Bush's Testimony

This is worth the time it takes to read.
Happy Holidays everyone,

Subject: Bush's Testimony

The founder of the (web?)site said he called
Gore and Bush andasked them to send in their
testimonies for the web site-since they BOTH
"claim" to be Christians.
Gore's office said that he didn't have one in
typed form - but Bush did.
Here it is...please pass this along!
Very Important!!! This could change America.
(Whether Democrat or Republican)
If any of you are interested in what George Bush
says about his faith, here it is.
(Alex Mooney, State Senator)
From George W. Bush:
"Actually, the seeds of my decision had been
planted the year before, by the Reverend Billy Graham.
He visited my family for a summer weekend in Maine.
I saw him preach at the small summer church,
St. Ann's by the Sea. We all had lunch on the patio
overlooking theocean. One evening my dad asked Billy
to answer questions from a big group of family
gathered for the weekend. He sat by the fire and
talked.
And what he said sparked a change in my heart. I
don't remember the exact words. It was more the power of
his example. The Lord was so clearly reflected in his
gentle and loving demeanor. The next day we walked
and talked at Walker's Point, and I knew I was in the
presence of a great man. He was like a magnet; I felt
drawn to seeksomething different. He didn't lecture
or admonish; he shared warmth and concern. Billy Graham
didn't make you feel guilty; he made you feel loved.
Over the course of that weekend, Reverend Graham
planted a mustard seed in mysoul, a seed that grew
over the next year. He led me to the path, and I began
walking.
It was the beginning of a change in my life. I had
always been a "religious" person, had regularly
attended church, even taught Sunday School.
But that weekend my faith took on a new meaning. It
was the beginning of a new walk where I would commit
my heart to Jesus Christ.
I was humbled to learn that God sent His Son to
die for a sinner like me. I was comforted to know that
through the Son, I could find God's amazing grace,
a grace that crosses every border, every barrier and
is open to everyone.
Through the love of Christ's life, I could understand
the life changing powers of faith.
When I returned to Midland, I began reading the
Bible regularly. Don Evans talked me into joining him
and another friend, Don Jones, at a men's community
Bible study. The group had first assembled the year before,
in Spring of 1984, at the beginning of the downturn in the
energy industry. Midland was hurting. A lot of people
were looking for comfort and strength and direction.
A couple of men started the Bible study as a support group,
and it grew. By the time I began attending, in the fall of
1985, almost 120 men would gather. We met in small
discussion groups of ten or twelve, then joined the
larger group for full meetings.
Don Jones picked me up every week for the meetings.
I remember looking forward to them. My interest in
reading the Bible grew stronger and stronger,
and the words became clearer and more meaningful.
We studied Acts, the story of the Apostles building the
Christian Church, and next year, the Gospel of Luke. The
preparation for each meeting took several hours,
reading the Scripture passages and thinking through
responses to discussion questions. I took it seriously,
with my usual touch of humor....Laura and I were active
members of the First Methodist Church of Midland,
and we participated in many family programs,including
James Dobson's Focus on the Family series on raising children.
As I studied and learned, Scripture took on greater meaning,
and gained confidence and understanding in my faith.
I read the Bible regularly. Don Evans gave me the
"one-year" Bible, a Bible divided into 365 daily readings,
each one including a section from the New Testament, the Old
Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. I read through that Bible \
every other year. During the years in between, I pick
different chapters to study at different times.
I have also learned the power of prayer. I pray for
guidance. I do not pray for earthly things, but for
heavenly things,for wisdom and patience and understanding.
My faith gives me focus and perspective.It teaches humility.
But I also recognize that faith can be misinterpreted in
the political process. Faith is an important part
of my life. I believe it is important to live my faith,
not flaunt it.
America is a great country because of our religious
freedoms. It is important for any leader to respect
the faith of others. That point was driven home when
Laura and I visited Israel in 1998. We had traveled to
Rome to spend Thanksgiving with our daughter, who was
attending a school program there, and spent three days in
Israel on the way home. It was an incredible experience.
I remember waking up at the Jerusalem Hilton and opening
the curtains and seeing the Old City before us,
the Jerusalem stone glowing gold. We visited the \
Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
And we went to the Sea of Galilee and stood atop the
hill where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount.
It was an overwhelming feeling to stand in the spot
where the most famous speech in the history of the world
was delivered, the spot where Jesus outlined the
character and conduct of a believer and gave
his disciples and the world the beatitudes, the
golden rule, and the Lord's Prayer.
Our delegation included four gentile governors,
one Methodist, two Catholics, and a Mormon, and several
Jewish-American friends. Someone suggested we read
Scripture. I chose to read "Amazing Grace," my favorite
hymn. Later that night we all gathered at a
restaurant in Tel Aviv for dinner before we boarded
our middle-of-night flight back to America. We talked
about the wonderful experiences and thanked the guides
and government officials who had introduced us to
their country.
And toward the end of the meal, one of our friends
rose to share a story, to tell us how he, a gentile, and
his friend, a Jew, had (unbeknownst to the rest of us)
walked down to the Sea of Galilee,joined hands underwater,
and prayed together, on bended knee.
Then out of his mouth came a hymn he had known as
a child, a hymn he hadn't thought about in years.
He got every word right:
Now is the time approaching,
by prophets long foretold,
when all shall dwell together,
One Shepherd and one fold.
Now Jew and gentile, meeting,
from many a distant shore,
around an altar kneeling,
one common Lord.

Faith changes lives. I know, because faith has
changed mine." Icould not be governor if I did not
believe in a divine plan that supersedes all human
plans. Politics is a fickle business. Polls change.
Today's friend is tomorrow's adversary. People lavish
praise and attention. Many times it is genuine;
sometimes it is not. Yet I build my life on a
foundation that will not shift. My faith frees me.
Frees me to put the problem of the moment in proper
perspective. Frees me to make decisions that others
might not like. Frees me to try to do the right
thing, even though it may not poll well...
The death penalty is a difficult issue for supporters
as well as its opponents.
I have a reverence for life; my faith teaches that
life is a gift from our Creator. In a perfect world, life
is given by God and only taken by God. I hope someday
our society will respect life, the full spectrum of life,
from the unborn to the elderly. I hope someday unborn
children will be protected by law and welcomed in life.
I support the death penalty because I believe,
if administered swiftly and justly, capital punishment is a
deterrent against future violence and will save
other innocent lives. Some advocates of life will
challenge why I oppose abortion yet support the
death penalty. To me, it's the difference between
innocence andguilt.
Today, two weeks after Jeb's inauguration, in my
church in downtown Austin, Pastor Mark Craig,
was telling me that my re-election was the first
Governor to win back-to-back, four-year terms in
the history of theState of Texas.
It was a beginning, not an end.... People are starved
for faithfulness. He talked of the need for honesty in
government. He warned that leaders who cheat on their
wives will cheat their country, will cheat
their colleagues, will cheat themselves.
Pastor Craig said that America is starved for
honest leaders. He told the story of Moses,
asked by God to lead his people to a land of
milk and honey. Moses had a lot of reasons to
shirk the task. As the Pastor told it, Moses'
basic reaction was, "Sorry, God, I'm busy. I've got a
family. I've got sheep to tend. I've got a life.
"Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring
the sons of Israel out of Egypt? The people won't
believe me, he protested. I'm not a very good
speaker. Oh, my Lord, send, I pray, some other person,
"Moses pleaded. But God did not, and Moses ultimately
did His bidding, leading his people through forty
years of wilderness and wandering, relying on God for
strength and direction and inspiration.
"People are starved for leadership, "Pastor Craig
said, "starved for leaders who have ethical and moral
courage." "It is not enough to have an ethical
compass to know right from wrong," he argued.
"America needs leaders who have the moral courage
to do what is right for the right reason.
It's not always easy or convenient for leaders to step
forward," he acknowledged. "Remember, even Moses
had doubts." "He was talking to you," my mother
later said. The pastor was, of course,talking
to all of us, challenging each one of us to make
the most of our lives, to assume the mantle of
leadership and responsibility wherever we find it.
He was calling on us to use whatever power we have,
in business, in politics, in our communities, and
in our families, to do good for the right reason.
And his sermon spoke directly to my heart and my
life.... There was no magic moment of decision.
After talking with my family during the Christmas
holidays, then hearing this rousing sermon,
to make most of every moment, during my inaugural
church service, I gradually felt more comfortable
with the prospect of a presidential campaign.
My family would love me, my faith would sustain
me, no matter what. "During the more than half century of
my life, we have seen an unprecedented decay in
our American culture, a decay that has eroded the
foundations of our collective values and moral
standards of conduct.
Our sense of personal responsibility has declined
dramatically, just as the role and responsibility
of the federal government have increased.
The changing culture blurred the sharp contrast
between right and wrong and created a new standard
of conduct: 'If it feels good,do it.'
and 'If you've got a problem, blame somebody else'.
"Individuals are not responsible for their actions,"
the new culture has said. "We are all victims of
forces beyond our control." We have gone from a culture of
sacrifice and saving to a culture obsessed with
grabbing all the gusto. We went from accepting
responsibility to assigning blame.
As government did more and more, individuals
were required to do less and less. <The new culture said:
if people were poor, the government should feed them.
If someone had no house, the government should provide one.
If criminals are not responsible for their acts,
then the answers are not prisons, but social programs....
"For our culture to change, it must change one heart, one soul,
and one conscience at a time. Government can spend
money, but it cannot put hope in our hearts or a
sense of purpose in our lives."... "But government should
welcome the active involvement of people who are following a
religious imperative to love their neighbors through after
school programs, child care, drug treatment,
maternity group homes, and a range of other services.
Supporting these men and women - the soldiers in
the armies of compassion - is the next bold step of
welfare reform, because I know that changing hearts
will change our entire society."
"During the opening months of my presidential
campaign, I have traveled our country and my heart has been
warmed. My experiences have reinvigorated my faith in the
greatness of Americans. They have reminded me that
societies are renewed from the bottom up, not the top down.
Everywhere I go, I see people of love and faith,
taking time to help a neighbor in need... These people and
thousands like them are the heart and soul and greatness of
America. And I want to do my part. I am running for
President because I believe America must seize this moment,
America must lead. We must give our prosperity a
greater purpose, a purpose of peace and freedom and hope. We are a
great nation of good and loving people.
And together, we have a charge to keep."