I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 1st of March, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in Isaiah 45:4: 

“I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.”  

Called by my name even before I knew Jesus! Such an intimate and personal God we serve, don’t we? That’s why I love Him so much. When we remember someone’s name, it means a lot to them. Just the other day I met a young widow who greeted me. She stood right in front of me. We were at a church service and she had a big smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye. She was waiting for me to call her by her first name. I knew her very well, her dad and her mom are very dear old friends of Jill and myself. She was in the same class as my oldest daughter at school but I hit a blank. Desperately, I was praying, “Holy Spirit, please help me! And her name just popped out, that lovely name, and when I called her by her first name, such a beautiful smile came over her face and we gave each other such a lovely hug. 

Father God knows the first name of every single person who has ever walked on this earth, and by the way, so does His Son, Jesus Christ. Please never forget to use His name when you pray. Now, the way I pray, I pray to the Father, through the Son, Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. I want to ask you also to personalise your Bible reading. It becomes so special, for example, Psalm 23: “The Lord is my Shepherd” - the way I read that is - “The Lord is Angus’s Shepherd, Angus shall not want.” Put your own name there because He knows your name. He named you before you were even born. That is why Jesus Christ is the Friend of sinners and He is the soon-coming King, and when He comes He is going to call you by your first name.

Have a wonderful day,
Jesus bless you and goodbye.