[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 21]
[House]
[Pages 29643-29644]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                   2000
                          NATIONAL BIBLE WEEK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Sali) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SALI. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the greatest, most influential 
book known to man, the Holy Bible. November 18 through 25 is National 
Bible Week, and it fittingly coincides with Thanksgiving.
  The Bible teaches us that we have very much to be thankful for. And 
although we ought to remind one another of this truth at all times, I 
am glad there is a time set aside for remembering our blessings.
  The Holy Bible teaches that we are all created by God in His image. 
And as such, each individual has a certain dignity that should be 
respected. One John 4:7-11 is one of my favorite passages of scripture. 
It says: Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from 
God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever 
does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God 
showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world 
that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, 
but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our 
sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one 
another.
  Elsewhere, in Matthew 16:24, Jesus tells his disciples that if anyone 
would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and 
follow me. I particularly like this verse because, coupled with the 
first passage from 1 John, it reminds me that I am to love God first, 
others second and myself third. How different would our personal 
interactions be if we took this to heart and sought to love others in 
the way that the Bible encourages us to?
  It is a lesson worth learning, to love one another. In a city that 
oftentimes seems so bitterly divided, glimpses of true peace and 
genuine care seem so rare.
  Holy Scripture, which served as guiding light for so many of our 
Founding Fathers, can also illuminate a path for us today. In spite of 
all of our differences, there are many things that we have in common: 
we have a common creator, a common desire to serve our country and a 
common inherent worth

[[Page 29644]]

by virtue of being creations of the Almighty. As we go about our daily 
business, I think it would behoove us to remember that the Good Book 
teaches to love one another because we have been loved by God.
  In all of the many chapters of my life, the Bible has served as a 
source of great wisdom, comfort and insight. Whether as a husband, a 
child, a father, a lawyer, or legislator, I have purposed to rely on 
the word of God to give direction in times of doubt. I applaud the 
efforts of my friends here in the people's House and around the country 
to recognize what is truly a treasure. I hope and pray that each Member 
of this House, their staff and all of our fellow citizens take time in 
the upcoming weeks to not only reflect on the great truth found in the 
Bible, but also to count our blessings and to give thanks.
  On a personal note, I am quite sure that my third grade teacher, Mrs. 
McClain, prayed for my salvation when I was young. I believe my seventh 
grade reading teacher, Mrs. Cantrell, prayed for me, as did my high 
school band teacher, Mr. Jim Henry. They joined a long list of 
relatives, my sister, Annette; my brother, Joe; my great, great 
grandfather, John Henry Fortson, pastor of the Fishing Creek Baptist 
Church in Washington, Georgia, for over 40 years. He prayed for the 
salvation of his children and grandchildren to seven generations.
  I reconfirm tonight that their prayers were fruitful. Jesus is my 
friend and I am a student of his word, the Bible. I understand His work 
on the cross as the sole means of my salvation because the Bible has 
taught me so.
  Yes, Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tell me so. May all 
those who prayed for me so diligently reflect in Thanksgiving this year 
that God has heard their prayers for me, and I will thank the God of 
the Bible for their prayers which resulted in my salvation according to 
the plan that He set out in the Bible.

                          ____________________