I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 24th of August, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in the Gospel of John 15:14. Jesus says:

”You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”

Then we go to Matthew 12:50:

”For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

Remember, Jesus was teaching the disciples and a person came in and said, “Your mom and your brothers are waiting for you outside.” Jesus said, ”Who are my mother and my brothers but those who do the will of My Father.” 

We need to understand who our family are. You know that the Lord has no grandchildren. What does that mean? Well, if you love the Lord your God but your children are in the far country, there is no guarantee they will get to heaven. Each and every one of us needs to meet the Lord personally, and by the way, it’s not how long we have known Him that counts but rather how closely we have walked with Him that counts.

Even the devil himself knows Jesus, make no mistake about that but he’s not going to heaven, I can tell you that, not him or any of his demons. Now, we see the thief on the cross, he had known the Lord Jesus only for moments, but intimately, and yet Jesus said to him, ”Today, you will be with me in paradise,” because the thief acknowledged and believed that Jesus Christ was the Messiah and the Son of God. You’ll find that in Luke 23:43.

I’ve got people that I’ve known for 40 years. I know them casually just to greet them in the street but I don’t know them personally. Then there are other men and women that I meet and I’ve only known them for a short while, maybe when I’m overseas, maybe in Australia, in the USA, in Britain, and I feel that I have known them all my life. How is that? Well, it can only be through the Holy Spirit. There is the Holy Spirit who unites us together, and even though we’ve only met each other for half an hour at the airport we become firm brothers and sisters in Christ forever.

So today spend time with Jesus. Spend quality time and spend quantity time because indeed, He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. 

Jesus bless you and goodbye.