Ralph Fudge

There are some hymns which preach better than any minister, I think. For example, “ Are You Washed In the Blood?” This song asks, “ Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?” What question could any minister ask that is more important than this one? This is one of my favorite hymns. I especially like, “ Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?”

Dr. Stephen R. Covey, psychiatrist, said, “ Political power is the capacity to coerce others to do one’s will. Spiritual power, however, resides entirely within the individual and has nothing to do with the capacity to coerce others ” ( The Road Less Traveled

All Christians believe in the sovereignty of God. We believe that God created everything in the entire universe and that God sustains and maintains everything and everyone. We believe God is both omnipotent and omniscient. And we believe everything that happens is part of God’s predetermined plans.

As we age we become physically weaker and tend to give up activities we once enjoyed. This is normal, but it can be depressing for some people. And many are unwilling to face their limitations that come with age. That is why someone has made the observation, “ There’s no fool like an old fool.” Unwillingness to face one’s age accounts for things such as old men’s buying sports cars, dressing like young people, having inappropriately-long hair, wearing your shirt untucked, etc. Sometimes these things are manifestations of “middle-age crisis.”

One of the most valuable things to learn in life is that we do not know much. Vain people often think they do. But they are mistaken. I taught science for forty years, and the most valuable thing I learned from all of it was that I did not know much of anything. I finally developed a slogan, however, that I would tell to my students: “ The more science I learn, the more God I see.”

The Apostle Paul told the Corinthian Christians, “ Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s ” ( 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ).

Proverbs 8:11 tells us, “ For wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her

The “Word of God” is the Bible. And it also refers to Christ our Savior. Most families own a copy of the Bible yet seldom open it. If they did, life would be much better for them and for everyone else. The truth is that this one book is the most valuable of all your possessions. To seldom or never read it is a great tragedy. That and the lack of church attendance are probably the main problems with our society today.

Intelligent people learn things all through their lives. Some things are learned early, but some only come much later. Some people seem to think that they no longer learn anything important once they are “old.” This is far from true. Some of the most important things I know have been learned after I was seventy.

People of faith are often surprised or disappointed when their prayers are not answered. Some people even presume on God and expect Him to answer any and all their prayers. But there are several reasons why many prayers are not answered by the Lord God. The Bible promises that God answers prayers that are in His will and that He hears all prayers of His children (Christians). It never promises anything to unbelievers.