Rick Allen: “It is an honor to stand here in this Chamber and commemorate National Bible Week along with my colleagues here tonight.…”

“It is an honor to stand here in this Chamber and commemorate National Bible Week along with my colleagues here tonight. Tonight, I want to talk about what the Bible has meant to me and its impact on our Nation's history, the divisions we see across our country, including in this Chamber, and highlight the challenges we are facing. I am currently reading the Bible, with a prayer group here in Congress, in its entirety for the third time. I am constantly reminded of the answers this book provides to the current issues we are facing in our Nation. Unfortunately and regrettably, we are a Bible-illiterate society. Just above our flag here in this Chamber is ``In God we Trust.'' How do you put your faith and trust in God if you don't know Him and understand His Word? I was baptized in a small, rural church at the age of 9 in Georgia, and, of course, I began to go my own way in high school and college. After marrying my wife, we found another church home. For some 30 years, that meant so much to our family, raising our children in that church, but it became more of a ritual and somewhat meaningless to me. I had my priorities out of order. A friend asked me to join him in a Bible study. Some 6 months later, I realized that God didn't want my rituals; He wanted my heart. I have had this urge to know God since then and study His Word intently and try my best to understand His will for me.…”