Intertribal Life Newspaper -

I like to have a purpose or a goal-something that gives me a reason to get out of bed in the morning-and the start of a new year seems like a good time to examine my purposes and explore new goals.

I always thought I would like to be a treasure hunter. I watched a documentary the other night about how divers accidentally discovered a Spanish shipwreck from 1715; it had carried millions in gold and jewels. They set their anchor, flagged their location, and the show ended. Oh, how I would like to explore such a place! But I don't like deep water, and I cannot swim, so that is out.

A treasure that is getting difficult to find is Truth. This past year I puzzled over how some politicians lied, even in the face of obvious facts, and then continued as if it didn't bother them. One person (I don't remember his name) explained that since truth is now relative to whatever someone wants it to be, the goal is no longer to be honest but to win-and to win at all costs.

Have you ever been deceived? I was so deceived into believing in a religious person that I made terrible choices that still affect my family decades later. Why didn't I listen to that quiet voice telling me that something was wrong?

Deception is dangerous. The Bible tells us that Satan works with wiles, deceptions and lies. His goal is to destroy.

I have now spent the last 35 years learning more of God's truth. It is amazing. Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone lived according to His truth? Jesus tells us that He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

What if the Bible is true? What if Jesus really did create the world and also go to the cross so that we could join His royal family for eternity? What if we really can talk to our heavenly Father? What if His Holy Spirit really will abide in us to teach us, guide us and comfort us in this difficult world?

I wonder how much of my life I live on automatic pilot according to what other people have told me instead of what God is really saying. We can listen to our families, teachers, societies and even our church leaders, but I have been surprised at how different God's message is from some of what I have learned from others. I am blessed to have had some wonderful friends and teachers who showed me God's truth and patiently loved me and walked alongside me until I could understand. They are a treasure too!

I wish we could all get together and do a little treasure hunting. I wonder how many ideas would change if we took the Bible one step at a time and compared it to what we believe to be true.

The closer we get to walking in truth, the more we experience our Creator's friendship. Can you even imagine having a friendship with the One who set the whole world in order with all of its light, water, earth and air systems and filled it with variety and abundance?

It is hard to believe such truth at times, but I want to discover more truth this year. I look forward to the experience; it feels like joining a team on a treasure hunt.

Sue Carlisle grew up on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. An enrolled member of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, her passion is to encourage people to look at creation and see

our awesome Creator. Sue is author of Walking with the Creator Along the Narrow Road (see page 19). She and her husband, Wes, now live in Thunder Bay.