Thought For Today

I greet you in Jesus' precious Name. It is Sunday morning, the 10th of December 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in James 3:12:

Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

Then Galatians 5:22-23:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Identity. How do people see us? I looked up the word in the dictionary, identity means distinctiveness. We've got to be different. We must be unique. We must be original. We must have a specific character and a personality. When you see a cowboy walking down the road, how do you identify him? By the hat he wears, the buckle, the belt around his waist or the boots he wears? No, you identify a true cowboy by the way in which he treats his horse and the way in which he can ride that horse.

I went to a restaurant once, and the swing door where the chef and the servers came out of the kitchen had a big sign above it. It said: Never trust a skinny chef. Never judge a book by its cover. You know, they did a test once, they wanted to prove the importance of first appearances. They put a book on the shelf in a bookshop with nothing written inside it. It just had blank pages, but it had a beautiful cover on the outside. Do you know the amount of people who came up to the till to pay for the book, and the lady at the till would say have you opened the book and looked inside? And they would say no. They opened it up and there was nothing inside.

There's an old legend that John, the Apostle, who was the last one to die, when he was very old they would carry him into the meetings on a stretcher. He would always say, little children love one another, with tears in his eyes. And they would say why do you always say that, John? He would say because that is what Jesus used to say to us when he was with us on earth.

Today, let's be Jesus to some lost soul.
Have a wonderful day.
God bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 9th of December, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start off in the Book of James 1:13-14: 

“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”

Our Heavenly Father will test us, but He will never tempt us. It is the devil himself who is the temptor. That is one of his names, just like he tempted Adam and Eve in the garden. Just like he tried to tempt the Lord Jesus Christ when He was fasting and praying in the desert. We must never play the fool with the devil. James 4:7 says: 

“Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” 

Do not think that you can handle the devil. If you have a drinking problem, my dear friend, do not frequent a pub or a place where alcohol is sold. Don’t even go there. If you have a problem with lust in your life do not read any pornographic material, do not watch anything on television that has a sexual connotation. Stay well away from it.  

We must remember that we are in a war. We cannot have anything to do with the enemy. Don’t even give him a foothold in your life. Now, we all know how much David loved the Lord. David used to write psalms - we can read them. He used to play his harp. He used to sing to the Lord, and he had a very special relationship with God. But what happened? You can read it in the Second Book of Samuel, Chapter 11. He went out one night and stood on the porch of his palace, and he saw a very beautiful woman bathing. Her name was Bathsheba. That one little slip cost him his whole kingdom. Don’t go there. When you look at someone with lust in your heart, be careful because the devil will trip you up every time. Ask God to help you. When a man looks at a woman the first time because she is beautiful, that is not a sin because we are created as men, but when you look at that woman a second time then lust comes into your heart.  

We need to be disciplined as good soldiers for the Lord, and the same thing applies to ladies as well. Whenever you are tempted, turn away and walk away from that thing which continually makes you weak and God will save us to the uttermost. 

Have a beautiful day, 
Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Friday morning, the 8th of December, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in the Book of Isaiah 26:3-4: 

"You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in the Lord forever,
For in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength."

Then we go straight to the Gospel of John 14:27:

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  

The whole world is desperately looking for peace. We try to find it in success, in achievements, but it is not found in receiving the gold medal at the Olympic Games or getting that coveted degree at university. Even Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, found that out. He said it's just like chasing the wind. If we look at Ecclesiastes 4:6, he said:

"Better a handful with quietness
Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind."  

You know, the one thing I really love doing is to take my horse, Snowy, by myself and ride up into the hills and wait on the Lord. Now, it takes a lot of discipline, and if you are anything like me, I always have to be doing something. When I go for that ride that takes maybe four or five hours, it's a time to be quiet and listen to the Lord, and that is when the peace starts to come. The Lord speaks to me through the wind; He speaks to me through that solitary eagle circling high up in the sky; He speaks to me through those magnificent little wildflowers that are blooming for the Lord because no one else can see them, but I get a chance to see them; the call of that cow on that hill calling for its little calf that is asleep somewhere; the sheer size of the mountains makes me realise how small and insignificant I really am. Let's be honest, my dear friends, even Jesus Christ Himself did this regularly. He was often being sought after, "Where is the Lord? The people have arrived." Where was He? He was up on the mountain; He was spending time with His Father.

Let's try it, you and I, because you know something, it actually works, and oh by the way, leave your cell phone behind.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 7th of December, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in James 1:7-8: 

"For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;  he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

Sailors tell me that being adrift at sea is the most dangerous place for a ship. When you're just floating, going nowhere, it's a dangerous place - you have no control of anything. The Message translation says:

"Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open."

You can't please everybody because if you try to, you will end up pleasing nobody. What do they say? You can't have your cake and eat it. We can't be half-hearted and wavering. It leaves a man very unstable in his ways.How many times I hear the call of a desperate wife or mother saying, "I just wish that he would do something!" Come on, guys, you have got to make a decision. You can't sit on that fence. The ESV (English Standard Version) says, 

"A person who doubts God's goodness dishonours Him." 

How would you feel if your little child came into the kitchen and said, "Mommy, are we going to get any food today? You tell her, "Darling, I have been feeding you for ten years. Why are you doubting me?" Isn't that precisely what we do with the Lord? We question God's goodness and His word to us. We must not pull back halfway once we have committed to the Lord. It doesn't matter how tough it gets; we have to go through with our commitment. We have to go for it at all costs.  

As a very young man and still single at the time, I remember living in Central Africa. We would all go to the rugby club after a match, and all the young ladies would be there. This young guy would walk in and, man, oh man, was he handsome! He was well-built but had no girlfriend; that's the truth, why? Because he never committed himself to anything. He would end up sitting all by himself with his lovely sports jacket on, his hair combed nicely, and everything in place by himself - he never got involved, never committed himself. There was another guy who didn't have much of a physique, but he took care of and committed himself to look after those young ladies, ensuring they always had something to eat and drink and that they were well-seated. Man, they used to flock over that young guy.

Today, let's get committed to Jesus, 
God bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 6th of December, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in the Gospel of Matthew 8:8: 

The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.” 

Then we go down to verse 13: 

Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.” 

That centurion was not a Jew. No, he was a gentile, an officer in the army. He never went to a synagogue. He simply believed that Jesus could heal his servant, Jesus, the Miracle Worker. He said, “Just speak a word, and my servant will be healed.” The Roman soldier believed in miracles.  

We need to ask ourselves a question this morning. Do we believe in miracles? The Oxford Dictionary defines a miracle as a welcome event that is so extraordinary that it is thought to be the work of God. Now, the opposite of that miracle is luck. You have heard somebody say, “ Wow, he was lucky that that happed to him” and “I wish you all the best of luck.” What is luck? It is just a word. It has no basis and no foundation but a miracle, that is something different. A miracle is something that someone makes happen and His name is Jesus! He is known as the Miracle worker. 

I got a message yesterday from a young man who I am mentoring. He asked me to be a spiritual father to him. He told me that a few days ago there was a huge wind at his home and a massive tree in the garden broke and fell. His little girl, who is not even 12 years old, was playing in the garden with the dog. As she heard the crack of that tree falling, she started to run but the top of the tree caught her and pinned her to the ground. When this young man was telling me this story about his little daughter, he was weeping. He said they managed to get her ought amongst all the branches. He said the one branch was on the left-hand side and another huge one was on the right-hand side but she was safe, right in the middle of those two branches. Her little dog was also trapped under another branch. Apart from a cut on her head, there was nothing wrong with the little girl. They got the little dog out and there was nothing wrong with the little dog. That my friend, is a miracle. I believe God protected her because her dad and her mom love Jesus Christ. 

God bless you and have a wonderful day and trust God for your miracle today.
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 5th of December, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

It's a wonderful day on the farm today. The sun is shining, and the birds are singing - especially the doves! We start in the Book of James 1:2-3 in the New Testament:

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." 

Various trials equal patience. It doesn't come any other way, unfortunately. Two cowboys arrived on the farm these last few days with a huge truckload of horses. They were not "wannabe" cowboys. No, no, these were the real deal! These were horse trainers. They had come to the farm to train some horses with my son. After a few days on the farm and riding different horses and working out how they would exchange one horse for the other, a fair deal was arranged and they decided to leave very early the next morning, and I heard the big truck start up. They took the truck down to the loading ramp and started bringing in the horses they had traded with my son. I thought to myself, "This is going to take some time because a lot of these horses are quite green and they hadn't been ridden much, but to my surprise, they had them loaded in no time at all. Why? Because those two cowboys have learned patience with animals. You see, they have dealt with hundreds and hundreds of horses every year. They have been through various trials with these wild horses and they have reached a top level of horsemanship. 

When I was having a cup of tea with one of the cowboys, I saw that he had a big scar on his forearm. I asked him what caused that. He said, "A wild stallion attacked and tried to kill me when I was trying to ride him, but we managed to deal with the situation afterwards." Various trials equal patience. If you are going through a trial today, do not become despondent. Out of that trial, you will learn many life lessons and the most important one of all is to trust the Lord Jesus Christ in everything you do. These cowboys were not shy to take their hats off and pray often to the Lord. They are now safely on their way home with their new batch of horses and my son has got his batch of horses that he is going to train. 

Don't be afraid of various trials. They will teach you patience and will lead you to success.

Have a wonderful day,
Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious Name. It is Monday morning, the 4th of December 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
2 Corinthians 12:9

That is after Paul, the apostle, pleaded with the Lord three times to remove the thorn from his flesh.

For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:10

Are you suffering today, my dear friend, with some physical disability, some thorn in the flesh? Are you saying, but Lord, why are you not taking it away? Lord, why have my prayers not been answered? I want to tell you about Paul. Paul is one of my heroes in the Bible. He was an incredible man of God. He was responsible for writing almost two-thirds of the New Testament. Paul was very confident and a fearless warrior for Jesus, but the physical disability must have slowed him down. To be overconfident and successful is a great danger in a Christian's life. You know, the safest place to be is on your knees because when you're on your knees, you can't fall any further. Remember the old saying: Pride always comes before a fall. When a man gets too full of himself, he ends up falling, badly. I will not preach a message to a large crowd from a platform or a pulpit without first getting on my knees. The Lord taught me that when I first started preaching. Before I start preaching, I read Psalm 19:14 -

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

I knew a preacher with a terrible speech impediment; he stuttered very badly. But when he got into the pulpit or onto a platform, the stutter left him, and he preached a beautiful message every time. He stuttered off the platform, but when he got on that platform, no problems at all. You know, in my humble opinion, one of South Africa's premier artists is a young man who had a terrible cycling accident. He was a keen cyclist. He was partially paralysed for two months, with brain injuries, but through persistence and help from his family and other artists, he has become one of South Africa's premier artists - definitely my favourite.

Today, do not be afraid of that thorn in your flesh. Embrace it and press on. God will use it for your benefit.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious Name. It is Sunday morning, the 3rd of December 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan with a thought for today.

For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.
Hebrews 13:14

This world is not our permanent home. We must walk very carefully. Don't put too much effort into your home in this world because you won't be here for very long. Our eyes are peeled for the city to come. We are so looking forward to the city of God, which is coming very soon. Do you remember the book The Pilgrim's Progress, written by John Bunyan in 1678? He wrote that book in jail. He was put in jail for his faith. John Bunyan tells the story of a man by the name of Christian, and Christian could be you or me. Christian has left his home, the City of Destruction, and he is making his way to the Celestial City, which is heaven. It's a fiction story, it's one I recommend you to read to your children. They say next to the Bible it is maybe the most-read Christian book ever. Christian, on his journey, meets different characters. He meets characters like Slothful who says: "Just relax, there is no rush, take your time"; Worldly Wisdom, who teaches him to just let all things go, then he meets some giants. Faith is a giant; Hope is a giant; Evangelist is a giant who encourages him to keep going. Some are negative and some are encouraging. Then eventually, he crosses the River of Death and arrives in the Heavenly City, the Celestial City, where the streets are paved with gold; where there's no more weeping; where there are no more tears of anger; where there's no more hatred; no violence - only peace. There's not even a sun there because Jesus Christ will be the light in that city. I want to encourage you today to keep your eyes fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ and home time, and that will encourage you to continue on your journey, which will lead to everlasting life.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious Name! It is Saturday morning, the 2nd of December 2023; and this is your friend Angus Buchan with a thought for today. We go to Hebrews 13:18:

Pray for us, for we are confident that we have a good conscience in all things desiring to live honorably.

We must keep a good track record; we must live in an honourable way before God and men. We must have a clear conscience and live an honest life. A great example was told to me just a couple of years ago: two very good friends of ours were coming down from Johannesburg to visit us on the farm, Shalom. On the way, a very busy highway, they stopped halfway at a garage to fuel up and have something to eat. My friend's wife went to the bathroom. When she came out, they paid their account, got in the car and continued with their journey. After about an hour, they came to a toll gate and as they drew near, my friend's wife looked in her handbag to find her purse to pay the toll. The purse was gone, it wasn't there. They panicked, made a U-turn, and went all the way back to that very busy garage and restaurant.

My friend's wife was distraught. She went straight into the bathroom where she had been because she knew she had left her purse there. In the purse was her driver's licence, credit cards, ID - everything was in there. She walked in and there was nothing. She looked everywhere. And as she walked out, a gentleman walked up and said: "Madam, have you lost something?" She said: "Yes, I've lost my purse." He asked her what colour it was and she told him, and he pulled it out of his pocket. He said: "Here it is, I've been waiting for you." Do you know that that impacted her so much, I think she was in tears. He didn't ask for any money, he didn't ask for a tip, he just gave it to her and said: "Have a nice day." That act of honour and conscience impacted my friend's wife more, I think, than all the big events and campaigns and the big preachers and professors of theology have ever made on her life.

I want to say to you today, keep a good track record for Jesus.
God bless you, have a wonderful day. Goodbye

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Friday morning, the 1st of December, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in the Book of Joshua 24:15: 

Joshua said "…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,…" And then towards the end of the verse he says: "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

You know it's very contagious when you meet a man or a woman who can make a decision. If you look just a little further down in the same chapter, verse 18, the people of Israel said, 

"We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God."  

We have to make decisions. I know it's hard but we need to do it, every single one of us, from the oldest to the youngest, who is listening to this message. The Oxford Dictionary says that the meaning of the word, "Decision" is a choice or judgement made after considering something. We cannot sit on the fence any longer. They say it is better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all. Every single one of us has got to make decisions. It is not man's opinion that you and I are interested in; it is God's opinion on the issue that we are interested in. If you ask ten people, they will give you ten different opinions about a decision you have to make, it can become very confusing. I can hear somebody say, "But then how do we make a good, solid decision." Well, we go to the Good Book. We go to the Bible. We read the Ten Commandments. I can hear somebody say, "But that is old-fashioned." No, it's not. Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill - these are decisions that we need to make, and when we make that important decision we make it according to the word of God and every time (I am a witness to that), you will make the right decision. You might not like it, but you will make it because it is good for you. We obey the Ten Commandments and then we make good decisions every single time. People will even see that we are clever and wise. One of the fruits of making a quality decision is the peace that the Lord Jesus Christ will give your heart after you have made that decision. 

Young man, if you do not propose to that girl that you love, you will lose her. It's a decision you have to make. If you do not make that business decision you will lose the whole business. Sir, if you do not stop your excessive drinking, you will lose everything. Today, make a quality decision. Put Jesus firmly on the throne of your life and you will be amazed how everything will change for the better.

Remember, men always follow someone who knows where he is going.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.