The Search: Part 1

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FRIDAY

August 27

Further Study:  

Ellen G. White, “Later English Reformers,” pp. 253–256, in The Great Controversy; “The Baptism,” p. 113; “At Capernaum,” pp. 253–256; “‘Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled,’” pp. 671, 672, in The Desire of Ages; “Like Unto Leaven,” pp. 95–98, in Christ’s Object Lessons; “Letters to Physicians,” pp. 126–129, in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8. “The plan of salvation does not offer believers a life free from suffering and trial this side of the kingdom. On the contrary, it calls upon them to follow Christ in the same path of self-denial and reproach. . . . It is through such trial and persecution that the character of Christ is reproduced and revealed in His people. . . . By sharing in the sufferings of Christ we are educated and disciplined and made ready to share in the glories of the hereafter.”—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, pp. 568, 569. “The chain that has been let down from the throne of God is long enough to reach to the lowest depths. Christ is able to lift the most sinful out of the pit of degradation, and to place them where they will be acknowledged as children of God, heirs with Christ to an immortal inheritance.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, p. 229. “One honored of all heaven came to this world to stand in human nature at the head of humanity, testifying to the fallen angels and to the inhabitants of the unfallen worlds that through the divine help which has been provided, everyone may walk in the path of obedience to God’s commands. . . . “Our ransom has been paid by our Savior. No one need be enslaved by Satan. Christ stands before us as our all-powerful helper.”—Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 309.

Discussion Questions:

Read again the quotes from Ellen G. White in Friday’s study. What hope can we take from them for ourselves? More important, how can we make these promises of victory real in our own lives? Why, with so much offered us in Christ, do we keep on falling far short of what we really could be?      What are practical, daily ways you can have your mind “set . . . on the things of the Spirit” (Rom. 8:5, RSV). What does that mean? What does the Spirit desire? What do you watch, read, or think about that makes this difficult to achieve in your life?      Dwell more on this idea that we are either on one side or the other in the great controversy, with no middle ground. What are the implications of that stark cold fact? How should the realization of this important truth impact how we live and the choices we make, even in the “small” things?

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		I N S I D E Story
		The Search: Part 1 by CREPIN AGBODEDJI I live in the country of Benin in West Africa. My father died when I was little, so my uncle raised me. He practiced voodoo and animism and wanted nothing to do with Christianity. When I was old enough, my uncle apprenticed me to a builder so I could learn a trade. But as I neared the end of my training, my uncle became insanely jealous of me. He threatened me and cursed me. My aunt took me to a voodoo priest to perform a ceremony to protect me, but my uncle continued to persecute me. I told my aunt that I doubted that the voodoo had worked and pointed to my friend who had studied with me. He was a Christian, and he already had his own shop and was married. I didn't even have a job. I wondered whether attending a Christian church could help me find work. My aunt warned me that if I went to a Christian church I would lose the protection that the voodoo priest had bestowed on me. I discovered that my uncle's son had a little New Testament that he read. And he sneaked away to attend a church on Sunday. Somehow my uncle never knew. Then my cousin became seriously ill. My aunt told me, "See what happens when you sneak away and go to church?" My cousin wasn't expected to survive, but he did. Even the doctor said it was a miracle. About that time a man came to my uncle looking for a room to rent. My uncle rented him a room in a house far from where he lived. He told me to go live in that house as well. I noticed that this new renter was somehow different. He was well dressed and kept his room very clean. I often heard him talking alone in his room, but I couldn't hear what he said. I also noticed that he read a lot from a certain book. I discovered that he was a Christian. (continued next week) Crepin Agbodedji is a builder living near Cotonou, Benin.
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