Thought For Today

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

We start in the Book of Psalms 3:2:

Many are they who say of me,
“There is no help for him in God.” Selah

And then we go on to verse 8:

Salvation belongs to the Lord.
Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah

And then we go on to Psalm 4:2:

How long will you love worthlessness
And seek falsehood? Selah

The word, “selah”, literally means to pause, to think about it. Right through the Psalms, you see the word “Selah” at the end. I looked up the Oxford Dictionary to find out the literal meaning of the word, “pause”. It means to take a break, to rest, it means to wait, to take a breather, it means to stop talking or doing something for a short time before continuing again. I think this word is more for me than I think it is for you. If you don’t believe me, maybe you should ask my wife because she keeps telling me, “You don’t stop.”

Now, we have got to pause, and that is what the psalmist means when he says, “Selah”. You read that scripture, then you pause, and you think about it, you “chew the cud” as the cow does, and you think about it, and then it makes sense. You and I need to slow down and start to “selah”, start to pause. The musicians tell me (and I love music, I think you know that, I can’t play any instruments but I love music) if there is no pause in the score in the music, then it doesn’t sound like anything.

For example, you know that beautiful song that we sing, “Because He lives”?

And because He lives (pause)
I can face tomorrow (pause)
Because He lives (pause)
All fear is gone (pause)
And because I know (pause)
Yes, I know, He holds the future (pause)
And life is worth the living (pause)
Just because He lives.

Jesus bless you today, as you take a cup of coffee, a cup of tea, and you pause when you read God’s word.
Goodbye.

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

We start in the Book of Revelation 21:4:

”And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” 

Now, isn’t that something to look forward to? Wow, I can’t wait! The former things have passed away, there will be no more tears in Heaven, there will be no more death in Heaven, there will be no more sorrow in Heaven, there will be no more crying in Heaven, there will be no more pain in Heaven, and the past has been wiped away. What a future to look forward to. There will be no anticlimax, there will be no disappointment.

A few years back, I had the privilege of being invited to meet, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest evangelists to have ever walked on this planet, yes, Dr Billy Graham, himself. I was flown up in a jet from Tennessee, USA, up to Montreat, North Carolina, where he lived. They fetched us at the airport. I was so excited to meet this man. They drove me to his home, but at the gate there was a security guard, and he asked the gentleman who supposedly organised the meeting for the credentials, and of course, the thing fell flat. He said, “You can’t see Mr Graham because we don’t know about this appointment.” 

I was so disappointed, honestly. Look, they were very kind to us, they took us to the museum, they showed us where he grew up, where he lived, his home. They showed us all the different, wonderful things that he had done in his life. Many other retired evangelists were there. They took us around, it was wonderful, but it was an anticlimax. When we go to Heaven, there will be no anticlimax. If we look at verse 3 it says: 

“God Himself will be with them and be their God.”
Revelation 21:3

That is a guarantee, that is a given. He personally will meet us at the gate, He won’t send His angels, He won’t send Peter or any of the disciples, He has promised us, He will meet you, Mary, He will meet you, John, personally, and welcome you home. I can’t wait for that day. In the meantime, maybe today, you are feeling a bit down, you’re feeling a bit lonely. Maybe you have also been disappointed. Well, I want to tell you something now, lift up your heads and look for your redemption draws near. I want to pray for you as we close.

Dear Lord Jesus,

I pray for my friend today who is not feeling very happy. Maybe they have lost a loved one, maybe they have been terribly disappointed by a relationship, maybe they don’t have work, maybe they are fearful of the future. Oh Holy Spirit, reassure them today of the wonderful future that awaits them when You come to fetch us personally, and to take us home to be with You in glory, forever and ever, Amen.

God bless you and goodbye.

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

I am reading out of the New King James Version, out of the First Book of Peter 5:7:

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

What a beautiful promise! Then if you look at the Amplified Version, this is how it reads: 

“…casting all your cares, all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all on Him, for He cares about you with deepest affection and watches over you very carefully.”

Isn’t that beautiful? I remember like it was yesterday, many, many years ago, we booked the Kings Park Rugby Stadium in Durban to hold an outreach. It was very exciting for me. It was the biggest attempt I had ever had and the first major stadium I had ever booked, and that night, I was so excited when the crowd came. We were talking about casting your cares upon the Lord, and what had happened was, there was a warning of el Niño, that massive drought that was going to hit South Africa, and the radio stations and the TV stations were saying to the people, “Don’t plant your crops on marginal land because it will fail.” That night, I stood up on the platform and I said, “To hell with el Niño, I am going home to plant up all my fields, and I am going to plant potatoes!” And folks, you know, after I got off that platform, I mean I had cast all my cares on Him, I had burnt my bridges, there was no turning back, I had committed myself, and then the devil started on me, “Well, yes, that is the end of you. You are going to go down because it is not going to rain and you are supposed to have irrigation when you plant potatoes.” I had no irrigation. But by faith, I went home and I planted that potato crop and I planted a maize crop, and I leased some other land and planted maize there, and then I started to pray, and I cast my cares on the Lord, every single day. 

Folks, I want to tell you, the good news is, we had a wonderful crop of potatoes, we had a beautiful crop of maize. It was a wonderful year for us. I want to say to you today, cast your cares on the Lord, lift up your eyes higher, higher folks. One man said, “He who aims at the stars, aims too low.” That’s right, we have got to aim above the stars. Philippians 1:21, Paul says: 

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

So what have we to be afraid of? Nothing. Today, cast your cares on the Lord and get on with the job that God has called you to. He will do it for you, He is not a man that He should lie.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

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

We start in the Gospel of John 15:7: 

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” 

Wow! That is a beautiful promise from the Lord, but the key there is abiding in Him. 

Philippians 4:13 - we know that scripture so well: 

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Its Christ Jesus, folks, it is not our own efforts. Jesus spent thirty years with His Father, His Heavenly Father, in the carpenter shop for a mere three years of ministry, thirty years of preparation for three years of ministry. The devil wants you and I to rush, rush, rush. He keeps us off balance all the time, running, running, running, so that we cannot spend time with the Lord. But Jesus is the opposite. He is never in a rush and He is never late. 

Remember, He came to the tomb of Lazarus, His friend, 4 days after He had been summoned by Mary and Martha, Jesus’ friends. But what happened? A miracle took place. Lazarus was raised from the dead. The main objective of the believer is to spend time with Christ and to allow His strength to flow through us. Then, there shall be nothing too hard for us. Nothing is too hard for us when the Lord Jesus Christ is flowing through us, absolutely nothing. Remember the story I told you before about one of the greatest presidents of the United States of America? Abraham Lincoln was asked, “If you were given six hours to cut down that large tree, what would you do?” “Well,” he said, “I would spend four hours sharpening the axe.” Now, I cut trees and I split wood, I want to tell you, that is profound. There is nothing more sad for me to see than a man trying to cut a tree down with a blunt axe. It doesn’t work.

John Wesley went across to Europe to meet with a very special man of God, Count von Zinzendorf, the founder of the Moravian church. Do you know what happened? This man, John Wesley, had an MA in theology, and von Zinzendorf made him work in the garden for months. He was so offended. What was he doing? He was trying to get Jesus into the man of God, and out of that, started one of the greatest revivals that the world has ever known. 

Today, spend time in His presence. Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,

Goodbye.

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

We start in the Old Testament, in the Book of Proverbs 16:32:

“He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”

Wow! That is a powerful scripture. We need to exercise self-control. In other words, we cannot afford to lose the plot, as they say. You know, a moment of anger loses all your respect from other people. They just do not respect you at all. It is so sad when you see a grown man “throwing his toys”, as they say. And if we happen to be famous, or we happen to be rich, that has got nothing to do with it. I really want to say to you, some of the most wealthy people I have ever met, and famous, are normally very, very humble people. 

If we lose the plot then we become totally unacceptable. Jesus loves to see a person who is in control of themselves. I always say to people, if you have got a short fuse, count to ten before you say something, and then you will probably never say it. Don’t throw your reputation away in a fit of anger. Now, the greatest example for you and me when it comes to self-control is our Lord Jesus Christ. If you go to the word of God in Matthew 27:13-14, when Jesus was standing before Pontius Pilate, and this is what He said: 

“Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.”

He couldn’t believe it! Pontius Pilate was trying to help Him. He said, “Speak up for Yourself” The Lord never said one word.

I read something beautifully written this morning, by a man named Dean Stanley. He says, “More dear in the sight of God and His angels, than any other conquest, is the conquest of self, which each man with the help of Heaven, can secure for himself.” Today, let’s go out and let’s make sure that we don’t cause people offence, we don’t cause our brother to stumble, and that we answer every accusation with a gentle answer, and then the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, will be very happy with us.

Have a wonderful day today.  
God bless you and goodbye.

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

We go to the Book of Revelation 19:9:

”Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’”

If we love Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we will be invited guests. We are the called ones. It is going to be the greatest marriage feast that we have ever seen in our lives. We are not being called as casual observers or spectators, looking through the fence at the amazing spectacle taking place. No, no, it will be our time. It will be our wedding day with our beloved Lord Jesus Christ. 

Oh, you know folks, I have done many, many weddings in my life, and I just love to stand and observe and see how excited the bridegroom is when he is waiting for the bride to arrive, and his best man, some of them have got more than one, they are making sure that he is looking smart, that his collar is out and his shoes are shining, that everything is in place. Then of course, the bride, with all the bridesmaids, coming behind, making sure that her dress is in order, that the train that is flowing behind her dress, that no-one stands on it, that her head covering is beautifully put in place, that lovely bouquet of flowers is positioned nicely on her arm, and everybody is excited.

If we go to the Book of Ephesians 5:27, this is what the word says: 

“…that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” 

When you are getting ready for your wedding, you don’t want anything out of place. Your hair must be beautifully done, everything must be in order. The same thing is going to happen on a much grander scale when you and I go home to be with our beloved Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ. Get yourself ready for the greatest marriage feast that you can ever even imagine! Get yourself in order. Don’t wait for the last minute. This is your time to get ready for your wedding with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

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

We start in the Book of Jeremiah 4:3: 

“Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns.”

Then we go straight across to the Gospel of Mathew 13:7: 

”And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.”

We have to prepare our hearts just like the good farmer prepares the land that he will plant his precious crop into. A lazy farmer does not take pride in his land preparation and he doesn’t do a fine job. It is rough, it is unkempt, and from the start the seed is going to struggle. We must be very careful that we don’t try and cut corners because if we do we are wasting our time. The thorns and the weeds and the thistles will grow up and strangle those precious little plants as they emerge from the ground.

If we look at verse 22, we see that the word of God tells us that the distractions, the worries of this world cause the plants not to grow because of the competition on the land. Compromise, pleasures, delights and the riches of this world choke the word of God and it yields no fruit. 

I remember a farmer came into our area many, many years ago. He came from a different part of the country. Here we have very fertile land and it rains beautifully in this area. This man came from a marginal area where the land was quite dry. He did most of his weed control by mechanical means, cultivating his rows of maize with a tractor and a cultivator. We said to him, ”You need to spray all your weeds because they are getting out of control.” He said, ”No, no, I’ll just let them grow and then I will come in on a nice hot day and I will cultivate them out of the ground.” Well, of course that dry hot day never came. It just rained and rained and rained and eventually his whole crop was strangled by the weeds. We couldn’t even see the little plants. After a couple of years that man left this district because he couldn’t farm here anymore. 

We need to cultivate our walk with the Lord. My dear friends, sometimes the most dangerous thing is when you go on holiday and you don’t get up in the morning and don’t have a good quiet time with the Lord every day. You don’t read your Bible, you don’t pray because you say you’re having a rest, but that is when the weeds come in and strangle your relationship with the Lord. When on holiday you need to be spending more time with the Lord and reading His word and praying. Cultivate your land and God will give you a mighty crop.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

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

We start in the Book of Revelation 19:1:  

“After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honour and power belong to the Lord our God!“

A victory shout, a singing in Heaven, the devil has been defeated, his demons will never rule again! I want to say to you today, you might be feeling a little bit sad, you might be feeling a bit angry actually and you might be saying, “How is it that evil people seem to get the victory?” and “Where is the justice? How do these people just carry on doing their own thing and nobody apprehends them?”

My dear friend, I want to tell you that vengeance belongs to the Lord. Leave it, put them in prayer before the Lord, and you and I need to start praising God for the victory He has given us already in Christ Jesus. You see that Babylon has fallen, the powers of darkness will never, ever overcome the Lord. That is good news, that is worth singing about, isn’t it? It is worth singing about because the end of the story is not yet written. It is still coming, and I want to tell you, every unrighteous deed will be dealt with, and every person who feels they have been short-changed, will be dealt with by the Lord. He will overcome, He has overcome, and the victory is ours!

Do you remember that old song, that beautiful worship song? I am sitting in my prayer room here, it is still dark outside, and I just wanted to sing with you. Remember that chorus, Alleluia? Let’s sing it together:

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia,
Thank You, Jesus, 
Oh thank You, Jesus, 
Thank You Jesus,
Thank You Jesus, 
And we thank You, Jesus, 
Thank You, Jesus,
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Go out today and thank Him because you have got the victory in Him, and nothing else will overcome you.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

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

We start in the Book of Psalm 145:8: 

“The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy.”

Isn’t that beautiful to know? Then we go to Psalm 85:2: 

“You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin.” 

Praise God that you and I serve a merciful saviour! Peter asked the Lord Jesus, “How many times must I forgive my brother? Seven times?” And remember what Jesus said to Peter? “Seven times seventy.” Wow! I thank God that our Lord is slow to anger and He is quick to forgive. He is a merciful God.

I want to tell you a little story about when I was looking for forgiveness, mercy, and grace from my neighbours. Many years ago, I was burning firebreaks on our farm. We have a huge wetland right on the boundary of our farm. It is the sponge which supplies the water to the Umvoti River, which goes all the way down to the Indian Ocean. I was burning away there. Fortunately, I had contacted everybody and all of a sudden, a gust of wind came up and took the fire straight into the huge swamp. Now, inside that swamp are 12-foot-high reeds; it is like an ocean inside there, and the most massive fire got going, where the clouds were black and literally covering the sun. I felt so terribly embarrassed. I had to get on my radio on my pick-up and radio all my neighbours who were on the boundary of this massive wetland on the other side. This was in the middle of winter, when those those reeds were snow white. Fortunately none of the farms were affected, but that day I needed mercy and grace and you know, my neighbours were so kind, they were more understanding and gracious to me than I could ever have imagined.

Today, remember, Jesus Christ loves you, He is not here to condemn you. He is not here to cast you away. No - He wants you to grow. Sometimes we have to be chastised a little bit, we have to be disciplined through the mistakes we make but He is always quick to pick us up, dust us off and say, “Come on now, you can do this.”

Jesus bless you today as you are also understanding and forgiving to others.

Goodbye.  

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 19th of May, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the Book of Proverbs 30:8-9:

“Give me neither poverty nor riches—
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.”

To be full and to be hungry, to be successful and sometimes to fail. I think it is harder to deal with success than it is to deal with failure. When you are successful, you can start to think that you don’t need God, and that is a terrible place to be in, and when you are on your knees, you can’t fall any further, can you? When you are on that pedestal you can get knocked off so easily. We need to pray for those who succeed, whether it be in sport, whether it be in business, whether it be at university, we need to understand one thing, when we are conscious of our Lord Jesus Christ then things go well, but when we get so busy because we become so successful, the tendency is to say, “No, I can handle this myself.” How the mighty fall!

Remember The Titanic ship? They said it was unsinkable and yet on it’s maiden voyage, because people didn’t take note of God, it hit an iceberg and went down to the bottom of the sea within a few minutes, with thousands of people dying in the process. We need to keep humble, we need to thank God for everything that we have and we need to walk very carefully before God and before our fellowman, especially when the Lord is blessing us.  

Today, remember, if you are going through a hard time, stick close to the Lord. He will teach you lessons in those hard times that you will never learn in times of prosperity and success. If I look back on my life, the highlights of my life have been when I have said, “Lord, I just can’t do it anymore, You have to do it for me”, and He has brought me through. Do not be afraid of success, do not be afraid of failure, just walk humbly before your God.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.