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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
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >