Thought For Today

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 27th of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Jeremiah 17:17:

“You are my hope in the day of doom.”

Are you going through a tough time at the moment? Well, He has told us He is our hope, and that is a wonderful thing to know! Then we go to the Book of Romans 8:31:

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” 

It's a win-win situation, isn’t it? Oh my dear friend, you know, I love watching rugby, and they tell me when the South African Springboks go across to Wales to play rugby, the Welsh have a reputation of singing. They are beautiful singers, I have heard them myself, especially the male choirs. They have these male choirs come on the field and they start singing those beautiful Welsh songs before the match begins. It’s total intimidation. It is like they have ten points on the board before the Springboks even run onto the field. 

Well, I have got good news for you. For you and I, remember this, the score is on the board. Before we run onto that field, it is a clear-cut victory. Jesus Christ has told us that if He is for us, there is no-one who can be against us. As we go out today, we need to remember that. It doesn’t matter how much tribulation, how many trials, how many hard times you are going through at the moment. The bottom line is we know the end score; it is a victory because Jesus has fought the good fight, He has run the race, He has paid for our sins, and He said all we need to do is believe.

I want to encourage you today to go out and tell somebody the score is on the board. It’s a win-win situation. The devil is a liar and a thief, and he can do nothing to God’s people. Today, remember, in bright lights, the score is on the board. We have the victory!

Jesus bless you and have a lovely day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 26th of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in the Book of Psalms 34:19:

 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

Then we go straight to the Book of Romans 5:3-4:

“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;  and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” 

Are you going through a rough time at the moment? Are you feeling like, “Lord, I just can’t go on anymore.” Well then, this message is for you. I want to tell you about three people who have impacted my life more than most, and I have had the privilege of meeting some very, very well-known people, famous people. I am talking about kings, yes, I am talking about presidents, oh yes, and I want to tell you these three people have impacted my life more than any famous sportsman, etc. 

The first is an old lady who has gone to be with Jesus. Her name was Aunty Peggy. Aunty Peggy had diabetes and she had one of her legs amputated just below the knee. She struggled with blood pressure, and you know, she lived with us for many, many years in a little cottage on the farm. I want to tell you, whenever I needed some compassion and a good listening ear, I didn’t go to some specialist or to some supernatural theologian, I went to Aunty Peggy. I sat down and we had a cup of tea together and she listened to my problems, my fears, my inadequacies, the pressure I was under, and she just smiled, and she just oozed with compassion. By the time I had had a cup of tea with Aunty Peggy, I walked out of that cottage and I felt I could take on the whole world. 

The second person is a gentleman who lives in England. He went to Africa and took care of disabled children. He poured himself out on behalf of those who could not pay him a cent. He contracted malaria, he lost his sight, but I will tell you what, I have yet to meet a man who has more insight than David. He is a gentleman and a giant of the faith. 

The third person is a man who has been extremely successful in business. I told him the other day, “Martin, you need to write your story.” The man said, “What story?” I said, “Martin, you have a story to tell.” Probably one of the most humble men I have ever met, I trust that he will write his story before he goes home to meet with Jesus. 

Today, do not be scared, do not be afraid of being pruned hard. When you get pruned, you produce quality fruit. 

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 25th of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in the Book of Matthew 5:13:

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavour, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." 

Have you ever tried to eat a plate of food without salt? Have you ever tried to eat a plate of porridge with no salt! Oh folks! Coming from a Scottish background, where porridge is our staple diet, aah - it is terrible. It is bland, tasteless, it is extremely hard to swallow. It is like listening to a preacher bringing the word of God to a congregation, who is just so very boring, no passion, no conviction. I remember once preaching to a group of farmers down in the Eastern Cape and at half time, it was an all-day affair, I was in the bathroom, and an old farmer walked in and he said to me, "Son, when you preach, you don't have to sweat so much." I said him, "Sir, you haven't seen anything yet. Wait for the second half!" We need to be committed to our walk with Jesus Christ. Some people don't even believe in what they are preaching. There is no emotion, no tears.

Charles Finney was a great revivalist from America. He said, "Where there are no tears and no "amens" there is no revival." No conviction, no love, no desperation - you and I have been called to be watchmen, we have been called to warn the people of the evil one. We need to prepare people's hearts for home time. We mustn't preach to the head, we must preach to the heart, always preaching for a response, expecting results. We want a verdict. It's like a defence lawyer. Have you ever seen him pleading for the life of his client who has been condemned to death? He is not playing the fool, he is desperate. He only has one opportunity. You and I are exactly in the same position. There must be an urgency for your loved ones to be saved. People must have an opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. 

Now, maybe you are listening to this message for the first time and maybe you say, "I don't know what you are talking about, being born again. What does that mean?"  It means you need to stop your life of total disregard for God, and you need to start living for Jesus Christ. 

Pray this prayer after me:

Dear Lord Jesus,

I repent of my sin today. I am sick and tired of doing things my own way. From today onwards, I choose to follow You and only You. 

In Jesus' name, amen.

God bless you. Now, go out and tell the first three people what you have just prayed. 
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 24th of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Jeremiah 17:7-8:

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.”

Then Hebrews 13:6:

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?”

We need to trust the Lord unconditionally. If we have done everything we can in our own strength, then after that, it is totally in God’s hands. I remember the drought we had on this farm. Folks, I want to tell you, there is nothing worse, there is nothing that puts a man down more than driving around a crop that he has planted by faith, and watching it start to shrivel up and die because there is no rain. That is the time when you and I have to trust the Lord unconditionally. Job 13:15, remember Job was a farmer, he said:

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” 

You see, God can do something with a man like that who unconditionally trusts the Lord. Yes, you have got to do your homework, work hard, and make sure that you are walking according to God’s precepts, and then allow Him to change a drought into an abundant crop. Now folks, if you can’t believe in miracles, then you can’t be a Christian, because the word of God is one miracle from beginning to end. I want to tell you, I have seen too many miracles in my life not to believe that our God is alive, He is well and He is on the side of those who put their trust in Him. I have seen years where it looks as though the crop is done and then at the eleventh hour, the rain comes. The roots are deep into the ground, they are drinking the water and there is an incredible reward. 

Don’t walk by sight, walk by faith in God - 2 Corinthians 5:7, and He will see you through. Whatever that thing is that you are struggling with today, give it to the Lord, do your best and then start to praise Him and watch what He will do for you.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 23rd of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the book of Romans 12:12:

”…rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer:...”

Wow, what a beautiful scripture! I looked up the Amplified version of the same scripture, Romans 12:12:

” …constantly rejoicing in hope [because of our confidence in Christ], steadfast and patient in distress, devoted to prayer [continually seeking wisdom, guidance, and strength],”

Wow! Are you feeling a bit down today, or you just don’t seem to be able to get it right? Are you feeling like you keep dropping the ball? Are you feeling, “Lord I’m not growing in Christ.” Well, I want to tell you something, through that scripture, the Lord has said to us that our Christian walk is an ongoing state, it’s not a one-off state of mind.  No, we are working at it all the way until we get home. It’s making an effort, and the easiest way is to spend more time with Jesus, because the people you spend time with are the people that you become like.

I remember meeting a man, as a new Christian. This man was one of the strongest men I’ve ever seen. When you shook his hand, his hand enveloped your whole hand and what a kind man, but you see, he was in a wheelchair because he’d had an accident on the farm, one of the most even-tempered, godly men I’ve ever met. What an encouragement, I always liked to spend time with him. 

The other night I was listening to an interview on TV by Bill Gaither, he was interviewing a pianist by the name of Gordon Mote, and he said that they were all sitting at a roadhouse having a meal, the whole band, they were on their way to some event. They parked the Combi outside and when they’d finished their food, they all stood up and they walked outside and jumped into the combi. When they got into the combi, this makes me want to cry, they looked around to find out where Gordon was. Where was the pianist? He was still sitting in his place in the diner. You see, Gordon is blind, he can’t see. He was patiently waiting for somebody to take him out to the combi, and when Bill Gaither told that story there were tears in his eyes. 

Maybe today you’re feeling a bit overlooked. Well, how do you think David felt? Seven brothers all lining up to see if they are going to be the next king of Israel and Samuel the prophet said. ”No, it’s none of these, don’t you have any other sons, Jesse?” 

“Ja, Ja I’ve got one more, he’s looking after the sheep.”

“Call him.”

And he was anointed as the greatest king Israel has ever had next to Jesus. I want to say to you today, stop being irritable. Irritable means easily annoyed, angered, or bad tempered, grumpy. Don’t be like that. Jesus sees everything, He saw blind Bartimaeus, He saw the little man, Zacchaeus, up a tree, He saw the women at the well, and He sees you today. 

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 22nd of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in 2 Timothy 1:12 out of the Amplified Bible:

“…….for I know Him [and I am personally acquainted with Him] whom I have believed [with absolute trust and confidence in Him and in the truth of His deity], and I am persuaded [beyond any doubt] that He is able to guard that which I have entrusted to Him until that day [when I stand before Him].

To know Him - I want to ask you a question today, my dear friend, do you know Jesus personally? Not as a historical figure, not as someone that somebody else tells you about. Have you personally met Him? You know Paul says in Philippians 3:10,

”that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,”

Jesus is alive, He is living, He is not dead, He is not some statute or some place where you go to worship Him. No, as I’m talking to you now, He is with me. He is in my prayer room right now and that is so exciting! I read a very special reading this morning by an unknown author and this is what he says,

”Personal acquaintance with Christ is a living thing. It’s like a tree that uses every hour for growth. It thrives in the sunshine, it is refreshed by the rain, even the storms drive it to fasten it’s grip more firmly in the earth for it’s support. So, troubled heart, in all experiences, say this comes that I may make closer acquaintance with my Lord.”

Father, I pray for my friends today. Lord Jesus, please be more real to them than you’ve ever been before. Lord, we need You now more than we have ever needed You before, and we need a personal touch from You. Please today, be even closer to us than a brother can be. We ask it in Your precious name, amen. 

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 21st of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Gospel of Matthew 4:19-20:

“Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him.” 

The importance of being called - following Jesus is not a good idea, it has to be a calling. Now, these men were working when the Lord called them. They were not sitting in a corner waiting for the call. They carried on with their daily work. A sailing ship, tied up in the harbour, is not going anywhere, but a sailing ship in the open sea, even if it is going the wrong way, with an experienced sailor, can be turned around and tacked against the wind and using those sails, will take the passengers to their desired destinations. 

When Jill and I wanted to serve Jesus Christ, we thought that we would have to stop farming, go to Bible College and study theology, but we decided to fast and pray. I went up to the mountains on my own, Jill stayed at home with the children. You can imagine, she was quite nervous, not knowing what the outcome was going to be with five small children. I came back from the mountains and she was standing by the gate with the children when I drove in and she had a big smile on her face. I think she was quite relieved because you see, the Lord had spoken to her and called her at the same time He called me. 

We went into the bedroom, we sat down together, I opened my Bible, she opened her Bible, and we had separate quiet times; we prayed together every day, but we had separate quiet times with the Lord. The Bible has 66 books in it. We both opened the Bible to 2 Corinthians 9:8. It says:

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” 

First of all, our legs went to jelly, we were still brand-new Christians - we couldn’t believe that the Lord gave us the identical scripture! The Lord showed us, stay on the farm and make a place for My Holy Spirit to work, which as we know, has taken place. We have had some of the biggest men’s conferences, I think, in maybe the history of the world, 450,000 in 2010 and still going strong even today. So, a good idea is not always a God idea. Carry on working hard, seeking the face of the Lord and He will tell you the time that you need to leave your nets and become fishers of men. We are full-time fishers of men at present and still making a place for our Lord, Holy Spirit, to work in people’s lives.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 20th of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Jeremiah 15:16:

“Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;…” 

Then we go to Isaiah 55:11: 

“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” 

The power of the spoken word of God! You and I must learn to devour God’s word. We must eat it, we must get it into our spiritual man. The spoken word of God, with authority and with love and compassion, will save many who hear it. God’s Holy Word never returns void, the power of the spoken word of God. People are not interested in our opinions. Why should they be? People are interested in what God says about the situation. All our major decisions should be decided on what the Bible says about it. That is the ultimate authority. That will bring peace and joy into the situation. 

When we go to court, what do we do? We put our hand on the Bible, and we swear over the Bible that we will speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God. That is what they do in a secular court situation. People need to hear the word of God, and that is what brings joy, peace and compassion, and most of all, love, and it brings a rejoicing in our hearts. 

Every morning, when I get up early and have my quiet time, I can maybe feel a bit concerned about the situation. Maybe I am a bit concerned about my children and my grandchildren, but when I start to read the word of God, it fills me with confidence. Lord, you said it, I believe it and that confirms it - and then I go out and I impact the world, not by my words but by Jesus’ words, spoken out of my mouth. 

God bless you and have a lovely day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 19th of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for the day.

We go straight to the Gospel of Matthew 4:4:

"But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"

We want to speak today about the power in the spoken word of God. Now Jesus is God made flesh, and yet when He was tempted in the desert by the devil, he could have told the devil just to "push off", but He didn't, did He?  No, He realised the tremendous authority in the spoken word of God, because Jesus is actually the Word of God.

Now, if we look at the Book of Ephesians 6:17, the word of God says:

"...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;..."

It is the only weapon that the Lord has given us to stand against the enemy. We are not using it enough. I am going to pray for you at the end of this message, that God will help us use the weapon that He has given to us. Little David, the shepherd boy in 1 Samuel 17:45, said:

"But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." 

He was standing up against Goliath. They say David was just a teenager. He was a young boy. He stood up against a giant, the champion of the Philistines. They say that Goliath stood approximately ten and a half feet high. He had a spear like the shaft of a weaver's beam. He was a very ugly man. What Goliath are you facing today, my dear friend? I want to pray for you:

Father, I pray for my dear friend right now who is facing a Goliath in their life. They don't know which way to turn, they don't know what to do. Lord, I pray that they will do exactly what Jesus did to the devil in the desert when He was sorely tempted after forty days and forty nights of fasting and prayer. He was weak, but He used the Word, "It is written". I pray that my friend will do the same, and Lord Jesus, that You will give him, You will give her, a tremendous victory.

David killed Goliath and got the victory because he came against him with the word of God. Pray the word of God today.

Thank You, Lord, amen.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 18th of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Gospel of Luke 3:22:

“And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, (that was Jesus) and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

This account is written in no less than three of the Gospel stories. “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Why? Because Jesus was obedient. We serve a very humble Lord who leads by example always. 1 Samuel 15:22 says:

“… to obey is better than sacrifice,…”

John the Baptist did not want to baptise Jesus. He said, “I am not worthy”, but Jesus said, “Do it”, and he did it, and through Jesus’ obedience, the clouds opened up and the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove and the Lord said He was well pleased with His Son. I want to say to someone today, God wants you to be obedient to what He has called you to. It doesn’t matter what it is, it doesn’t matter how big the task is, it doesn’t matter how small the task is, He really wants obedience. 

Now, many, many years ago, when I was a new Christian, I heard a testimony, a very, very powerful testimony that was sad, but at the same time it was victorious. It was about a young teenage farm boy who lived on a sugarcane farm in Kwazulu Natal, just north of where Shalom is positioned. His father had given him an off-road motorbike but he had told his son, very carefully, “I don’t want you ever to ride on a district road or a public road, only on the farm, on the sugarcane roads around the farm.” While his father was away one day, a report came to him that his son, who was riding his off-road motorbike, had been killed in a motor accident. Obviously, the father was devastated. When he got back, he asked one question, “Where was my son riding his off-road motorbike?” They said he was on the farm, a tractor had come around the corner, and they had a head-on collision. 

As devastating as that testimony was, the thing that touched my heart deeply was that his father was so grateful that his son was obedient. He was not riding on the main road, disobeying his father. He was riding on the farm and the accident took place. I want to say to you today, when we are obedient, irrespective of the conditions, our Lord Jesus Christ is very proud of us. 

God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.