Thought For Today

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

We start in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, Genesis 2:7: 

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."

Now George Matheson, that beautiful old Scottish preacher, who was blind, wrote, 

"And so this soul of mine is a compound of two worlds—dust and deity! It touches the boundary line of two hemispheres. It is allied on one side to the divine; on the other, to the beast of the field. Its beginning is from beneath, but its culmination is from above; it is started from the dust of the ground, but it is finished in the breath of God.

My soul, are you living up to your two-fold origin? Are you remembering your double heritage, and therefore your double duty? You have a duty to your God for His breath is in you, and you have a duty to the earth, for out of it you were taken."

Today, you and I must live up to our duty. We must be good representatives and we must be good ambassadors for Jesus Christ. When people see us walking down the road, they must make no mistake, they must say, "You see that man, he has been created out of the earth but he has got Jesus Christ living inside him.

"…Christ in you, the hope of glory" 
Colossians 1:27

Let's go out today and show the world that Jesus Christ is alive.
God bless you and goodbye.

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

We start in 2 Samuel 7:8: 

“Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.”

Wow, powerful words - a shepherd to a king! Then we go to Isaiah 55:8. The Lord says:

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

You and I must never limit God in our lives. We saw a shepherd boy, but God saw a king. Do you remember that song, that very popular song that was sung quite a few years ago? The words go like this, I am going to read it to you:

One by one, Jesse’s sons stood before the prophet,
Their father knew a king would soon be found,
And each one passed, except the last,
No-one thought to call him, surely he would never wear a crown, 
But when others see a shepherd boy, God may see a king.
Even though your life seems filled with ordinary things,
In just a moment, He can touch you and everything will change.
Where others see a shepherd boy, God may see a king.

One by one, problems come and dreams get shattered,
And sometimes its hard to understand, 
But things like chance and circumstance don’t really matter,
The Father holds tomorrow in His hands, 
And when others see a shepherd boy, God may see a king.
Even though your life seems filled with ordinary things, 
In just a moment, He can touch you and everything will change,
Where others see a shepherd boy, God may see a king.

I want to say to you today, my dear friend, even as the Lord is speaking to me, never limit God in your life. We may see a shepherd boy, but when God looks at you, He may see a king.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

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

We start in 2 Corinthians 6:10: 

"…as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things." 

Then we go to the Book of Nehemiah 8:10: 

"Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." 

The joy the Lord is speaking about here, is not walking around with a big smile on your face, always laughing. That's not joy. Joy is not a feeling, it is a fact. Why should we be happy this morning? Well, maybe the first thing we can thank God for is for the opportunity of having eternal life. If you love Jesus Christ today, my dear friend, your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, and when the Lord comes to take you and I home, we will find our name is written there, not because we are good people but because we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 

Some people write to us, and they ask the question, "Why is Angus always so happy?" Oh, folks, I have to be honest with you. I am not always feeling happy. I really mean that. Sometimes, I am not happy at all, but it is the joy of knowing that Jesus Christ died for me, He loves me, and He will fulfil everything He promised me in the word. 

Even King David, who wrote all those beautiful psalms, says sometimes, he speaks to his soul, "Oh my soul, why are you so downcast?" We need to understand that joy, always rejoicing, is a decision that we have to make. You know, sometimes when you get bucked off your horse, you don't always feel full of joy, do you? No - I have lost count of how many times I have been bucked off my horse. An old cowboy saying goes something like this: "Cowboy up (in other words, 'cowboy get up') or go and sit in the pick-up." We have got to get up, dust ourselves off and get back into the fight, because the Lord Jesus Christ never promised us a bed of roses, but He did promise us that He would walk with us through the fire.  

A man by the name of W. Aiken, wrote: "No Christian can ever know what is meant by these two little words, 'Always rejoicing', but the Christian who takes up his cross and follows Jesus." That's right, he is the one who knows.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

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

We start in the Book of Revelation 1:8: 

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”  

Wow, what a confirmation! Then, of course, the Lord goes on again to say in verse 11: 

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,...” 

I got so excited when I read that scripture again. I have heard it for many, many years, but it reminded me that He is everything you need, my friend, everything you need. What we need to do is live our dream. We need to fulfil our vision. Where there is no vision, the people perish - Proverbs 29:18. But if Christ is for you, who can stand against you? We hear that in Romans 8:31. 

We have just recently completed a beautiful Passover season, and you know that beautiful scripture in Romans 8:11 that says:

“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” 

The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the tomb, is available to you and to me, because He is the Alpha and the Omega. It is like that massive oak tree. We have got some very big ones on the farms around our district, but every one of them started with a small little acorn. That acorn germinated and grew into a mighty tree. I want to encourage you to dream your dream, to fulfil your destiny. Do not let the devil stand on you and tell you that you will never make it. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

I still have many dreams that I want to see fulfilled before the Lord takes me home to be with Him in Heaven. And you, too, should do the same. Remember, if Christ is for you, you have nothing to worry about. 

Jesus bless you, and have a lovely day.
Goodbye.

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

We start in the last book in the Bible, Revelation 1:5: 

”…Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.”

Wow, my dear friend, what a title! What a Man, the first to ever be born from the dead! He died and He rose again. Jesus Christ, our living Champion. There is only one Lord, and His name is Jesus, the Messiah, and the soon-coming King. The King of Kings; the Lord of Lords; the Lily of the Valley; the Bright Morning Star; the Alpha and the Omega; the Beginning and the End, and I love this title - the Friend of Sinners. That is who He is! He’s the God of all men if they will simply bow the knee and acknowledge Him.

In John 14:6, Jesus says: 

”I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” 

What a mighty God we serve. We cannot apologise for that. It is written in the Bible, and we believe the Bible to be divine. It is a book written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by holy men. Yes, the Bible is Jesus Christ in print. John 1:1: 

”In the beginning was the Word,…” 

And that is exactly what I’m reading to you now. 

Lord Jesus, we want to tell You today that we love You. We thank you for dying for us; we thank You for being so humble; we thank You for being so loving, and we thank You, Lord, for reassuring us every single day that You will be with us even until the end of the age. What wonderful news! Our faithful Witness, the First-born from the dead, the Ruler over the kings of the earth. There is no king, there is no ruler that is greater than Jesus Christ!

You don’t have to be controversial to be a Christian. You just have to read the Bible, and automatically you become controversial because people don’t like that. People would rather hear you say, “All roads lead to Heaven.” They would rather you say, ”There are many gods.” According to my Bible there is no other God, and there is no other Saviour, and His name is Jesus.

Have a wonderful day as you go out and tell people today, “He’s coming back soon to take us home to be with Him, in glory, forever and ever.”

Goodbye.

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

We start in the Gospel of John 12:12-13: 

”The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!”

Then we go on to Chapter 19:15: 

”But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”
The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!” 

I want to say to you today, do not play to the crowd, otherwise you’ll be like a yoyo. One minute, you’ll be up in the air; the next, down in the dumps, and you and I cannot live like that. I had the wonderful privilege of being with one of the top rugby franchises in the country just the other day. I spent the day with them and what wonderful young men and women they are, totally dedicated to the sport that they are playing. They are physically fit, they are mentally alert, they are totally committed. I had the privilege of sharing a short word with them, and this is the very word that the Lord put on my heart, “Tell them to not play to the crowd but play to Me and Me alone.” I reminded them that one day, you are a hero; the next day, you’re a villain. One wrong move can spoil the game and lose the match. South Africa is currently the world champion in rugby, but if you can remember, in the last three matches we played, we won them by one point, one single point.

Now you can’t live like that, I’m not just talking about rugby, I’m talking about life. You have got to put your trust, faith, hope, and future in Jesus Christ, and in Him alone. He will not let you down. He will not disappoint you. He says, ”I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5. 

Today, go out and remember your responsibility is to please only One Person - and He is a good God. He is patient, He is very loving and He is on our side - His name is Jesus Christ.

God bless you and have a wonderful day, 
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, April 1st, 2024, and this is your friend Angus Buchan with a thought for today. 

We start in the Book of James 5:16: 

“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” 

Today, we are going to speak about the power of effective, fervent prayer. When Dr David Livingstone first began his ministry in Africa, some native tribes opposed him. One tribe said they were going to kill him and everyone in his party, one afternoon. As they were setting up camp, David Livingstone heard that the warriors had been tracking him all day long, and they were outside the camp, and they were going to attack and kill everyone when it got dark. On the night of 14th January 1856, David Livingstone wrote in his journal, “It was in the evening, I feel much turmoil and fear in the prospect of having all my plans knocked on the head.” Those who studied his handwriting said you could even see the fear in the way in which he wrote his journal. He went on, “…but Jesus said, “All power is given to Me in Heaven and on Earth and lo, I am with you always, even unto the ends of the earth.” Livingstone wrote, ”Now, this is the word of a Gentleman, of most strict and sacred honour. So that is the end of my fear. I feel quiet and calm now.” By this point in his journal, the writing has become firm and no longer betrays any fear.

They did not attack that night, and later, the tribe was brought to faith in Christ. David Livingstone asked the chief of the tribe, ”Do you remember the night that you were tracking down my party?”

“Yes,” the chief replied. 

“We had heard rumours that you were going to attack us,” Livingstone said, “that night.”  

The chief said, “We were ready to attack to attack the camp that night and to kill you and everyone else.”

“Why didn’t you attack?” David Livingstone asked the chief.  

The chief said, “When we got close to the camp, we saw 47 warriors surrounding your camp with swords in their hands.”

David Livingstone was baffled. They hadn’t had any guards, nor even any warriors. Later on, when he was on leave in Scotland, he shared this story with the church that was supporting him. A man came up to him after the meeting with his journal and showed David Livingstone that he had written down on 14th January 1856 - it was the night that Livingstone was going to be attacked, that he had had a prayer meeting with a group of men, “and they came and prayed for your protection.” He had written it down. There were 47 men praying that night! 

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

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

It is indeed Resurrection Sunday. He is not dead, He is alive! Today is a day of rejoicing. Friday was a day of weeping, today is a day of dancing for the Lord. We look at Romans 8:11: 

“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” 

That is incredible news. The Lord says, my dear friend, if we have the Holy Spirit in us, the same Holy Spirit who raised Him from the dead (He had been in the tomb for three days and He was resurrected on Sunday morning), if that same Spirit dwells in you and I, that same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead shall quicken our mortal bodies, shall heal us, shall set us free, shall give us new life.  

I have been there, I have been to that tomb, I want to tell you it is empty! There are no bones there, there are no relics there. Why? Because it is empty, because He is alive, He is in Heaven and by the way, He is coming back one of these fine days, to take you and I to be with Him in glory forever. Jesus Christ is the only God that there is, who died for our sins and was raised from the dead and is alive today. He is there for you and I. Please, let us take hold of this incredible miracle and gift which is available to us, set us free, give us new life, heal us physically, mentally, spiritually and give us an opportunity to start living all over again for Him. 

God bless you as you enjoy this Resurrection Sunday of victory,

Goodbye.

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

We start in the Book of Psalms 119:176: 

“I have gone astray like a lost sheep;…” 

Then we go forward to the Book of Isaiah 53:6: 

“All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” 

The last scripture is in 1 Peter 2:25: 

“For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

A sheep is the most defenceless of all animals. It needs more looking after than any other farm animal. A sheep is a follower, it is not a leader, it needs protection. Father God saw the plight of us, His creation, and He sent down from Heaven, the best Shepherd ever, His own Son, Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd. He sent Him down to help us, to guide us, to lead us and to protect us. You see, sheep simply follow sheep (if one goes over the cliff edge, it is the whole flock that will follow over the cliff’s edge), but the Good Shepherd leads His sheep from the front. He does not chase them from behind. 

In the old days, the sheep enclosure, the crawl, never had a gate because the shepherd slept across the entrance at night. Any wild animal that wanted to attack the sheep had to pass the shepherd first. 

Jesus died for you and me. We remember it at this time of year so that we can live, be protected, be led, and most of all, be loved. Let us not forget today the great price that the Great Shepherd paid for you and me.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

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

We go to the Gospel of John 15:12-13: 

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”  

In the year 2003, which is 21 years ago, my wife, Jill and I went to the Holy Land for the first time. I have been many, many times since then, but that particular trip, I have never forgotten. We went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem. As we walked into that place, I have never forgotten it, I sat down in a little bench and I looked across the way, and there were steps going up to where they say the Lord was crucified and I started to weep uncontrollably. I don’t think I have ever wept like that before in my life. The reality of what Jesus has done for me hit home, and my dear wife, Jill had to actually comfort me. I was completely overwhelmed at the price that the Master had paid for my sin. Yes, I realised what a sinner I was. I broke down and I wept.

I looked up and I saw pilgrims coming into this massive cathedral, flocking in from every part of the world. I saw women from Russia with those little scarves tied around their heads and their brightly coloured clothes, coming up to a slab of granite that they say the Master’s body was laid on when Joseph of Arimathea took Him off the cross after He had died. They were taking cloths from their bags and wiping the top of the concrete slab and the tears were flowing. They would obviously take these cloths back to Russia with them for their families. There was such a presence of the Holy Spirit and I think of all those multitudes of pilgrims from all over, from Japan, China, South America, Britain, South Africa, Canada, the United States of America, coming together and just spending time on their knees worshipping the Lord.

Now, we don’t know exactly where it took place. There is another place in Jerusalem also, where they say (The Garden Tomb) where the Lord was buried. That doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is that it happened and it happened in Jerusalem, in the Old City, and I just thought how Mary Magdalene felt when she cried and asked the angel in the morning, where the body of Christ was.

I want to say to you today, take time out please to sit on your own and contemplate. It wasn’t the Jews that killed Jesus, it wasn’t the Roman soldiers that killed Jesus. It was our sin that murdered the Darling of Heaven and we need to ask Him again to forgive us and we need to think carefully about our lifestyle so that it doesn’t happen again. This is a time for you and I to contemplate on the greatest sacrifice that has ever been made in the world.

Jesus bless you as you have a very thoughtful Good Friday,
Goodbye.