Inside Story for Friday 6th of June 2025

By Andrew McChesney

Diana took her last drink of alcohol on US Independence Day. Opening a can of beer, she told friends, “There’s nothing better than an ice-cold beer on a hot summer day.” Then she took a big swig and nearly spit it out. She thought the beer had gone bad, so she got a different brand of beer out of the cooler. That beer also tasted awful. But a friend said both beers tasted fine.

That day, Diana quit drinking. It wasn’t because the Bible said beer was bad but because the Holy Spirit had changed her desire for alcohol.

A short time later, Diana and Loren were baptized by Loren’s father at an annual family reunion of his relatives near Chicago. Diana was surprised when she heard the baptismal vows for the first time. They included the line, “Do you believe that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit; and will you honor God by caring for it, avoiding the use of that which is harmful; abstaining from all unclean foods; from the use, manufacture, or sale of alcoholic beverages; the use, manufacture, or sale of tobacco in any of its forms for human consumption; and from the misuse of or trafficking in narcotics or other drugs?”

Diana shot Loren a quizzical look and thought, How did we miss this? She worked in a bar at the Salt Lake City airport. With big tips and easy work, it was considered one of the best jobs for unskilled workers.

Diana’s coworkers were stunned when she told them that she was quitting, and they asked why. The bartender asked several times. He and the others were interested in her new faith. Diana moved to another airport shop, where she made and sold cookies. It didn’t pay as well, but she got Sabbaths off.

Before long, Diana and Loren sensed that God was leading them to move to Tennessee to help Loren’s grandparents. They settled near Southern Adventist University. It was a time of great spiritual challenges. Diana still had many worldly traits to submit to God.

When a relative of Loren’s heard that Diana had newspaper experience, he asked her to apply for a position at Southern’s radio station, where he worked as general manager. Diana didn’t want the job, but Loren urged her to pray. She worked at the radio station for nearly ten years, including seven as its development director. During that time God helped her overcome sins that had troubled her from the time she was molested as a child.

Then Diana was asked to apply for a development director opening with the Adventist hospital system in Florida. She felt unqualified and didn’t want to apply, but Loren again urged her to pray. She worked at the hospital for the next ten years. Then she heard about Holbrook Indian School.

This mission story offers an inside look at how God miraculously worked in the life of Diana Fish, development director of the US-based Holbrook Seventh-day Adventist Indian School, which received the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering in 2021. Thank you for supporting the spread of the gospel with this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering on June 28. Read more about Diana next week.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-10-inside-story-part-6-giving-up-alcohol/

Daily Lesson for Friday 6th of June 2025

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Flood,” Pages 101, 102, in Patriarchs and Prophets.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

“The high priest cannot defend himself or his people from Satan’s accusations. He does not claim that Israel is free from fault. In filthy garments, symbolizing the sins of the people, which he bears as their representative, he stands before the Angel, confessing their guilt, yet pointing to their repentance and humiliation, and relying upon the mercy of a sin-pardoning Redeemer. In faith he claims the promises of God. . . .

“Satan’s accusations against those who seek the Lord are not prompted by displeasure at their sins. He exults in their defective characters; for he knows that only through their transgression of God’s law can he obtain power over them. His accusations arise solely from his enmity to Christ. Through the plan of salvation, Jesus is breaking Satan’s hold upon the human family and rescuing souls from his power. . . .

“In his own strength, man cannot meet the charges of the enemy. In sin-stained garments, confessing his guilt, he stands before God. But Jesus, our Advocate, presents an effectual plea in behalf of all who by repentance and faith have committed the keeping of their souls to Him. He pleads their cause, and by the mighty arguments of Calvary, vanquishes their accuser. His perfect obedience to God’s law has given Him all power in heaven and in earth, and He claims from His Father mercy and reconciliation for guilty man.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, Pages 583–586.

Discussion Questions

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-10-further-thought-upon-whom-the-ends-have-come/