I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 27th of January, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in 2 Corinthians 1:8, Paul says: 

“For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.” 

Now, this statement is coming out of the mouth of one who was called by God. Yes, we are talking about the apostle, Paul, in my humble opinion, probably the greatest of all the apostles. He wrote two-thirds of the New Testament. You see, Jesus never promised you, young lady, young man, that when you came to Him that all your troubles would be over. He never said that. What He is prepared to do, He says He will walk with us through the fire but He won’t take us out of the fire. He has put us there for a reason. That is why you are at university and that is why you get ostracised by other people because you don’t sleep around, you don’t use drugs and you don’t drink, and you get persecuted for that. Paul was also persecuted, even from the church. You see, Paul was called and appointed by God. It wasn’t something that Paul thought was a good idea, and yet these extreme hardships that Paul was subjected to were not a coincidence. God had already ordained these things. You say to me, well, how can you prove that? Well, look at Acts 9:15-16. The Lord said to Ananias, 

“Go, for he (that is Paul) is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.“For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” 

I want to say to you, when you come to Christ, it is an honour and a great privilege to be called by the Lord but it doesn’t come free of pain or suffering or tribulation. On the contrary, but it is worthwhile. People are desperate for the truth and that is why they might criticise you but secretly they are envying you because what you are doing, that is what they want to do. Young man, you got married to one woman, make sure you don’t have an affair. Young lady, don’t take your man for granted. Love him, cherish him and submit to him. 

These are the things that the world is looking for. Young children, you get persecuted at school for your faith. The Bible says rejoice, for great will be your reward in Heaven one day. Remember, if your faith is costing you nothing then it is worth nothing. So get out there and lift up your head, push those shoulders back and say, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.”

Jesus bless you and goodbye.