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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,
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Meditation--updated
weekly
If
you would like to comment go to
http://bdcministries.com/
The
Desire for World Peace
These things I have
spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have
tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world
(John 16:33 NKJV).
In
the movie Miss Congeniality, Gracie Hart played by Sandra Bullock is an
undercover cop at a beauty pageant.
She is clumsy and crude and has a hard time playing the part.
But during her interview the following dialogue takes place:
Stan
Fields: What is the one most important thing our society needs?
Gracie
Hart: That would be harsher punishment for parole violators, Stan.
[crowd
is silent]
Gracie
Hart: And world peace!
[crowd
cheers ecstatically]
Now
since Gracie is an FBI agent, she wants harsher punishment for parole
violators. But the audience
wants the standard answer, “World Peace.”
Don't we all want world peace?
So why don't we have it? Will
we ever have it?
Why
Don't We have World Peace?
In
Noah's day, before the flood, God said, “Then
the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually (Genesis 6:5 NKJV).”
The
New Testament condemns the world that existed in Paul's day.
Paul describes that world in Romans 1:29-32, “ Being filled
with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness;
they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud,
boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who,
knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such
things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of
those who practice them (Romans 1:29-32 NKJV).
Our society nearly 2000 years later is not better.
The scary part of what Paul says is that society approves the
people who practice this immorality.
I trust that none who read this meditation are
"approvers."
Coming
Judgment
I
have been reading through the Old Testament and there is a lot more said
about coming judgment than there is about a world filled with peace.
Warnings that are not heeded abound.
If I were a Jew whose only hope was in obtaining a country where
I could be “safe”, I would be shaking in my boots.
While that day is coming, the day of God's wrath is coming first;
and it is going to be terrible.
If
I were a Gentile (non-jew) whose only hope
is
in this life and the pleasures it can bring, I would also be shaking in
my boots. Even scientists
are concerned about what we are leaving for the next generation.
We in the US have unbridled corruption in politics, out of
control government spending, a war machine that keeps getting bigger and
bigger, environmental disasters that are scary to say the least.
We would like to believe that in the United States we will
continue to have it good but many things point to a country that has
lost its moral compass and that could easily be conquered by those who
want to enslave us for their own power and profit.
I don't want to be a prophet of doom, but I fear that doomsday is
coming.
World
Peace
The
little book of Joel uses a locust plague to warn the nation of Israel of
coming judgment. But after
the plague the Lord tells the nation, "So I will restore to you the
years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The
consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent
among you. (Joel 2:25 NKJV).” I
do not believe that promise has ever been completely fulfilled but it
will be fulfilled when the Lord sets up His righteous 1000 year reign.
But Joel tells us that first there will be war and then the Lord
will establish world peace.
When
the Lord was born there was a promise of peace.
The shepherds heard a heavenly host saying, "Glory to God in
the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men! (Luke 2:14 NKJV).”
But unfortunately, the Lord was born to be rejected and
crucified. Peace did not
come with the Lord's first coming. It
didn't come for the Lord or for the nation.
But it will come when He comes the second time!
Individual
Peace
Since
man is so prone to fight wars because of the nature of the human heart,
we will probably never see world peace in our lifetimes.
Those of us who are saved now will be in heaven when that peace
is established. The unsaved
will either die before or in the great tribulation period.
So what is the solution?
While
there is no promise of world peace for those of us living today, there
is a promise of peace with God if we will just come to Him and trust
Him. That is the peace that we all need and we can have it right now. To
get that peace, we have to confess that our hearts are evil, that we are
sinners in need of a Savior and then we need to trust the Lord
Jesus who
righteously forgives those who believe in Him.
Meditation
for the week of December 16, 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
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