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

Who is Our Teacher?

 

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing (correctly understanding and explaining) the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV)

 

Study

The KJV says to study to show yourself approved unto God.  We should be rightly dividing the Word of Truth which means that there are those who do not diligently understand and explain the Bible to others.  In the primitive New Testament church there were those who wanted Christianity to be a sect of Judaism.  Paul says it is not.  There were also those who thought that they were more spiritual than the apostles and had obtained knowledge that the apostles did not have.  They were called gnostics, but probably should have been called "know it alls". 

 

When a person is newly saved, how are they to make progress in spiritual things?  We tell them to attend Bible Studies but in my experience they attend books written by authors that supposedly know what they are talking about.  Now one can find a favorite author for every "ism" in the world today.  Obviously, not everyone is rightly dividing the Word of Truth.  There is a principle that I got hold of a long time ago.  When interpreting the Bible we can all be wrong, but we can not all be right.  We can even all be in agreement and still be wrong.  Error is more easily dispensed than truth.  I fear that our current emphasis on expository preaching is indoctrinating Christians rather than giving them the tools that they need to rightly divide the word of Truth themselves.  I know that the epistles and the book of Revelation were read publicly in assemblies.  But I wonder who it was that had to tell the new testament believers what the author "really" meant.  

 

Nehemiah

During the revival under Ezra and Nehemiah, they had an open air conference where the Old Testament, probably from Genesis to Deuteronomy, was read publicly and explained.  I wish there had been recordings made of those explanations as it is obvious that people needed clarification.  We read, " So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading. (Nehemiah 8:8 NKJV)."  And yet when Josiah read the scroll that had been lost in the temple (kind of like losing the Bible in our churches), he seemed to understand it without needing explanation. We read, “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us (2 Kings 22:13 NKJV)."  In Nehemiah's day, likely not everyone knew how to read (I can't prove that but I suspect it to be true).  Many of those taken into captivity had been born after the miracles recorded in the first five books of the Bible had taken place and needed historical perspective.  Historical perspective still helps today, however, most of us can read.  I believe we, like Josiah, can understand the Bible if we would just read it.  

 

The Holy Spirit

If we are saved then we are sealed with the Holy Spirit and He should be our teacher.  We read, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. (John 14:26 NKJV).  Now I suppose this could be a promise to the Apostles, but since this is part of the upper room ministry that culminates with the Lord praying not only for his Apostles but also for those who will believe through them, I believe the Holy Spirit will use the Word of God to illuminate believers today.  They do not have to look for answers in the back of the book like we did when solving math problems in high school.  What a joy it is when we realize that the Holy Spirit has spoken to us through the written word of God.

 

We Do Need Help

When we read the Bible we need help with language and customs and with the historical background of the passage.  But we don't need to be told what to believe about the  basic doctrines of the Gospel and the basic doctrines of the church.  I find that using several versions of the Bible often helps in my understanding of passages that are difficult.  I realize that the Lord spoke in parables which are really earthly stories used as allegories.  So we need to understand that there is symbolic teaching in the Bible.  But we also need to understand that the new testament was written in the common man's Greek, not in the formal classical Greek used by scholars.  So I assume that God intended for common people to understand it.  

 

It is imperative that we understand that the real reason for understanding the Bible is so that we can confidently say, "I know I am saved!"  I think we can all be like Josiah, who believed what he read.  When we read about sin and righteousness and judgment, we need to just accept what the Bible says and believe it.  

 

Bruce Collins

 

Meditation for the week of June 29, 2025

 

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)