There is nothing God requires that you do. There is no payment or sacrifice he requires or desires. There is only one thing that God desires from you and that is for you to Be Willing.

Reaching for God. Searching for Peace. Wanting Happiness. Yearning for Love. These are all things we desire and even a hundred more things beyond that, but to seek these things is a clear indication that we feel as though we don't already have them. On one end we can acknowledge and say that God has already given us everything, but to truly believe that and apply it to all aspects of our lives, that is often a whole other story.

The Bible has many undeniable truths. Some items in the Bible might be argued or totally disbelieved, but that doesn't matter. The Bible and other sources of Gods words to us, were never meant to be either totally accepted or totally rejected. This method of thinking limits your ability to clearly see the truths that are there.

To totally accept every word in the Bible as the end-all be-all, you have mixed Gods truths with the personalities, opinions and folk-lore of the writers. You will find so many contradictions that you are forever trying to explain them in some way in which they don't contradict. Real truths need no defense or explanation.

For example, the concept that God was not able to bear the actions of people he created ( he was so upset ), that he flooded the entire earth, killing life upon life, upon lifeform...does not agree with the concept of a loving and forgiving God. We can justify it by seeing God how we see ourselves and assume it was his right to do with us as he pleases and we should just be thankful he didn't just kill us all...or we can see that the writers totally misunderstood an event that occured and treated and viewed God as all ancient tribes did and ASSUMED they were being punished and therefore wrote God in as they saw themsleves...angry, unforgiving, frightened and vengeful people.

On the other hand, to not accept any part of the Bible at all, you have restricted yourself from being exposed to the truths that God has shared with us. Gods truths are all that matter...not when something happened or if something happened, but who we are to be...how we are to live...who God is to us...those things are important. His truths are there and in so many other places as well. They are in songs you hear and movies you see. Once you begin to open your heart to see truthfully, everything becomes so much clearer.

A favorite verse of mine sums up just about all you need to do, be and know. You can virtually throw the whole book away, but hang onto this one truth..."Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not depend upon your own understanding. In everything you do, acknowledge Him and he will direct your path."

This one phrase, one seemingly simple statement, contains everything you need to know in order to have a successful relationship with God and find your way home. All other spiritual truths in the Bible, a course in miracles  in Miracles, etc, are based upon the spirit of this one phrase.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart...." It flows off our lips so quickly, yet, have we ever fully comprehended what it means or entails? To Trust God is to have full confidence in what he would decide for you. Trusting consists of removing all fear from your heart about what your past, present or future may hold. Trust includes having forgiven everyone and everything of what you believe they have done to you. Trusting means you have released all grievances with yourself, the world and God. Trusting removes all faith in what you believed you can do on your own and acknowledges that everything and anything of value can only be done through God.

To trust God is to see yourself without the means to pay a bill, while never fearing what may come of it. Whether it is paid or not, you believe the path you are on is one that is perfect for you and you can therefore only be content with life. God knows what is necessary for you to learn and grow, so to fear what is brought before you, is not trusting him.

God never tests you. That's an ancient concept of a Zeus-like God. When times are tough, you can know that no matter what appears to surround you, you have it within the God in you to rise over the situation. Every situation, whether good or bad, is actually an opportunity to learn and grow. These moments are mighty blessings that give you the opportunity to choose differently than you had chosen before. These moments are opportunities to stop the cycles in your life and to move past them. God uses everything at his disposal to teach you everything you need to know so that you can eventually come home to him.