How do we know what is truth?

Winter is no longer coming to Alaska; it is here. In central Alaska, just past the Alaska Range, the cold has set in. A deep quiet has fallen upon the woods. The animals are asleep, waiting out the long passage of winter. Now and then, a small branch may break from snow and cold, but otherwise, the stillness is unbroken.

The starkness of the landscape compared to the lush beauty of the long daylight hours of summer is dramatic. It is an unforgiving environment. The winter does not care if you meant well, and you just wanted to see what the cold was like. It will kill you mercilessly with no compassion as it drives cold into your bones until you give up your life.

Walking about these inhospitable lands, one must remember you are living in another world. Your spacesuit is the layered clothing, goggles, boots, and gloves you must wear to endure it.

Nevertheless, the icy beauty of the landscapes stirs up feelings of wonder in the traveler’s heart, whether it is young or old.

Long before the Russians and later Americans came to Alaska, the Inuit were living in Alaska. This rugged land became their home. The ecosystems they found there shaped their culture. They learned quickly to adapt to the weather and the extreme difference between the summers and winters.

Food was abundant for these early intrepid explorers. They did not tame the lands they discovered. They became aligned with them instead and spread across the vast inland regions of Alaska.

In the frigidity of winter, most tribes would move to warmer coastal regions where food was still abundant.

The religion the Inuit followed had a lot to do with the setting surrounding them. I am not here to explain their faith and criticize it. However, I would say the Inuit are a very spiritual people. They understand that there is more to life than what we can see in the world that surrounds us.

Traditional Inuit religious practices include animism and shamanism. Today many Inuit follow Christianity, but traditional Inuit spirituality continues as part of a living, oral tradition, and in contemporary Inuit society.

A sight that those of the far north often witness in winter is the Northern Lights. What makes them different from any other metrological event you might see is how the lights appear alive to the watcher. The shimmering lights appear to carry intent in their actions.

The moving sheets of green collapse and expand, descending to earth to touch the observer. They come and go during the long nights with green, light, yellow, and sometimes red colors. Words cannot express the emotional impact one has after seeing an extensive showing of the lights. The watcher often feels insignificant compared to the beauty and magnitude he or she has witnessed.

I understand how the Inuit would consider such demonstrative displays were of spiritual creatures filling the night skies.

I am thankful that I have the word of God to tell me clearly what the truth of matters in this world is. He has taught us we are not to worship His creation. However, we can respect it and praise Him for its beauty and power that is still ongoing to this day.

The word tells us:

2 Timothy 3:16

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

With the word, we can discern what is spiritual and what is not. So, we should read the word every day to help us know the truth in our life. If you are unsure where to start, pray about it and ask the Father to show you.

My quick thoughts are: One place is the book of Psalms. Reading a Psalm every day will help you see the personal relationship He desires to have with you. Reading the book of Genesis, the book of beginnings gives one insight into the people God reached out to become His. You will see how these people of the Bible were NOT perfect and how He still desired to redeem them and make them His own.

Read the books of the Gospels. The Gospels include four books: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Here you will see Jesus’s sacrifice and His love for you.

Finally, three more books. The books of Acts (The Acts of the Apostles) Hebrews, and Romans. Here, you will find the bedrock to build your faith upon and see God’s plan revealed ever deeper.

But again, you should go where the Holy Spirit prompts you to go to meet your spiritual needs.

Be Blessed and do well for others. There is a great need in our world for those with hearts of mercy.

Peter D McPheters

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