Thought For Today

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 13th of March, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Proverbs 10:19:

“In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.”

Then we go to the New Testament to the Gospel of Mark 14:61:

”But He kept silent and answered nothing.”

That was Jesus Christ when He was being interviewed and He responded by saying nothing. You know, this message probably applies to me more than it applies to you but we need to sometimes keep silent. Jesus never wasted His words. His speech was always “yes” or “no”, but nothing in between. He was decisive. You and I need to become more like that; it will cost us much less pain and confusion. We need to learn to measure our words. Do you know that international wars have started through foolish words? I know of marriages that have been destroyed by men and women who cannot control their tongues. We need to be careful. Many marriages have been destroyed through foolish words. If we haven’t got anything good to say about someone, then we'd rather not say a word. 

The Wesley brothers, John and Charles Wesley, were instrumental by God to start one of the biggest revivals the world has ever known. Charles was the hymn-writer. Some of the most beautiful hymns that we sing were written by Charles Wesley, and John was the evangelist. Charles used to often say about his brother, “If you want to keep a secret then don’t tell my brother.” I hope my wife is not listening to this message today.

Billy Graham is an evangelist that I have a great respect for. He has literally touched millions and millions of lives all over the world. He wrote his autobiography called, “Just as I am.” It is a very heart-wrenching book because he kept nothing back. He said it all. Right at the back of his book he has a chapter that speaks about regrets. He said, “I have a few regrets”, he said, “one of them is, if I had to do it again I would speak less, I would study more, I would pray more.”

I want to say to you today, “Let’s keep silent and only speak when we really have to.”

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 12th of March, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

I want us to read from the Gospel of John 21:24:

“This is the disciple who testifies of these things,…” 

That was John, he was giving a testimony - the power of personal testimony! I want to say something to you my dear friends. Every one of us is called to testify for what Jesus Christ has done in our lives. I mean after all, that is what preaching is, is it not? I love Charles Swindell, and I read something he wrote once. He said there are different types of people giving testimonies. He said there is the “eager beaver” approach where there is no follow-up. You have got to be saved and that’s it and away you walk. There is the “varsity approach” which is all about discussion and talking about the things of the Word but no opportunity for the person to get saved. Then there is the “silent approach”. Well, you have just got to live the life, you have just got to relax and people will see Christ in you but that is where it stops. No folks, he says we have got to be available, we have got to be Spirit-led, we have got to be obedient and timing is so important. We have got to be sensitive and we have got to get to the point and stop arguing. 

I love that little story of Gypsy Smith, the evangelist (His name was Rodney Smith actually). He used to ride around England in his little painted wagon with his horse pulling that wagon. He would stop on open common ground, and crowds of up to 10,000 people would come and listen to him bringing the word of God. One day when he had finished preaching, a lay-preacher came up to him and said to him, “I really admire the way you just keep on preaching, you never seem to get tired. You know, I have preached the Gospel from Genesis through to Revelation and I am so tired and I have got nothing left. What must I do?” Gypsy Smith said to him, “Just keep telling them what Jesus Christ means to you.” That is what preaching the Gospel is, spending time telling people what Jesus means to you. You see, that is the personal testimony. 

As you know, we have got a movie called Faith Like Potatoes, that’s all it is, it is our testimony, myself, my wife, my family and my friends. Today go out and testify about the goodness of God in your life.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

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

We start off in that very well-known scripture, Romans 8:1:

”There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,…” 

What a beautiful promise! Then we go to 1 Peter 5:7:

”…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

You see the devil condemns us. Put that baggage down, that burden, that guilt, that insecurity, that fear. Put it down, give it to Jesus. Just after I gave my life to Christ, I had been very burdened up until then with responsibilities. I had a big family, five young children, a farm that I had to pay off. I put a wonderful crop in but every afternoon at four o’clock, those black rolling clouds would come across my maize crop and there was a green tinge in them, often representing hailstones, and I would go into a bit of a tailspin panic, but the one day I was walking through my fields and the penny dropped. I realised that when I gave my life to Christ, I gave Him everything. I gave Him my family, I gave Him my career, I gave Him my life. I gave Him everything, even the maize crop. I gave it to the Lord and I realised I was no longer responsible for the outcome of this wonderful crop of maize because I was merely the Lord’s manager. He was the owner because I had given everything to Him.

Do you know the freedom that came upon me? I was so free. I thought, “Lord, if this crop gets wiped out by hail then it’s Your crop and I’m Yours, my family’s Yours, therefore You’ve got another plan for me.” Folks, I want to tell you it set me free.

Today, cast your cares upon Jesus because He cares for you and when He took your sin, He said there is no more condemnation. Just move on for the Lord and He will take care of the rest.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, 
Goodbye.

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

We start in the Gospel of Mark 14:41:

“Then He came the third time (that’s Jesus) and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough!” 

Folks, it’s wake up time. There is no time left for sleeping! Jesus is coming back very soon. Then we go straight to 1 Peter 5:8:

“Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.” (AMP Bible)

We need to wake up. We need to take authority in our homes. Really folks, we need to tell our children, “In this house, we are Christians, in this house we don’t do things like that, in this house we are followers of Jesus Christ. You will pray and we will spend time with the Lord and you will not bring that filth into this house.”

“Aah, but dad, everybody else is doing that.”

“It doesn’t matter - not in this house!”  We have to look after our families. Jesus says, “Stop sleeping, it is enough.” 

Remember - it might be your business, “Well whatever will be, will be.” Well, that’s not the attitude. Stand up like a man and get back into the fight. Remember, the best form of defence is attack. If the Lord is on your side, you have nothing to fear. Don’t listen to the lies of the devil which are defeat - “You will never make it, you are washed up, you are done.” Don’t listen to that. Remember the word of the Lord. You see, that thing that you fear is not going to go away by having a sleep - no, no, no! You have got stand up, face the enemy eye to eye and say, “This far and no further”. 

Draw a line in the sand. But how are we going to do this? I will tell you how you are going to do it - by prayer. You see, Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane when the disciples were sleeping. Three times He came and said, “Watch and pray.” Folks, I am telling you now, you need to watch and pray. Gentlemen, you need to get out of bed in the morning, you need to be on your knees praying for your beloved wife and your children. Yes, it’s not your wife’s job, it’s your job. Children, you need to pray for your parents. Oh yes, they need help. You need to pray for your headmaster and your teacher. You need to pray for your friends, and Jesus will undertake.

God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

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

We start in the Book of Nahum 1:15:

”Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good tidings, who proclaims peace!”

Good news! We go to Romans 10:15:

”And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:…” Here we go again”… How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” 

I remember when my second son was born. I was sitting in the hospital. In those days we never went in when the mother was having the baby and I waited for good news and the good news was that I had just had my second son born. Folks, I want to tell you, I got in my pick up and I drove home and I told all my staff on the farm, ”Today is good news. I’ve got a new baby boy. He is born and so everyone can have the day off.” And we had a celebration time.

The good news is that Jesus Christ is alive, oh yes. He’s not a figment of our imagination. He is more real to me than you listening to this very message and the good news is we have to tell everybody. Yes, I know the bad news is when you see what is happening around the world and we have to be aware of that. We cannot be like the proverbial ostrich that hides his head in the sand, but on the other hand, we have good news!

If you look at Hebrews 13:5, The Lord says:

…“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Isn’t that good news? And what about that young man whose business is struggling, that lady who doesn’t know when she’s going to get food to feed her children? The Lord says in Philippians 4:19:

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

That is good news.

Now go out and tell people the good news. If Christ be for us, who can possibly stand against us?

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, 
Goodbye.

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

We go straight to the Gospel of Mark 14:32:

”Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 

What do we do when we are in our time of extreme pain, extreme suffering? What do we do when we are in our Gethsemane? Well, we do exactly what Jesus did. We pray. We pray for our sick child; we pray for the prodigal son or daughter to come home; we pray for the business that is in dire straits; we pray for our marriage that is falling apart; we pray for the weather. “Why?” you might ask. Well, that’s exactly what Jesus did. You see, He won’t necessarily take us out of the fire but He will walk with you and with me right through the middle of the fire. 

Remember, He said to His Father in Mark 14:36

“Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”

Jesus did not want to go to the cross. He knew what was waiting for Him. You do not want to go through the fire you are experiencing at this moment but can you and I pray, ”Lord not my will but Yours be done” Today, you and I need to pray and then we need to drink of the cup. It’s not the cup of prosperity I’m talking about. No, it’s the cup of suffering. But if you pray and walk with Jesus, He won’t take you out of the fire, no, He never promised that. He will walk with you through the fire and bring you out on the other side. 

I always tell my wife Jill, when you are going down a country road and there’s been heavy rain and there’s a huge amount of water in the middle of the road, you do not go around the edge of the water, you will get stuck in the mud. You go straight through the middle of the puddle. Why? Because there is hard ground underneath. That’s why the water is lying there. Today, drink of the cup and know that Jesus will bring you safely out of the other side.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

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

We go straight to the Gospel of John 3:16 (AMP Version):

“For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Saviour] shall not perish, but have eternal life.” 

My dear friend, what a blessing, the whole Bible in one verse! I want to speak to you this morning about salvation. Another word for salvation is “a ticket to Heaven”, yes - being rescued from going to hell. Abundant life (John 10:10).

Many years ago I went to bonny Scotland to go and have a look at where my ancestors came from. I, myself, am an African, born and bred in Central Africa, but I went to a little village called Buchan Haven, the name of my family, and in that little village there is a hall they called Rescue Hall, a little Christian church, Rescue Hall. What a beautiful name. Now that little village was full of fishermen, I have never seen so many Buchans in my life, a very quaint little village, but a lot of tragedy there from fishermen who go out into the North Sea, into the freezing cold, up to the Arctic Circle, looking for fish so that they can feed their families, pay their debts, educate their children and work hard - Buchan Haven. There is a statue of a woman, a mother with a little child hanging onto her skirts. She has got her hand up and she is looking out into the perilous North Sea to see if her husband, and the rest of the fishermen, are coming home on the fishing boats. 

I want to tell you today, maybe you need to be rescued from the perilous seas of this life in which we are living. If you are, then look to the Lord. Look to the Lord and He will save you, like He continually saved those brave fishermen and those brave women who prayed for their men to come home. Rescue Hall is a place I preached in and many people have been saved in that wonderful place.

Today, look to the Lord and let Him save you from the perilous seas of life.
Jesus bless you and goodbye.

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

We go to 2 Corinthians 12:9:

”…but He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough—always available—regardless of the situation]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness.” Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ [may completely enfold me and] may dwell in me.”

When I am weak, then I am strong.

I want to ask you today, at the moment, are you going through a really rough time? Then, this beautiful scripture verse will strengthen you. You see, Paul had a thorn in his flesh and he asked the Lord three times to remove it. The Lord did not remove it. He said, “My grace, My undeserved loving kindness, is enough for you.” You say, “But I can’t take it anymore.” Oh, but you can and you must. You see, by His grace, He will see you through but you must let Jesus help you. Verse 10 says,

”For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

You see, the stiff upper-lip, “cowboys don’t cry”, “do it my way”, doesn’t work. I have tried it many times. I remember as a young farmer planting my crop of maize, the planting time is crucial. My tractors broke down, I didn’t know what to do and then I heard the noise of tractors coming over the hill. My neighbours had seen what had happened. They saw that I was at the end of my tether, I couldn’t anymore. They sent their tractors over and completed the planting of the crop for me. It was very humbling, but I was so grateful. Humble yourself, ask the Lord to help you and then carry on and God will send help to you. He always has for me and it is always at the 11th hour. As you can hear by my voice, at the moment I have got a bit of a frog in my throat, but by His grace, the next time you hear me I will be clear as a bell.

Jesus bless you as you continue to look to Jesus, and Him alone, for your help.

Goodbye.

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

We start in the Gospel of Mark 14:9. Jesus said:

”Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

What had she done? She had taken a flask of very expensive perfume, she had broken it and poured it all over our beloved Master, and straight away the disciples rebuked her but especially Judas Iscariot. He had an ulterior motive, he wanted that money for himself. 

But folks, I just want to say to you today because God has convicted me, we must be very careful that the work of the Lord does not become more important than the Lord of the work. Do you understand what I am saying? So, you are doing great things for Jesus - you are feeding the poor, you are looking after the sick, you are looking after the old age people, the orphans and the widows, but at what expense? It must never be at the expense of denying time with Jesus, giving Him first place in your life. You and I are not hirelings, we are not working for a wage, no - we are sons and daughters of the living God and we have to spend time with our beloved Jesus. That woman got it right, the disciples got it wrong. They said that that flask of expensive perfume should be sold and the money should be taken and given to the poor. The Lord says, “You will have the poor with you forever but I will not be with you for much longer.” 

How much time are you spending with Jesus at the moment and how much time are you spending doing good works? We must be careful. You know, I had a massive 20-ton truck. We call it the seed-sower. We took food, we took clothes, and we took Bibles into Africa, right into the rural areas. Some places where those little children had never even seen a white person before, but you know, they would clamour, they would even fight, I saw it with my own eyes, for a Bible. Yes, they enjoyed the food and they appreciated the clothes but what they wanted was the Word of God. They knew that was where their hope was. 

Lloyd George was a British prime minister, many years ago, and it is recorded, he said, “Education without Christ makes clever little devils.” Now, that is not a joke, you can educate somebody but if you don’t tell them about Jesus, what have you got? You have got nothing. And that is what happens, many times we put the work ahead of the Lord of the work. 1 Corinthians 13, that famous chapter about love, of course you can spell love, J-e-s-u-s, that is what Jesus is. I want to tell you something now, it says clearly in verse 3 of that very chapter,

“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, (have not Jesus) it profits me nothing.”

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

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

We go straight to the Gospel of John 8:44. Jesus said to the pharisees:

”You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” 

The devil is the father of all lies. Then we go to Revelation 20:10:

“The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone…” 

The devil is a robber. He is a liar and the father of all lies. Folks, his neck was broken when Jesus said, on the cross of Calvary, “It is finished!” The victory is ours. The only thing the devil can do to you and me is to tell us lies, and if we believe him, he will kill us with his lies, but he cannot touch us physically because he is defeated. We need to understand this.

You know, what you believe can actually make or break your quality of life. Fear of God’s final judgement, rejection - a lot of people are afraid to die because they don’t know what is going to happen. Now I want to tell you, the Lord is not here to condemn us. Okay? It couldn’t be further from the truth. Jesus has paid for all of our sins. Romans 8:1:

”There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,…” 

Do not allow the devil to rob you of your joy, of your peace, and most of all, your relationship with Jesus today. Remember, our faith impacts the quality of our lives. Folks, I am talking particularly this morning to young people, scholars, and students, where the devil is telling you you’ll never make it, you will never pass. Do you know that Abraham Lincoln is rated as one of the greatest presidents that America has ever had? I don’t think he had more than two or three years education. Don’t underestimate what God can do through you if you trust Him. Winston Churchill, they tell me that his father back-handed the establishment to push his son through the different grades because he wasn’t interested. Some rate him as one of the greatest orators that has ever lived. What about Helen Roseveare, that missionary who came to the Congo? She taught orderlies, you know, the cleaners - she taught them how to do operations. God has given you a brain. Use it - don’t listen to the lies of the devil! 

Jesus bless you and goodbye.