National Bible Week

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Mr. Lamborn, for hosting this tonight. I also want to pay tribute to him for his years of service as a Member of Congress and let him know that he has been an inspiration to many of us here, and we wish him well in his retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate National Bible Week and to share with you that I am actually reading through the Bible this year. I am almost finished. We only have a few more days left this year. I am almost there. I am in Revelation, Micah. One of my favorite verses is Micah 6:8. It is very special reading through it.

I think it is important to note that the study that I am using was given to me, the book was given to me, by the chair of Energy and Commerce this year, Cathy McMorris Rodgers. She gave it to us. I really appreciate her doing that. She, too, is retiring this year. I certainly wish her well. She has done an outstanding job as a Member of Congress.

I want to rise today in celebration of what is one of my favorite times of the year for several different reasons: Christmastime, a time that brings family, friends, food, fun, and football, all of those things, but it is important that we remember during this time the reason that we are celebrating this holiday, and that is the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It is easy to get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of Christmastime and to forget about what is most important. I am certainly as guilty of that as I am sure all of us are. The Christmas season is a great opportunity for us to remind ourselves and each other that no matter what happens or what we do, we are surrounded by the love of God. There is no better exhibition of this than the Christmas story.

We are all familiar with the Gospel of John, chapter 3:16, that tells us: ``For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.'' This is one of the most popular verses in the Bible, and for good reason. It paints a clear picture of God's never-ending love for His creation, us.

No matter the sins that we commit--and we do--or how often we neglect the meaning of Christmas, God still loves us so much that He offers each of us a chance at eternal life. That is certainly a gift none of us deserve but all of us can have.

I hope everyone will join me in rejoicing in the love of God this Christmas season. I wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Again, I thank Mr. Lamborn for hosting this tonight.

God bless you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his gracious words. He will be one of the people I miss when I retire in January after 18 years of being here. There are so many great people I will miss, and there are things I won't miss, but there are some people I truly will miss.

Representative Allen mentioned Biblical prophecies being fulfilled, and there are hundreds of very specific prophesies that you can find in the Bible that were fulfilled exactly as foretold. It may have taken years for it to happen, but they were fulfilled exactly.

If you were to put odds on that, it would become astronomical that all of that could be the case as opposed to something that are legends and fairy tales that were just made up by human invention.

Another source of verification, validation of the Bible, is archaeology. Every time there is an archaeological discovery in the Holy Land, it validates the Biblical accounts. It never contradicts the Biblical accounts.

One example from a few decades ago was the Dead Sea Scrolls. Those were exactly word for word what other sources had said was the book of Isaiah, the Book of Psalms, other Old Testament Scriptures, and they were exactly the same. There was a validation there.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to conclude. It has been an honor to present this National Bible Week this week, and for so many years in the past.

I thank my colleagues who were here. I am thankful for the word of God in my own life and in the life of this country, and in the life of my wife and children and grandchildren as well.

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