President Bush interview/God and Bible

Someone at work mentioned this interview this week...

Listen to his testimony of what he believes.

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Politics/story?id=6417361&page=1

In Christ
Jeff

edited out

Pres. Bush has definitely backslid since his first few years in office. Early on, he caught a ton of heat b/c he was so adamant in his faith and Jesus being the only way. He said it explicitly at a dinner with a bunch Jewish leaders! There were many examples like this early on, but something has obviously changed in him.

Wow, just watched it,,, Many scriptures come to mind,, Maybe he needs to watch the sermon from Paul Washer on the 10 Indictments..

maybe he never was a true believer, a false professor, unregenerated. You talk of backslidden, i think the problem is that many really never knew Jesus.

[b]White_Stone asks: What do any of you other folks have to say?[/b]

It made me weep. What I have to say about the interview is that I am very convicted over how little I prayed for him and how often my prayers were asking amiss. How about you? How many hours did you pray, in eight years, for his drawing to/growth in Christ verses wisdom in decision making. Given how little those who call themselves Christian pray period and how selfish prayer often is, I doubt many prayed, over eight years, more than five minutes once a year (National Day of Prayer). I do not recall ever praying for him to preserve a daily quite time with God, a deepening study of Scripture or to meet God in His Word. I think I may need to ask President Bush to forgive me. That’s what I have to say. May I not forget this lesson.

Maybe someone could link here the video message I saw last month by Keith Daniel regarding the rare opportunity we had (and soon loose) to pray for the only World leader who spoke out about Christ at all.

White_Stone wrote:
We watched that - pitiful. He blew the finest opportunity for testimony he will ever have. I pray he seeks forgiveness. Of course, that won't erase the damage done but His will be done. For whatever reason it happened, it happened. He denies the Bible is infallible. Fumbled Jesus being the ONLY way to the Father. It was painful to watch. I always felt he was in over his head in the office and things were out of his control. Of course, everything is in God's control, that is my only comfort.

What do any of you other folks have to say?

white stone

Mt 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Mt 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Maybe someone could link here the video message I saw last month by Keith Daniel regarding the rare opportunity we had (and soon loose) to pray for the only World leader who spoke out about Christ at all.

I remember this.

...how little I prayed for him...May I not forget this lesson.

I feel the same way. Regardless of the character, beliefs, and politics of our next President, I am committed, by God's grace, to pray for him; God is higher still.

"The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will."

MC

by rbanks on 2008/12/13 19:54:27

Mt 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Mt 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

You are right, I spoke our of line. Please forgive me. I will continue to pray for President Bush.

Pray for me, too, please.

white stone

He has key things wrong, but tows a similar line to
Billy Graham on these issues. He may have picked those up from him as they are very much like what Billy has said on Larry King.

However I do like one thing he said that made it through the cutting process; [i]"A full understanding of Christianity will take a full lifetime of study."[/i] I thank God he sees that and it's my prayer he will grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus.

RobertW wrote:
He has key things wrong, but tows a similar line to
Billy Graham on these issues. He may have picked those up from him as they are very much like what Billy has said on Larry King.

However I do like one thing he said that made it through the cutting process; [i]"A full understanding of Christianity will take a full lifetime of study."[/i] I thank God he sees that and it's my prayer he will grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus.

Thank you brother Robert,

I was thinking upon these same lines. We all know at one time Billy Graham was such a fiery preacher of the gospel with very strong convictions of the true gospel. Oh! How we still need to pray for Graham also.

I well remember the preacher I was saved under and how He influenced me until my walk with God grew deeper in the word. I later in life had to leave the teachings of some of the preachers that He recommended.

A full lifetime of study is indeed correct if we r to know and get the little understanding that we will achieve. It takes such time just as it did the many patriarchs n apostles....

I think many times we feel as though the scriptures indicate that when we pray we will get an answer all the time, when we want the answer, and how we think the answer should come.

This is clearly not right, and not at all in line with scripture as we read, now what the emergent church has told us to "name it n claim it", and to receive your blessings, but god doesnt manufacture answered prayers in that way!

To President Bush,

I hope we do not fail to pray n travail for President Obama...... While we do not have to like what they do or hang out with them, God's will is that we plead for them....

How easy it was for me to forget that the President Bush interview was done by MainStream Media and certainly subject it heavy editing to promote their adgenda. In reality, he may not have made as bad a witness as they made it to appear.

I will continue to pray for him just as I pray for all members here, too.

Kind regards,
white stone

I see President Bush as a babe in Christ. He does acknowlege Jesus Christ as His saviour and testifies of the change that the Lord has brought to his life. He does have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, from what I can see, but his doctrine and beliefs about the bible are seriously flawed. As Joan has said, may God forgive us all for not praying for him more but criticizing him instead.

At least President Bush was being honest in his interview. Joel Osteen said many of the same things in his interview, but I see Joel as compromising and bringing forth a false gospel.

Mike

I really don't think that people will know what President Bush really believes...until they know him personally. The interview is, of course, presented by a hateful liberal media that has attacked him for his "faith" for nearly eight years (and much more over the past four). And remember: This same media did its best to present Barack Obama as a representative of "mainstream" Protestant Christianity.

That brings me to another point: If we were to judge this man by some of his words, what type of precedent would this set? Barack Obama and other politicians certainly "talks the talk" -- but their actions (particularly in regard to issues of righteousness...as they attempt to redefine Christianity) demonstrate otherwise. Yet we do not know them in truth. Perhaps we will not know the heart of a man on this side of eternity. Some men have endeavored to walk with God...but like flawed men...they could be planted at different places demonstrated in the [i]parable of the sower[/i].

Over the past four years, President Bush has been attacked and maligned by many, many people. We expect this from an angry, godless media -- who certainly did their best to present him as a "religious fanatic" at some points (just as they did with Governor Sarah Palin over the past few months). Yet this trepidation was just as strong amongst some members of the Body of Christ who simply opposed the President as the result of some of his policy decisions.

I have met pacifists who placed the President in the same boat as abortionists, homosexual activists and even Islamic terrorists -- simply because of his decision (supported by a majority of Congress...and a large faction in Iraq) to participate in a regime change in Iraq. To many such individuals, any effort to participate in military conflict or war is [u]evil[/u] and feel that they can judge any decision maker accordingly. I have a friend from college who is a Quaker...and loudly opposed the President for his positions in war. However, this same person was relatively quiet over the past year's election -- even though abortion kills many, many more people than the war in Iraq has ever produced.

Do we feel so secure in our faith, intellect and knowledge as to pass judgment on a man for a few of his words? Have any one of us ever said something that we regretted? Has this ever happened AFTER we became believers? Has this ever happened recently? Hmmm....

I am certainly not advocating support for any of the President's policies. In less than two months, he will return to civilian life. His terms of service will be completed and many of his friends and colleagues will write memoirs about the past eight years. It is usually through such memoirs that history judges mistakes and success. Yet I wonder if it would be better for us to not judge the man...but to simply concentrate on actions? Yet even this can be difficult -- because we are each confined to the flaws of our own humanity. We are not perfect...in word or deed (although we attempt to reach perfection -- yet still find it only in Christ and not as a results of our own efforts).

When such things happen, I often wonder what our response should be? When we find a person (who says that he is a brother) in a fault (or suppose that we find him in a fault), do we try to restore him gently? Do we write a letter...an email...or send him a Bible verse...and try to encourage him with truth? Do we let him know that we love him and are praying for him? Or do we stand here flogging him with our words? I just can't help but wonder how close we, as believer, get to declaring "Raca?"

Disclaimer: I am not defending the words or actions of the President. I don't know if he is truly a believer or not. I know that he says that he is...and became one not too long before obtaining public office. Yet I don't pretend to know either. I have met so many who are willing to judge a tree by a single fruit...rather than by the harvest of fruit. I hope that we don't chop down trees simply because one of its fruits appeared bad (and could have been made that way by a bird...a worm...or bad development). Rather, we should be slow to judge...and when we do judge...shouldn't it be by a better standard than by a single apple?

My dad has some fruit trees...and he has never chopped down any of them on the basis of a single bad apple, pear or plum. He has, however, chopped down a tree when its entire harvest is worthless. I just wish that we would be just as slow with our axes.

:-(

AbideinHim wrote:
I see Joel as compromising and bringing forth a false gospel.
Mike

Yes but I don't think Pastor Joel has a patent on the compromising and bringing forth a false gospel. I was just sitting here wondering if there is anyone else that does this, but I sure just can't think of anyone right now, maybe later if I come up with someone I will post there name.

I think when you hear anyone like joel osteen or anyone in particular believe their our others ways to God then jesus, thats a red flag for either they feel bad for the unsaved or their a heretic. President bush does sound like he has a head knowledge and some experience of the christian faith. Remember many have been awakened, but saved we don't know. He needs prayer. Billy graham seems to be himself the one who preaches this love and peace gospel that goes good with many people today but i just don't know how you could read the bible and see it just as love and peace, the people need to hear how wretched they our, they need to hear how short they fall from the almighty God and need to be humbled.

Mr Moderator,

I want to first comment, that you are correct indeed, we do not know what goes on inside of this man or the personal struggle that he has or has to endure.

I will also say that we all know our commitment level here, and we here know the life of the giants throughout church history, we know the doctrine that is high, and it comes from such a High and lofty One. Not only this but we here should know the the things that mainstream Christianity doesn't want to embrce or know.

I also say that to our hurt, America, our World, this natiomn, our communities are unravelled and out of shape due to our lack of Knowledge, for I am of the mindset-understanding that Knowledge in the biblical sense, in the senses that the patriarchs and apostles wrote has to do with active relationship, literally knowing by association and relationship.

Saying this, I meant only to relate that although we exist among false teachers and misrepresenters of the truth and cross filled gospel message, but we must continue to be careful in that we think we have eternal life. I guess what I am saying is that today is such day in which everyhting that is purely religious is marred, and it needs to be brought to/back to God in a holy and appointed manner

With Love,

Fire

In the way I see things...

The beliefs testified by our President brings sadness of thought to the current conditions of our nation. This man, by his testimony, has not found in the Holy Scriptures, the wisdom and truth needed to rule in righteousness.

Our nation likewise is powerless because we will not hear...

Prov. 29:2 \tWhen the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
\tBut when a wicked man rules, the people groan.

The groaning is growing louder, as a woman in child birth. We have as a nation long lost our way. The last President who believed in the Holy Scriptures was James Carter...

In Christ
Jeff