Fw: Personal Testimony of George Bush

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Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 8:26 AM
Subject: Fw: Personal Testimony of George Bush

< < Personal Testimony of George Bush
< < 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 the ocean. 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
< < seek something 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
< < my soul, 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 and served as an altar boy. 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 so I 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 adore. Faith changes lives. I know, because faith has changed
< < mine."
< < I could 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 and guilt.
< <
< < 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 the
< < State
< < 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."
< <
< < ** (Please Spread this around on the Internet . . ..it will never be
< < published by the biased news media. The Internet serves notice that the
< < < fourth estate no longer has an exclusive control over what is
published
< < for
< < < the people to see and hear.)
< < <
< < < Steve McDonald
< < <
< < <
< < <
< < <
< <