|
Hi!
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 an itinerant 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,
|
Meditation--updated
weekly
If
you would like to comment go to
http://bdcministries.com/
Following
the Instructions
For this reason we also thank God without
ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from
us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is
in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who
believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13 NKJV)
The
Road Map
Sometimes
we look at the Word of God as a road map.
To use a road map we need to know three things.
We need to know where we are, we need to know where we want to go
and we need to find the road or roads that take us from where we are to
where we want to go. In the
Bible there is only one road that takes the lost from where they are to
where they want to go and that road or way is faith in Christ.
Of course in order to follow Christ to our destination or
heavenly home, we need to follow the written instructions in the word of
God. They are simple but
unfortunately there are people who think they are Christians who have
never followed the instructions. People
think that they can be saved without first being lost and that is not
how God works. We don't have
to get lost to be saved; we have to find out that we are lost to be
saved. Most people who find
out that they are lost look for God's way of salvation. Usually the lost
have no trouble trusting in the Lord by trusting in the truth that
Christ died for them.
The
Recipe
This
time of the year, our cooks are going to use their chemistry skills to
create culinary masterpieces for our Thanksgiving Day feasts.
Many of these cooks are going to use old family recipes.
However, in many cases, the culinary masterpiece is not going to
taste anything like what grandma used to make.
In some cases, that will be because grandma didn't write the
recipe down and so the instructions are not clearly remembered.
In other cases the person using the old family recipe hasn't
really followed the instructions. When
that sour cream chocolate cake “falls” it may be because the cook
didn't use the right amount of sour cream.
When the pie crust is hard instead of flaky, it may be that the
cook decided to substitute margarine for lard.
When the custard doesn't seem to taste just right, it may be that
the cook thought the recipe called for too much sugar or they may have
substituted a cheap vanilla for the real stuff.
But when all of these recipes turn out to be subpar, is it the
fault of the recipe or the fault of the person who “substituted
ingredients” or was careless in following the recipe?
I
am afraid that we are prone to treat the Bible like some people treat
the old family recipes. And
then we tend to blame God when the church becomes more of a social
organization than a living breathing testimony for the Lord.
In some cases the church becomes big business even though the
Gospel is free. We wonder
why our young people are disenchanted with the church.
We wonder why everyone says that they are Christians but no one
seems to want to talk about becoming a Christian.
I personally wonder if the Lord would be comfortable in most of
the gatherings where people say they are worshiping the Lord.
Are we changing the recipe for salvation, for church testimony
and for the crucified life following salvation that God has given us?
The
Value of Doing it God's Way
"Not
everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of
heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21
NKJV). To me, this is a
scary verse and should cause a lot of self-examination.
What does the Lord really want?
He wants us to believe on Him.
That is fundamental. Then
He wants our worship and affection.
Our worship and affection is seen in our following the
instructions. We had to
follow them in order to be saved and we need to follow them after we are
saved. He wants
transformation in our lives and not our willingness to be conformed to
the world, particularly to the religious world.
He wants to be first and not last.
Let's
all read, study, and follow the instructions. We
will love the resulting culinary masterpiece that will result.
Meditation
for the week of November 11, 2018
Archived
Meditations
If
you would like to be on the email address list for these meditations
write to me at
mail@bdcministries.faithweb.com
|
BDCMINISTRIES HOME
Mother's
of Unbelieving and