Afleveringen

  • Wait on the Lord

    Wait on the Lord

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 20th of January, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We start off in the Book of Psalms 37:7:

    ”Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; 
” 

    Then we go straight to the Book of Hosea 12:6:

    “And wait on your God continually.”

    Continually - we must wait on the Lord patiently this year as we start 2025. No more rushing around. That’s what gets us into trouble. You see, King Saul, the first king of Israel, would not wait for the prophet Samuel to come and offer up a sacrifice to God before the battle started, and what happened? He lost his kingship. He lost his kingdom because he would not wait.

    This is not a quick-fix religion that you and I are involved in. No, no, no. This is a lifestyle. Wait continually, not a one-off thing, it’s a lifestyle. You know, that’s one thing farming has taught me, is to be patient because the farmer that’s rushing around never reaps anything that’s worth anything. We need to be patient. Remember Jesus, when they called Him, His best friend Lazarus was sick and dying. He came four days late but what happened? Oh, one of the greatest miracles in the New Testament -  Lazarus was raised from the dead! Jesus was never early, Jesus was never late, Jesus was always spot on time. We need to get into that habit.

    My late dad was involved in the 2nd world war and was up in North Africa with the South African troops when he was caught by Rommel and the Germans. They put him in a prisoner-of-war camp for three and a half years, but my mother was back in Britain and she was in the Air Force. Those two were going to get married. My dad said, ”I’ll come out to Africa. I’ll make some money and then I’ll come back to Scotland and I’ll marry you.” But of course the war got in between them. Do you know that they waited patiently for each other for no less than six years? And I want to tell you that it was the most beautiful marriage. I am so blessed to have been raised in a family of love.

    Today, wait for that thing that God is going to give you. Do not rush ahead and He will give it to you in His time. 

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, 
    Goodbye. 

  • Contentment

    Contentment

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 19th of January, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We start off in the Book of Proverbs 27:20:

    “Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied.” 

    Wow! Powerful words. Then we go to the Book of Ecclesiastes 5:10:

    “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.”

    Chasing the wind, folks, chasing the wind, and then lastly we go to the Book of Hosea 12:1:

    “Ephraim feeds on the wind, And pursues the east wind; 
”

    Now we as farmers know there is nothing good that comes out of the East wind. There’s no rain that comes from the East wind, not to speak of. We need to be careful what we are chasing today. People who are chasing money. I want to tell you about a man by the name of Howard Hughes. He was worth, by today’s standards, $55 Billion US dollars. He died as a recluse and he was just an absolute shell of a man. What about fame? Marilyn Monroe was probably the most famous woman when it came to modelling and acting in the world. She died at 36 years old from an overdose. What about power? Wall Street collapse, men jumping out of windows and committing suicide? Chasing the wind. 

    Young people, don’t wait and wait and wait before you get married. I’ve spoken to many couples.“ No, as soon as we pay for our house we’ll get married.” Don’t do that. It’s easier for two people to live than for one person to live on their own and you might lose your first love if you wait too long. That young successful farmer, he’s doing very well but he’s getting greedy, he wants to buy the farm next door. That farm could sink you completely. Don’t do it. The young evangelist just keeps on getting sought after, can’t say no and eventually he’s never at home. He’s all over the place. He says he’s doing the Lord’s work but he’s fooling himself because it’s for his own ego and what happens? He loses his family in the end.

    Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14:

    “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether  good or evil.”

    Let us rather obey 1 Timothy 6:6:

    “Now godliness with contentment is great gain.”

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

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  • Ambassadors

    Ambassadors

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 18th of January, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We start in 2 Corinthians 5:20:

    ”Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us:
”

    Isn’t that a beautiful scripture, the Lord speaking to the lost through you and I? Then we go straight to the Book of Revelation 1:11, and Jesus says to John:

    “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches
 â€œ

    You and I have been called to be representatives of Jesus Christ. We have been called to be ambassadors for the Lord. Now, I’ve just spoken to you about two great ambassadors. One was Paul, the Apostle, and the other was John, the blessed disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Both of these men wrote the word of God under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. You and I have a responsibility to tell the world about the soon-coming King. Now I can hear someone saying, ”Ja, well I haven’t got much education, I can’t write a book,” or somebody saying, ”I’m in an old age home. I can’t do much anymore.” Or someone is maybe in a hospital and cannot move around. What can I do?” 

    The most important thing to do, of course, is to pray, pray and pray! That is the most important thing for any believer to do, but I want to tell you about John Bunyan. Now John Bunyan wrote a book called The Pilgrims Progress, probably the most powerful and well-known book next to the Bible itself. Where did he write it? He wrote it in jail! He was in jail for 12 years off and on. He was a tinker by trade and yet that book, to this day, has impacted lives all over the world. What about C S Lewis, C S Lewis who wrote the book, Chronicles of Narnia? He wrote the Screw Tape Letters. He wrote many books.

    Folks, what I’m trying to say to you is, we don’t need to travel around the world in order to get the Gospel out. Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, you might be a farmer; you might be a businessman; you might be a teacher or a nurse; you might be a professional sportsman. You can be an ambassador for Jesus Christ. Today let’s start standing up and start shouting out from the rooftops that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He loves sinners, that He’s coming soon to take us home to be with Him in heaven forever!

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye.

  • Repent

    Repent

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 17th of January, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We start off in the Book of Hosea 11:7, a very sad verse:

    “My people are bent on backsliding from Me.” 

    Then we go to Matthew 21:29:

    “He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went.”

    Remember, the Lord told the story of the farmer who had two sons. He told the one son to go and do a certain job. The son said, “I will not,” but later on, he regretted saying that, and he went. The other son said he will go but he never went. Which one will the father prefer? The Lord said the first one. I looked up the Oxford Dictionary to find out the literal meaning of the word, “backslider” - a return to bad behaviour after an attempt to improve. It is plain selfishness, folks. That is all it is, and it is a dangerous place to be. Having known the truth and then turned your back on it and gone back, like the pig goes back to it’s own muck. 

    I read an article once of a man who walked out of the divorce courts. He had just divorced his sixth wife, and when they spoke to him he said, “She tried so hard to please me.” That is the ultimate in selfishness. He had six wives, but he never could see the log in his own eye. He was always busy taking the speck out of everybody else’s eye but never looking at himself. You know, it is better for us never to have known our beloved Lord Jesus, than to have known Him and to walk away from Him. 

    The ultimate example, of course, is Judas Iscariot.  For three years, he walked with the Lord, saw Him walk on water, saw Him multiply food, He saw miracles, signs and wonders, and still he denied the Lord and betrayed Him. You and I need to understand we cannot live like that today. I want to pray today. Maybe you have a loved one, a son, a daughter, or a father, a mother, who purposely will not walk with the Lord. We need to pray for them because it will be a perilous thing for them to stand in front of the Lord one day, knowing the truth, no excuses and still turning their back on God. 

    Father,

    I pray today for that backslider. Whatever it takes Lord, bring him home, whatever it is, let it happen so that he can repent and come home. 

    In Jesus’ name, Amen.

    God bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye.

  • Free Indeed

    Free Indeed

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 16th of January, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We go to the Gospel of John 8:36:

    ”Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed”.

    What a beautiful scripture verse! 

    Just the other day I had the privilege of attending a funeral service. I walked in and I could feel the presence of the Lord in that place, a beautiful church. The pastor was waiting, the coffin was positioned in front of the altar. It was a very plain and simple pine box, not even varnished. The handles consisted of sisal rope handles, but some of the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen at any funeral. The dear sister who had passed on had organised her own funeral before she died. She kindly asked me to bring the message of salvation and to give the people an opportunity to accept Christ. The music was glorious and triumphant, the tributes from the family were warm, loving and even humorous at times, and most of all, the freedom and the love of Christ, our Lord Jesus, was tangible. At the altar call there was not one person who did not respond. Indeed, the whole congregation prayed the sinner’s prayer together.

    Now, the order of service was beautifully printed with lovely photos, but this beautiful poem I want to read you was written on the fly-leaf. I want to say, well done my dearest sister in Christ, go and rest in peace, all your desires have been fulfilled. And this is how the poem goes. It is titled, “I Am Free”:

    Don’t grieve for me for now I’m free,

    I’m following the path God laid for me

    I took his hand when I heard him call,

    I turned my back and left it all

    I could not stay another day,

    To laugh, to love, to work or play

    Tasks left undone must stay that way,

    I’ve found that peace at the close of the day

    If my parting has left a void,

    Then fill it with remembered joy

    A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,

    Ah yes, these things I too will miss

    Be not burdened with times of sorrow,

    I wish for you the sunshine of tomorrow

    My life’s been full, I’ve savoured much,

    Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch

    If my time seemed all too brief,

    Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief

    Lift up your heart and share with me,

    God wanted me now and He has set me free.

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Short Lists

    Short Lists

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 15th of January, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We start off in the Book of Micah 6:8:

    “
But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” 

    This year we are going to keep short lists. Yes, I am talking about New Year’s resolutions. They never work, do they? Maybe some of us have already broken resolutions we made on the 1st of this month. We need to keep them short and we need to execute them. Short lists - don’t just talk about it, but do them. Do justly, starting in your own home with your own wife and your own husband and your own children. Do justly to those people who you work with and that you work for. Honour them. Do justly as if you were doing it unto the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. 

    Be merciful, love mercy. Folks, people are suffering. We get letters every single day of the week, hundreds of them. People are suffering. They are sick physically, spiritually and mentally, and they need mercy, they need love. People make mistakes, all of us. Be merciful to them because it is only by the grace of God that you are standing today. And then, walk humbly with your God. Oh, He is a beautiful friend who sticks closer than a brother. We are saved by grace and grace alone. We are not saved by any good works, by any effort. It is just because He loves us. Let us not become arrogant. Arrogance, I think is one of the things that keep people away from the Lord because they see the way we strut around and they say, “Well, if that is how a Christian is going to behave, I don’t want to be a Christian.” Let’s be humble, let’s prefer one another, let’s get to the back of the queue. If somebody wants to push in, take a step back. Let him go through, let her go through. 

    If somebody overtakes you on the highway and pushes in, one gets so angry sometimes but you don’t know why that person is in such a rush. Maybe they have a sick child in the car, you never know. Just put your hand up and bless them rather than shake your fist at them. Let’s walk the talk. This year, let’s be Jesus to a dying world. 

    Have a wonderful day,
    God bless you and goodbye.

  • Fellowship

    Fellowship

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 14th of January, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to the Book of Hosea 8:2:

    “Israel will cry to me, “My God, we know you!”

    But the children of Israel did not know God at that time. They thought they did but they were playing the harlot. They were building things they said were for God but it wasn’t for God, it was for them. 

    Then we go straight to the Book of Titus 1:16:

    “They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him,
”

    You know, the Westminster Confession was a group of men of God who many, many years ago got together and they wanted to seek the main purpose for God’s creation for man on earth and this is the conclusion that they came to: “The main purpose of man is to glorify God (number one) and to enjoy Him forever.” That’s it. You see, God doesn’t need us. He really doesn’t need you and I. He wants us, He created us so that we could have fellowship with Him. He wants us but He doesn’t need us. He said one word and everything you and I can see came into being immediately. A few years back, quite a few years back now actually, I virtually heard God speak to me audibly. Now, He has never spoken to me audibly but He spoke to me in my heart so clearly one day. It is laughable but it is actually very serious and this is basically what He said, “Angus, your busyness is making Me tired.” Oh folks! It was a rebuke - “Your busyness is even making Me tired!” You see, it is not what we can do for God, its fellowship that He is wanting, folks.

    Now, moms and dads, it is like your children. Please hear what I am saying, I have walked this road. Your children want you. They don’t want what you can do for them. What does it say in the Book of Mark 8:36:

    “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”

    Well you can change that a little bit to, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his family?” Remember, a good idea is not always a God-idea. We don’t need to help God, we need to obey God. Now, if it is not working for you today, stop it. I really mean that. Stop it. Stop chasing around, wearing yourself out and wearing everybody else out, building things that you say are for God, but they are not. They are idols. Lay them down, spend time with God, spend time with your children, and your life will be much more successful.

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Praise the Lord

    Praise the Lord

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 13th of January, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We go to the Gospel of Luke 19:40, Jesus said:

    “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”

    Oh folks. The Pharisees said to the Lord, ”Listen to these people; they’re worshipping you. Tell them to keep quiet.” And the Lord said the very stones would praise Him if the people didn’t. You know, we go to an early morning men's prayer group, and we gather together when it is still dark. We have been doing it for years, and these men are working men but they come out to pray and to worship the Lord, and we pray before the sun rises, just ordinary men, we pray for our families, we pray for the countries of the world, we pray for the lost, we pray for revival but before that, we sing! No, no, no, we are not opera singers. No, no, we are not famous singers, we are not on the hit list, but you know something? We praise the Lord.

    Folks, I want to tell you that when we go into that little chapel on the farm, men come in there with all kinds of burdens, but when you praise the Lord you can feel the burdens literally lifting and there is an openness that comes and a joy, and laughter, and faith and expectancy. I want to sing a little song. You all know it, and I want you to sing it with me. It goes like this:

    And He is Lord, He is Lord,
    He has risen from the dead 
    And He is Lord.

    Every knee shall bow,
    Every tongue confess,
    That Jesus Christ is Lord.

    Come on, you in your pick-up, you are driving, you are getting the kids ready for school, I don’t know where you are - come on, sing it with me!

    And He is Lord, He is Lord,
    He has risen from the dead 
    And He is Lord,

    Every knee shall bow,
    Every tongue confess,
    That Jesus Christ is Lord.

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye. 

  • Write Your Vision

    Write Your Vision

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 12th of January, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to the Book of Habakkuk 2:2-3: 

    “Then the Lord answered me and said:

    “Write the vision
    And make it plain on tablets,
    That he may run who reads it.
    For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
    But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
    Though it tarries, wait for it;
    Because it will surely come,
    It will not tarry.”

    I want to ask you today, have you written down any areas of your life that you want to clean up, that you want to do better for the year 2025? We are right into it already. We are almost halfway through January. Can you believe it? But you know, if you don’t write it down, you have got nothing to aim for. What do they say? If you aim at nothing you are sure to hit it. You have got to get that journal. Write down your vision and make it plain, so that others can run with it as well. I have been looking at a devotional and this is what it said, “Think it over.” Now, I wrote in this devotional, you won’t believe it, in the year 2003, 22 years ago! This is what I wrote: “I intend to read my Bible more, to pray more, to have more Christian fellowship, to become a better husband, to become a better dad, to become a better grandad and to work harder for the Kingdom of God.” That is what I wrote in the year 2003, and I stumbled upon that reading this very morning. 

    I want to say to you, write down the thing that you are aiming for. 22 years ago that is what I was aiming for and I can tell you from my heart that that is still my vision even today. I am not saying that I achieved it by any means, but that is what I am aiming for. And I want to say to you as well, take a notebook, take a diary and write it down, what you are wanting to do and accomplish and then work towards it, and then the Lord says that we must wait for it, He says because it will speak in due course.

    Have a wonderful day.
    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Walk the Talk

    Walk the Talk

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 11th of January, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

    We start in the Gospel of Matthew 15:11. Jesus says:

    ”Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”

    You and I have to clean our act up. Yes, we need to check our hearts today because it is more than outward appearances. You see, Jesus and His disciples were eating some food. They hadn’t washed their hands. They had probably been on the road. The pious Pharisees and scribes started pointing fingers. They said, “Look at these men! They don’t even wash their hands before they eat.” But the Pharisees and scribes went through all their rituals, their traditions, and had a special way of washing their hands, of washing their utensils, but inside they were rotten and Jesus saw it. 

    We must not be hypocrites. As believers, we have got to be an example to the world. Jesus is more interested in the inside of a man or woman than the outside appearance of a man or a woman. Matthew 23:27:

    “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.”

    You see, it is hypocrisy that keeps a lot of people from turning to Jesus Christ. Mahatma Gandhi said he would have no problem following this Man, Jesus, but he could not reconcile himself to the followers of Jesus. We’ve really got to start to clean the inside first. I looked up the Oxford Dictionary of the word hypocrisy, and it is really quite scary. It said, “Behaviour in which a person pretends to have a higher standard than what they really have.”

    One of the saddest things that happened to me as a new Christian, many years ago - I heard a true story about a pastor. He was a very fine looking man, always well-dressed, well-spoken and he preached a great message. He went away for a couple of weeks and left the key of his postbox with his secretary and his secretary would go and take the post out every week. She went this one week and took the post out and there she found a pornographic magazine that this pastor was subscribing to.  You see, he had forgotten that the magazine was coming to his postbox and that destroyed his ministry. After that, he left town. I want to say to you, let us be very careful that we walk the talk.

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye.

  • Success

    Success

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 10th of January, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We start in Psalm 90:17: 

    “And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
    And establish the work of our hands for us;
    Yes, establish the work of our hands.”

    Make us successful in everything we do, please Lord Jesus, establishing the work of our hands. You know, some say Moses was the greatest leader who has ever lived, apart from Jesus obviously. He took a whole nation for forty years through the desert. Folks, we are talking about temperatures of over 45 degrees, 50 degrees sometimes during the day, and freezing at night. He fed those people, a whole nation, not for one year but for forty years. Moses was a great man of God, but you see his prayer was, “Make us successful, Lord, for Your glory.”

    I want to ask you a question. Are you praying every morning before you start work with your staff? Are you praying and committing the day’s work into the Lord’s hands before you start? Whether you be a farmer, school teacher, businessman, or construction man, are you standing with your staff and praying every morning and reading a scripture verse before you start work? Do you know that the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, every single morning, early in the morning, spent time getting instruction from His Heavenly Father as to what He had to do? If you read Mark 6:46, He departed to the mountain to pray, to be alone with the Lord. I want to encourage you to pray in the mornings before you start. That is what makes you a successful man or woman, by committing everything into God’s hands before you do anything else. I want to pray for you at the start of this year that you will do it, that you will discipline yourself and do it every single day. It just makes the day go so much smoother and there is such a bonding with your people when you start the day in prayer. 

    Father God,

    I pray for my friends today, before they start work every morning, that like the man of God, Moses, they will pray, “Lord establish the work of our hands please”, in Jesus' precious name, 

    Amen.

    God bless you and goodbye.

  • The Miracle-Worker

    The Miracle-Worker

    · Thought For Today

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

    We go straight to the Gospel of Mark 6:50:

    “for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

    That is what Jesus said when the disciples saw Him walking on the water in the middle of a terrible storm. He is The Miracle-Worker! Oh my dear friend, I have been on a boat in the middle of Lake Galilee and I want to tell you, it is extremely deep. It is the source of life for the country of Israel. Jesus wasn’t walking across a little stream. He was walking across a lake that was in the middle of a terrible storm and the disciples were fearing for their very lives. They were experienced fishermen and they knew that they were in deep trouble. What did He say? The Master said, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” He stilled the aggressive storm and got into the boat with them. There is no living creature who has ever done this before. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. That is what the Bible says in Hebrews 13:8.

    The same Lord asked an old woman who was well-passed having a baby, her name was Sarah, that’s right, Abraham’s wife, He told her she was going to have a son, and she laughed. She didn’t believe it and then He asked her a question (Genesis 18:14):

    “Is there anything too hard for the Lord?”

    Well, the answer is that there is nothing too hard for Him, but why is it that you and I believe the Bible, we believe the written word of God, but sometimes we cannot believe that Jesus can answer our prayers. He can heal that sickness, He can make those blind eyes open, He can open those deaf ears, He can heal that heart problem, He can find that job for you, He can make a place for you at university where they said there’s no place, He can save that marriage. I want to pray a prayer of faith for you today:

    Father,

    I pray for my dear friend who is really battling to believe that You can answer their prayers. 
    Lord, You walked on the water, 
    You gave an old woman (nearly 100 years old) a baby,  and You can answer this prayer today. 

    We ask it in Jesus’ name, 
    amen.

    God bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye

  • New Beginnings

    New Beginnings

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 8th of January 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a Thought for Today. We start in 2 Corinthians 5:17, out of the Amplified Version today:

    ”Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Saviour], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].”

    Wow, what a beautiful scripture! As we start this new year, which is still the first month of a brand-new year, I can hear somebody sitting there and saying, “Angus, I have messed up. I am done and dusted. There is no hope for me - I have let the Lord down, I have let my family down, I have let my husband down, I have let my parents down. There is no hope for me.” Oh yes, there is, according to this scripture! If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. Old things have passed away. 

    Look at Mary Magdalene. Jesus cast seven demons out of that woman. She was an immoral woman, according to the word of God, and yet the Lord used her. I want to tell you that if you get to Heaven before me, the woman who will be sitting closest to the Lord, the most beautiful woman in Heaven, will be Mary Magdalene. Why? Because God takes broken things, He renews them and makes them new again. 

    What about Peter, the big fisherman? “I will die for You, Lord.” He denied the Lord three times. He was absolutely disgusted with his life, but he repented. He said sorry, and God gave him a new beginning. What about Paul (Saul), the Pharisee? Paul, who thought he was doing a good thing by killing Christians? He was an evil man, but the Lord gave him a second chance, a new beginning, and Paul wrote two-thirds of the New Testament.

    I want to pray for you this morning. Put the past behind you. You know, the Lord has got a bad memory. What do I mean? When He forgives, He forgets. So let’s say, “Lord, please give us another chance; give us a new beginning.” Pray this prayer after me:

    Dear Lord Jesus,
    This morning, on the 8th of January 2025, I give my life to You afresh. 
    Lord, I want to make a new start.
    I want to put the past behind me.
    I see that big blackboard duster rubbing out all that chalk,
    all those sins paid for, done.
    And Lord, I want to serve You this year with all of my heart. 
    I ask it in Jesus’ name, amen.

    God bless you, and have a wonderful year,
    Goodbye.

  • Our Thoughts

    Our Thoughts

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 7th of January, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

    We start in the Book of Romans 1:21:

    “
became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” 

    We are talking about vain imaginations, thinking things that aren’t true. Then we go to 2 Corinthians 10:5:

    “
casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
”

    Oh my dear friend, we really need to be careful what we are thinking about. What am I talking about? We get an attitude against somebody because when we drove past them on our way to work and we waved to them, they did not respond, so we thought, “Oh, they are too good to speak to a humble person like me!” Okay, but what actually happened was, the sun was in their eyes and they didn’t see you. And that other time, you were in the shops and greeted that man who was walking right in front of you, “Hello John,” and he never responded but what you don’t realise is, John left his hearing aids at home and he can’t hear too well, so he never heard a word you said.

    I really want to say to you that we need to capture those vain imaginations because they pull you down and start arguments and thoughts that have no foundation, no meaning at all, just the devil trying to cause trouble. So I want to say to you today, read books that are solid, that are encouraging, that are true. Watch movies that have solid backgrounds. Don’t watch rubbish, don’t make your mind like a garbage pit but rather think about things that are pure and good and what the Lord says about you and your neighbour, and you will live a much more pleasant and positive life for Jesus Christ.

    God bless you and goodbye. 

  • Use What You Have

    Use What You Have

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus' precious Name. It is Monday morning, the 6th of January, 2025, and this is your friend Angus Buchan with a thought for today.

    We start in 1 Kings 17:12:

    So she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin and a little oil in a jar."

    That's what the widow told Elijah, the prophet when he asked her to make him a small biscuit. Then we got to Mark 6:37:

    But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat."

    Now, there was a large crowd of people, and they were hungry. Jesus says, "You, give them something to eat." You do it. "But you know, I'm an old-aged pensioner, I really don't have much income." or "I'm just a working man or a working woman. I'm a widow, I don't have much. I can't help..." But the Lord says that we are to use what we have. 


    Remember, the Lord took two fishes and five barley loaves and fed 5000 men, not including women and children. This morning, God is looking for willing hearts who are prepared to step out with raw faith and obey the word of God. That widow did what the prophet said, and her flour and oil never ran out until the drought was over. If she had refused to make that biscuit, it would have been the last biscuit she and her little son would have eaten. It's in giving that we receive.

    What do you have in your hand? Give it to the Lord, and He will multiply it for you.
In 2008, many of you will remember that we had the biggest tent in the world on this farm. Oh yes. We were expecting 23,000 men and 60,000 men arrived. The tent was full - 30,000 seats inside the tent and 30,000 men outside the tent. But listen to this. We also told them that we would feed them. Well, folks, I want to tell you something now. We slaughtered 40 oxen for one meal. Then we had those foot-longs, which we call footlong sausages, like hot dogs, and we fed those men. Then we gave them bunny chow, the famous Natal bunny chow. Where you take half a loaf of bread, take the inside out, and fill it up with stew. We fed them the whole weekend, and we never ran out of food.

    Today, give the Lord what you've got. He says we must give them something to eat and let him do the rest.

    Jesus bless you, and good
bye.

  • Healing Hands

    Healing Hands

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name, it is Sunday morning, the 5th of January, 2025, and this is your friend Angus Buchan with a Thought for Today.

    We go to Mark 16:18:

    “They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

    Can you imagine the hands of Jesus being laid upon you, my dear friend, to take away all your sickness, all your pain, all your suffering, all your fear and all your anxiety, those beautiful, beautiful hands. Of course, you know they will have a hole through them. They have been pierced by nails when the Lord was nailed to the cross for our sins, but what beautiful hands.

    Early this morning I was repairing a fence the back of our garden, and because I'm a preacher now and not a farmer, I must confess, my hands are very soft. I was quite embarrassed. I just remember my dear old Dad. Man, he had hands like you can't believe. He was a blacksmith, and he used tongs and 14-pound hammers, standing next to that fiery furnace and heating up that steel and banging it. He had the most incredibly powerful hands, yet they were so gentle - I never once saw him try to break a man's hand. He would shake your hand and it was like it was in a vice. It was firm, it was secure! Hands, hands are so important.

    I remember, one day, going to the chemist's shop and as I was paying for something I said to the lady, look at my hands. I've got hands and like a woman now that I don't farm actively anymore. She looked at me and she said, “Don't insult women's hands.”
Now, when I speak to farmers, I have to put my hands in my pockets because when they see those hands, they'll say those aren’t a farmers hands. But you know, on a serious note, the Lord tells us to lay our hands upon the sick and to pray for healing over them. To get a touch from the Lord is so beautiful and so precious. I love to stop and pray for somebody in the street and I will put my hand on their shoulder; sometimes I don't even pray and they start to weep. It's the love of Christ in us that people need to experience, so it doesn't matter whether your hands are strong or soft. 

    I think of the hands of that incredible neurosurgeon, Dr. Carson, who had the gift of separating Siamese twins with one operation taking something like 48 hours. Those were hands of compassion and hands that are strong. Remember, folks, people love a handshake, they love a hug, and it doesn't matter whether your hands are rough, or whether they’re smooth but make sure they're always clean. My Dad had the cleanest hands of a man I've ever seen. He made sure that when he went out, his hands were clean. There might be rough and gnarled, but clean, and most of all filled with the love of Jesus.

    Have a blessed day.
    God bless you, and goodbye.

  • Back to Basics

    Back to Basics

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 4th of January, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to the Old Testament to the Book of Jeremiah 4:22:

    “For My people are foolish,
    They have not known Me.
    They are silly children,
    And they have no understanding.
    They are wise to do evil,
    But to do good they have no knowledge.”

    What a sad verse! And then we go to the Book of Hosea 4:1:

    “There is no truth or mercy
    Or knowledge of God in the land.” 

    Another very sad scripture!  As we start the new year of 2025, we have to teach the children of God carefully to do good and not evil. These comments have been made, not to unbelievers - no, but to the Body of Christ! We have got to get back to basics. 

    John 17:17, Jesus says:

    “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”

    Because I can hear somebody saying, “Yes, but what is truth?” Well, the word is truth. We need to teach our children, teach our loved ones, about the knowledge of God. That is what will set us free, and the knowledge of God is the undiluted word of God. It’s not about our opinions, it is God’s opinion that counts. 

    One of my sons met a a new farmer in the district in the local farmer’s co-op, some months back. A very, very successful farmer who had been farming up-country, and he relocated and bought a new farm not too far away from us, and they got talking in the co-op, a good place to talk! This man was devastated. He said, “I have lost almost sixty head of cattle. Sixty cows have died from red water” (which is a tick-born disease). And my son said, “What are you doing about it?” And he said, “No, the vets have told us, the experts have told us to leave the cattle and they will become immune in time.” My son is from the old school. He said, “Sir, I would advise you to dip your cattle regularly.” Well, of course, he got back to the basics and he dipped his cattle. We saw that gentleman in church a few weeks later. His face was beaming. He said, “I have not lost one cow since then.” We have got to do the basics right. There is a lot of theory going on. At the end of the day, it is what Jesus says that counts. 

    What am I talking about? 

    Husbands, love your wives - that is what the Bible says, unconditionally. 
    Wives, submit to your husbands - it’s what the Bible says. 
    Children, honour your parents - it’s what the Bible says. 
    Parents, do not provoke your children. Love one another unconditionally.
    That is wisdom.

    Jesus bless you and have a lovely day,
    Goodbye.

  • The Truth in Love

    The Truth in Love

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 3rd of January, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We start off in the Gospel of Mark 6:20:

    “
for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.”

    Then we go to the Book of Acts 26:28:

    "Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”

    People don’t have to like us but they must respect us. You see, even though John openly rebuked King Herod for taking his brother’s wife and living an ungodly lifestyle, Herod still respected John and admired him. There are many people on the verge of giving their lives to Jesus, and your lifestyle and my lifestyle will determine whether they come through or not. You see, the truth of God draws people to Jesus, just like a light draws a moth in the middle of the night - it’s irresistible. King Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”

    We must never lower our standards because if we do, people will simply despise us and say, “You see, they are a bunch of hypocrites!” We need to stand tall, we need to speak the truth, and God will bring those people to Himself. When they see your peace, your purpose, your joy, they will come to you and say, “I want what you have got.” So young lady, you don’t have to throw your virginity away just to please people. Young man, you don’t have to bend the rules, put your fingers in the till, as they say, and take money that is not yours, just to keep up with other people. It doesn’t work and it does not last. We really need to stand up for what we believe in.

    There is a young man who I love very dearly. I have known him for many years and I keep saying to him, “When are you coming to have a cup of tea with me?” I say to him, “I have got the kettle on, I am waiting for you.” But he knows what we are going to talk about and I am firmly believing by faith that one day, I will get that phone call where he will say, “Angus, I am coming to have that cup of tea.” And that will be the day that he will fully commit his life and his lifestyle to Jesus Christ. But until then, by the grace of God, we continue like John the Baptist to speak the truth in love - in love - and God will do the rest.

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye.

  • Homemade Prayers

    Homemade Prayers

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 2nd of January, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We go straight to the Gospel of Matthew 6:8. Jesus said:

    “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” 

    Now just before that, the Lord tells us that He is not interested in vain repetition when you pray, not fancy words. I love what C H Spurgeon says. He talks about “homemade prayers”.  If there is one thing I really desire for you as we go into the new year, is that this year be a year where you learn to speak daily to the Lord Jesus Christ, prayers which come straight from the heart, speaking straight to Jesus Christ - no flowery Christianese, but honest day to day language. The Lord understands it, just that ordinary layman’s language to a Carpenter, just tell Him exactly how you are feeling, tell Him how things really are, and ask Him to help you. It is not so much about the words even, is it? It is more about the heart of the prayer. 

    We need to speak to Jesus through the Holy Spirit, just as you would speak to your workmate in the office, in the field, in the workshop. David Wilkerson, in his book, The Cross and The Switchblade, said sometimes, when he would pray the Sinner’s Prayer with those young gangsters from the ghettos of New York, their vocabulary was non-existent. Every second word was a swear word and they prayed the Sinner’s Prayer in blasphemous language, they were unaware of that, but their heart was pleading with God.

    I remember, just after I had given my life to Christ, we were sitting in a circle in a prayer meeting, probably the first one I had ever been to, and each one of us had to pray. The leader said, “Just pray” and we had never prayed out loud. The turn came to one old gentleman, his name was John, and I have never forgotten his prayer. His prayer came from the depths of his heart. He was in big trouble and he said, “Oh God, please help me!” And the Lord helped him. 

    As you go into this new year, make prayer a priority in your life, every single morning and right through the day, and last of all at night, before you go to sleep. Speak to Him in homemade prayers.

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Prepare Your Heart

    Prepare Your Heart

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus' precious Name. It is Wednesday morning, the 1st of January, 2025, and this is your friend Angus Buchan with a Thought for Today. Happy New Year! Many of us didn't think we'd make it this year, did we? But God, in His grace and love, has seen fit for us to face another brand-spanking New Year - Happy New Year to you!

    We start in Philippians 3:10, Paul says:

    "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death..."

    Paul waited 13 years before the disciples accepted him and commissioned him to go out and preach the gospel to this dying world. We look forward to a new year; some qualified students are ready to face the world. Some others have just got their papers: qualified tradesmen and women. Children are going into their final year at school, and we are so excited, but I want to say something to you, first to us and then to the whole world.

    We've got to get it into our souls first before we take the message to a dying world. My dear friend, there is a time for us to get qualified, yes, there is an apprenticeship that we have to serve before we go out and tell others how to live. Yes, the gospel is for all people, and Jesus said go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. That was the last thing He said to the disciples before He went home to be with His Father in heaven. We mustn't forget that those disciples had walked with the Son of God for at least three years, night and day, before he commissioned them to go into the world.

    We face a brand new year with wonderful opportunities and an exciting year. I've never been so excited in my life! This past year, the Lord has told me to spend time in solitude and quietness. I have not stood on a platform or preached from a pulpit for a whole year, and I am starting this year. We need to understand before God sends us out, our hearts and souls must be prepared for the gospel. You can't tell others how to live and what to do if it is not good in your heart. Spend time preparing your heart for the great commission, wherever that might lead you, and then when you are equipped and qualified, go out and tell the good news to every soul.

    Jesus bless you, and once again, I pray that God will give you your heart's desire this year, 2025, and you delight yourself in Him. (Psalm 37:4)

    God bless you and goodbye

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