I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 9th of August, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in 2 Timothy 1:5:

“…when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.“

Today in South Africa, we remember National Women’s Day. I want to pay tribute today to the women. Lois and Eunice are not names that are used a lot in this day and age, but Lois was Timothy’s grandmother, and Eunice was Timothy’s mother, and these two ladies had a profound influence on the apostle Timothy’s life. Installed by the power of the Holy Spirit, Timothy had faith, so much so that the great apostle Paul mentioned it. He said, “That faith is also in you.”

I want to say today to the men, we need to love our women. In fact, that’s what the word says. It says, “Women submit to your husbands, but husbands, love your wives.” We need to treat them in a very special way because we need to respect them as handmaidens of the Lord. You know that Mary Magdalene was a huge influence on Jesus’ life. She was so faithful. She remained faithful to Jesus when all the disciples ran away and forsook Him. She never left His side.

I want to tell you a little story. My mother told me that when I was a newly born baby, I don’t think I was two or three months old, I had a digestive problem where the food could not go into my stomach. She took me to the doctors. They put me in hospital. Eventually, I lost so much weight that I was skin and bone. The doctor said to my mother, ”Take him home because there’s nothing more we can do for him. Take him home to die.” But my mother persisted, she never gave up, she prayed. She kept on putting those bottles of milk into my stomach and I kept bringing them up until one day, and she’ll never forget it, she gave me a bottle of milk and it never came up and that was the beginning of the rest of my life. My mother, what a wonderful woman of God. I had the privilege of leading her to Jesus Christ. Women have incredible resilience, strength, and determination.

You know the founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth said, ”My best soldiers are women.” Today ladies, we want to respect you, honour you, and tell you that we love you and that we could not live without you.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.