Inside Story for Friday 30th of January 2026

By Olivia Fairfax

Marovo Lagoon tribesmen were considered the most warlike and cannibalistic of the Solomon Island tribes. They worshiped the spirits of their ancestors, whose skulls were kept after death. They lived in fear of the devil.

But around 1902, a Marovo chief named Tatagu began to wonder if he really needed to fear the devil. He decided to find out and not to attach a vine to the prow of his canoe on a fishing expedition. Vines were supposed to appease the devil and ensure a good catch. Without the vine, the fishing trip was a huge success. Chief Tatagu returned home to find a newborn son. He named the boy Kata Ragoso, which means “no devil strings.”

Kata Ragoso’s life would go on to reveal God’s power to transform a community and remove the strings and ties that the devil had over people.

Image © Pacific Press

Kata Ragoso grew up at a time when dishonest European traders enticed Solomon Islanders into their ships with foreign goods to kidnap them as slaves. But in 1914, when Kata Ragoso was about 12, a small white boat called the Advent Herald sailed into Marovo Lagoon. The crew didn’t try to entice or kidnap. Instead, Captain Griffiths F. Jones asked Chief Tatagu for land for a school. The next year, a school was built at Sasaghana, and Kata Ragoso enrolled as one of its first 23 students. At the school, he accepted Jesus and was among the first 10 Solomon Islanders to be baptized in 1918. He went on to work as a mission teacher, translator, and printing press operator. In 1935, he was ordained as an Adventist minister.

During World War II, Kata Ragoso was placed in charge of the Adventist work in the Solomon Islands. When the Japanese army invaded, they ordered him to kill people with white skin and from the Allied forces. For declaring that he would rather obey God than man, he was interrogated, flogged, and ordered shot. The interrogating officer, who had a strong dislike for the Adventist Church, instructed the firing squad to shoot at the count of three. He counted, “One, two . . .” but was unable to say “three.” He tried many times before giving up. After 10 days in prison, Kata Ragoso escaped. For the rest of the war, he led a rescue operation for Allied soldiers whose planes or ships were attacked. He rescued 27 U.S. pilots and 187 Australian and New Zealand soldiers.

Kata Ragoso died in 1964 at the age of 62, having served the church for 37 years. During that time, he saw the Marovo transformed from a warring community into a merciful people serving God.

This quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath mission projects are in the South Pacific Division, whose territory includes the Solomon Islands. Thank you for planning a generous offering in March.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/26a-05-inside-story-no-devil-strings/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=26a-05-inside-story-no-devil-strings

Daily Lesson for Friday 30th of January 2026
Further Thought

“The one who stands nearest to Christ will be he who on earth has drunk most deeply of the spirit of His self-sacrificing love,—love that ‘vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, .

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

. . seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil’ (1 Corinthians 13:4-5),—love that moves the disciple, as it moved our Lord, to give all, to live and labor and sacrifice, even unto death, for the saving of humanity. This spirit was made manifest in the life of Paul. He said, ‘For to me to live is Christ;’ for his life revealed Christ to men; ‘and to die is gain,’—gain to Christ; death itself would make manifest the power of His grace, and gather souls to Him. ‘Christ shall be magnified in my body,’ he said, ‘whether it be by life or by death.’ Philippians 1:20-21.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 549.

“The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death. . . .

“When multitudes of false brethren are distinguished from the true, then the hidden ones will be revealed to view, and with hosannas range under the banner of Christ. Those who have been timid and self-distrustful will declare themselves openly for Christ and His truth. The most weak and hesitating in the church will be as David—willing to do and dare. The deeper the night for God’s people, the more brilliant the stars. Satan will sorely harass the faithful; but, in the name of Jesus, they will come off more than conquerors.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, Pages 81, 82.

Discussion Questions

<–Thursday

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/26a-05-further-thought-shining-as-lightsin-the-night/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=26a-05-further-thought-shining-as-lightsin-the-night