I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 20th of September, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go straight to the Book of Luke 21:29-30:

“Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.” 

Just outside my prayer room, I have a beautiful little fig tree that was given to me for my birthday by my young daughter. I planted it and when I went out a couple of days ago, a beautiful big green leaf has come out the top of the tree, beautiful indeed! Now, I know for a fact, because I am a farmer, that when the fig tree starts to push new leaves, we know that summer is here. The Lord says the shepherd knows - he gets up in the morning, and he sees that the sky is red and he knows that the weather is going to be quite hectic today, maybe rain, maybe a cold front, and so he prepares his flock in the case of a storm, especially when the sheep are lambing down. But that same shepherd, when he sees a red sky in the evening, he knows there will be no rain. It will be a lovely day tomorrow. The Lord says, we can discern the weather, but why can we not see the signs of the times and the coming of the Lord?

He is telling you and me, very clearly this morning, to get prepared because He is coming back for us like a thief in the night. Now, a thief never tells you when he is coming, he comes secretly and he comes immediately. The Lord is going to come the same way. There will be no more warnings, He has given us many warnings. When we look around us and we see what is happening in this tired old world of ours, we know. I have heard many old christians say to me, “How much worse must it get before the Lord comes?” We see immorality like we have never seen before, people sticking their tongue out at the Lord and saying, “What are you going to do about it, Lord?” No fear of God! We see what is happening in the weather, we see the economy, we see the politics, and all we say as believers is, “Come Lord Jesus”, just like John said at the end of the Book of Revelation.

Now, I have told you this before, I have written something right at the back of my Bible, next to the last verse in the last book in the Bible, “Keep short accounts with God and short accounts with man.” Be ready when the trumpet blows because we will be leaving immediately. Now, that is not scary, that’s exciting. It’s scary if you are not ready but if you are ready, all we can say is, “Come Lord Jesus, come!”

Have a wonderful day and remember, the fig tree has already pushed out it’s first leaf.
Goodbye.