Thought For Today

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Monday morning, the 29th of January, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in the Book of Isaiah 35:8: 

"A highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean shall not pass over it,…"

The highway, which leads to eternal life, leads to Heaven. The Lord has promised that He will walk with us on that road, all the way to eternity, but because He is a Holy God, He will not walk with us on those other roads that some of us are walking on. This is a serious warning. If God is not prepared to walk on that road with us, what on earth are we thinking of doing on our own? We really need to be so careful, my dear friend.  

There is a man by the name of Denim Smith, and he said, "There is a path in which every child of God is to walk and in which alone God can accompany him." And in which alone God can accompany him - what does that mean? It means that the Lord will walk on the road of righteousness with us but when we err and we depart from that road, He will not walk with us on that road and we walk alone, and that is a very dangerous place to be.

So when you are going out with your friends and you go to a place that you know is not a place where Christians should go to, why are you going there?  "Oh well, I am going there because I want to be a witness for them." No, no - we do not go to places like that because God won't go there. When you go into a certain unsavoury place, an ungodly place, as you walk in through the door you will know, the Holy Spirit will tell you, "I will not be in this place." Turn around and walk away, and your friends will say, "Where are you going?" And you will say, "No sorry, I can't go to that place.' "Why can't you go there?" "No, sorry, I am not going." And you know often those friends will come to you and say, "I am so pleased that you didn't come to that place because it was terrible that night, the nonsense that went on there."

We need to walk on the road of holiness, which will take us home.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 28th of January, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

One of my favourite scriptures, Philippians 4:13: 

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  

The emphasis here is in Christ who strengthens me. There was a great preacher named Phillips Brooks and this is what he said: "O, do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks! Then, the doing of your work shall be no miracle. But you shall be a miracle. Every day, you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God."  

That is what brings glory to the name of Jesus Christ - when the Lord gives us the courage, the power and the strength to perform a miracle that people know a man could never do - and who gets all the glory? That's right - Jesus Christ gets all the glory. That is why we say at Shalom, "You must attempt something that is so big that if it is not from God it is doomed to fail." "Why?" you might ask. Well, when it works, people say, "Those people at Shalom could never have performed such a miracle. It must be God." And He gets all the glory. 

So today, step out by faith. Trust in the Lord to be your strength. If your vision doesn't scare you, it's not big enough. We really must do things that bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ and not to ourselves. 

Have a wonderful day,
Jesus bless you and goodbye.

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.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name. It is Friday morning, the 26th of January, 2024, and this is your friend Angus Buchan with a thought for today. 

We start in the book of Ephesians 5:8: 

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light …" 

This is our opportunity, like never, ever before, to shine for the Lord Jesus Christ. You and I need to step up now. People are suffering; people are losing hope everywhere. Now remember, it's the amount of Jesus Christ in us that influences those around us. That is the light they are looking for, and that light shines through us into this very dark world when we spend time with the Lord. Now remember the darker things get - and they are getting rather dark, aren't they? - the brighter the light of Christ will shine through us.

You know you can never get a more encouraging word than someone who says, "There is something different about you." And you say, "What's different?" "No, no, the way you talk, the way you are looking at things, that smile on your face, that wave that you always give when you go past us on your bicycle or your motorbike or in your motorcar."

It's not about preaching huge sermons; it's about shining for Jesus Christ. Do you remember that beautiful song that was written by Graham Kendrick some time ago? It goes something like this:

Shine, Jesus, shine, fill this land with the Father's glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire
Flow, river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth Your word, Lord, and let there be light.

Go out today and shine for Jesus.
God bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 25th of January, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in the Book of Isaiah 33:2:

“O Lord, be gracious to us;
We have waited for You.
Be their arm every morning,
Our salvation also in the time of trouble.” 

Waiting on the Lord every morning is so very important. It is a vital part of the Christian’s walk to wait upon the Lord, and it seems to be so hard to do in these days in which we are living, where all of us are double-tasking. We try to do two jobs at once. We are running here, we are running there. We are even running trying to do things for the Lord but we need to learn to wait upon the Lord. Isaiah 40:31.

Don’t run away from the only one in this world who can help you. His name is Jesus. It happened in the Garden of Gethsemane, remember? The only person who could help the disciples was Jesus, and yet when He was confronted in the Garden of Gethsemane by the High Priest’s soldiers, what did the disciples do? They ran away from Him. The Lord said to Peter in the garden, “Could you not watch for me one hour?” And he didn’t. He kept going back to sleep. 

You and I need to learn to wait upon the Lord. Moses waited for no less than 40 years in the desert before the Lord called him to go and release the Israelites from slavery. Joshua was the same. He served Moses for 40 years and then walked with him for 40 years. At 80 years old, he took the children of Israel across the Jordan River into the Land of Milk and Honey. Jesus, Himself, waited on the Lord for 30 years before He performed a ministry that lasted for three years that changed the world.

I have a high respect for disciplined men and women who can wait and not rush into things. There is a gentleman that I hold in very high esteem. He has an incredible track record when it comes to business. He started one of the biggest fast-food franchises in the Southern Hemisphere. He has built large churches, he has built schools, and he is a very sought-after consultant. He was on many boards as a director. Do you know what he has done? He has laid it all down to go home and wait on his wife because she hasn’t been well. He has laid everything down. I want to tell you, that man, in my opinion, the greatest thing he has ever done is to be able to go home and wait upon his wife and spend time with her and obviously spend time in the presence of God every single morning.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

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

We start in 1 Peter 4:3: 

"For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries." 

Enough! No more - an empty, worthless, fruitless waste of time. We want to thank the Lord that Peter was such a wonderful example, he wrote this letter. He knew all about it, doing things we wish we had never done or said, causing a lot of pain and suffering unnecessarily, making a fool of ourselves at parties and getting nothing out of it. Now, Peter, the big fisherman, would know all about these wasteful things that are done. Yes, the blasphemer, the party animal as they say, but no more! 

I want to tell you a story about a man who attended one of our Mighty Men Conferences. He arrived on a huge big, very expensive road motorbike, I think it was a Harley Davidson. He set up his one-man tent and cracked a bottle of Dimple Haig Whisky the first night he arrived, but the following day, he got up to have another drink, and three young men walked past him, three young, handsome, godly men. One of them had a cross around his neck. They stopped, came over to him, and said, "Sir, we want to tell you that Jesus loves you so much." You know, he poured out the rest of that whisky out of that bottle. He broke down, he wept, and they prayed for him. His life was changed instantly from being an alcoholic to not touching another drink.

That same Peter, that party animal, when he met Jesus Christ, said, "Get away from me, for I am an evil man, Lord." The Lord used him to head up the church. Do you know that the legend goes that when Peter was caught and eventually crucified, he asked them to crucify him upside-down because he said he was not worthy of being crucified like his Lord. 

We love Jesus Christ today; there must be a change in our lives.

God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye. 

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 23rd of January, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.  

We start in 1 Peter 3:22:

"…Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him." 

Wow! Now that is something to look forward to - angels, authorities, powers submitted to our beloved Jesus, and more than that - He is seated at the right hand of our Heavenly Father. It doesn't get bigger than that, does it? You know, we get let down so often with worldly things; well, I do anyway. We get the big build-up to the World Cup Final - and it is, its amazing, its awesome, it comes, but it goes, it's finished. We look forward to some event, it happens. Let's think about Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. I remember that day very clearly, "One step for man and one giant step for mankind." What a day that was! I came back from Israel at the end of last year, we took over 300 pilgrims to the Promised Land, and I want to tell you something, we had a beautiful meeting on the southern steps of where the old, former temple was situated, we had a praise and worship evening that I will never forget. We were told that one of the astronauts, with a guide, walked up those very steps that we sat on, the ones that Jesus used to go up to worship in the temple and to teach the people. He said to the guide, "Walking on the moon was nothing when compared to walking up these very steps that the Lord Jesus Christ's feet went up." He said, "There is no comparison."

Well, we need to look up because our best days are still coming. The Lord Jesus Christ has warned us very clearly that when we see all the signs that are happening in the world at the moment, in Luke 21:28, He says: 

"Now when these things begin to happen, (and they are happening), look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." 

The Lord is coming very soon. Now that's something to look forward to.

Have a wonderful day,
Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Monday morning, the 22nd of January, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to 1 Peter 3:10-12:

"He who would love life
And see good days,
Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.
Let him turn away from evil and do good;
Let him seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their prayers;
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

We have got to watch that tongue! If we want to see good days we have to stop speaking death. We have got to start speaking life. "But God…!" You have heard me say that many times before. When someone says, "There is no hope for this place", you say, "But God…!"

"These young people, there's no future for them." But God…!"

"The weather is not good anymore." But God…!

God can change anything. The other day, I was sent a clip from one of my spiritual sons who was having a Mighty Men breakfast, getting ready for the Mighty Men Conferences this year, and the boys were wearing T-shirts and on the T-shirts were two words, "But God…!"

Jesus is against evil, critical, negative talking, but His eyes are open to the prayers of the righteous. You know the old saying - is the glass half full of water or half empty? Well, it depends on who is talking about it. Our altitude is determined by our attitude. That is why I love to be around young people. They are so refreshing. They are so positive, they have vision, they have faith, they have a relationship with a living God. You see, everything is new and exciting for them. They don't question God's Holy Word, they just take it and believe it and they act upon it. Zachariah 4:6: 

"Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the Lord of hosts." 

They take the word of God literally. I spoke to one of my young grandsons this past weekend, and I started speaking about vision. He is finishing university and he has got his whole life in front of him, and as I started speaking to him about vision and about the fact that we can do anything if we will just believe in the God of Heaven and Earth, if we just believe in Jesus Christ, my own faith was encouraged by speaking to him about the possibilities that God has for a man who is prepared to trust Him.

Today, trust the Lord, watch what you say and your life will be transformed. 

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, 21st January 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

If we go to the Book of Colossians 3:11: 

“…where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.”  

What a beautiful scripture from the Lord! Paul said,

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21. 

Is Christ all in all for you today, my dear friend? I sincerely hope so because there is nothing else in this world at the moment that is stable, true and honest. I want to say to you today that He has become everything in my life. I really mean that. I don’t have to go to church to meet the Lord Jesus Christ. By the way, we do have a church on the farm, Shalom, and I do attend every single Sunday when I am here but I don’t have to go to church to find the Lord. No, He lives inside my heart, so if we die we go to Heaven and if we live, He lives with us, so you cannot frighten a Christian with Heaven, can you? 

I picked up this beautiful little verse from an unknown author. This is what it says: 

The service of Christ is the business of my life, 
The will of Christ is the law of my life, 
The presence of life is the joy of my life
and the glory of Christ is the crown of my life.

Wasn’t that beautiful? Have a wonderful day, and be sure to invite the Lord Jesus Christ into every part of your life, the hidden part and also the outward part.

God bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious Name. It is Saturday morning, the 20th of January 2024, and this is your friend Angus Buchan with a thought for today. We start with John 20:29:

Jesus said to him, "Thomas because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

To trust in the Lord, whom we haven't seen with our physical eyes, takes Faith. I want to give you an example - We have a men's prayer meeting at Shalom at 5:00 in the morning, and we've been doing it for years. I can't see it when I leave my little house and get in my pickup to drive up to the church, but I know it's there. Now, I know it's there because we have a big cross just in front of the church, and that is because it has a timed switch on it. When the sun goes down at night, the light comes on - a beautiful big cross. 

Some pilots heading to the nearby airport have told us that sometimes, when they lose their bearings coming into land at night, they look for the cross, and the cross directs them. When I drive up to the church for our prayer meeting with faithful men at 05:00, I can't see the church, but I know it's there. How come? Because I can see the light of the cross! 

You may not have seen the Lord Jesus Christ physically, but you know He's there. How do you know He's there? Because He lives inside your heart. His Holy Spirit is the light, and Jesus' Word, the Bible, is our Direction. Today, we are not going to walk by sight; we are going to walk by Faith - 2 Corinthians 5:7. 

Have a wonderful day today, as you walk by Faith and not by sight because Jesus is there, heaven is there, and we are going to get there one of these days, very soon.

God bless you and goodbye.