Thought For Today

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 11th of July, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Gospel of Matthew 12:30:

“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”

Then we go to the Gospel of Luke 11:23, and Jesus says exactly the same thing. He says:

“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.” 

We cannot serve two masters. Either we are for the Lord or we are against the Lord. There is no middle ground. The Lord says in the Book of Revelation, “If you are lukewarm, a compromiser, I will spew you out of My mouth.” Strong words, and like never before in the world, we have got to be definite and intentional when it comes to our faith. I am thinking of children at school, particularly, under tremendous pressure to compromise and say, “Yes, all roads lead to Heaven.” According to our Bible they do not. Jesus says, “I am the way,…” John 14:6. We need to stand tall for the Lord like never before. So, by doing nothing, the Lord says we are actually against Him. 

When somebody asks you, “Are you a follower of Christ?”, you have to say “yes” or “no”.  You can’t say, “Well, you know, I believe in all gods.” We don’t actually, and that is why we get persecuted so much. I think again of those incredible men, those migrant workers who were working in Libya when they were caught by ISIS, marched to the edge of the Mediterranean Sea and given an opportunity to deny Christ. If they had relented they would have lived, but they didn’t, and one by one they were killed. But what really touched me was that one of them was a migrant worker from Ghana, from Africa, and they said, “Who are you serving?” And this is all on video, folks. He said, “I am with them.’

Understand very clearly, if you want power and peace and joy in your heart, you need to stand for Christ. You need to be definite, and that will give you the peace, the ability and the power, to walk this road with Jesus. Have a blessed day as you stand tall for the King of Kings, the soon-coming Saviour of the world.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 10th of July, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the first book of the Bible. Genesis 21:6:

“God has made me laugh,…” This is Sarah speaking, ”…and all who hear will laugh with me.”

Then we go to a very well-known scripture in Nehemiah 8:10:

”Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

How are you feeling this morning? Are you sad, are you disappointed, are you fearful? I want to tell you that Sarah went through all those things and even more. Then, eventually, the Lord gave her a son, and Abraham named him Isaac. Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was in her late 90’s and she laughed and they all laughed with her. I want to say to you today, “Laugh at your problems because the devil is a liar, a thief and a bully, and he will pull you down as much as he can and he will tell you, 'It can’t happen, you have lost it, it is too late.” Its a lie, laugh at him in his face, and I want to tell you something now. That will give you strength. The joy of the Lord is our strength. 

I think of that movie, The Sound of Music. I am talking to young people. If you haven’t watched that movie, you need to watch it. It is a good story, its a true story about a girl named Maria. Maria just loved singing, she was always on the mountain tops, she was appreciating God’s creation, but Maria was also late. She was late for the church services. She always had to ask for forgiveness from the Mother Superior, and Maria makes me laugh. Despite of all her shortfalls, in spite of all her mistakes, when she ran into a place, everybody started laughing. I want to say to you today, laugh at your problem, because you know something? God has got a solution for you and He has got an answer, and if you do not lose heart and if you keep your faith in Him, He will bring it to pass, just like he gave that old lady, Sarah, a beautiful baby.

Jesus bless you and have a happy day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 9th of July, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go straight to the Gospel of Luke 11:2-4:

“So He said to them, “When you pray, say: 
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.”

We are talking this morning about the Lord’s Prayer because I can hear somebody saying, ”I don’t know how to pray.” Well, that’s exactly what the disciples said to Jesus, “Lord, teach us how to pray like John taught his disciples.” And the Lord says, ”and this is how you shall pray.” It’s not about the eloquence. It’s about the heart.

I remember when Jill and I first got saved, yes, not far off fifty years now! We were counselled in a counselling room after we’d made our commitment and they said, ”Come back next Wednesday night and we’re going to start. We’re going to have a Bible study.” We all sat in a circle. I’ll never forget it. I was so nervous. The leader, I don’t even know who the man was, I can’t remember, said, ”We are going to start off by praying. How many of you know how to pray?” And of course, we went very quiet, all of us. There were about twelve of us there and he said, ”I’m going to start on this side and just pray. Now praying is speaking to Jesus, so speak to Jesus.”

Well, I want to tell you, I was very nervous and I prayed a prayer, a simple prayer, but there was one man sitting in the circle, his name was John. You could see had been through fire of life and his prayer was, ”Oh God, please help me!” That’s all he prayed. I’ve never forgotten that prayer, from the heart, desperate, calling out to his newly found Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Today, just speak to the Lord. That’s what prayer is. Tell Him your troubles, tell Him about your successes, tell Him about your ambitions, your visions, your future, and I want to tell you, it becomes a wonderful relationship. As I finish this message, I’m going to get on my bicycle and I’m going to go for a ride and I’m going to speak to Jesus, thank Him for His beautiful creation, the bush around us, the wild birds, the animals. That is what prayer is about and I know, when I come back from my ride, I will be like a new man. Do it today - in fact do it every day!

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 8th of July, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the Gospel of Luke 10:37:

And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” 

Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan. Remember how he took care of the man that was stranded? He put him up in a hotel, paid for him, made sure that all his wounds were healed, gave him his own donkey to get to the hotel, and then told the inn keeper, ”And by the way, if you are short, on my way back from Jerusalem I’ll square you up.” That’s literally the story in a nutshell.

Now, my dear wife, Jill, and I have been in Central Africa and I want to tell you, I am so excited to know that there are many Good Samaritans in this world. Not everyone is out to do you down. We were driving in a very isolated area on a Sunday afternoon, heading towards our destination, which we didn’t even know existed, and a car came up alongside us and waved us down. There were young men in that car - well dressed, in a very fancy car. They said, ”Stop! You have got a blowout in your camping vehicle.” I couldn’t believe my eyes. I stopped and they stopped as well. I said, ”Could you please help me?” They said, ”No problem.” 

They took off their fancy clothes. They got underneath the camper, they jacked it up. They took off the wheel which was blown completely. They took the other wheel off the back of the camper and they carefully bolted it onto the vehicle and they made sure that everything was put back correctly, the jack, the spanners - and they did it just because they wanted to help us. We were able to give them a beautiful Bible, just as a token of our appreciation. 

That is an act that I believe Jesus Christ wants to see you and I doing, not turning and looking the other way. We went on and a few days later, yes, we had another problem with the camper. We went into a little garage and there the man was busy stripping an engine. I said, ”I’ve got a problem, sir. Can you please help us? We are from South Africa.” No problem. He took us into his little coffee shop, made us at home, told the man to make us a meal, got underneath the camper and in no time he had replaced that broken part and wished us well. We were so grateful and thankful.

Folks, today, let’s be Good Samaritans. Let’s not always want payment for what we do. Let us do good as unto the Lord and Jesus Christ will reward us just like He did the Good Samaritan. 

Jesus bless you richly today, have a wonderful day, 
Goodbye. 

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 7th of July, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the Book of Exodus 6:7. The Lord says:

“I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”

Then we go to that very well-known scripture that I love so much found in Romans 10:13. The Lord says:

For “whoever (that means you sir, that means you madam)…whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

We serve such a merciful God, such a forgiving God, it makes me weep sometimes. I read very recently the account where Abraham said to the Lord, “Lord, if there were 50 righteous men in Sodom and Gomorrah, would You save the city?” The Lord said He would and he said, “What if there were 30? What if there were 20? What about if there were 10 righteous men in that city, would You save the city for the sake of those 10?” And He said He would. 

I don’t know who I am talking to this morning but I feel I am talking to someone who is very burdened and heavy-laden who feels not worthy to call upon the Lord because you have disappointed God, you have broken some commandment, you know it, you did it willingly and now you’ve realised what you have done. I want to say to you, own up, say sorry, truly repent, and God will forgive you. I don’t care who you are, and then there might be some Pharisees, some self-righteous, “No, no, you can’t do that.” Yes, you can. 

The Lord said, in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world…” Who is the world? It’s you, it’s me, it’s the one who dropped the ball, it’s the one who told that lie, it’s the one who has taken something that doesn’t belong to you. Take it back, say sorry, repent and get on with your life. The Lord says that He would save a whole city for the sake of 10 righteous men. There is not one person listening to this programme today who is righteous in their own strength, no, not one, but it is by grace. What is grace? Undeserved, loving kindness, unmerited favour, that is what grace means. We don’t deserve it but because He loves us and He says, “I am your God and I will help you, and I will take you out of your predicament.” But we must do it God’s way and then He will be free to set us alive, to give us new hope and a new beginning.

Jesus bless you richly! Remember, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Just say sorry, ask God to help you, and He will see you through. 

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 6th of July, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Genesis 18:19:

”For I have known him,…” This is what the Lord is saying about Abraham, ”…in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord,…” 

We have an obligation, moms and dads. I’m talking to single parents, as well, to direct our children in the ways of the Lord.

Then we go to John 15:16, and the Lord says:

”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.”

Wow, what a beautiful promise! You see, God chose Abraham, Abraham didn’t choose God. God saw Abraham as an obedient man and He trusted him, and said he in turn must bring up his children and his household in the things of God. You and I have to do exactly the same. We must bring our children up in the ways of the Lord, the Bible says, and when they grow old, they will not depart from them. Now Dad, Mom, there comes a time in each family where the son or the daughter has come of age, then we need to understand that we have done as much as we can to bring them up in the ways of the Lord, then they have to go ahead on their own and do the job.

I remember a sad story of one farmer, in fact two farmers, not related. The one farmer had to wait until he was 60 years old before his father released the reigns to him to continue with the farm. The father was 90 years old. Now the sad part of that story is, by the time a man gets to 60, if he hasn’t realised his vision, the stuffing has been knocked out of him, excuse the pun. He has no desire to do anything because he has no vision, because when he was young and he was ready for it, his dad would not hand it over to him. 

I remember watching the life story of Henry Ford, and in the movie, his son went and built a beautiful motor car, a two-toned coloured motor car. He put a tarpaulin over it and then came and asked his dad to come with him. He wanted to show him what he had made. He pulled the tarpaulin off and this magnificent car was in the workshop. His dad was jealous, you see, he took a hammer that was standing by, a fourteen-pound hammer and bashed that car into pieces, but what he didn’t realise was that not only did he break the car into pieces, he broke his son’s heart into pieces as well.

Today, give your son, your daughter, an opportunity to show you what they can do. You’ve done the groundwork, let them take it to the next level.

God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 5th of July, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go straight to the Gospel of Luke 10:20:

”Nevertheless…” (Jesus says), ”… do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” 

Folks, this is a beautiful scripture. You know, when you stand before the Lord one day, the greatest thing you want to hear from God is, ”Well done, good and faithful servant, come and enter into thy rest.” The one thing you don’t want to hear is, ”Who are you? Depart from Me, I never knew you.” 

The disciples had returned. They said to Jesus, ”Even the evil spirits, we cast them out and they go.” Jesus says, ”That’s wonderful,” He said, ”But rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Isn’t it a beautiful thing? You walk into someone’s house, or into a business, and the person says, ”Hello John, hello Jack!” It makes you feel so good because he remembered you, and he remembered your name. Names are very important to me because I know they mean a lot to people. When you say, ”Hello brother, hello sister,” then you know they’ve forgotten your name, but when we stand before the Lord one day and He says, ”Welcome home!”- that is going to be the most incredible message to hear out of the mouth of God. He knows me! 

I want to ask you today, do you know Him personally as your Lord and Saviour? You might say: ”Look, I know about Him, Angus. My family are Christians, my grandfather was a great preacher.”  
No, but I’m saying, do you know Him? 
“Well, I hope so.” 
No, that’s not good enough.

So how can we be sure that God will recognise us when we get to Heaven? Well, the Bible says in Romans 10:9:

”that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” 

Now what I want to do is pray with you and maybe you say, ”I’ve prayed that prayer before.” Well, maybe you want to do it again today because I tell you what, I pray that prayer constantly. Pray this prayer after me.

Dear Lord Jesus, 

Today I want to be sure that when I die and I go to Heaven that You will recognise me and call me by my name, that You will say, ”Welcome home!” And I ask today Lord, that You confirm that, as I would confess You as my Lord and my Saviour, my only God, and the One who died for my sins on the Cross of Calvary. 

I ask these things in Jesus’ name.
Amen

God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 4th of July, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go straight to the first book of the Bible, Genesis 18:14:

”Is anything too hard for the Lord? “ 

That is a question that God asked Sarah when He told Abraham and Sarah they were going to have a baby, and Sarah was well past childbearing. She even giggled. She said, ”Is it possible for an old woman like me to conceive and to bear a child?”

I want to say something to a lady listening to this programme today. There is nothing which is too hard for God. What we need to do is ask Him. We need to thank Him in faith, and then we need to trust Him for our miracle. He is the miracle-working God. That I know for sure. There are so many miracles that have happened in my life that I cannot even remember all of them.

The one thing that restricts the moving of the Spirit of God is unbelief. That’s the only time you tie God’s hands and He can’t work, if you don’t believe. So, I’m going to pray for you at the end of this programme, that God will give you an extra portion of faith to believe for that baby in your life, young lady. I want to agree with you that God will give you the desires of your heart as you delight in Him. You’ll find that in Psalm 37:4.

I’m talking to that young man who is starting his business, and he just cannot see any way through; that young farmer who is facing a horrific drought or a problem with his crops; I’m talking about that young student who is getting ready to write his finals, and he doesn’t think he can do it. You can - only believe!

Now, how do we get that kind of faith? Well, the Bible tells us in Romans 10:17:

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

I am speaking to you today and I am quoting the word of God. Now believe it. Don’t doubt! Believe it and you will receive the thing which you are trusting God for. 

Father, 

I pray for my dear friends listening to this programme early this morning, 
that You will indeed honour the promise that You have given to them if they will only believe.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, 
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 3rd of July, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (Amplified Version): 

“…but just as it is written [in Scripture], “
Things which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard, 
And which have not entered the heart of man, 
All that God has prepared for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, who obey Him, and who gratefully recognise the benefits that He has bestowed].”
For God has unveiled them and revealed them to us through the [Holy] Spirit;…” 

Oh folks. We need to open our eyes. We need to get out of that little matchbox mentality and we need to realise Who it is that you and I are serving! 

I have just had the privilege of seeing one of the wonders of the world. Yes, I’m talking about the Victoria Falls, where millions of tons of water are going over the edge of a depression in the ground. You see, in order to have a waterfall, you’ve got to have a mountain so the waterfall can caress down the mountain, but this is not the case with the Victoria Falls. If you’ve never been here, it is flat. There are no mountains here at all, so what has happened? Well, from a distance, you see a cloud in the sky. You think it’s a cloud but it’s not a cloud, it’s just the mist from this incredible waterfall cascading into the depths of a literal cavity in the ground. Now, as a little boy coming from Central Africa, I’ve seen it many times, but you see the Lord talks about the Spirit of God that opens our spiritual eyes to see it in a different context. Oh folks. How can you believe that this happened by coincidence? No, this is the handwork of a mighty God!

Now, what is it in your life today that you feel is too big for your God to handle? There is nothing too hard for God. That’s what the Lord said to Sarah when she was close to a hundred years old and He said, ”You’re going to have a baby.” I mean, it’s impossible, but for God nothing is impossible. 

I want to tell you, I stood on the edge of that Victoria Falls. I got absolutely soaked by rain, but the rain wasn’t coming from the clouds. There were no clouds. It was coming from the mist that this incredible waterfall was making. Today, open your spiritual eyes and see what God has in store for you, and it will lift you. It will build your faith and you’ll start to believe for the impossible.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, 
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 2nd of July, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the Gospel of Luke 15:13:

“And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.”

That’s a sad story, and unfortunately, it's very common, isn’t it? This young man was the younger son of a farmer who had two sons. The older son remained at home and continued working hard. The younger son wasn’t satisfied. He was rebellious. Yes, he refused to submit. He said to his father, “I want my inheritance now.” Maybe his father had to go to the bank and get an overdraft in order to pay out his younger son. Nevertheless, he did it, and the younger son went off. However, the next part of the story is very sad because he lost everything he had because he would not listen to his father. 

I saw something not so long ago when I was in Central Africa. I was in a beautiful little village. We went to a camping site and I went for a long walk in the morning. I took my staff and was walking along the road when I saw something I had never seen before. I saw a donkey tied up to a horse, around the neck, and the horse had a bell hanging from his neck. So wherever the horse went the bell was ringing and I wandered, being a farmer myself and a horse man, I wandered what was going on, but I could see the donkey was not very happy at all, but the horse was continuing to graze and the two of them were pulling each other along. 

Then I saw some stockmen and said to them, “What is happening here? Why are you doing this?” They said, “Well, this horse is a very stubborn and difficult animal.” The people in the rural areas had no fences to keep their animals in, so the horse would be off, running away, so they tied the horse to that donkey and the donkey lived in that village and he wasn’t going to run away. And I said, “How long do you do that for?” They said, “Up to three months” and then eventually they release the horse from the donkey and that horse doesn’t run away. 

I want to say to you today, you can either submit to the Lord gladly and willingly and learn, or you can be rebellious like that horse, and the Lord will allow things to happen to you, and you ask, “God, why are You doing this?” No, God is not doing it. You are bringing it on yourself because you will not submit to the principles that the Lord has put in the Bible for us.

Today, just submit and you will find that your life will be much more pleasant and successful.
Jesus bless you and goodbye.