why not?