Thought For Today

I greet you in Jesus' precious Name! It is Monday morning, the 20th of November, 2023, and this is your friend Angus Buchan with a thought for today. 

We start in Isaiah 6:8

Also, I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
"Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?"
Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

Then we go straight to Mark 16:15

And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 

John Wesley said the world is my parish; the world is my congregation. We need to go out and preach the gospel. Where, you might say. Well, go to the schools, go to the farms, the prisons, the hospitals. You know, when I go to the hospital, I'll go into a ward and pray for a Christian man or woman who's not well. As I leave, there are Hindus and Muslims there, and before I leave the room, they say, please pray for us as well. I have to come back, lay hands on them and pray for them. People are desperate for hope and truth, but most of all, love.

University, what a place to preach the gospel. Radio, if you can get on there, TV. I can hear somebody say, but we have no training! Well, I want to ask you a question - Did the disciples have any training? Of course not. What is preaching the gospel actually all about? It's one hungry beggar showing another hungry beggar where to find bread. My old friend Wynand, from Radio Pulpit, says it's showing people the way to the bakery. 

D.L. Moody, a farm boy, went to Chicago as a shoe salesman. He got saved and wanted to teach Sunday school. They told him there was a waiting list of 17 people, and you will be number 18. He said: "I can't wait that long". They said why don't you go down to the ghettos to speak to those little street urchins causing so much trouble. Off he went, he hired a big old warehouse. He would put a pocket of oranges on the back of his horse, like the Pied Piper, and say: "Do you want an orange? Follow me". He would hang up a cage with a canary and tell the kids the first one that doesn't break one Sunday will get the canary at Christmas time. Folks, he was desperate. You know that that man had no less than 500 children in his Sunday school in no time at all. 

Just a couple of weeks ago, I was invited to a sportsman's breakfast to preach to people, and many of them don't darken the door of a church. Do you know that 800 people arrived there on a Thursday morning? In the middle of the week, for breakfast at the race track in Durban. I was there with Warren Brosnihan, one of the sportsmen. What an incredible meeting we had! 

I want to tell you today: don't waste a moment; tell people what Jesus means to you. Have a wonderful day. May God bless you. Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 19th of November, 2023, and this is your friend Angus Buchan with a thought for today. 

We start in the book of Jeremiah 1:9

Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth."

Then we go to the New Testament, John 1:1:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The power available to you and me through the spoken Word of God. You know Jesus calmed the storm on the Lake of Galilee with one word! Do you remember that old saying: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me."? That is so untrue, isn't it? It's the other way around - you can heal quickly from physical wounds, but words said in anger against someone can last long. The Word of God spoken in faith can move mountains.

"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
But we will remember the name of the Lord our God."
Psalm 20:7

John G. Lake, the American evangelist, used to say that when you get up in the morning, and you get ready for work, and you are combing your hair, and you look into that mirror, you say to the person looking back at you - God lives in that person, and wherever that person goes today, God is going with them! If Christ is for you, there's no man that can stand against you.

"And by His stripes we are healed."
Isaiah 53:5

I want to pray a word of healing over your body today. I want to join my faith with your faith and believe for the power of healing through the spoken Word of God. Pray this prayer after me. Maybe put your hand on that area of your body where you are suffering. Perhaps you are suffering from migraine headaches - put your hand on your head. Maybe it's your back that's giving you trouble. Maybe it's a knee - pray this prayer after me. 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that you are my Healer. Today, by Faith, I speak the Word of healing over my body, over my soul and over my spirit. I thank you for healing me, in Jesus' name, amen.

Have a wonderful Sunday.
God bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 18th of November, 2023, and this is your friend Angus Buchan with a thought for today.

We start in Psalm 72:19:

“And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.”

Then we go to the book of Isaiah 6:3: 

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”

Then the last one is in the last book of the Bible, Revelation 4:8:

“Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!”

What beautiful scriptures! Holy means God as a Spirit who is active in the world. You know I’ve just come back from my bike ride. What a beautiful morning. The sun is shining, the birds are singing. There’s that beautiful fresh smell on the earth. Yes, He created it all in one word, Holy God! The Orthodox Jews revere the name of God so much that when they sign their name, God bless, they will write G-D. They will not even spell His name and yet this mighty God chose to leave His throne in paradise to come down to earth in the form of a defenceless baby and live amongst you and I and help us, direct us and most of all, show us the way home. I saw Him again today in all His glory and I want to tell you He is worth worshipping and praising!

Now, I’m going to sing a little hymn. I think all of us know it. Many of us may have learned it when we were at school. It was written in 1861 by John Dykes, and the lyrics by Bishop Reginald Heber. It is called Holy, Holy, Holy. If you want to join with me, I would be honoured if you would sing it with me. Let’s try it together:

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Heaven's elders cast their crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim worship too before Thee,
Who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see; 
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful Saturday and glory by His name for truly He is holy and worthy!

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 17th of November, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We go to the Book of Hebrews 12:1:

”Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,…” 

Oh folks, we are running the race of our lives. We must be more intentional about it. This is not the dummy run, this is not the practice run, this is it! Many have gone before us, and they are cheering us on today. They say, “Come on, you can make it, you can do this!” The saints are all there in Heaven, your loved ones, they are waiting for you. Keep on running - get up and dust yourself off and keep going.  

Get rid of all that excess baggage that is weighing us down. “What kind of baggage?” you say. Unforgiveness, grudges, bad habits, greed, self-centredness. These weights will stop us from finishing the race. We need to become more determined and more intentional, running the race of our lives with endurance. Endurance is the ability to do or cope with something painful or difficult for a long time. This is not a hundred-metre sprint; this is a long-distance race. There are many hills and valleys; the road is rough but leads to home.  

Now, when we keep our eyes fixed on the road ahead of us, we must not look behind us; we must not be distracted to the left or the right by the people cheering or booing. It doesn’t make any difference; we are going home, and the wonderful thing is that when we get to that finish line, do you know who is waiting for us? Oh yes, the One who ran before us, His name is Jesus! He has got his arms wide open. He says, “You are nearly home.” Keep on, just a short while, and you will get that gold medal of eternal life spent in Heaven where there is no more pain, no more tears, only peace, joy and bliss.

God bless you today as you continue with me together, running the race of our lives,
Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Thursday morning. It's the 16th of November, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the book of Isaiah 5:20,
"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"

We need to call sin by its name. As believers, as followers of Jesus Christ, our standpoint has no grey area. It's either black or white. It's either right or wrong. Remember, people don't have to like us, but they must respect us for what we stand for. For evil to abound, all good people have to do is nothing. Isn't that right? Jesus says in Revelation 3:16: 

"So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." 

Strong words! I really feel today I need to speak to dads and moms. You have to tell your children the absolute truth. You cannot compromise; they will not respect you for that. They might not like what you are saying at the moment because all their friends are doing something different, but we have to stand for truth and righteousness, and our gauge has to be the Bible. The Word says it, we believe it and that settles it. Remember, old Smith Wigglesworth said that? We have got to be known as people who walk the talk. 

You know, I heard a sad story many years ago about a beautiful young lady who grew up in a Christian home. Her mom and dad loved the Lord. She went to Sunday school, she got confirmed, and was a member of the church. Then she fell in love with a young man and she came home one night and said, "Mom, Dad, I am going to get married. They said, "Who are you going to marry?" "I am going to marry a communist." Now, communists don't believe that there is a God. Her mom and dad were totally devastated by what she said, and they asked her why, and she said, "Because he is the first man that I have met in my life who believes in what he stands for, and he stands by it."

Young people are looking for truth and they are looking for a definite - they do not want any wishy-washy opinions! They want to know the truth because the truth will set them free. Let us be strong, bold, courageous and full of love and tell people the truth. His name is Jesus.

God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 15th of November, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start off in the Book of Psalms 65:5-6: 

“By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of the far-off seas;
Who established the mountains by His strength,
Being clothed with power;…”

I want to say to you this morning, how dare we say, “Where is God?” How dare we say, “He has abandoned us.” Open your eyes, open your ears, He is all over the place! As I am recording this message, you can probably hear the rain on our tin roof, and you know we don’t rely on the weatherman for a weather forecast. We simply walk out the front door of our little farmhouse and there we see the rain lilies in full colour and in full display. About two days ago, they told me it will rain because those beautiful little white buds came out of those magnificent green leaves, and here it is. It is raining! The weaver birds have told me that summer is well on its way and there will be plenty of rain. You say, “How do you know that?” Because God showed me. You see, when there is a drought, the weavers build their nest very close to the ground, but when there is going to be rain, they build their nests very high. How do they know? Because they have a Father and they listen to Him. Open your eyes, open your ears.

You know, the swallows have just arrived. They have come thousands and thousands of kilometres. That little bird that doesn’t even weigh half an ounce, and they have arrived. Why? Because they know that it is winter in Europe and they are coming to their summer residence. Now, not only do they come to the same country, but they come to the same province, to the same area, to the same farm and the same house. How do they know where to come? Because their Father in Heaven has shown them the way. 

Please never tell me there is no God! There is none so blind as those who do not want to see. This morning, I got a beautiful little message from one of my spiritual sons that I am mentoring: three words - “Love you dad.” It made my day. He is also a young farmer. 

Today, thank God that He is with us and that He is coming back soon to take us home to eternity with Him.

Until then, keep running your race.
Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 14th of November, 2023 and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We go to the Gospel of John 15:16: 

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."  

Chosen! You are sitting there and saying, "I can't take much more of this." Jesus says you can. He says, "I chose you, and I appointed you for the job that you are doing", but only if we put our trust in Him, but you and I must do our part. Now, remember the story of Abraham and Sarah? When God told Sarah she was going to have a baby, that's Isaac, and that he would be the father of many nations, she went behind the tent and started laughing and giggling, and the Lord said, "What are you laughing about?" And she said, "Nothing." And He said, "You were laughing!" A woman 100 years old will have a baby; no wonder she was laughing. And then what happened? The Lord said in Genesis 18:14: 

"Is anything too hard for the Lord?" 

I want to say to you today there is nothing too hard for God. God knows how much you can take, and He knows how much I can take; otherwise, He would never have chosen us and given us the job.

Two Afro-American little boys of a single mother lived in America. The mother was a house cleaner. They were failing badly at school, and the headmaster called the mother and said, "If these boys don't wake up, we will have to take them out of school." She went home late one night after cleaning houses. There, the two of them were lounging around, watching television. She said," Switch off that television. I don't want to see it on again." She said, "Go to the library tomorrow, become a member. I want you to read two books a week each." They couldn't believe it, "Then I want you to summarise those books, and I will crit them." They turned from being the idiots of the class to being the geniuses of the class! The one little boy became a neurosurgeon. 

Thing that really touched me was that that mother was illiterate; she couldn't write or read. She used to make believe that she was reading their summaries and put a tick here and a cross there. It's amazing. God chose this young man. He became a doctor, not only a doctor but a surgeon, not only a surgeon but a neurosurgeon, a brain doctor! He was the first man to separate Siamese twins, joined together at the back of the head, without losing one of them. Up until then, the one twin would always die because of the blood circulation problem, but he discovered a way to separate them, and they both survived. This man is outspoken for Jesus Christ.

Dust yourself off, get back onto your feet and get back into the race. The Lord has chosen you!

God bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious Name. It is Monday morning the 13th of November 2023, and this is your friend Angus Buchan with a thought for today. We start with Hebrews 11:16

"But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them."

Then we go straight to John 14:1-2

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."

This home is not our home, not at all. We are just passing through. Let's not get too comfortable. What do you think your mansion will look like in heaven? Have you ever thought about that? Well, I looked up in the Oxford dictionary to find the exact definition: It is a large, impressive house. It is a country house; it is a stately home. 

You know, when I travel, I get off that aeroplane, and the first place I want to go is to use the bathroom. I go into the bathroom, and there's a gentleman standing at the door with a big smile. He says welcome to my office. Yes, I do give him a tip! I sometimes wonder what he will feel like (a man who has to clean the toilets) when he walks into the mansion God has prepared for him in heaven if he's a Believer. Keith Green, the gospel singer, former drug addict, and Rock & Roll star, became an amazing ambassador for Jesus Christ. He once said, "If God made Earth in one day and he's been preparing a place for you and me for 2,000 years, man," he said, "We're living in a garbage can..." 

But seriously, I want to tell you about a little boy, his name is Togo. He was part of our little children's home on the farm. He was a very sick little boy; he had a terminal disease, but he loved to go for rides on Snowy. He got so weak and thin that I had to put a pillow in front of my saddle so he could ride comfortably. We would talk about heaven, and Aunty Jill would read stories to him about heaven and say are you scared, Togo? No, he's not scared. We would talk about that big white horse that Jesus would be riding when he came to fetch him to take him home to be with him in his mansion in Paradise. Jesus came and took him home, and Togo is in heaven today. Psalm 84:10 says:

"I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness."

Today, let's be sure we know where we are going when we die. God bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Sunday morning the 12th of November 2023, and this is your friend Angus Buchan with a thought for today. We start with Isaiah 3:10:

"Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them,
For they shall eat the fruit of their doings."

Then we go to Psalm 128:1 

"Blessed is every one who fears the Lord,
Who walks in His ways."

These two scriptures are very straightforward and very simple to understand. Even a small child can understand them. What the Lord is saying to us this morning is: Just do the right thing. No shortcuts to success, no ducking and diving, no bending the rules or telling white lies. You see, we might fool some of the people sometimes, but we can never fool all of the people all of the time - and we will never fool God.

You know, shortcuts are not normally the quickest way home. Every time I've tried to take one, I always get stuck in the mud. Let's do it the right way. Why don't we hit the reset button and start again? Say, "Lord, I'm choosing today to start doing things Your way. Not to impress the Receiver of Revenue, not to impress anybody, but to do it because You promised me that if I do it the right way, then You, Lord, will reward me and my family."

Started living righteous and godly lives. With Jesus in our corner, we cannot fail. Romans 8:31:

"If God is for us, who can be against us?"

Now, all of a sudden, the rain will start falling on your crops. Your dams will overflow, and your relationships will be restored. Your cattle will be fat, and your family will love and respect you. Let's do it today. Let's hit that reset button. Why don't you pray this prayer with me:

Heavenly Father, please forgive me for trying to do things my own way. They have failed miserably, but today, Lord, I will start to do things in a godly, righteous way. I'm going to pay my debts. I'm going to love my family. I'm going to take care of those whom I'm looking after correctly, and Lord, I know that you will do the rest in Jesus' Name, amen. 

Have a wonderful Sunday as you contemplate what you are going to start doing as of Monday morning. Jesus bless you, and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 11th of November, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Hebrews 11:8: 

"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. "

God always honours faith. You know, when you think about it, Abraham was a farmer. He left everything. He took his wife, workers, and animals and left everything. He didn't even know where he was going. He went because God told him. Remember, a good idea is not always a God idea, and a need does not justify a call. So you don't just do it. You do it because God tells you to.  

I am sitting in my prayer room here, thinking very affectionately of the Mighty Men phenomenon because that is what it is. There are Mighty Men Conferences all over the globe. I got a letter the other day from a very dear son of mine in the Lord, telling me that they are calling him to Fiji. They are calling him to the South Sea Islands of New Caledonia. They want Mighty Men Conferences, and we praise God for that. I have seen such sights! I will never forget 2010 on this farm, some 450,000 men assembled here for the weekend. It was something supernatural, but it didn't start that way. It started with a word from the Lord 20 years ago: "I want you to mentor men."  

In my heart, God gave me that scripture, and this is the outcome. You know the thing that touches me greatly about this move of God, is that it is not underwritten by some big denomination of some huge organisation. No, it's ordinary men, just like the farmer, Abraham, who take the initiative. In 2010, I told the men, "I am passing on the batten to you. You need to carry it on now. I am stopping (and many of them were unhappy to have me stop). I said, "I am stopping because God said this is the last one", and then ordinary men, like Abraham, went when God said go, they went.

Going to these Mighty Men Conferences is so exciting for me because it is not about numbers. It is about obedience and to see each one has its own flavour and thumbprint - as one man said - completely different. There are miners, farmers, businessmen, professional sportsmen, and teachers - all kinds of men, backed by their wives, of course, and they step out of the boat. They cry, they phone me and say they don't know if it is going to work, and I say, "Go, if God told you to go." Then, of course the great day arrives, and all the cars come in, and the trucks and motorbikes, and there is dust in the air, and there is blood, sweat and tears, and then the Power of God comes down. It is something to behold. If God has told you to go, if God has told you to do something, do it, and I tell you what, He will honour you every time because God honours the prayer of faith.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.