I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 16th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in the Book of Genesis 4:9: 

“Am I my brother’s keeper?”  

Then we go straight to Matthew 22:39:  

“You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” 

It’s a commandment for you and me. It is not optional. The first family that ever existed was our Heavenly Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, His Son and His Holy Spirit - the First Family. Families are under tremendous strain at the moment. I am getting many letters from families who are not getting on. We ask ourselves the question, why is it that there is so much strife and so much trouble in the family unit? Well, I believe it’s because the family is so close to our Heavenly Father’s heart. He loves the family unit, and the devil knows it, and the devil hates God and the way that he can hurt God, is to hurt God’s family.

There is no one who fights like brothers, and it is not even a joke, folks; it is serious. The first two brothers in the Bible were the children of Adam and Eve. Their names were Cain and Abel. Remember, Cain killed his brother, Abel, and when our Heavenly Father asked, “Where is your brother?” He said, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Am I responsible? Well, the answer is yes, we are responsible. What about Joseph with the coat of many colours, how he and his brothers could not get on together? 

No-one fights like brothers. The Jews and the Arabs have got the same father, Abraham, they are half-brothers, and look at what is happening as I talk to you now, in the Middle East. You know, I knew two brothers who could not get on and it got so bad that the one brother went to the government offices and got his surname spelling changed. He did not even want his name to be spelt the same as his brother's. It is not a joke, folks. It is so serious. We must to learn to forgive, to make up and to press on together, and we must also see how the devil’s hand is in this - he will do everything in his power to destroy the family unit. 

So what is the solution? The solution is, we need to talk to one another, we need to ask for forgiveness, say sorry. You say, “I can’t.” Jesus says you can and you must for His sake, for your own sake and for your brother’s sake.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.