Thought For Today

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 3rd of March, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Psalms 94:19:

“In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.” 

Are you feeling anxious today? Are you feeling that your thoughts are running amok? Well, the Lord’s got a very good message for you. We go to Isaiah 26:3: 

“You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.”

Today, we need to put our trust in the Lord. Is your mind racing this morning? Are you feeling totally overwhelmed? “Lord, I can’t do this.” Are your busy thoughts totally out of control? Oh, I understand so well how you are feeling this morning. I cast my mind back to an event we had a few years ago when I was about to walk onto the platform and address over one million people live, a sight I will never forget. But I had to come aside and be quiet on my own. My mind was racing, all kinds of thoughts coming into my mind. All things having to remember, so much to remember, and I felt the Holy Spirit say, “Come aside and I will give you My peace.” Do you know that beautiful scripture, John 14:27:

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

Sitting there quietly, collecting my thoughts, concentrating on the Lord Jesus Christ and His call upon my life, not being persuaded by the devil that I will never make it, the people will not listen to me, they will go home - no, none of that rubbish! Concentrating, the Lord said, “I called you, I anointed you, I appointed you for a time such as this”, and then I walk onto that platform with Jesus standing right next to me, almost physically, and the confidence, and the joy and the peace of God overflows my soul.

Do it today, you will be surprised how your attitude will change immediately!

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

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

We start in the Gospel of Mark 13:32:

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” 

No one knows the time when He is returning, not even Jesus. We need to be careful that we are not fooled by a man who says he knows when the Lord is coming back. The truth is not in him because the Bible tells us not even the angels in Heaven, not even Jesus Himself knows the hour. Don’t be fooled!

You know the gypsy that goes along with his little painted wagon with his wife and children, along the country roads, that beautiful painted wagon, pulled by the horse, he comes to the farmer’s gate and he says, “Have you got anything for me to repair?” He normally sharpens knives, he repairs pots and pans and he sells all kinds of trinkets for the children and his wife says, “I can tell your fortune.” And the housewife is fooled, the husband is working in the field and she sits down with her crystal ball and she starts looking into the ball and she tells the housewife everything she wants to know. ”You are going to have a lot of prosperity, things are going to go well, you are going to write a book, you are going to be famous.” Then the housewife says, “How can you prove to me that you know what is going on?”

You see, the gypsy’s wife is very clever. Before she knocked on the door, she went around the back and she saw all the washing on the line. She saw the husband’s overalls, she saw two little dresses, one probably for a girl about fourteen and another about ten, and a little boy’s trousers - must have been two or three years old, and she tells the gullible housewife, “Oh yes, I know that you are married.” 

She said, “How did you know that?”

“Oh no, I know, and your husband is a big man.”

“Yes, that is right, he is!”

“And you have got two daughters, one is about fourteen and the other about…” and the lady is sucked in by lies.

But on a serious note, you say, “Well, what can we do if we don’t know when the Lord is coming back?” Well, if we look at Mark 13:37, the Lord Jesus says: “

And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”  

That is what we have got to do, watch and pray. We have got to be ready for the coming of the Lord. Oh, for me it couldn’t be soon enough, but let’s carry on and let’s work hard like He is coming in a thousand years, but let’s be prepared so that even if He comes tomorrow morning, we will be ready.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 1st of March, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start off in the Book of Isaiah 55:8. The Lord says:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.”

If we go to the Book of Micah 4:12:

“But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord,…” 

Folks, we must stop arguing with God. You know, Job, the farmer, I can identify with that man so much. Job was arguing with God, remember? You can go to Job 38 and you will see where the Lord has had enough of the arguments, enough of the senseless continually questioning God instead of believing Him. He says: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?”  I just love it - He says, “Stand up like a man and I will question you.” Maybe God is going to question you today, my dear friend, and say, “Where were you when God created? How dare you question God and His integrity and His authority. Let’s stop questioning God and let’s start believing God. 

You see, it’s also okay when people come to you and they ask you, “How can God allow this to happen?” You can say, “I don’t know” because you are not God, but that is the time that we can say like the farmer Job when he came to his senses, he said, “Even though He slay me, even though He kills me, yet will I still trust Him”, (Job 13:15), because he knew the heart of God.

Corrie Ten Boom is one of my heroes, that Dutch lady that was put in a concentration camp with her old dad and her sister, Betsy, and her dad died within weeks and Betsy got sick. She was a Christian and Corrie was nursing her on her lap and she was dying, and Corrie was so upset about what was happening. “God, where are You? How can You let this happen to my sister?” And she heard a little voice whispering. She looked down, it was her sister, and the little voice said, “Corrie, if you know Him, you do not have to ask why.”

Let’s stop arguing with God today and start believing Him because He always has our best interests at heart.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 28th of February, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the Gospel of Mark 13:13. Jesus says:

“But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

That very same scripture you can find in the Gospel of Matthew 10:22:

“But he who endures to the end will be saved.” 

Now, the Amplified Version says, but the one who [patiently perseveres empowered by the Holy Spirit and] endures to the end, he will be saved.

There was a missionary going back home who had been in the Congo in Africa for over 40 years, preaching the Gospel, praying for the sick, building churches, schools, and hospitals, and now he was on his way home. He got onto the ship and eventually the ship arrived in America. He went in, through the gates, passed the Statue of Liberty. He came to the dock. He was standing at the back of the ship with his little suitcase all by himself, but on that same ship was a team of football players. They had just come back from Europe. They had won the championship and all of their supporters were there. Streamers were being thrown over the ship, hooters were being blown, people were singing and praising this football team that came back with the cup, and the poor old missionary who spent his whole life preaching the Gospel to the poor, and he stood at the back of the ship holding his little suitcase, all by himself.  

He looked up and he cried out to the Lord. He said, “Lord, my whole life has been dedicated to You. There is not one person here to welcome me home, and then he heard a small voice of the Holy Spirit saying, “But son, you haven’t got home yet. Wait for the reward when you get home to Heaven.”

Today, persevere. Let the Holy Spirit empower you to finish the job which the Lord called you to do for Him. 

God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 27th of February, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the Gospel of Mark 12:42 (Amp.Version): “

A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a mite.”

Then we go on a little bit to verse 44, and Jesus said:

“For they all contributed from their surplus, but she, from her poverty, put in all she had, all she had to live on.”

Folks, a very small coin, worth a fraction of a penny. Now, some young people don’t even know what a penny is anymore, but the older people listening to this message, if you look at the picture, you will see I took a photograph of a one penny, a South African coin minted in 1946. You see, people often give from their overflow. That old lady gave from her very substance. She gave the very money that she had left. 

God doesn’t need your money, God doesn’t need my money, He wants our attitude, He wants our heart. Some of the most generous people I have met in my life are wealthy people. It is not about the money, it's about the heart of the thing. When we give, we must give not expecting a return. You see, when you give to a poor person, it is as if you are giving to God because there is no return from that person, and God knows that. That is why He says in Matthew 25:40:

”…inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”

Aah but folks, come on now, we know the heart of our God. Our God is a giver, He gave us His only begotten Son so that we, you and I, would have eternal life. You see, God is a giver by nature. So we don’t give to God like an investment, like we want something back. No, we give to God because we love Him. If you want an investment back, go and give your money to a bank or an insurance company where you will get a return. When you give to God, no strings attached. You give it to Him because you love Him, but He will give it back to you, pressed down, shaken together and running over.

Jesus bless you and have a great day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 26th of February, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the Gospel of John 19:38:

”After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly,…”

Folks, I have the privilege of participating in a funeral service but the lady that we are going to remember is not famous, no. She is a mother, the wife of a minister. She has brought up children and grandchildren. Yes, she’s a washer of dishes, a cleaner of the house, the one that makes the beds every day. Yes, she is a band of one of the feet washers that no one ever hears about, but what a lady! If you think about it, everybody knows who C H Surgeon is. He is called the Prince of Preachers. At 21 years old they built the London Tabernacle for him that could seat 10 000 people but no one knows about the farm worker that was preaching one Sunday night in a terrible snow storm this young man was trying to seek refuge, he wasn’t going to church, and he slipped into the back of the church, where the farmworker, nobody knows what his name was, was preaching the Gospel, but that young man heard one verse, “Look unto me and be saved”. His life was changed. Yes, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, but you don’t know the name of that farmworker. No, he was just an ordinary person. 

What about Mordecai Ham? How’s that for a mouthful? Mordecai Ham -  do you know who Mordecai Ham was? No, of course you don’t, but I want to tell you that Mordecai Ham was preaching. He was a country evangelist, and he was preaching one night and a young boy, 16 years old, came into the meeting. His whole ambition was to be a professional baseball player. He heard the word, came forward, gave his life to Christ. Yes, I’m talking about Billy Graham, probably the greatest of all modern day evangelists! 

Then of course we’re talking about Joseph of Arimathea, a businessman. Yes, when all of the disciples fled and left Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea, took his reputation and his life in his hands and asked Pontius Pilate if he could take the body of Christ off the cross. He put the body of our beloved Master in his own personal grave - Joseph of Arimathea. These are a band of feet washers.

This lady I’m talking about, Marion, was the wife of the man who ran the church where my wife Jill and I got saved 46 years ago. I remember her very well, just a lovely, beautiful person. We always felt welcome in her home. She had a lot to do with our conversion and walk with Christ. She is now receiving her reward from Jesus in heaven. Don’t despise the feet washers.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, 
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 25th of February, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the Book of Jonah 4:1:

”But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry.”

Then we go straight to the Book of Luke 15:28:

“But he was angry and would not go in.”

Jonah was so upset because the whole city of Nineveh got saved from their wicked ways. He was very upset about it. He said, ”It’s not fair.” Have you been like that? What about the young son, the two boys? The one was an absolute rebel, a prodigal son, he went off into the far country, wasted all his money, came back and his father loved him. The older son never went anywhere. He stayed at home, worked hard, he was a good boy, and there was his father having a beautiful banquet because his lost son had come home. He was very angry about it. He wouldn’t even go into the party. The Bible tells us that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. ”Oh but it’s not fair.” Oh folks, we need to be very compassionate with people who come to Christ at a late stage in their lives.

We praise God through Jesus Christ our Lord, that we serve a God who is a Friend of sinners, a God who is slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness. That’s what Jonah said about the Lord and the Lord relented. It means He changed His mind. He did not blot out Nineveh off the face of the earth. No, He relented. He changed His mind and He gave them a second chance and He did it because Jonah went and gave them an opportunity, but Jonah couldn’t see what he had done. He was just upset because they got saved. Have you ever been in that situation? 

You know, I remember when my children were quite young. One of my daughters, when she was a beautiful young teenager, came to me and said, ”Dad, you know, I don’t have a testimony, like some of these other people I read about -  you know, of an alcoholic turning to Christ and being completely set free, of a drug addict, of a prostitute coming to Christ, of a thief being in jail, coming out, changing his whole life and coming miraculously to Jesus.” I said to her, ”Oh my sweetheart, you have no idea what these people have been through before they come to Christ, the pain, the shame, the guilt that they’ve had to go through, the grace of Christ that they have to lean on in order to get through one day at a time.

If you come from a Christian home you should be so happy and you should go and thank your parents that they’ve brought you up and spared you from the ravages of the devil. Today, do not be sad, do not be resentful that you haven’t got a testimony. You’ve got a fantastic testimony. Just keep telling people about Jesus! 

Until next time, God bless you and goodbye. 

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 24th of February, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Jonah 3:10:

”Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented (He changed His mind) from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.” 

Jonah went to Ninevah. Ninevah was a massive city, it took three days just to walk across the city. The King and all his people repented and God saved them. Then we go to the most well-known scripture in the whole Bible, John 3:16:

”For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Then verse 17 says:

”For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” 

God of mercy! The Lord loves us so much today, my dear friend. He loves us so much that He sent Jesus to save us. You know, Jesus is the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd left the ninety-nine sheep to go and find that one lost sheep. Maybe you are that lost sheep this morning and the Lord is crying out to you and saying, ”Turn from your wicked ways, follow me, I will forgive you. I will heal you and I will give you eternal life.”

A while ago we got a letter sent to us in the office by an old gentleman who had written to us. He said he’s very lonely, he lives all by himself. He’s coming to see us and I felt the Holy Spirit say that Jill and I must rather go and see him. So we got the details of where he lived and we went to visit this old gentleman and I want to tell you, what a lovely old man. I will never forget that afternoon we spent with him. It took us three hours to find his farm. The road was so overgrown that I could hardly find my way to his home. He’s living there all by himself with his little dog, and when we arrived at the gate, he came out of his house and he was astonished. He looked at me and he couldn’t believe it. He said, “Why have you come to see me?” I said, "Because sir, God told us to come and see you.” He was totally overwhelmed. You know, we could hardly get away from him that afternoon. He gave my wife three beautiful swans. His wife had died, you see, and these little ornaments obviously were special to his wife and she had died two years before, and he lived in that little house all by himself. 

I want to say to you today, go out and find the lost. Jonah didn’t want to go to Ninevah, but the Lord said he must go and He pursued Jonah until He went, and the whole city was saved. 

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 23rd of February, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in Psalm 18:6:

“In my distress…” (are you distressed today, my friend?) 

“In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.”

Isn’t that a wonderful thing to know, that the Lord is hearing every one of our cries? Then we go straight to the Gospel of Matthew 8:25. The disciples are also very distressed because the boat that they were travelling in was about to sink in the middle of Lake Galilee:

”Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” 

Call out to the Lord Jesus Christ today, my dear friend, and He will hear you in your depths of despair. Call upon His name and He will undertake. I looked up in the dictionary “distress” means extreme pain, unhappiness, suffering, agony, or danger. Are you feeling like that today? Well then, this message is for you and the Lord is saying to you today clearly, “Call upon My name, I am listening.” Despair means complete loss or absence of hope. It causes depression, misery, causes one to give up, to lose heart. Are you there today? 

Oh, I know it well. I have been in that position myself, many times. I have shared that story with you, it is in the movie, “Faith like Potatoes”, when that fire was going to jump over the fence from our farm and go into a massive forest of pine trees and I was totally stressed out. That is the honest truth. I was a brand-new Christian, and I remembered, the Lord said, “Call to me when you are in times of despair and distress." I got on my knees in the dust and I said, “Please Lord, help me. If this fire jumps into the neighbour’s pine plantation, we will be ruined.” And what happened? The wind changed, gentle rain came up from the south and the Lord put that fire out.

Today, He will put the fire out in your life. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it is a sick child, maybe it is a work situation, maybe it is a financial problem. Today, call on His name. He saved the disciples, the boat did not sink, and He also saved David, “the apple of His eye”, as He called out in his distress. 

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 22nd of February, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in the Book of Jonah 1:12:

“Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.” - 

Dying to self, preferring your fellow man. Then we go to John 11:50 and of course, the chief priest, Caiaphas, did not even know what he was talking about when he said:

”…one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” 

He was talking about Jesus. Jesus Christ was sacrificed for you and me, my dear friend. You see, Jonah knew that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and so in order to save those crewmen and to save the ship he said, ”Please throw me overboard.” When the high priest soldiers came into the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus, you know what He did? Yes, the same thing that He always does. He said, ”Let these go their way I am the one that you want.” (John 18:8) He was prepared to sacrifice His life for you and for me.

I’m just thinking of William Carey, that country boy from England, who went all the way with his young wife and children to India to preach the Gospel. He became a great Bible translator. He translated the Bible from English into many other languages. Sanskrit was a very difficult language. This man was uneducated, but He did it for the sake of the Gospel but it cost him dearly. He lost his wife, she died there and some of his children. He paid an incredible price. 

Jim Elliot went to the Amazon jungle to preach the Gospel, and at the age of 29 years old, he was murdered, but through his death, many came to Christ. He said, ”It is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Today, you and I, let us lay our lives down for our fellow man and then we will really start living for Christ.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.