Thought For Today

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

We start in Old Testament in the Book of Lamentations 1:20-21:

“See, O Lord, that I am in distress; My soul is troubled;…They have heard that I sigh, But no one comforts me.”

Then we go to Psalm 42:5:

“Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance.”

Now, you know, the interesting thing there, my dear friend, is that we read this scripture from Psalm 42 - it is written twice in Psalm 42 - in verse 11 as well. Then we go to Psalm 43 and it is written yet again, three times on two pages. People are distressed, people are troubled. I looked up the Oxford Dictionary to look up the meaning of the word “Distress” It means “extreme unhappiness”, and it means to be “heartbroken.” Now, you and I need to show more love and more compassion to people who are hurting. Please never say to a hurting and distressed person that you understand, unless you have been there yourself, because they can see right through you. Rather put your arm around them, weep with them, sit with them and just be quiet. What they need desperately is hope. 

Faith is for the present and hope is for the future. Reassure them that this life is very temporal. It is not going to last, we are passing through, we are sojourners. We are going home. Tell them about the life to come, speak to them about Heaven. You know, Jesus spoke so much about His heavenly home. Paul, the great apostle said, in Philippians 1:21:

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

You can’t frighten a Christian with Heaven. If we live, we live for Jesus, if we die, we go home. I see some of these top sportsmen in the changing room before they go out onto the field, banging their heads up against the wall to get psyched up!  You and I don’t have to do that. What we need to do is go for a good walk, sit somewhere in a quiet place, and have a heart-to-heart chat with Jesus. Tell Him about your troubles, tell Him about your distressed moments and then leave it in His capable hands, and you will feel so much better. That is what I do. Have a good chat with the Lord and He will reassure you that He will sort it all out in due time.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 4th of September, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Psalms 113:1-3:

"Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord! Blessed be the name of the Lord From this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its going down. The Lord's name is to be praised."

We need to praise the Lord, my dear friend, today. How are you feeling this morning? Not feeling so good? It's a good time to praise the Lord, especially when you don't feel like it.

The other scripture is Isaiah 59:19:

"…When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him."

That is the power that we have as followers of Jesus. We can praise the Lord in all our circumstances.

On a Wednesday morning here at the farm, very early before the sun comes up, there's a group of men that come together and we pray in the chapel. Now, when we get into that chapel for the prayer meeting, we've normally had a cup of coffee or a cup of tea, the first thing we do is we start to sing and we praise the Lord and we sing for quite a while, and then we start to pray, and I want to tell you folks, it clears the air. You can see smiles on the men's faces because they are praising the Lord.

Now the reason why I'm sending this to you is because this very morning we had a power failure. There were no lights and the first thing is, I couldn't find the torch. Then eventually I found the torch and I tried to get hold of a candle. I got the candle but I couldn't find the matches. I'm laughing but I wasn't laughing at that time! Now, I'm trying to make a fire because it's freezing cold here and I don't want my dear wife Jill to get up. It's cold in the house but I can't get outside because there's no lights and there's no firewood next to the stove. Eventually I got it all sorted out and we got the candle going, and then the lights came back on!

I want to say to you today, we praise the Lord unconditionally, not just because we feel like it. It's because He's worthy to be praised and when we praise the Lord, it's like that candle, when I've finally found the matches, I could strike the match and the darkness literally went out of the room. I could see what I was doing, make a nice fire for my wife, put the kettle on and give her a nice cup of tea, and then the lights came back on.

Today, I don't know where you are at, I don't know what you are dealing with but just start to praise Him and you will be surprised how things will turn around. 

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 3rd of September, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in 1 John 2:15 KJV:

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.”

We need to be unclogged from the things of the world. I read a beautiful reading, early this morning, by a man by the name of J. Ingels and this is how it goes:

‘If you go to the banks of a little stream and you watch the flies that come down to bathe in it, you will notice that while they plunge their bodies into the water, they keep their wings high out of the water, and after swimming about a little while, they fly away with their wings un-wet, through the sunny air. Now, that is the lesson for you and me. Here, on this earth, we are immersed in the cares and the business of the world, but let us keep our wings, the wings of our soul, our faith and our love, out of the world, so that with these unclogged, we may be ready to take our flight to Heaven.”

Isn’t that beautiful? Don’t get bogged down with the things of this world that rob us of our joy. We start getting involved in things that have got nothing to do with us. Remember, you and I are sojourners, we are travellers, we are passing through. We are not remaining here forever. No, let us do what we can while we are here but let us keep our wings dry so that when the Lord calls us, we can fly away with Him into our heavenly home. 

Today, folks, let us focus on the most important things that count - first of all, God, secondly, our loved ones, our family, then our friends, and then our work or our ministry. But let us keep them in order so that we do not get bogged down. We get our wings wet and then we cannot fly out of that water. Today, let us fly into the sunshine with dry wings and a body that is ready to face the Lord Jesus Christ, when He calls us and He says, “Well done good and faithful servant, come and enter into thy rest.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 2nd of September, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Old Testament, the Book of Proverbs 3:15:

”She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.”

Then we go to Mathew 13:45-46:

”Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” 

That pearl of great price! Oh, my dear friend, it is our salvation. It’s when we find the Lord Jesus Christ, isn’t it? That is exactly what it is like. So often, we forget what God has so freely given to you and me: eternal life, freedom, and a new opportunity to serve Him. We don’t even know sometimes what we are holding in our hands, do we? The Passion Translation says: “When he discovered one very precious and exquisite pearl, he immediately gave up all that he had in exchange for it.” The Message Translation says: “Finding one that is flawless, he immediately sells everything and buys it.” 

On the 26th of January 1905, in South Africa, the largest rough diamond ever found on earth was found in the Cullinan Mine. It weighed 621.2 grams. It is worth 19,000,000 British pounds. It was named after the mine owner, Thomas Cullinan. Incredible! But I want to tell you, I found my diamond on 18th February 1979, at about 10 o’clock in the morning - an absolute pearl of great price. Yes, I met Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, and you know, since that day, everything else in this world has paled into insignificance in comparison. What about you? Would you like to find that diamond of great price? Maybe you did and you lost it. I want to pray a prayer with you today, that you would again commit your life to Jesus. Please pray this prayer after me:

Dear Lord Jesus,

I have been searching all my life for peace, joy and purposeful living. Today, by faith, I accept you as my Lord and Saviour. I thank you for dying for a sinner like me and today, You will become the most important person in my life.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 1st of September, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Matthew 13:31-32:

" Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." 

Then we go to the Gospel of Luke 17:6:

"So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you."

The smallest of the seeds becomes the biggest plant in the garden. In fact, so big that even the birds of the air can build their nests in it. Never despise small beginnings. What is it that the Lord requires of you and me in order to do something big for Him? He requires faith and obedience that's all, nothing else.

You know the true story of the little boy who's mom gave him two little sardines and five small barley loaves for his lunch, and when he went to hear Jesus preaching and there was a crowd of over 5000 people, he took his two sardines, his five barley loaves - yes, his mustard seed. He gave it to Jesus. Jesus multiplied it and fed a crowd exceeding 5000. That is what we have to do today. Just take what you've got and give it to the Lord, and He will use it and multiply it, and it will bless many others.

I love that beautiful story about a little Dutch boy walking along a dike late one afternoon. Now we know that large parts of Holland are below sea level and there was a little hole that sprung forth from the dike and the water was starting to pour in. The little boy got down on his knees, he put his finger in the hole where the water was coming through, and he stayed there all night and kept his finger in that hole, until people came the next day and helped him. He saved a whole town from a devastating flood.

I want to say to you today just use what you've got. I carry little bottles of mustard seed around with me in my pocket and often when people are feeling down I give them a little bottle of mustard seed and they say, "What is that?" And I say, "That is a reminder that all you need is faith, the size of one mustard seed and the Lord will undertake for you."

Put your trust in Him today. Give Him what you've got and let Him show you what a miracle working God He really is!

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 31st of August, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the 2 Samuel 19:6:

”…you love your enemies and hate your friends.”

That was a word that Joab, the general of the armies of Israel, told King David. Then we go straight to the Gospel of Matthew 13:27:

”So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?” (or weeds). 

The Lord is speaking to us this morning very clearly because the farmer said to his servants, “Leave the weeds and concentrate on the wheat. Let them both grow out together and then at harvest time, we take the weeds out first, burn them, and then we’ll reap the rich crop of wheat.” We need to be very careful that we are not spending our valuable time in the wrong place. We need to start to spend more time with those who want to spend time with us. 

You say to me, ”but what about those who hate us? What about those who are constantly putting us down, bad mouthing us? What do we do in that case?” I will tell you what you do - you commit them into the Lord’s hands, you pray for them and then you move on, and you spend time with those who want to spend time with you, and you do not allow those negative things, those weeds, those tares, to influence your life to such a degree that the people that love you are neglected.

C. H. Spurgeon, the prince of preachers, was walking down the high street one day and a man came up to him and said,

”You! You are the chief of all fools”, or words to that effect, and he turned around and said, ”Well, at least I’m the chief of something!” Don’t let those negative words, those negative influences, put you down.

Today, let us walk with those who love the Lord and those who want to walk with us. Let the Lord take care of the weeds and the tares, and let’s start to be grateful for the friends that the Lord has given us.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 30th of August, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Gospel of Luke 5:5:

“But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” 

There is our key word for today, “nevertheless”. “Nevertheless, even though it is not working, Lord, You said it, nevertheless I will do it once more.” And Peter threw that net over and the fish that swam into that net were so many that the net was breaking and he had to call the boats to help him bring in the catch.

Do not stop, do not give up. Never, ever, ever give up. Throw it in once more, try it once more, write that exam once more. Keep going, don’t stop, work on that marriage, work on that degree, don’t stop. Simon threw the net in once more and what a catch! Do you remember the story of the King of Scotland, Robert the Bruce? He was one of the mightiest kings that Scotland ever had but he was getting defeated by the enemy. His army was scattered everywhere. In fact, the King of Scotland was hiding in a cave for his very life. He was sitting in that dark cave, he was totally disillusioned, he didn’t know what to do. Then he saw a spider, and this spider was trying to weave a web and was swinging from one side of the cave to the other side but he kept missing. He couldn’t make it. He came short and he fell and he crawled up the wall again, and he climbed up the wall again and he swung across again, and he did it many times and eventually that little spider made it to the other side, and then he was able to weave his web. That little insect prompted the King of Scotland to get out of that cave, to rally his troops and once more take on the enemy. Yes, and he defeated the enemy and chased them out of Scotland.

Today, do what the Lord says. If He says, “Nevertheless, do it once more”, please obey what the Lord tells you.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 29th of August, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in the Book of Malachi 3:6:

”For I am the Lord, I do not change;…“

Isn’t that a beautiful promise? Our Lord cannot tell lies, it is against His nature, He can’t do it. If we look at Numbers 23:19, the Bible says:

”God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” 

Oh, you can bank on it, He will not disappoint you. I think, one of the hardest things for us to face is broken promises - when your husband promised he’d be home at 7 o’clock and he doesn’t come home, or that young lady promised that she’d deliver and she didn’t do it. It is so heart wrenching, isn’t it? But the good news is, there is One that we can be absolutely confident in, yes, His name is Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6:

”being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;” 

Isn’t that wonderful? I want to say to you today that with a world that is so insecure, where you can’t trust anyone, there is One who is trustworthy. I read a beautiful reading early this morning, written by a mighty man of God, Samuel Rutherford. He said, and I quote:

”Our hope is not hung up upon such untwisted thread as for example, “I imagine so” or “It is likely”. No, rather it is the cable, the strong rope of our fastened anchor. It is the oath and the promise of Him who is eternal truth. Our salvation is fastened with God’s own hand and Christ’s own strength, to the strong stake of God’s unchanging nature.”

Today, put your trust in the Lord. He will never disappoint you.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, 
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 28th of August, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the 1 Corinthians 11:1. Paul says:

“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” 

Wow, there is a challenge for us! It’s no good shouting at your tractor driver because he is ploughing in the wrong gear, and he is wasting diesel as the black smoke goes out of the exhaust pipe. Stop him at at the headland, ask him to move over, jump on the tractor and show him how to do it and he will not argue with you. I remember years ago, buying a beautiful Simmentaler bull from a very, very well-established stockman. His name was Cedric Taylor. There was a group of young guys trying to help me, and we were trying to load this huge one-ton Simmentaler bull onto my truck, and he would just not go on, and we were trying everything, and then I heard the old man say, “Excuse me, can you just move over a bit?” And then he walked up to that bull and he put his big hand on the middle of the back of that big bull, and said, “Come on boy, let’s walk onto the truck’, and that big bull walked straight onto that truck. 

You see, we need to imitate Jesus because He is the only one that can help us. Now that old gentleman didn’t have to tell me that he was a stockman, I saw it with my own eyes and I have never forgotten it. John, the apostle, the legend goes that when he was a very old man, he was the last of the disciples to die, they used to carry him in on a bed, to the meetings that he had, and he would always say, “Little children, love one another.” And they would say to each other and to John, “But John, why do you always tell us that?” And with tears in his eyes he would say, “Because that’s what the Master always told us to do.”

1 John 4:8 says very clearly that:

“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

Today, let’s go out and imitate our beloved Lord Jesus. 
God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 27th of August, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the Gospel of Matthew 13:16:

“But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;…”

The Lord has given us spiritual eyes and spiritual ears so that we can see and hear directly from Him. You and I need to lift up our eyes and open our ears much better. He who aims at the stars aims too low! We have got to aim higher, above the stars. 

1 Corinthians 2:9: 
“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.”

You know how much God has in store for you, why are we grovelling when we should be standing tall and aiming high?  I want to ask you a question, how big is God? Well, God is as big as you allow Him to be in your life and today we need to lift up our eyes and open our ears.

A very famous South African statesman, Jan Smuts said, “A man is not defeated by his opponents but by himself.” We really need to understand that. I remember going to Sweden, many, many years ago. We were praying in the vestry at the back of the church before the service started. One man said to me, ‘What are you doing over here? Why don’t you go back to Africa? We don’t have poverty or hunger here.” And then a lady started to cry. She said, “Angus, here we have everything that opens and closes  - we have water that we can drink out of the lakes, we have the biggest trucks in the world but we keep Jesus in a matchbox and sometimes we just let Him out a little bit. Please pray for us. 

Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Don’t tie God’s hands by doubt and unbelief. Write that book that you want to write, start that business that you believe God wants you to start. Study and finish - to be that doctor that can help the poor and the sick.  Train hard and be an international sportsman so that you can glorify God on the podium, like so many Christians have done in the Olympic Games. Do not limit God in your life.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.