Bruce Collins, Evangelist

The Formula for Success   “It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24, NKJV)   Our Desire All of us who are saved would like to believe the Lord is like Aladdin’s lamp.  In the mythical story,  Aladdin was able […]

  (Luke 10:41-42 NKJV) (41) And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”   Mary She was the “lazy” one. She wasn’t cooking over a hot […]

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. (42) “But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:41-42 NKJV)   Martha Martha was a servant’s servant.  But when the Lord came to visit, […]

  Deuteronomy 6:5 NKJV — “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Mark 12:30 NKJV — ‘And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This […]

The Love of a Friend Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”(John 11:3 NKJV) Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. (John 11:5 NKJV) The Love of a Friend Mary, Martha and Lazarus were loved by the Lord.  The word used for love when referring […]

       And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25 KJV) What is the Definition of the Church? The word […]

And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son […]

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. (Matthew 6:12 NKJV) Definition of Debts When the whole passage is read in context, it is quite clear that the debts referred to are trespasses or sins.  We are to forgive those who sin against us so that God can forgive us and hear and […]

We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father. (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 NKJV) But let us who are of the day […]

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Romans 8:14 NKJV) Our Guide Today most of us drive using GPS navigation.  When the little voice in our phone says go left, we do our best to go left.  When it says go right, we try to go […]

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing […]

Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes […]

    Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from […]

  And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43 NKJV) But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ (Luke 12:20 NKJV)     The Question? Would […]

    Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I die!"  (Genesis 30:1 NKJV)   Our Burden Wouldn’t it be great if the burden of each Christian’s heart was, “Give me children or else I die!”  Wouldn’t it be […]

You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.  (Isaiah 26:3 NKJV) Anxiety Anxiety is a common problem among my friends, and it is a problem that I experience more and more as I get older.  Why should we be anxious when the Lord has told […]

"Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, That they may see you. (Ezekiel 28:17 NASB)  The Allegory This section of Ezekiel is describing the King of Tyre, but it seems to allegorically describe […]

  3 John 1:1 NKJV The Elder, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth: 3 John 1:9 NKJV I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. 3 John 1:12 NKJV Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. […]

  So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20 NKJV)   Can We Move Mountains? The […]

    And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. (Acts 2:42 NKJV)   In our congregation we have a gathering to celebrate the Lord’s Supper and then we break for a time of "fellowship".  I often hear that we are going to have "fellowship" […]

    So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalms 90:12 NKJV)   The Perspective of Age When we are young, we have enthusiasm (usually), and goals and dreams.  But we don’t have the perspective that age brings.  We often live as though we will live forever.  […]

James 5:14-15 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he […]

  Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For […]

  John 11:3  His sisters therefore sent to him, saying: Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. (That is, your friend is sick) John 11:5  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister Mary and Lazarus. (That is, Jesus wanted what was best for Martha and Mary and Lazarus).   We don’t Understand the Lord’s […]

    James 5:16  Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.   Last week was another week of bad news.  It was also another week where news and social media arm-chair quarterbacks were certain that they […]

    Acts 20:27 “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”   A Cause for Reflection As I am writing this, I am faced with the loss of another close friend.  I received a text message last night a little after midnight.  It said that my friend had […]

  1 Samuel 1:27  “For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition which I asked of Him.   Hannah’s Desire Hannah is a case study in maternal love.  She was childless and apparently in competition with another wife.  Her husband loved her even though she was childless.  The other wife […]

The Scriptures including Paul’s writings are Inspired 2 Timothy 3:16  All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. 2 Peter 3:15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to […]

John 10:30 “I and My Father are one.” John 17:22 “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:   One God I believe in God:  the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  I do not believe in God the Father, God […]

1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing. The Importance of Prayer Prayer is an important subject. Whom we pray to indicates whom we trust and whom we worship. Prayer is a conversation with God. It can be supplication, intercession for others and praise. It can’t be properly done unless the supplicant believes that the God to […]

James 4: 2-3  You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.  What is the Problem? The problem is […]

Psalm 107:8-9 Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness. The Cost of Departure The children of Israel had rebelled against the Lord and had been taken into […]

Meditation for the week of March 3, 2013 Mark 8:8  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. We live in a day of great uncertainty.  The government is cutting back on its spending.  Inflation is rampant.  Many workers have been laid off and many have lost […]

Meditation for the week of October 7, 2012 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.  (Hebrews 13:15) I see prayer as a conversation with God.  We talk to Him and He talks to us.  Sometimes He talks […]

Meditation for the week of August 5, 2012 A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, To such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly slipped. (Psalms 73:1-2) We know God doesn’t think like we think (Isaiah 55:8) so we don’t always […]

Meditation for the week of April 22, 2012 1 Samuel 30:24  For who will heed you in this matter? But as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share alike." Those who are on the front-lines fighting wars need to have […]

Meditation for the week of February 5, 2012 Galatians 1:8  But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. Preaching an accurate faithful Gospel is important to the Lord and it needs to be important to us.  When […]

Meditation for the week of July 24, 2011 Psalms 40:1  I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. Prayer is a conversation with God.  We speak to Him and He speaks to us in various ways.  Generally, He speaks through His Word and sometimes He speaks through others.  […]

Meditation for the week of October 31, 2010 2Timothy 2:5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. Paul sees the Christian as an athlete competing in sports.  He makes it clear however, that not only is it important to win, but the way we […]

Meditation for the week of October 24, 2010 Habakkuk 2:20 But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him. We do not live in a quiet world.  Most college courses in communication deal with debate, and public speaking.  I am not sure that I have ever taken a […]

Meditation for the week of October 17, 2010 Daniel 3:16-18 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. "If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will […]