I just finished reading The Faith of George W. Bush. I highly recommend it for several reasons. Getting to know President Bush encourages me to pray for our commander in chief. Understanding how God uses men like W. causes me to praise God. Learning about George’s character humbles and inspires me to be a better man myself.

George W. Bush is the son of a president. That makes him very different from us. But his life is an example of changes that we all need to make. The path of maturity in faith is unique for each individual. Some have a bolt of lightening (Acts 9:3) while others are in a desert for years. The account of how Bush’s faith developed is one of the clearest accounts I have read. Bush seemed to grow in fits and spurts. There were golden moments when God met him personally. But Bush did change from bad boy to God’s man. It’s a change you and I need to make.

Bush said, “When I was young and irresponsible, I was young and irresponsible.” The author tells us: “Truth is confirmed in the power of a changed life, and Bush models this.”

Chapter four tells how Bush had “a new hunger for the Scriptures.”  God’s Word says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1 Peter 2:1-2) The book recounts how Bush prayed, shared his faith, spoke the Gospel, gave up bad habits, refused to repay evil for evil, and was an example to others “in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12b)

Our president developed the discipline of daily devotions. Every morning he reads from the Bible and from My Utmost for His Highest. (If you don’t already have a daily devotional, look for Utmost at your local Christian bookstore.)

President Bush has impressed and challenged me. I, too, want to change. I want my faith to grow to “presidential” proportions. (I’m writing this on President’s Day!) I want to be a wholly devoted follower of Jesus Christ.

My own testimony of salvation began in springtime. Springtime is about new birth, change, and growth:

New birth: “You must be born again.” (John 3:3,7)
Change: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Growth: “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” (Ephesians 4:14-15)

I want to grow in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. I want you to grow, too.

“Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Timothy 4:15-16)

Please stay in touch. I would like to hear from you.