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====== Country Living ======

===== Lot =====

> When iniquity abounds in a nation, there is always to be heard some voice giving warning and instruction, as the voice was heard in Sodom. Yet Lot could have preserved his family from many evils had he not made his home in that wicked, polluted city. **All that Lot and his family did in Sodom could have been done by them, even if they had lived in a place some distance from the city**. Enoch walked with God, and yet he did not live in the midst of any city, polluted with every kind of violence and wickedness, as did Lot in Sodom. (RP October 16,  1913, par. 17).

> Lot was paralyzed by the great calamity about to occur; he was stupefied with grief at the thought of leaving all he held dear on earth. But as he lingered, the angels of God laid hold upon his hand, and the hands of his wife and two daughters, and brought them **out of the city**, and charged them to flee for their lives, neither to look behind them nor to stay upon all the plain, but to escape to the mountains.
> How reluctant was Lot to obey the angel and go as far as possible from corrupt Sodom, appointed to utter destruction! He distrusted God and pleaded to remain. **Living in the wicked city had weakened his faith and confidence in the justice of the Lord**. He pleaded that he could not do as he was required, lest some evil should overtake him, and he should die. Angels were sent on a special mission to save the lives of Lot and his family; but **Lot had so long been surrounded by corrupting influences that his sensibilities were blunted, and he could not discern the works of God and His purposes**; he could not trust himself in His hands to do His bidding. He was continually pleading for himself, and this unbelief cost him the life of his wife. She looked back to Sodom, and, murmuring against the dealings of God, she was changed to a pillar of salt, that she might stand as a warning to all those who disregard the special mercies and providences of Heaven.  After this terrible retribution, Lot no longer dared to linger by the way, but fled into the mountains, according to the direction of the angels. The sinful conduct of his daughters after leaving Sodom was the result of wicked associations while there. The **sense of right and wrong was confused in their minds, and sin did not appear as sin to them**." (4T 111.2).

> In how wide contrast to the life of Abraham was that of Lot! Once they had been companions, worshiping at one altar, dwelling side by side in their pilgrim tents; but how **widely separated** now! Lot had chosen Sodom for its **pleasure and profit**. Leaving Abraham's altar and its daily sacrifice to the living God, he had permitted his children to mingle with a corrupt and idolatrous people; yet he had retained in his heart the fear of God, for he is declared in the Scriptures to have been a “just” man; his righteous soul was vexed with the vile conversation that greeted his ears daily and the violence and crime he was powerless to prevent. He was saved at last as “a brand plucked out of the fire” (Zechariah 3:2), yet stripped of his possessions, bereaved of his wife and children, dwelling in caves, like the wild beasts, covered with infamy in his old age; and **he gave to the world, not a race of righteous men, but two idolatrous nations**, at enmity with God and warring upon His people, until, their cup of iniquity being full, they were appointed to destruction. **How terrible were the results that followed one unwise step!** (PP 168.1).

===== Outpost Centers =====

> From Outpost Centers—It is God's design that our people should locate outside the cities, and from these outposts warn the cities, and raise in them memorials for God. There must be a force of influence in the cities, that the message of warning shall be heard.—The Review and Herald, April 14, 1903.

> As a Barrier to Contaminating Influence—We must make wise plans to warn the cities, and at the same  time live where we can shield our children and ourselves from the contaminating and demoralizing influences so prevalent in these places.—Life Sketches, p. 410. (1915).

> Low-priced Rural Properties—We are to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves in our efforts to secure country properties at a low figure, and from these outpost centers we are to work the cities.—Special Testimonies, Series B, 14:7. (1902).

> In Easy Access to the Cities—Let men of sound judgment be appointed, not to publish abroad their intentions, but to search for such properties in the rural districts, in easy access to the cities, suitable for small training schools for workers, and where facilities may also be provided for treating the sick and weary souls who know not the truth. Look for such places just out from the large cities, where suitable buildings may be secured, either as a gift from the owners, or purchased at a reasonable price by the gifts of our people. Do not erect buildings in the noisy cities.—Medical Ministry, 308, 309 (1909)." (Ev 76.4-77.2).

> Diligent work is now called for. In this crisis, no half-hearted efforts will prove successful. In all our city work, we are to hunt for souls. Wise plans are to be laid, in order that such work may be done to the best possible advantage. More and more, as wickedness increases in the great cities, we shall have to work them from outpost centers. This is the way Enoch labored in the days before the flood, when wickedness was rife in every populous community, and when violence was in the land. (RH September 27,  1906, par. 18).

> The cities must be worked. The **millions living in these congested centers** are to hear the third angel's message. This work should have been developed rapidly during the past few years. A beginning has been made, for which we praise God. **Outpost centers** are being established, **from whence**, like Enoch of old, our **workers can visit the cities and do faithful service**. This was the burden of my message to the brethren and sisters assembled in conference at Los Angeles. On the morning of the San Francisco earthquake, April 18, the second day after the scene of falling buildings had passed before me, I spoke in the Carr Street church, and bore a decided testimony on the necessity of our doing all we can to acquaint the people with the teachings of God's Word. I referred to the great work that must be done in the cities of our land, and of our inability to do this work by establishing institutions in the heart of these cities. We must learn to labor from outpost centers, and to place our dependence, not on buildings or display, but on the power of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit will impress the honest heart. Our dependence is in God." (RH July 5,  1906, par. 8).