BDCMINISTRIES

BDCMinistries--The Website of Bruce and Geneva Collins

Greetings dear friends,

I’m Bruce Collins. I am an evangelist and teacher of the Bible. I became a child of God by faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ on November 24, 1963 and have tried to serve the Lord in various capacities since then. I am presently a self-employed minister of the Gospel. I do not work for an organization but I try to serve the Lord in the best way that I can wherever He leads. That means that my wife and I have our financial needs met by the Lord as we do not have a salary from any church or organization.  We believe that the Gospel is free so we have never made a charge for our services.

I am available for Bible studies, conferences, Gospel meetings, children’s meetings and camp work. I have traveled throughout much of the United States and Canada in my service for the Lord. My wife helps me, and we attend the Bethany Bible Chapel in Cedar Falls, Iowa. They have encouraged us by commending us for this work.

My wife, Geneva and I live in Waterloo, Iowa. We have four children. One of them is married and has provided us with two grandchildren.

This web site has a weekly meditation that I hope will encourage you. It has links to literature and organizations that I think are helpful. You can also listen to my weekly radio program here.

Yours because of Calvary,

Bruce Collins 

4008 University Ave., Ste 1 

Waterloo, IA 50701-5651


319.230.9140

collinsbd@hotmail.com

My Two Cents Worth

 

 

INDEX:

If you would like to read a classic Gospel Tract called GOD’S WAY OF SALVATION go here

For another classic Gospel Tract called God is Satisfied! Are You go here

For Important Personal Scriptures go here

For an open letter to my friends and neighbors go here

For the story of how I was saved go here

For the story of how my wife was saved go here

For the story of Merlyn VandeKrol–You Have About a Year to live! (a friend who died from cancer) go here

For the Rest of the Story–Merlyn’s Wife Karen go here

For answers to questions that I have been asked go here

For a women’s perspective on head coverings go here

For a manual on how to preach the Gospel that has been used with camp counselors go here

For an OVERVIEW OF THE BIBLE AND SOME PRINCIPLES OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION go here

For a PROPHETIC CHART go here

For a published article on FAITh, What is it? go here

For the story of the George Street Evangelist go to George Street

For links to other helpful websites go here

For the On-Line Blue Letter Bible go here

For the On-Line Bible Studies Tool go here

Bruce and Geneva

The Lord Knows ALL Things

 

He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. (John 21:17 NKJV)

 

The Lord's Commands

The Lord has told us to love our enemies, to love our wives, to love our neighbors and more importantly to love God.  Normally this love is the devotional sacrificial love that God has for us as stated in John 3:16.  God SO LOVED the world that He gave!

 

In our passage above, the Lord was asking Peter if he really loved Him in this sacrificial way.  Peter had said that if all men were stumbled because of  the Lord, he would not be stumbled and he further explains this by saying he would not deny HIm.  See Matthew 26:33, 35.  But he was stumbled and He did deny the Lord.  So Peter tells the Lord that he is his friend, but he can't honestly say that He loved the Lord.  Two words for "love" are being used in this exchange.  The Lord asked about Peter's devotional love, but Peter answers with the word for friend.  But while that is important, what has gotten my attention is the statement Peter makes when he says, Lord you know ALL things!  Twice Peter had said, Lord thou knowest.  But the third time he says, "Lord Thou knowest ALL things, You know that I am truly your friend."

 

Peter's Confession should Concern us All

It is easy today for people to say that they love others.  People who take the position of being Christians say it quite frequently and then they act in ways that seem quite contrary to the love that they profess, whether it be the sacrificial love of 1 Corinthians 13 or the love of a friend as professed by Peter. 

 

 I admit that I have a hard time telling people I love them.  It is one thing to express love, it is another thing to mean it and then to act like we mean it.  Do I really have devotional sacrificial love for those who have intentionally harmed me over the years?  I realize this gets into the whole concept of what it means to forgive. . .a closely related scriptural command.  But the Lord made it clear that when we love our neighbors, we are to love those that it would be easy to hate.  The story of the Good Samaritan shows us that those that we despise just might be the ones who love us while the ones that we love and respect just might be unwilling to help us when we need help.  

 

The sermon on the mount sets a fairly high standard when it comes to loving our neighbors.  It requires us to share if we have two of something and our neighbor has nothing.  We are to be honest in business.  We are to forgo savings accounts down here and lay up treasure in heaven.   But to say that we love someone when we really don't even want to be around them is probably hypocritical.  But there is a lot of that going around.

 

Do People Really Love those that they say they Love?

I may be cynical but when someone says, "I am telling you this because I love you,"  I feel that that expression of love is hollow and hypocritical.  That may be just because of the way I was raised but if instead of people telling others that they love them, maybe they should act like it.

 

I know I have failed with regard to this "love thing".  But I do care about the fact that all around us and all over the world people are going into eternity unsaved.  Much of the problem is man's inhumanity to man.  It involves war and often it involves contrived famine.  But I pray daily that the inhumanity to others that we see in the world will actually draw people to the Lord in saving faith.  I can honestly say that I love others in that way and that is why I continue to preach the old-fashioned Gospel that involves the realities of sin and death and heaven and hell.  I preach that salvation depends on what the Lord did for us and not on what we are doing for the Lord.  And if we really love others we will make sure that people know that the Lord loves them.  

 

The Lord knows ALL THINGS, does he really KNOW  that we love Him and those He has brought into this world?  Maybe we should do a little soul searching even today.

 

Bruce Collins

 

Meditation for the week of March 22, 2026

 

If you would like further conversation about the issues in these meditations, contact me at collinsbd@yahoo.com and I will try to accommodate you with a virtual Bible Study.

 

 

My Two Cents Worth Videos, you can subscribe to this channel.

 

PROGRAMS

For Archived Radio Programs go here

For Archived Meditations go here

 

THREE MUSTS:

Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' (John 3:7 NKJV)

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:14-15 NKJV)

Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." 
(Acts 4:12 NKJV)