National Bible Week

Floor Speech

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Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague from Colorado, Doug Lamborn, for yielding to me.

As we celebrate the 77th annual National Bible Week, I want to remind you that it falls on the same week as Thanksgiving, a very appropriate time for a book that I am very, very thankful for, a book that men like William Tyndale died for. He was burned at the stake simply for translating the Bible into English.

I come to the floor today to speak on what the Bible means to me.

Simply put, the Bible means everything to me. It has shaped the way that I live my life. It has helped me serve the people of the 36th District of Texas through two terms.

It has not always been an easy job, but through the trials and hard days, I find comfort in the words from some of my favorite Scriptures. The same is true on the good days. I rejoice that the Lord has chosen me to serve in such a time as this.

Our country was founded on great principles, many of which are Scriptural. Our Founders wanted this country to have a strong Judeo- Christian faith. We see this truth throughout our Constitution and through the writings of the time: ``We hold these truths to be self- evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,'' one of the most profound phrases in our Declaration of Independence that acknowledged God's role in our founding.

America was founded on our covenant with our Lord, and that covenant is spelled out in the only written record that we have of these great truths, and that is the Bible.

It saddens me to see our country moving away from these great principles who many consider passe. It is a roadmap for our lives if we would look. These same principles have allowed our country to endure war, division, and depression.

I worry about the future of my 14 beautiful grandchildren if we as a nation do not return to the Bible as it continues to weather the test of time. It is the only one thing that we as Christians have that is divinely inspired, perfect in every way, immutable, never changing, and never will.

Its principles and teachings can be applied to every season, every year, and throughout every stage of our lives. It also gives us a picture of the perfect love and the perfect sacrifice of our Savior.

John 3:16 tells us: ``God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.''

We all fall short in sin. None are perfect, but no matter how egregious the sin, through Jesus, we are all forgiven.

There are no words to express everything that the Bible has done for my life. From my youth to my marriage, to my time raising my family in east Texas, my career as a dentist and my time here as a Congressman, I have relied on the God-inspired words in both the Old and New Testament to guide me and teach me, and it has never let me down.

I will leave you with an encouraging verse from Job in the Old Testament, that our souls are indeed eternal: For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the Earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me.

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