Inside Story for Friday 7th of March 2025

By Andrew McChesney

To the Seventh-day Adventist pediatrician, the 13-year-old Alaska Native girl resembled a giant.

Four months after their first phone call, pediatrician Colette Reahl made the seven-hour drive from Anchorage to Fairbanks, Alaska, to meet Matrona for the first time at the facility where she lived with 19 other girls and boys. Matrona stood at 5 foot, 7 inches (174 cm). In comparison, Colette was a diminutive 5 foot, 3 inches (162 cm).

When Colette saw the girl, she thought, She looks like a giant to me. This should be interesting.

Matrona, who was sitting on the floor in a meeting room, was very shy and didn’t want to talk at first.

Colette sat down on a couch near her. A few awkward minutes passed, and then she remembered that she had brought a gift, an encyclopedia about animals, for Matrona. Colette opened the book and silently began to leaf through the pages. Matrona’s curiosity was raised, and she slowly inched her way over to Colette. Before long, Matrona was sitting beside Colette and looking at the pictures with her.

It was a pleasant first visit, and it lasted three hours.

The two met again the next month, and Colette gave Matrona a Bible. She suggested reading the Bible together over the phone. But when she called, Matrona made herself unavailable to talk.

Then Matrona moved to a facility in Anchorage. She was lonely and missed her friends in Fairbanks. She began to call Colette every day, trying to persuade her to adopt her.

Colette, meanwhile, started the process of changing jobs. Her work as a pediatrician in Anchorage was ending, and she was preparing to move to Bethel, the largest community in western Alaska, with a population of 6,000. She would work at a hospital there.

“Ewww,” Matrona said when she learned about the move. To her, Bethel was a small village, and she thought it would be boring.

This mission story offers an inside look at a previous Thirteenth Sabbath project. Pediatrician Colette Reahl is also coleader of Bethel (Alaska) Seventh-day Adventist Church, which received part of a 2024 Thirteenth Sabbath Offering. Thank you for helping spread the gospel with this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering on March 29. Read more about Colette and Matrona next week.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-10-inside-story-the-persistent-visitor-part-2/

Daily Lesson for Friday 7th of March 2025

Read Ellen G. White, “The Power of Satan,” Pages 341–347, in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

“Fallen man is Satan’s lawful captive. The mission of Christ was to rescue him from the power of his great adversary. Man is naturally inclined to follow Satan’s suggestions, and he cannot successfully resist so terrible a foe unless Christ, the mighty Conqueror, dwells in him, guiding his desires, and giving him strength. God alone can limit the power of Satan. He is going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it. He is not off his watch for a single moment, through fear of losing an opportunity to destroy souls. It is important that God’s people understand this, that they may escape his snares. Satan is preparing his deceptions, that in his last campaign against the people of God they may not understand that it is he. 2 Corinthians 11:14: ‘And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.’ While some deceived souls are advocating that he does not exist, he is taking them captive, and is working through them to a great extent. Satan knows better than God’s people the power that they can have over him when their strength is in Christ. When they humbly entreat the mighty Conqueror for help, the weakest believer in the truth, relying firmly upon Christ, can successfully repulse Satan and all his host. He is too cunning to come openly, boldly, with his temptations; for then the drowsy energies of the Christian would arouse, and he would rely upon the strong and mighty Deliverer. But he comes in unperceived, and works in disguise through the children of disobedience who profess godliness.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 341.

Discussion Questions

<–Thursday

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-10-further-thought-rules-of-engagement/

Our Sabbath School program has always been linked to the support of the Seventh-day Adventist Mission program. This video provides a little insight into this important work.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-march-8/

Join the Hit the Mark panel as they discuss Sabbath School Lesson 10 – Rules of Engagement. It’s the fastest hour of the week!

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/rules-of-engagement-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school/

Daily Lesson for Thursday 6th of March 2025

The cosmic conflict is primarily a dispute over God’s character, caused by the devil’s slanderous allegations against God’s goodness, justice, and government. It is a kind of cosmic covenant lawsuit.

Such a conflict cannot be settled by sheer power but, instead, requires demonstration.

Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com

If serious allegations are brought against a person in power, the best (and maybe only) way to defeat the allegations would be to allow for a free, fair, and open investigation. If the allegations threaten the entire government (of love), they cannot simply be swept under the rug.

What does all this mean for understanding the cosmic conflict and relating to the problem of evil? If God makes a promise, would He ever break it? Of course not. Insofar as God agrees to rules of engagement, His future action would be (morally) limited. As such, evil will fall within the temporary domain of the kingdom of darkness.

In both these narratives, some limits or rules of engagement seem to be in place, dynamically related to such things as faith and prayer. Elsewhere we see abundant evidence that prayer makes a difference in this world, opening up avenues for divine action that otherwise might not be (morally) available. However, we should not make the mistake of thinking that faith and prayer are the only factors. There are likely many other factors of which we might be unaware.

This fits with what we’ve seen previously about rules of engagement. As we said, there are ceratin rules of engagement in the great controversy that limit what God can morally do, at least for now.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-10-limits-and-rules/