Thought For Today

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 9th of January, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in the First Book of Peter 2:2: 

“…as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,…” 

We need new milk when we are born again. When we come into a relationship with Jesus Christ as Christians, we need new milk. Now that milk is essential. Without that new milk, or colostrum, the baby can die. As a farmer, we often get a cow that will die at birth; if that calf does not get colostrum from its mother, the chances of its survival are very slim.  

I remember very distinctly when I was a young farmer, we had a beautiful cow on the farm. I did not have many cows in those days and I cherished every one of them. This cow got into a fight with another cow and it actually died. It was nine months pregnant. I ran into the kitchen and took the first knife I could find, now please ladies, bear with me, I know this might be a bit gruesome - but this is the honest truth. The cow had actually died. I took that knife, I cut the stomach of the cow open and I took out a beautiful baby calf. The calf would have been born within hours. I got a rough sack and I rubbed it, got it breathing and then I put it straight onto it’s mother’s udder and it started drinking colostrum. That first milk is full of antibodies, it protects the calf for the first few months from any diseases on the farm, and that calf grew into the most beautiful cow and gave me many, many babies after that. 

We need the Word of God. You cannot survive without the Word of God. You say, “Well, I gave my life to the Lord in 1975.” It doesn’t matter when you gave your life to the Lord, you need new milk every single day. That's what I do. Every morning, the Lord gives me colostrum, first milk, and it helps me to survive all the infections that this fallen world will try and bring against me. Please, this year, spend time in the Word every single morning, and you will grow strong in the Lord.

Jesus bless you and goodbye. 

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Monday morning, the 8th of January, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start with 1 Peter 1:24-25:

"All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls away,
But the word of the Lord endures forever."

We do not trust in man's empty promises but only in the infallible Word of God, the Bible. Come on now, folks, let's be honest with ourselves - We can't even trust ourselves, can we? You know, if we look at the great apostle Paul, and he was a wonderful man of God, but look what he says himself in Romans 7:19:

"For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice."

Then we go down towards verse 24, he says:

"O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"

Even Paul, the apostle who made Jesus face-to-face on the road to Damascus, did things he didn't want to do and didn't do things he should have. 

My dear friend, let us put our trust only in the Word of God; then we will be trustworthy. As we face 2024, we've got to do it with the Bible. We've got to do it by trusting in the Lord. Remember that old song: 

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because he lives, all fear is gone
Because I know, yes I know, He holds the future
And life is worth the living, just because he lives.

So we can face the future because we know the Lord is going with us. Have a wonderful day; Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 7th of January, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start with Isaiah 40:31:

But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

As we prepare ourselves, and some are ready - many of us are even in the race already for 2024, we need to hear what the Word of God says. 

Now, George Matheson, the blind Scottish preacher, said a profound thing: "To fly with the eagles belongs to the young soul..." It's a romantic time in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is when you are newly saved - You've just come into a beautiful relationship with the Lord and feel like you are flying about 30,000 feet above sea level. It's a different story to walk the road of the world, to keep yourself pure and clean, not to become defiled. When you are walking amongst wealthy people who are operating in the flesh and not in the Spirit of God - that takes a mature Christian. He says to be able to shine like the Lord, to make your stand, sometimes alone, with the principles you believe in, that type of walking is a lot harder than flying up into the high places where the Eagle flies. He says if we can do that, keeping ourselves pure and clean while walking through all the mud and all the rubbish, shining like lights and leading other people. He says, then, we have surpassed the flight of the Eagle.

So today, let us remember we need to be where the people are. The people are not all flying like eagles, I can assure you. Many of them are crawling, trying to make it to the finish line. We need to walk with them, pick them up, pray with them, dust them off, and, if need be, carry them across the finish line. 

Jesus bless you as you have a peaceful Sunday. 
God bless you, goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 6th of January, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in the Book of Isaiah 28:10. The Lord says:

"For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little."

That is how you and I will get through this year, 2024. This is not a 100-metre sprint; it is a long-distance race. There are 366 days that we are going to move through and we are going to do it slowly, very slowly, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. Now, if you read this chapter you will see that the Pharisees, the so-called intellectuals, theological intellectuals, pooh-poohed this. They said, "This is for children, it's not for us." But I want to tell you that the Lord has written this for every one of us. He has shown us very clearly that we need to do it His way; otherwise, it is not going to work.  

We had an old lady who lived here with us at Shalom for many, many years, a very faithful intercessor. Her name was Aunty Peggy. Aunty Peggy used to write poems for me. I still have them in my possession. She called herself Tortoise O'Neal, that was her surname, Peggy O'Neal, and she called me Buchan Hare, because I was always running flat out all over the place, and she was just quietly walking along and she always got to the top of the hill before me, normally with a nice ice cold Coke. Aah, folks - line upon line, precept upon precept! We really need to understand this principle of the Lord.  

How do you eat an elephant? One mouthful at a time. How do you run a thousand miles? One footstep at a time. We really need to pace ourselves this year and obey the word of God. Do you know, this scripture is so serious, that the Lord repeats it in verse 13 of Isaiah 28. He says: 

"Line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little." 

That's how your business will succeed, that's how you will get your degree, how you will finish strong, and how your crop will be nice and golden to harvest if you persevere with it, slowly but surely.

Jesus bless you and have a lovely day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 5th of January, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in the First Book of Peter 1:23:

”…having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,…”  

Incorruptible seed - you know, I was a seed maize farmer when I was younger. It is a very sensitive crop to grow. You really have to be on top of your game. As a seed maize farmer, you are trying to develop a very pure seed without any other types of maize growing in that crop for the company you are growing for. You have young maize inspectors who come to your farm every day. These are young guys; they put on their takkies, are fit, are strong, take a cattle counter with them, and walk through your crop every day. I was growing about a hundred hectares of maize, 240 acres of maize and 35,000 plants per hectare, and if they found 1% - that is one corruptible plant in a hundred, they condemned the crop. We had to take a gyro mower and mow it down, which would have meant literal bankruptcy for me in those days. The reason why they did it is because when they sold their product to the public, to the commercial farmer, they wanted the commercial farmer to see that their seed was pure, that there was nothing in it that was not supposed to be there. 

Now, the Lord Jesus Christ says you and I must be born again. That is not a charismatic, a Pentecostal, or an evangelical term. That is a Jesus term. Jesus said we must be born again. Why? Because we have to start afresh. So I want to pray for you as we close that this year, 2024, God will only allow pure, incorruptible seed in your life. It comes through spending time reading the Bible, the word of God, and then the things that come out of your mouth are pure because you are speaking what you have been reading, what you have been praying, and having fellowship with other believers who are also of that incorruptible seed. Pray this prayer after me, please:

Dear Lord Jesus,

At the start of this new year, 2024, I commit my life entirely into your hands. I thank You, Lord, and ask You to please keep me pure so that I can finish this race without any corruptible seed damaging my life. Make me a blessing, not only to You but to my fellow man.

In Jesus Name, amen.

God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 4th of January, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start with Psalm 23:1 (Written by a shepherd): 

"The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want."

Then we go straight to Philippians 4:19:

"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

I believe that the Lord wants us to spend more time in solitude with Him this year and much more time in silence, listening to Him and spending time in His Presence. When you do that, you become a lot more observant. You become slower to speak and quicker to listen. God speaks to his children, often through nature. King David is possibly the greatest king that ever lived in Israel, next to our master, Jesus Christ.  

Where was his training ground? That's right, he was a shepherd! He spent hours on his own, with his sheep - where he wrote these beautiful Psalms and sang to the Lord on his harp. He spent time getting strong in the Lord - We must do the same to finish this race strongly. 

One of my uncles was a shepherd - Uncle Ronnie was very quiet and observant. He was a lovely man to be near. He gave a spirit of peace whenever you were in his presence. He was a chronic asthmatic and spent a lot of time in the hospital. As a result, he didn't have much schooling, so he became a shepherd. He wasn't physically strong, but he was one of the most sought-after shepherds in his area because of his incredible relationship with his sheepdogs. His sheepdogs were quite something to watch! They did all the work for him - Why was he in such a position? Because he spent time with his dogs and he spent time with his ship. As a result, he was an incredible stockman and very sought-after. He spent hours in the presence of these animals - This year, we need to spend more time with the Lord and less time running around. We need to sit in the presence of the Lord, and He will direct our paths. 

Jesus bless you, and have a wonderful day. Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 3rd of January, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start with 1 Peter 1:13:

"Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Gird up the loins of your mind! We must understand we are on a critical journey; our destination is heaven, but there is a long road for us to walk. The other night, I watched a television programme about the Tuareg people (I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly) of the Sahara Desert. They say that the Sahara Desert is their country, hardy people

 that operate on camels. Every year, they prepare for a journey of about 1,000 km through the most treacherous terrain on earth. They go to buy salt from a specific place where it is quarried. 

Hundreds of camels go with these people, but what fascinated me was their preparation before they set out on their journey. They sew up goat skins where they put water so no drop escapes. They dry out dates and take millet to eat a gruel on this journey. They have one very experienced man who takes them through the desert, which goes week after week through dunes with no sign of any directions. That man is the son of a man who did it before him and him before his father. 

They prepared correctly. They girded up their loins for the journey and made it every time. They don't stop, whether there's a sandstorm and they can't see one yard ahead - They keep going. They're experienced, seasoned men. I was amazed at their concentration, their discipline and the hope that they had for their destination.

Now, as followers of Jesus Christ, you and I need to do the same as we start 2024. We need to gird up our loins, be sober and rest in the hope of Jesus Christ. Remember, the writer is saying gird up the loins of your mind - it's the mind, my dear friends, that we need to protect to get to our destination, heaven, and meet with the Lord. 

Have a wonderful day as you start to prepare for the remainder of this journey that you are taking, on this earth. Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 2nd of January, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start with Psalm 46:10:

"Be still, and know that I am God..."

As I'm recording this today, I'm thinking more of the mums and the grandmothers, the ladies who have worked so hard over Christmas - Cooking and cleaning and taking care of the children and the older folks; you are tired. I know you're tired - the Lord says we must be still and know He is God. 

I want to tell all those men who have had to fill in because they don't have any extra staff - you're exhausted. You don't want to look ahead to 2024 because you feel you won't cope. I've got excellent news for you: you will cope because Jesus is going with you! He will walk every step of the way for 2024 with you. It's not a case of just coming inside and saying, "I just wish I could get some rest" - we've got to learn from the Swallow. We have got to learn to rest 'on the wing'. He hardly touches the ground when the Swallow leaves Europe and comes down to Africa. He eats and catnaps on the wing while it's flying - it's incredible! We've got to do the same. It's no good coming aside for a couple of weeks and expecting to get rest. It doesn't work like that, not with me anyway. We must learn to rest on the wing. 

One step at a time... How do you cover a thousand miles? One step at a time. How do you eat an elephant? One mouthful at a time! I heard a story of a tough, old boss - The worker came to him and said, "I am so tired wheeling barrow-fulls of sand from one area to another." The boss said, "Why are you so tired? When you're not pushing the wheelbarrow, you're resting. And you're still resting when you're not shovelling sand into the barrow and pushing the barrow. Just get on with the job, you're resting all the time!" 

We have to pace ourselves this year. We've got to take one step at a time. We have to think carefully; we are living in perilous times, and we will only get through this if we do it Jesus' way. He says: "Be still and know that I am God. Every morning, I will give you enough Grace for the day." Just like He did for the Israelites when they left Egypt, they got fresh manna from heaven daily. They tried to collect extra for the next day, but it went bad - Just enough for the day, that's all we need, and that's how we will get to the promised land.

Jesus bless you, and have a wonderful day. Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Monday morning, the 1st of January, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. First of all, I want to wish you a very happy New Year. A very peaceful New Year, a brand new start! We go to 2 Corinthians 5:17:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

What a beautiful promise from God! The Lord has brought us new life, it's a New Year - It's a brand new start, the old has passed away. I always love to say that the Lord has got a bad memory! When He forgives, He forgets! when you said, "Lord, remember what I did last year?" He says, "No, I don't remember. What did you do?" 

We need to press on. It's a new beginning; it's a new year! My dear friend, it's a new opportunity to start your life again. I'm going to pray with you in just a minute. We are going to pray together, you and I. We are going to ask God to forgive us for all the mistakes we made in 2023. We can ask him to 'clear the slate' and give us a new start. You know, I love to see new births, and being a farmer, I have a lot of opportunities to see that. Seeing a newly born calf, a newly-born lamb or a newly-born pony. A little foal that is born - it is quite something! I sit and look in amazement, as does its mother. You know that little calf, after its birth, his mum has a very rough tongue, and she'll come and clean him and make him so fluffy, new and sweet smelling. He stands up and staggers a little bit with those big eyes looking around. The first time he's seeing new life - That is how you and I will be this year. We're going to start again. We are going to put all those bad habits behind us. We will say, "Lord, give us a new beginning, please." A new kick-off, that's right! It's a brand new game, and the scores are on the board; we have already won the match, in Jesus Christ!

Please pray this prayer after me: 

Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for giving me a new beginning. Thank you, Lord, that I can see 2024. I never thought it would happen, but you've given me a new opportunity to make a new start. Lord, by your grace and by the power of the Holy Spirit, I thank you by Faith that

it is going to be the best year of my life so far! In Jesus' Name, amen. Happy New Year!

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 31st of December, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. I want to speak to you about a defining moment in your life and defining moments in the world. John 3:16 spells it out clearly, and I want you to read it to you out of the New King James version:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

A defining moment in the universe's history - when God came down from Heaven to live with us on Earth, in the form of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a defining moment. We are now facing the end of 2023 and are about to embark on the exciting thought of 2024. You have to make some defining decisions in your life. The dictionary says, "Certain or sure about something." Have you made a defining decision in your life? Have you decided to change your ways to walk in the power, love and discretion of Jesus Christ? He will give you a completely new outlook on life. He's done it for me and will do it for you.

Let us leave all the baggage, pain and all the disappointments of 2023 behind us. Let us make a brand new start; let's clean the board and start 2024 with Jesus Christ in full control of our lives. Then you will see some exciting developments in your life.

Father, I pray for my friends as they face a new year, some with fear and uncertainty, others with excitement. Some do not know what to expect, but one thing we do know is that the Lord Jesus Christ is going before us. We ask this in Jesus' Name, amen.

I want to wish you a very, very special 2024! God bless you and goodbye.