Thought For Today

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 14th of November, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start with the most well-known scripture in the whole Bible. John 3:16. We all know it, say it with me:

”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.” 

I want to speak to you today about the greatest miracle that has ever happened in the world. Now, when it comes to miracles, St. Augustine said, ”Miracles are not in contradiction to nature. They are only in contradiction with what we know of nature.” I really like that. Be careful folks, that we don’t get too clever and try to explain everything. You can’t explain a miracle. 

I looked up the Oxford dictionary to find out the literal meaning of the word, “miracle”. This is what it says: “A welcome event that is so extraordinary it is thought to be the work of God or a saint. It is amazing, astounding, remarkable, extraordinary, incredible, unbelievable, sensational and phenomenal.”

Now, the greatest miracle of all is Christmas. We are in the Christmas season, Immanuel - It means God with us. Now seven hundred years before Jesus was born, Isaiah 7:14, tells us about the virgin birth of Jesus. A virgin is a woman who has never slept with a man, and the Bible tells us in Isaiah, seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, that a young maiden will become pregnant with a baby, without knowing a man, and that baby’s name will be Jesus and we can see confirmation of that in Matthew 1:23. 

I want to sat to you today my dear friend, if you cannot believe in miracles you cannot believe the Bible. The Bible is one miracle. The Gospel of John 1:1:

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

When an atheist says to you they don’t believe in God and you ask them, ”Well how did everything come into being?” And they will say to you, ”With a Big Bang.” Then you need to ask them, ”Who made the big bang?” It was God. 

In the beginning was the Word and you’ll find that your strength will be built up if you believe Romans 10:17:

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

Jesus bless you at this Christmas season, 
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 13th of November, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in 2 Kings 6:17.

"Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. ”Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

Then we go to Genesis 33:1:

“Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men.” 

We need to open our spiritual eyes and we also need to always remember, if we are followers of Jesus Christ there are always more who are for us than those who are against us. 

F B Meyer was a great preacher and he said, “Do not lift up your eyes and look for Esau’s. Those who look for troubles will not be long without finding trouble to look at. Lift them higher to Him from whom our help comes, then you will be able to meet your troubles with an unperturbed spirit. Those who have seen the face of God need not fear the face of man that shall die. To have power with God is to have power over all the evils that threaten us." Isn’t that a beautiful promise? You know, the very thing you are afraid of might never take place.

Now we go back to the story of Jacob and Esau. You see, Jacob had been very unkind to Esau, he had cheated Esau of his inheritance, and there comes his brother Esau with 400 men. Jacob thought it was payback time, he was petrified, he put his family behind him and he thought, “Well, here we go!” And what happened? Esau ran over to him and hugged him and loved him. The very thing that he was afraid of was actually nothing to be afraid of because his brother was coming to love him. Maybe today there is something in your life which is really making you so fearful. I want to suggest to you, lift up your eyes a bit higher, just like Elijah’s servant. Elijah prayed, “Lord, open his eyes and let him see that there are more who are for us than those against us - chariots of fire all around the mountain! I want to tell you, if God is on your side - you have got nothing to fear!

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 12th of November, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Judges 7:7:

”Then the Lord said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you,…”

Then we go straight to the Gospel of Matthew 26:56:

”Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.”

Have you ever felt deserted? Oh well, go to Jesus, He understands. Have you ever felt that everybody’s left you. Go to Jesus, He understands. I don’t think there’s anything more ugly than self-preservation. It can be such a terrible thing, and that’s what happened. All the disciples fled and left the Master on His own when He needed them the most. Peter followed Him at a distance. You can read that in verse 58. What about Gideon? He started with 32,000 fighting men. He ended up with 300 men. 

I believe the Lord is saying to you and me this morning that it’s not about man’s approval. It’s about the vision which God has given to you and I to perform. You see, Jesus was sent by His Heavenly Father on a mission, to save the world from it’s sin, and nothing was going to stand in His way. Irrespective if no one was going with Him, He was still going. If we are depending on man’s support, if  we are depending on man’s approval, we will be sorely disappointed. 

James Hudson Taylor took the Gospel to China. He went alone. He had no support. There was no big organisation paying his way. I want to tell you the biggest revival in the world today is happening in the underground church, that’s right. China is not supporting Christianity. Something like 60 million believing Christians and counting. One man - he had no support but God gave him a vision.

What about William Carey? William Carey went to the board, he said, ”I believe we need to go and take the Gospel to India.” Some of the long grey beards stood up and said, ”Listen, if India needs to be saved, God will do it. He doesn’t need you.” Can you believe it? That didn’t stop William Carey. He went to India. He translated the Bible from English into all the major Indian languages - a man that was on a mission. 

Make sure today that you have a clear word from God for whatever mission you want to accomplish and then go for it.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 11th of November, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the Gospel of Matthew 26:52:

”But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.”

We must put away the sword. Jesus says if we refuse to put away that sword, we will die by that sword. This morning, the Lord spoke so clearly into my heart while I was preparing. This message is very important, my dear friend. I’m not talking about the war between Ukraine and Russia, the war between Israel and Iran. Although we are praying about all those situations. I’m talking about the war at home. I’m talking about the war in your marriage. The Lord says, ”Put away the sword.” You see, it takes two to have a sword fight, you can’t fight by yourself. Put the sword away. It might save your marriage. 

Your children, you are continually fighting with your children. Put the sword away. Your business partner, it’s going to blow up and it’s going to destroy your business, which is doing so well at the moment because you just can’t get on together. Put the sword away!

Now I can hear you say to me, ”But Angus, how can we do that? I’ve got my rights.” Well, if you are a child of God you don’t have any rights. You surrendered your rights the day that you gave your life to Christ. You see the Lord said to Peter, He said, ”I can call down a legion of angels,” He said, “They can literally obliterate these soldiers, but I haven’t.”

I want to say to you, try prayer. Yes, try praying, not necessary out loud but in your heart before you say something. Try a gentle answer. The Bible says it will defuse an explosion. Try tears - yes, compassion - see where the other person is coming from and weep for them if necessary. Try sitting down and having a nice cup of tea with that person. Let’s just talk and pray about this thing. You’ll get up feeling much better.  

Do not throw everything you have worked for, do not throw it away in a moment of anger by striking the servant’s ear off like Peter did. It achieves absolutely nothing. 

Jesus bless you as you put the sword away, 
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 10th of November, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go straight to 1 Peter 5:5:

“God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 

I read a beautiful little reading this morning in my quiet time by a man by the name of Thomas Champness, and it goes like this: “Is it not one of the great difficulties of church work that we have more officers than men?” How true is that? “We need more of the rank and file who are willing to march anywhere and to do the lowliest of tasks. We shall succeed in doing greater things when all are willing to be subjects. It is the bayonet rather than the gold braid which is needed when the enemy is to be subdued. “

You know, Count Zinzendorf was the founder of the Moravian Movement, an incredible missionary movement, and John Wesley, the great English preacher, who by the way, had a Master of Theology degree from Oxford University. He wanted to learn more and went across to Germany, to Count Zinzendorf’s farm, hoping to be taught, and you know what Count Zinzendorf did? He put Wesley to work in his garden. Wesley was most put out and he stayed there for a long time. Humility is what we need in the Kingdom of God.

William Duma, that wonderful Zulu preacher, was invited to Zambia in the early days. He was to preach at a conventional Baptist Church where you come in at the back and walk down the aisle to the pulpit in the front. 9 o’clock arrived and there was no preacher and they were looking everywhere, and the pastor thought, “I better pull out a sermon because he is not coming.” Then they heard a little knock. It was at the backdoor where the servant comes in on a Monday morning to sweep out the church and the pastor went through the curtain to the back, opened the door and there was the man of God. Humility!

Of course, the greatest example of all is our beloved Saviour, Jesus Christ, who was a foot-washer. Let’s be feet washers today.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 9th of November, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start off in the Book of Ezekiel 37:3;

”And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”

Then we go to John 5:21, and Jesus says;

”For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.”

Amazing Grace! Jesus doesn’t do a patch up job. Oh no. He does a brand new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17, one of my favourite scripture verses in the whole Bible, and I’m going to read it out of the New King James Version for you:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

What a beautiful promise! The old life is gone, the old order has vanished, we are new creations in Christ Jesus. Now remember, if Jesus can save a detestable slave ship captain like John Newton, then He can save a wretch like you and one like me. Probably the most famous hymn ever written is Amazing Grace. Do you know what grace means? It means undeserved loving kindness, unmerited favour. We don’t deserve it but because He loves us, He’s taken that bag of bones and He’s made us into new people. It’s worth singing about. Shall we sing that beautiful hymn together? Amazing Grace. This is how it goes:

Amazing grace, How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

When we've been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, 
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 8th of November, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the Gospel of John 8:9:

“And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.” 

Alone with Jesus, what a special time of the day! It must become your most privileged time of the day, a time never to be neglected, my dear friend. Maybe we feel a little nervous or shy being alone with Jesus, a bit like when you went out on your first date. Can you remember that? When you had to get all dressed up smartly to try and impress that young lady or that young lady putting on her best dress and asking her mom, ”Do I look all right because he’s coming to fetch me in a few moment's time.”

Aah, but when you’ve spent many years and you’re married and you’ve got children and maybe even grandchildren, aah, it is so beautiful to know each other, to be in each other’s presence, and so it is when you’ve walked with the Master for many years. You can’t wait to be with Him in the early morning before the noise and the distractions of this world take away your attention from the lover of your soul. Do not waste precious time. Savour these moments because they might even save your life. He is gentle to your troubled soul. He will give you clear direction and even confidence and peace in your heart before you have to face the day.  

You say, ”But I get very busy and I don’t have a time to spend with the Lord.“ Oh, you need to get up earlier in the morning, my dear friend. Yes, that is one appointment you must never neglect. That is the very appointment that could save your life. You see, Jesus was left alone standing with that woman. She was the woman that the Pharisees accused of being an adulterer but Jesus said, ”Woman, where are your accusers?” And she said, ”No one Lord.” And he said, ”Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

That’s what the Lord wants to do for you and I today. He wants to sit with us alone, He wants to encourage us, He wants to love us, He wants to direct us. He’s a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He’s not the accuser, the accuser is the devil. 

Early in the morning, spend time alone with Jesus. It will change your life.
Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the of 7th November, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Isaiah 64:4:

”For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him.”

Did you hear that, “Who acts for the one who waits for Him.” Then we go to the 1 Corinthians 2:9-10:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.”

The only qualification required to succeed in this life is very simple. It is to love Him. That’s all. It’s not a doctorate in university. It’s not a fancy degree. No, it is just to love Him. The Lord says eye hasn’t seen, ear hasn’t heard, nor has entered into the heart of a man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.

That little boy with the two sardines and the five small barley loaves of bread, he loved Jesus. Jesus said, ”Has anybody got any food around here?” And he said, ”Yes, I have.” And he took his little lunchbox that his mother had made for him, enough for one little boy to eat. He gave it to Jesus and what did He do? He fed five thousand people. Today, God wants to use you. 

When Moses met with the Lord at the burning bush and the Lord said, ”Go and set my people free.” He said, ”I’ve got nothing, what can I use” He said, ”What have you got in your hand?” He said, ”A stick.” He said, ”Good, use it.” He became probably the greatest leader in the history of the world. He took a whole nation through the desert for forty years and delivered them right to the edge of the River Jordan and then the Lord allowed Joshua to take them across. Today the Lord is speaking into your heart. My dear friend, pick yourself up. Understand that there is nothing too hard for those who would choose to love the Lord. 

I’ve been doing a bit of research. I’ve been looking at ten of the wealthiest Christians in the world, and you’ll be surprised how they started. There’s a man in Scotland, his name is Robert Todd. He’s a strawberry farmer. He read a book called, ”Faith like Potatoes." He decided to close his shop on Sundays. He had a massive farm store. His employees said, ”You’ll go bankrupt.” He said, ”No, on the Sabbath, I’m going to rest.” You know something? His turnover doubled. 

Today, open your heart to Jesus and let Him use you for the furtherance of His kingdom.

God bless you, goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 6th of November, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Ezekiel 36:26:

”I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

Then we go to 2 Corinthians 5:17, a very well known scripture, one of my favourites, and this is what it says:

”Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

A new heart! You know, fifty-two years ago, on the 3rd of December, 1967, the first heart transplant was performed by Dr Christiaan Barnard in Cape Town. The whole world was ecstatic. A man who was dying of heart failure, his old heart was taken out of him, and someone else who had donated their heart was put into this man and he lived. I want to tell you, today that’s still the greatest miracle of all, the most beautiful thing to see is someone who has had a change of heart, where the Lord Jesus Christ has performed spiritual surgery in a man’s heart.

I love the story of Zacchaeus, that little short man who climbed up the wild fig tree, the sycamore tree to see Jesus coming into Jericho. Jesus looked up into the tree and said, ”Zacchaeus I’m coming to your house today. I’m coming to have a meal with you.” Zacchaeus was overwhelmed. You see, he was a bad man, folks. He was a thief, he even stole from his own people. He was a tax collector. He called all the other tax collectors together. They came to Zacchaeus’ house and what happened? There was a heart transplant. A heart transplant took place in that feast. Zacchaeus found Jesus Christ. His heart was changed. He said, “If I’ve stolen anything from anyone, I will give them back four-fold, that’s four hundred per cent of anything that I’ve stolen from anyone.” That is a completely new man!

What about Saul of Tarsus, Paul? From being an arch-enemy of Christianity, he became its greatest ambassador. On the road to Damascus, he was knocked off his horse in the middle of the day and Jesus said, ”Why are you persecuting me?” He said, ”Who are You, Lord?” He said, ”I am Jesus.” A heart transplant took place at that moment on that road and that man became one of Christianity’s greatest ambassadors.

Today, open your heart, let the Lord take out that heart of stone and put in a brand new heart of flesh.
Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 5th of November, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in 1 Peter 1:16 and I am reading this out of the Amplified Version: 

“…because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY (set apart), FOR I AM HOLY,” “Isn’t that beautiful?  “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

In bold italics, in capital letters - our God is a holy God and He says today that you and I must be holy, even as He is holy. We must have a deep respect for the Lord. That is what the word, “reverence” means - a deep respect for God. Oh folks, He is not our mate, He is not the man upstairs, He is not my buddy, He is God and we need to appreciate that and He expects us to live like He does. We cannot have one foot in the world and another foot in the Kingdom. He says very clearly in Matthew 12:30:

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

We cannot serve God and mammon. We need to live a holy life. You know that people have died for their faith just because they will not deny that name. They have had their heads cut off. They have been told, “Deny that name, Jesus Christ and we will let you live. They say, “We can’t and we won’t”, and they die. They have been burnt at the stake, they have died terrible deaths because they will not deny the name of Christ. Do not use that name cheaply. Oh folks, it is a beautiful name, it is the most beautiful name that I have ever heard in my life. 

Holiness is the end product of obedience. That is what holiness means. When we are obedient people then we are holy. You see, there is power in that name, there is healing in that name, there is forgiveness in that name, there is peace in that name. When people are dying and they hear that name, Jesus Christ, it gives them peace and absolute joy. There is hope in that name and most of all, there is salvation in that name. At that name, the Bible says, “Every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess.”

Today, let's go out and let's use that name very carefully, and let us magnify Him.
Jesus bless you and goodbye.