Thought For Today

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Saturday morning, its the 21st of October, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Isaiah 61:3 in the Old Testament: 

"The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;…"  

Then we go to the New Testament, to the Book of Acts 16:25-26: 

"But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed." 

The power of praise! How are you feeling this morning? Are you feeling downcast or heavy-hearted? I know, I know - I feel like that as well, oh yes, I do indeed, but how do we combat that heaviness, that dark cloud that descends upon us? Sometimes, we can't even explain it - everything is going well but there is just a heaviness. Well, we do exactly what Paul and Silas did in that horrible, dirty, dark dungeon. We start to praise the Lord! We praise the Lord especially when we do not feel like it. It is like trying to get fit when you are in the gym and you are training hard for a race or some sport. It is always the times that you don't feel like training that it does you the best. Isn't that right? Normally when you say, "I do not feel like getting up this morning and going to the gym", that's when you must do it. Well, the same thing applies when you don't feel like praising the Lord; thats when you praise Him, especially when we are going through hard times. That is what lifts us up, lifts our spirits when we praise Him unconditionally. 

I have just returned from a mountain bike ride early this morning. There was nobody anywhere to be seen hardly, and I started to sing praises to the Lord on my mountain bike. I am sure if anybody saw me, they would have thought I had lost my marbles, but you know, the more I praised the Lord, the lighter my spirit became, and I started to focus on positive things, like soon, very soon, the Lord is coming back to take us home to be with Him in Heaven. I started to focus on the fact that the Lord promised me, "I will never leave you, I will never forsake you." I began to focus on things like, "I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me," and my heart just lifted up. For I am confident of this very thing that He who has begun a good work in me shall perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.  

Go out today and praise Him because He is a good God and because He deserves it and He is worthy of it. 

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 20th of October, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Hebrews 5:9 in the New Testament:

“And having been perfected, He (that’s Jesus) became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, …’

Yes, although He was God’s only Son, Jesus went through all the suffering on earth and learned obedience and trust in His Father. He wasn’t exempt. He didn’t just arrive on earth. No, He went through every trial and every tribulation that you and I are going through at this moment. Even as He was perfected, He became the way to eternal salvation to all who obey Him. Now, in John 14:6, we know that scripture so well - Jesus Himself said: 

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  

When we are lost, when we are afraid, when we are in the bush - as a young man, it has happened to me before - I am sure it has happened to you. Maybe you got lost in a concrete jungle. That would be even more scary, especially for me as a farmer. Your water has run out; you are hungry, tired, and lost hope of ever finding your way out. Have you ever been in that situation? Then all of a sudden, a local tribesman stumbles upon you. He’s a seasoned man, he is tough, he knows the terrain, maybe he's a Khoisan Bushman, and that big smile comes over his face, he gently takes you by the hand and points the way out of that harsh environment. After giving you some fresh water to drink, he reassures you that you have nothing whatsoever to be afraid of and he leads you home. That is exactly what Father God has done for you and me. He saw how lost we were. He sent His Son down from Heaven to Earth to rescue us and show us the way out of this jungle we are trapped in. 

Listen to Jesus today because He knows the way home and He will show you the way home to eternity.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

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

We go to the Song of Songs 6:3 in the Old Testament,

"I am my beloved's,
And my beloved is mine."

What a beautiful statement! It is written no less than three times in the Book Song of Songs. We need to ask ourselves a serious question this morning, is He our beloved or not, or are we just going through the motions? Maybe the cares of this world have robbed us of our intimacy, our first love with the Lover of our souls? How personal is that love affair that you and I have with our Lord Jesus? 

Remember, Jesus is the Saviour of the whole world but He is also the Saviour of the individual. He knows how many hairs are on our heads. Isn't that incredible? When we eventually meet Him face to face in Heaven one day, He is going to greet us personally by our first names. That's right - He is not going to welcome us into Heaven like flocks of sheep or herds of cattle. No, He is going to say, "Welcome home, Johnny!" "Oh, Mary, welcome home!" 

Looking at the Gospel of John 1:47-48, we can see how personal the Lord is within every individual. 

"Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"

Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?"

Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."

That changed Nathanael's whole life. That's when he became a Christian, "Lord, how did You know me? You have never even seen me before in Your life?" It's so nice, isn't it, when someone remembers you by your first name? It just does something to you. I bought a beautiful silver ring for my wife, Jill, when I was in Israel one time, and the inscription on the inside of the ring says, "I am my beloved's, And my beloved is mine."

Today, please, do not lose that personal, intimate relationship with Jesus. He is waiting to speak to you. 

God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

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

We start in the Gospel of Luke 14:28-29: 

"For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,…" 

We need to finish the job. We need to sit down, count the cost, roll up our sleeves, get stuck, and finish what we started. You know, when I was a little boy, my dad would never allow me to have any dessert or pudding until I had finished what was on my plate. He said, "You can eat as much as you want, but you must finish it." I can hear some little guy say, "I always take too much on my plate." Well, that is the problem - when you put food on that plate, you must finish it. 

I remember one of our early Mighty Men Conferences on the farm here at Shalom. It was a Saturday evening, and maybe some of the mighty men listening to this were there. About 600 of us were in the hall, and the Holy Spirit visited us tremendously. I will never forget it as long as I live. That particular meeting started at about 2 p.m. and finished at 8:30 p.m. Men were convicted of all kinds of sin in their lives. It was a wonderful time of repenting, asking forgiveness and starting again. One young farmer got up and came up to the platform and he confessed in front of all of us. He said, "I started building a church on my farm. I got as far as the foundation, I laid the concrete slab to start building the walls, but I never got any further. I am going back home to finish the job. I am going to build that church."

Today, I want to say to you, finish what God has given you to do and then He will give you another project, but He will not give you anything else until you finish the first one. 

Have a wonderful day,
Jesus bless you and goodbye.

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

If we go to the last book in the Bible, the Book of Revelation 3:20. Jesus says: 

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."  

Is the Lord knocking at our door this morning? I am sure He is. Now, remember, we need to open the door. Our Lord Jesus Christ is a gentleman, He will not break the door of your heart or mine to come in. No, we have to turn the handle and open the door - and by the way, the handle is on the inside, there is no handle on the outside - we need to open the door of our lives and let the Master in - that is what He is saying. He wants to come in and have fellowship with you and me. The Darling of Heaven wants to come into your heart and help you. Don't wait. If we do, we will only regret it. 

A good friend of mine, the Founder of Africa Enterprise, Michael Cassidy, told me a story. He said when he was at university in England, I can't remember whether it was Oxford or Cambridge, he would travel past the rooms of a tutor who would encourage and teach the students privately. He would go past the rooms of this man many, many times and was tempted to knock on the door and go in and spend time with him, but he never did it. That man was none other than C S Lewis, who wrote books like Mere Christianity, The Screw-tape Letters, Narnia, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, and many, many others. Michael would pass by his rooms and not go in and meet this giant of the faith, I am sure one of his greatest regrets.  

Do not pass the opportunity today to meet with the King of Glory, Jesus Christ! He is standing at the door of our hearts. He is knocking. He says, "Open the door please, I want to come in and I want to dine with you." Let's do it today.

Jesus bless you,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Monday morning, the 16th of October 2023, and this is your friend Angus Buchan with a thought for the day. We go to Luke 15:7:

"I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance."

The other scripture is found in Romans 10:13:

 For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

This morning, I want to speak to you about the God of the individual. Yes, Jesus preached to the masses but also talked to the individual sinner. Remember the woman at the well? First of all, she wasn't a Jew. Secondly, she was a woman. He shouldn't have been talking to her, but when He told her her whole life story, she went into the village, and the entire village was converted. 

What about the case of that little short man who went up the sycamore tree, the chief tax collector? Jesus was found in his house - the disciples said, "Lord, do you know that man is? You can't go in there - That man is a sinner. He is stealing money from his people." Jesus said I came for the sick, not for the healthy. What about Mary Magdalene? A woman of ill repute, a woman with a bad reputation. A woman whom Jesus cast seven demons out of, but she became the most faithful of all the disciples.

Do not give up today on your loved one. Do not give up on that son, that daughter - that prodigal who has gone into the far country. Keep loving them, keep praying for them, keep speaking to them. Remember, Jesus also died for them; don't give up on your miracle. Do you know that some of the best Ambassadors in the faith are those who have come out of the grind of the pressures of daily life and business, and when they come through for the Lord, they are incredible, incredible witnesses for Christ?

Concentrate on the individual, and the Lord Jesus Christ will take care of the rest. God bless you and have a wonderful day. Goodbye

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 15th of October 2023, and this is your friend Angus Buchan, with a thought for the day. We start with Psalm 95:8, the Lord says:

"Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness, 

Then we go straight to Hebrews 3:15:

"Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."

Now, the Lord is talking about the children of Israel who spent 40 years in the wilderness and their Hearts were hardened, God was displeased with them, and none of them entered into the land of Promise, the Land of Milk and Honey - the land of Israel, except two: Joshua and Caleb.

We need to guard our hearts this morning. Please do not allow it to become polluted by what is happening in this unjust world at the moment. Remember, the wellspring of your life is your heart; you need to guard it. Proverbs 16:22 says:

"Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it."

We need to guard it with our lives. Do not allow bitterness, anger, evil thoughts, or unforgiveness to muddy the wellspring of your heart - protect it with your life. That's why farmers, when we see a fountain in a field, a beautiful spring of water coming out of the ground, we fence it off so that the animals do not go in there and pollute it when they want to drink water. We take that beautiful water and pipe it out of the spring, through the fence and into a beautiful water trough where they can drink as much water as they need.

My late dad was a prisoner of war in Germany, and he said he saw Men of the Cloth, ministers, take off their dog collars and throw them away in the prisoner of war camp when they saw the horrors that happened there, and said there is no god. Their hearts became hardened because of the situation that they were in. Do not allow that to happen to you today. We need to focus on the things of God. The Lord says that he is our helper, and the Lord says He will never forsake us - We need to take that to heart. The Lord has warned us about these things. You can see it in John 16:33. We must guard our hearts and lift our eyes to the soon-coming King.

My dear friend, spend time with the Lord today and strengthen your inner man. He is coming soon. Jesus bless you, and goodbye.

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

We start in the Book of Hebrews 2:18: 

"For in that He Himself (thats Jesus) has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted." 

Yes, He knows. Maybe this morning, my dear friend, you are feeling deserted. Maybe today you are saying, "My marriage is in a complete mess and there seems to be no hope for me" maybe you are facing bankruptcy in your business, maybe you have been to the doctor and he says, "There is no more we can do for you. You need to go home and make yourself comfortable." There is One who knows exactly what you are going through at the moment, and I want to give a word of caution to people who have a habit of saying, "I understand", especially when you have no idea what that person is going through. Please don't say that. It is like pouring petrol onto the fire. Rather, put your arm around them and love them if you don't understand. 

Many years ago, when I was still comparatively young as an evangelist, I went overseas with my oldest daughter and preached the Gospel for three months. Three months away from home, three months away from my young wife and small children. Yes, I had a man on the farm, a brother in Christ who did the farming while I did the preaching. After three months of preaching in Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland, in prisons and in fellowships, wherever I got an opportunity, I was terribly homesick. Eventually, after three months, when the mission was over, we came back home. I want to be honest with you, I hit a brick wall. Now, I should have been rejoicing. I saw many souls come to Christ, and I saw many miracles take place, but when I came home, my dear wife had to carry on with the work on the farm. She was signing all the cheques - we used to sign cheques in those days. She had to organise the children for school. My brother in Christ, who was looking after the farm, was carrying on with the farming. Even my little Staffordshire Bull Terrier walked past me. He didn't recognise me anymore, and I really went into a deep pit, actually, and people didn't seem to understand what I was going through, not even my family.

One day, I went to visit an old gentleman, an old evangelist who had been preaching the Gospel most of his life. I went and sat down with him and said, "Uncle Gerhard" - his name was Gerhard Engelbrecht - I said, "I have come to see you because I don't know what is wrong with me. I should be rejoicing. We have had wonderful victories overseas, but I feel so down and flat." You know, that old gentleman never said a word. He looked at me, and just smiled and as he smiled, I knew instantly that he understood what I had been through because, you see, he had walked that road himself as a young evangelist.  

I want to say to you today, remember Jesus knows. Take your problems to Him and He will comfort you.  

Have a wonderful day, 
God bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Friday morning, the 13th of October, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to Isaiah 26:9 in the Old Testament:

"With my soul I have desired You in the night,
Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early;…"

Then we go straight to the Gospel of Matthew 7:7-8, and I am reading out of the New Living Translation: 

"Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."

I just feel I am speaking to somebody, particularly this morning, who has decided to give up. "I can't take it anymore. It's too much for me", and you want to give up your vision and dream. You do not realise, my dear friend, just how close you are to receiving your dream. Now, you know the old saying, "A faint heart never gained a fair maiden"? I remember a young man who was very close to me. He came into my house one day and was very tearful. I said, "What's wrong?" He said, "The young lady I have been pursuing has found somebody else." I asked him, "Is she wearing an engagement ring?" He said, "No". I said, "Get back in there!" He did; he has married her, and they have two beautiful sons. They are very much in love.

You know, at 15 years old, I so desired to become a preacher of the Gospel. I went to visit the minister of our local church in Central Africa where I grew up, and I told him my dreams, and he said, "But you have to go to university and get a degree in theology first." Well, you know I didn't have the qualifications to get into university, and what did I do? I did the unforgivable. I gave up, and I went into the far country literally and became a prodigal son, but praise God, Jesus Christ never gave up on me. I want to tell you I am preaching now with all of my heart, and I am receiving more than I ever thought, in a million years, that I would receive from the Lord. 

Do not give up today. Get back in the fight, get back in the race, and the Lord will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

Jesus bless you and have a lovely day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 12th of October, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start with Psalm 34:19: 

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.”  

Then we go to the New Testament to the Gospel of John 16:33, Jesus said: 

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Oh my dear friend, my heart is heavy when I hear about what is happening in the Middle East. Like never before, you and I need to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). I really want to exhort you to lift up the Middle East and all its peoples. That the Lord would undertake and stop this carnage which is destroying the area. But you and I have got to be an element of peace in this time because people are losing perspective, people are panicking, people are depressed. There is no peace. 

Now, you and I are representing the only true Peacemaker on earth. Yes, I am talking about our beloved Lord Jesus Christ. He said in 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 and neither let it be afraid.”

You and I need to be like lighthouses in a stormy night. We need to be very careful that the ships do not get caught up on the rocks and get broken into pieces. We need to shine brightly, we need people to understand that ultimately, at the end of the day, the Lord is still in control. He is coming back and He is coming back to set the record straight, but in the meantime, you and I need to purvey a spirit, a fragrance of peace wherever we go today. People will be drawn to us like bees are drawn to a honeypot when they sense the real peace of Jesus Christ coming out of each and every one of us. 

Let us keep focus today. Let us keep our eyes on the Master and He will direct our paths and those of the widow and the orphan and the old and the frail. Today, remember that Jesus is still on the throne. 

God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.