Afleveringen

  • Family

    Family

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 16th of September, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    I am reading out of the Amplified Version this morning.

    “For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world [with all its pleasures], and forfeit his soul?“
    Mark 8:36

    Folks, this morning I want to speak to you about family. We can add to that scripture, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his family?”  -  because your soul is tied up with your family.  The first family ever on earth was the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Remember, charity - love, begins at home. It is so precious to the Lord Jesus Christ, the family unit, and the devil knows that, and he knows the only way he can hurt the Lord is to hurt the family. We must never forget, the devil hates God and that is why the devil hates you, because he sees God in you. We need to protect our families with our very lives. 

    Some of us are locking up the front door to make sure the devil doesn’t come in and the devil is walking straight in through the back door. We need to be so protective over our loved ones. Our priorities must remain in order: First, God, then your wife or your husband, then your children, and then everything else. Be sure that things are okay back at the ranch. It’s no good if the wheels are coming off at the ranch and you are out there, preaching the Gospel to the whole world. We need to start at home base. Let’s be honest with each other, sometimes the hardest place to be a Christian is in your own home. Isn’t that right? You can ask mom. She knows exactly what dad is really like when he is at home. 

    I will never forget, one of the saddest things for me. When I was a young farmer up in Central Africa, we used to have a mixed farm. We had watermelons, pigs and cattle, and at that time, they were building a railroad from Dar-Es-Salaam on the Indian Ocean, right into the centre of Africa, where we were farming in Zambia. The Chinese would come in with their trucks, convoys of them, to buy all our watermelons, one time, all our pigs - and these men would come in and they all had the same grey uniforms on, and they would stop often and just sit and watch our little children (our children were very young at that stage), playing together in the garden, and then they would come to me, very, very sad and with sign language, they would tell me that back home in China, they would also have wives and children. I have never forgotten that. 

    We need to spend more time together and we need to appreciate each other much more. 

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Religion

    Religion

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 15th of September, 2024 and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We go to the Gospel of Matthew 23:24:

    ”Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” 

    Religion is a killer. These are the words of Jesus. Now, do you know what a gnat is? I looked up the Oxford dictionary to find out the exact meaning of a gnat. A gnat is a small two-winged fly, resembling a mosquito. Now Jesus says, you strain out a gnat, but swallow a camel. We need to be so careful on this one. We go to Luke 6:9. Jesus asked the pharisees, the religious people: 

    Then Jesus said to them, â€œI will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?”

    See, and they never said a word. Now there was a man with a withered hand and Jesus wanted to heal his hand but the religious people said you mustn’t do any work on a Sabbath day, and that is when the Lord asked, “Is it right or wrong to do good on the Sabbath?” We must be very careful that we don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Now, moms and dads, tell your children what that means. 

    A few years back, two young women came into our church, and I must be honest with you, they were very skimpily dressed and very suggestively dressed, and there was a visitor that came from overseas. He was clearly a pharisee because after the service he came up to us and he said, ”How can you allow two women, so badly dressed, to come into the church?” and we looked at him and we said, ”But sir, we have never seen those women before. This is the first time they’ve ever come to church.” You see, folks, those two women were obviously seeking the Lord, and they decided to be brave and come to church to meet with Jesus, but if the pharisee had his way, he would have never allowed them in. How many times do we read in the bible that Jesus was eating with the tax collectors, the publicans, the prostitutes. Even the disciples didn’t come into those eating houses. “Lord, do you know who those people are?” 

    “Yes, I know who they are. I came for the sick, not the healthy.” Be careful today, that we don’t swallow a camel and try and strain out a little mosquito, a gnat, out of our food. 

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day. 
    Goodbye.

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  • Watchmen

    Watchmen

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 14th of September, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We go to the Book of Ezekiel 3:17:

    ”
give them warning from Me
” 

    We need to warn people about the urgency of the hour in which we are living. Folks, we need to warn them in order for their lives to be saved. We have a responsibility, however - and this is very important - we cannot lead a person to Christ ourselves. Only the Holy Spirit can do that in the name of Jesus Christ.

    I have got a special horse. His name is Snowy. I think you know him. I can take Snowy down to the water but I can’t make him drink. He only drinks when he wants to drink, and seriously, that is the case with people. We can tell them about the Lord but we can’t make them serve the Lord. There is a terrible urgency in the world at the moment. People need to know the way home. They need to know that they have to be born again. It’s what the Bible says. If we look at John 4:35, Jesus says:

    ”Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? 

    In other words, tomorrow is another day. In Zulu we say, “Kusasa, evuma uNkulunkulu“ Tomorrow, if the Lord wills. And Jesus says,

    “Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”
    John 4:35

    We really need to blow the trumpet and warn the people. You know, I have got a picture, I have had it for many years in my mind, and this is the picture - of a sleeping watchman on top of the wall of an old medieval castle, and all the people sound asleep inside the castle. Now the watchman has a responsibility. When he sees the enemy coming, he has to blow the trumpet and warn the people to wake up and get ready to defend themselves, but he is sound asleep, and the enemy has put ladders on the walls, and they are busy climbing up the ladders to go into the castle and to destroy the people. 

    You and I are those watchmen. We have a responsibility. “Ja, but they won’t listen to me, Angus”. No, that is not your responsibility. Your responsibility is to tell them, and that is not only by words but by action and lifestyle. It’s not just the responsibility of the evangelist or the minister or the pastor, no! It is every single believer's responsibility, whether at school, at university, in the workplace, in the hospital, wherever you might be. People need to hear that Jesus Christ loves them and that He is coming back very soon and we need to be prepared. 

    Have a wonderful day and goodbye. 

  • Friend of Sinners

    Friend of Sinners

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 13th of September, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We start in Psalm 2:7:

    “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.”  Then we go straight to Luke 4:41:

    “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” And those are demons acknowledging Jesus Christ as the Son of God. â€œ

    Then Luke 8:28, the same thing again:

    “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?”

    The first people to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Son of God were demons - oh yes! Jesus says that He came into the world, not for those who are healthy but for those who are sick, ordinary people who have never met Jesus Christ in a special way. Folks, I want to tell you, as I record this message, there are Mighty Men Conferences taking place all over the world. Just yesterday I was on a zoom call with men in Australia that will be meeting at Ayers Rock, right in the heart of Australia, to pray for revival for the Mighty Men Conferences coming next year. There has just been one completed in Canada - beautiful!  We have got over 20 Mighty Men Conferences happening in South Africa alone, 5 in a row in 5 weeks.. I want to tell you that God is on the move, and I want to tell you that Jesus Christ is the Friend of sinners like you and me. 

    Now, for the ladies that are listening to this programme, I want to reassure you that the reason why Mighty Men takes place, is to teach men how to love, how to respect, how to honour and how to protect their women and children, how to put bread on the table, how to teach their children how to love Jesus and to stand up and be counted, and the Lord is doing that.

    Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and Jesus went into his house to have a meal with him, the disciples said, “Lord, do you know who that man is?” He said, “Yes, I do know who he is.”  I want to tell you that Zacchaeus got converted that day. He was that little short man who climbed up the sycamore tree to see Jesus coming. He gave 400% of everything that he took away from or stole from anybody else. 

    I have seen letters sent to me from little children, 10 years old, in that big, beautiful handwriting - it makes me want to cry, “Thank you for giving me a new daddy after the Mighty Men weekend.” Women writing beautiful letters to us saying, “the man I fell in love with 20 years ago came back home this weekend.” Jesus is on the move, and He is here for the sinner and He is here for those who will put up their hand and say, “Lord, I will follow You.”

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye.

  • Time with God

    Time with God

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 12th of September, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We start in the Book of Matthew 14:25, from the amplified version of the Bible:

    “And in the fourth watch of the night (3:00-6:00 a.m.) Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.”

    Our dear Lord Jesus had been with His Father, on the mountain, before he performed one of the greatest miracles that this world had ever known. Yes, He walked on the water. Yes, He saved His disciples from drowning. Where did the strength come from? It came from time spent on the mountain with His Heavenly Father. That is what God is expecting of you and from me. Don’t even attempt to serve the Lord if you are not going to hear from God and if you are not going to spend quality time with Him.

    Jesus says, time and time again through the Gospels, that He could do nothing without His Father. We find every time the Master did a great work, He had spent time in the presence of His Father. We need to do the same. We need to get our directives from the Lord and not from people and definitely not from peoples’ opinions. The times that you and I are living in, my dear friend, are too dangerous and too critical, for us to simply try and “wing it”, as they say. If in doubt, don’t do it! Hear first from God and then commit and do it with all of your heart. 

    It was between 3 and 6 o’clock in the morning, when Jesus came walking on the water. That lake was not calm, it was extremely stormy. That lake is very, very deep. I have sailed on that lake a number of times and even today, it is known to be very turbulent and stormy at times. The disciples were sinking in the boat when the Lord came walking over those waves on top of the water, but without hesitation, when He got to the boat and He stepped into the boat, the waves and the storms ceased immediately.

    Today, before we want to attempt something, whatever it might be, whatever decision it might be, please spend time with God and hear from Him.

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Quiet Time

    Quiet Time

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 11th of September, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    I want to speak to you this morning about quiet time, spending time alone every morning with Jesus. We go to Exodus 33:14:

    “My Presence will go with you
”

    Isn’t that a beautiful assurance? Then Hebrews 13:5, where the Lord says:

    ”I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

    I want to ask you, are you having a regular quiet time every day? “No.” you say,” I’m too busy at the moment.” And how are things going with you? â€œNo. They’re not going well.” Exactly! We need to put Jesus Christ first every morning before we go to work. It doesn’t matter how busy we are. They asked Martin Luther, the great revivalist, “What do you do when you get busier in the morning?” He said: ”I get up earlier and I have my quiet time.”  We cannot go into the world without having our quiet time.

    F P Meyer was a wonderful man of God, a preacher and I picked up this reading that he had written. It goes like this: 

    “We should never leave our prayer closets in the morning without having focussed our thoughts, deeply and intensely, on the fact of the actual presence of God there with us, encompassing us and filling the room as literally as it fills heaven itself. It may not lead to any distinct results at first, but as we make repeated efforts to realise the presence of God, it will become increasingly real to us, and as the habit grows upon us, when alone in a room, or when treading the lawn of some natural woodland, temple or when pacing the stony street, in the silence of night, or even amid the teeming crowds of daylight, we shall often find ourselves whispering the words, “You are near. You are here, oh Lord. Amen.”

    What a beautiful reading. Today, give Him the first fruits before you go out of your closet. 

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Be Focused

    Be Focused

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 10th of September, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We start in the Book of Lamentations 4:4. The NKJV version says:

    The young children ask for bread, But no one breaks it for them.”

    The Amplified version says:

    ” 
The little ones ask for food but no one gives it to them.”

    Very, very sad scripture and so true - so many hungry children in our midst. Then we go to Matthew 14:14:

    ”And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.”

    Now folks, remember John The Baptist had just been beheaded. The message came through to His cousin, our Lord Jesus Christ. He must have been absolutely devastated, and the Bible tells us that He went off by himself to a deserted place, obviously to mourn the death of the man of God, and yet the multitudes followed after Jesus on foot. They would not leave Him alone but He put His personal feelings aside and He went out and He healed all of them. You and I need to keep focused on what God has called us to do.

    I can hear a person say, I’m in an old age home, what can I do? Oh, you can pray because there is power in prayer. You might be a businessman, you say, ”I can’t get on the platform, I’ve got too much work to do in my business.” Well, you can support the Gospel by the gift that God has given to you, in generating income. There’s always something that we can do.

    Remember the story, I’ve told it to you before about the little boy walking along the sea shore and a great wave came in and thousands of little starfish were stranded on the sea shore and this little boy walked along, probably five, six years old, and started picking up the starfish and throwing them back into the sea and a big man came up behind him and he said, ”Little boy, what are you doing? He said, “I am saving the starfish, sir.” And the man said, “Son, you will never ever be able to throw these hundreds of thousands of starfish back into the sea before they die.” He said, “No, sir” but he picked up a starfish (it makes me want to cry) and he threw it in and said, “but I saved that one!” And he picked up another one and he threw it into the sea and he said, “And I saved that one too!”

    Folks, we need to do what we can while there is still time left for the lost in this world. They need to hear the Gospel.

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Peer Pressure

    Peer Pressure

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 9th of September, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We go to the Book of Matthew 14:9:

    “And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her.” 

    Peer pressure! King Herod secretly admired John the Baptist for his holiness and his fearless stand for truth and righteousness, but when the crowd was around him, he was under pressure to perform, and he buckled. Do not buckle under pressure. 

    Just because everyone else is doing it, young lady, that does not make it right. All the girls in your class tell you they are not virgins - it’s not the truth. Do not conform just to be accepted. It could cost you a lot of pain and a lot of suffering. “The world stands aside for a man who knows where he is going” - isn’t that beautiful? People don’t have to like you but they must respect you. 

    I looked up the Oxford Dictionary to find out the literal meaning of the words, “peer pressure”. It means to conform, it means to buckle to intimidation, to buckle under nagging, forcing someone to do something, twisting a person’s arm. Don’t allow it to happen. If you cannot afford to buy it, do not buy it. “Yes, but everybody else has got one.” It doesn’t matter? Cut your cloth according to your pocket and then you will have peace and sleep well at night. Just because other people are doing it, doesn’t make it right. 

    King Herod knew what he was doing was wrong but in order to please people, he capitulated, he changed his mind, he let the show down and it cost him dearly. The man that Jesus said was the greatest man to be born from the womb of a woman, John the Baptist, was needlessly beheaded by a king who did not have the guts to stand. You ask yourself the question, “Well, what must I do? What is right? What is wrong? Do I pay my income tax or don’t I? Do I have an affair because all my friends are? ”Well, I will tell you what to do, it is very simple. You ask yourself one single question, and this is the question: What would Jesus do? Then you do what He would do, and you will be safe and you will live a righteous life and things will go well with you. Just do what the Master tells you to do. You will have peace, peace like a river, you will be able to sleep well, operate well. 

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Forgiveness

    Forgiveness

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Book of Lamentations 3:39:

    “Why should a living man complain, A man for the punishment of his sins?”

    Why do we complain when we have done something wrong and things don’t work out? Then we go to the Book of Micah 7:9:

    ‘“I will bear the indignation of the Lord, Because I have sinned against Him
”

    Just be honest and say sorry. Just ask God to forgive you and stop complaining about the punishment you are receiving because of something you have done wrong. Fix it, just fix it! Many years ago I leased a field from a neighbouring farm and we grew a crop on that farm, and a young man, who was working with me was a great farmer and he would come back to the farm and would complain furiously. “What is wrong?” I would say. He said, “The neighbour that we have hired the land from, his cattle keep going into our crops and are eating our crops because the fence is so poor. So I said, “Well, let’s fix the fence.” He said, “But that is not our responsibility. We have just hired the land, he is supposed to look after his own farm!” And this continued, and of course, the farmer we were leasing the land from, he wasn’t complaining, his cattle were getting fat, until one day I said to the young man, “Go and fix the fence. It doesn’t matter if it isn’t our responsibility. We are losing our crop.” And of course, once we had fixed the fence, the cattle couldn’t go in anymore. 

    I want to say to you this morning, that Jesus is more eager to forgive us of our sins than we are to ask Him to forgive us. Remember the story of the rich young ruler? He came to Jesus and said, “I have obeyed all the commandments of the Bible. The Lord said, “There is just one thing you haven’t done. Give your riches to the poor and come and follow after me.” And he couldn’t do it, he would not, he walked away. And as one minister said to me, “Jesus must have been standing there with tears running down His face,” because that man was walking on his way to hell because he would not repent and adjust his ways. I believe that if that young man had said, “Yes Lord, I will give it all away”, the Lord would have probably said, “Now you can keep it’, because He does not want us to be ensnared by the things of this world.

    Today, fix it! 

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Prayer of Faith

    Prayer of Faith

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Book of Matthew 13:58:

    “Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”

    What a sad scripture! Jesus did not do many mighty works in His own hometown, Nazareth, because of their unbelief. He says just earlier in the passage:

    “A prophet is not without honour except in his own country and in his own house.” 
    Matthew 13:57

    So sad. From Nazareth down to Capernaum is half a day’s walk. In Nazareth, where Jesus worked in the carpenter shop with His earthly father, Joseph, and his brothers, sisters and mother, Mary, He could perform very few miracles. Yet, a half a day’s walk, down to Capernaum, amazing miracles, feeding 5,000 people with two fish and five barley loaves of bread, walking on the water, healing the sick, setting captives free, delivering people from demons because the people believed.

    I want to ask you one thing, and I want you to listen very carefully. Please do not tie God’s hands because of your unbelief. When a person wants to pray for you, it is not the person who is going to heal you. It is the name of Jesus Christ, when a person anoints you with oil and prays the prayer of faith. You can find that in James 5:16. It is the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man that avails much, the Bible says. So many times when I have been overseas, people have come from distances to receive healing and they have received their healing, not because of me. I am merely a vessel of the Lord, but because of their faith in Jesus Christ. 

    Remember the woman with the issue of blood? She pushed through the crowd and touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. She said to herself, “If I can only touch the hem of His garment, I will be healed.” She was healed immediately. That woman had spent all her money going to doctors. What about Bartimaeus, the blind man? “Oh Rabboni (Teacher), if I could just receive my sight.” Immediately, he was healed. Do not tie God’s hands through unbelief - that is why He could not perform many miracles in His own hometown. 

    Jesus bless you and have a day where you contemplate the miracle working power of The Carpenter from Nazareth.

    Goodbye.

  • Be Patient

    Be Patient

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Book of Psalms 37:7: 

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

    Then we go to the Book of James 5:7-8

    “Therefore be patient, (there is that word again)  brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

    We need to be patient and today everything is almost working to the opposite of being patient. It is a case of “Hurry up and let’s do it quickly!”  Everything is fast - fast food, fast cars, a fast life. Folks, I tell you what, it does not last. The Lord says we must be like a good farmer who waits for his crop. Impatient, erratic people will never see the fruit of their labours. You and I have to work at things.

    I never had the privilege, and it is a privilege, to go to a theological college to learn about the word of God, but the Lord sent me to the field. He sent me, as a farmer. To put a crop of maize into the ground, or wheat, or corn, it takes a full year, not two or three months. You have to prepare the seed bed, you have to plant the seed, you have to nurture that crop through all kinds of disease, of weather extremes - I am talking about hail, I am talking about drought, I am talking about floods, and you have to stay with that crop. An old farmer once said to me, “Angus, how often do you check your cattle?” I said, “Every single day.”  He said, “Then you should check your crop of maize every single day because you will find something else that you can work on.” You need to deal with the weeds that spring up. If there is insect damage coming in, you need to deal with it. You coax it, you tend it, you love it until the day of harvest, and then, once it is in the bag, as they say, you can relax and give the glory to God.

    Work on your marriage. There is no such thing as a perfect marriage, I have never met one yet. Work on your marriage! Study hard to get that qualification, it does not come easy. If it did, everybody else would be doing it. Be patient, not only with your animals but with your loved ones. You see me riding a horse and you think that is easy. No, its not easy, it has taken years and years and years of patience and training to get that horse to do what I want him to do.

    Now, let’s spend time with Jesus and He will give us the grace to finish the job.

    God bless you and have a lovely day,
    Goodbye.

  • Comfort

    Comfort

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in Old Testament in the Book of Lamentations 1:20-21:

    “See, O Lord, that I am in distress; My soul is troubled;
They have heard that I sigh, But no one comforts me.”

    Then we go to Psalm 42:5:

    “Why are you cast down, O my soul?
    And why are you disquieted within me?
    Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
    For the help of His countenance.”

    Now, you know, the interesting thing there, my dear friend, is that we read this scripture from Psalm 42 - it is written twice in Psalm 42 - in verse 11 as well. Then we go to Psalm 43 and it is written yet again, three times on two pages. People are distressed, people are troubled. I looked up the Oxford Dictionary to look up the meaning of the word “Distress” It means “extreme unhappiness”, and it means to be “heartbroken.” Now, you and I need to show more love and more compassion to people who are hurting. Please never say to a hurting and distressed person that you understand, unless you have been there yourself, because they can see right through you. Rather put your arm around them, weep with them, sit with them and just be quiet. What they need desperately is hope. 

    Faith is for the present and hope is for the future. Reassure them that this life is very temporal. It is not going to last, we are passing through, we are sojourners. We are going home. Tell them about the life to come, speak to them about Heaven. You know, Jesus spoke so much about His heavenly home. Paul, the great apostle said, in Philippians 1:21:

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

    You can’t frighten a Christian with Heaven. If we live, we live for Jesus, if we die, we go home. I see some of these top sportsmen in the changing room before they go out onto the field, banging their heads up against the wall to get psyched up!  You and I don’t have to do that. What we need to do is go for a good walk, sit somewhere in a quiet place, and have a heart-to-heart chat with Jesus. Tell Him about your troubles, tell Him about your distressed moments and then leave it in His capable hands, and you will feel so much better. That is what I do. Have a good chat with the Lord and He will reassure you that He will sort it all out in due time.

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye.

  • Praise the Lord

    Praise the Lord

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Book of Psalms 113:1-3:

    "Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord! Blessed be the name of the Lord From this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its going down. The Lord's name is to be praised."

    We need to praise the Lord, my dear friend, today. How are you feeling this morning? Not feeling so good? It's a good time to praise the Lord, especially when you don't feel like it.

    The other scripture is Isaiah 59:19:

    "
When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him."

    That is the power that we have as followers of Jesus. We can praise the Lord in all our circumstances.

    On a Wednesday morning here at the farm, very early before the sun comes up, there's a group of men that come together and we pray in the chapel. Now, when we get into that chapel for the prayer meeting, we've normally had a cup of coffee or a cup of tea, the first thing we do is we start to sing and we praise the Lord and we sing for quite a while, and then we start to pray, and I want to tell you folks, it clears the air. You can see smiles on the men's faces because they are praising the Lord.

    Now the reason why I'm sending this to you is because this very morning we had a power failure. There were no lights and the first thing is, I couldn't find the torch. Then eventually I found the torch and I tried to get hold of a candle. I got the candle but I couldn't find the matches. I'm laughing but I wasn't laughing at that time! Now, I'm trying to make a fire because it's freezing cold here and I don't want my dear wife Jill to get up. It's cold in the house but I can't get outside because there's no lights and there's no firewood next to the stove. Eventually I got it all sorted out and we got the candle going, and then the lights came back on!

    I want to say to you today, we praise the Lord unconditionally, not just because we feel like it. It's because He's worthy to be praised and when we praise the Lord, it's like that candle, when I've finally found the matches, I could strike the match and the darkness literally went out of the room. I could see what I was doing, make a nice fire for my wife, put the kettle on and give her a nice cup of tea, and then the lights came back on.

    Today, I don't know where you are at, I don't know what you are dealing with but just start to praise Him and you will be surprised how things will turn around. 

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye.

  • Unclogged

    Unclogged

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in 1 John 2:15 KJV:

    “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.”

    We need to be unclogged from the things of the world. I read a beautiful reading, early this morning, by a man by the name of J. Ingels and this is how it goes:

    ‘If you go to the banks of a little stream and you watch the flies that come down to bathe in it, you will notice that while they plunge their bodies into the water, they keep their wings high out of the water, and after swimming about a little while, they fly away with their wings un-wet, through the sunny air. Now, that is the lesson for you and me. Here, on this earth, we are immersed in the cares and the business of the world, but let us keep our wings, the wings of our soul, our faith and our love, out of the world, so that with these unclogged, we may be ready to take our flight to Heaven.”

    Isn’t that beautiful? Don’t get bogged down with the things of this world that rob us of our joy. We start getting involved in things that have got nothing to do with us. Remember, you and I are sojourners, we are travellers, we are passing through. We are not remaining here forever. No, let us do what we can while we are here but let us keep our wings dry so that when the Lord calls us, we can fly away with Him into our heavenly home. 

    Today, folks, let us focus on the most important things that count - first of all, God, secondly, our loved ones, our family, then our friends, and then our work or our ministry. But let us keep them in order so that we do not get bogged down. We get our wings wet and then we cannot fly out of that water. Today, let us fly into the sunshine with dry wings and a body that is ready to face the Lord Jesus Christ, when He calls us and He says, “Well done good and faithful servant, come and enter into thy rest.

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye.

  • Pearl of Great Price

    Pearl of Great Price

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 2nd of September, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We start in the Old Testament, the Book of Proverbs 3:15:

    ”She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.”

    Then we go to Mathew 13:45-46:

    ”Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” 

    That pearl of great price! Oh, my dear friend, it is our salvation. It’s when we find the Lord Jesus Christ, isn’t it? That is exactly what it is like. So often, we forget what God has so freely given to you and me: eternal life, freedom, and a new opportunity to serve Him. We don’t even know sometimes what we are holding in our hands, do we? The Passion Translation says: “When he discovered one very precious and exquisite pearl, he immediately gave up all that he had in exchange for it.” The Message Translation says: “Finding one that is flawless, he immediately sells everything and buys it.” 

    On the 26th of January 1905, in South Africa, the largest rough diamond ever found on earth was found in the Cullinan Mine. It weighed 621.2 grams. It is worth 19,000,000 British pounds. It was named after the mine owner, Thomas Cullinan. Incredible! But I want to tell you, I found my diamond on 18th February 1979, at about 10 o’clock in the morning - an absolute pearl of great price. Yes, I met Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, and you know, since that day, everything else in this world has paled into insignificance in comparison. What about you? Would you like to find that diamond of great price? Maybe you did and you lost it. I want to pray a prayer with you today, that you would again commit your life to Jesus. Please pray this prayer after me:

    Dear Lord Jesus,

    I have been searching all my life for peace, joy and purposeful living. Today, by faith, I accept you as my Lord and Saviour. I thank you for dying for a sinner like me and today, You will become the most important person in my life.

    In Jesus’ name, Amen.

    God bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye.

  • The Smallest Seed

    The Smallest Seed

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 1st of September, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We start in the Book of Matthew 13:31-32:

    " Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." 

    Then we go to the Gospel of Luke 17:6:

    "So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you."

    The smallest of the seeds becomes the biggest plant in the garden. In fact, so big that even the birds of the air can build their nests in it. Never despise small beginnings. What is it that the Lord requires of you and me in order to do something big for Him? He requires faith and obedience that's all, nothing else.

    You know the true story of the little boy who's mom gave him two little sardines and five small barley loaves for his lunch, and when he went to hear Jesus preaching and there was a crowd of over 5000 people, he took his two sardines, his five barley loaves - yes, his mustard seed. He gave it to Jesus. Jesus multiplied it and fed a crowd exceeding 5000. That is what we have to do today. Just take what you've got and give it to the Lord, and He will use it and multiply it, and it will bless many others.

    I love that beautiful story about a little Dutch boy walking along a dike late one afternoon. Now we know that large parts of Holland are below sea level and there was a little hole that sprung forth from the dike and the water was starting to pour in. The little boy got down on his knees, he put his finger in the hole where the water was coming through, and he stayed there all night and kept his finger in that hole, until people came the next day and helped him. He saved a whole town from a devastating flood.

    I want to say to you today just use what you've got. I carry little bottles of mustard seed around with me in my pocket and often when people are feeling down I give them a little bottle of mustard seed and they say, "What is that?" And I say, "That is a reminder that all you need is faith, the size of one mustard seed and the Lord will undertake for you."

    Put your trust in Him today. Give Him what you've got and let Him show you what a miracle working God He really is!

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Wheat and Tares

    Wheat and Tares

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the 2 Samuel 19:6:

    ”
you love your enemies and hate your friends.”

    That was a word that Joab, the general of the armies of Israel, told King David. Then we go straight to the Gospel of Matthew 13:27:

    ”So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?” (or weeds). 

    The Lord is speaking to us this morning very clearly because the farmer said to his servants, “Leave the weeds and concentrate on the wheat. Let them both grow out together and then at harvest time, we take the weeds out first, burn them, and then we’ll reap the rich crop of wheat.” We need to be very careful that we are not spending our valuable time in the wrong place. We need to start to spend more time with those who want to spend time with us. 

    You say to me, ”but what about those who hate us? What about those who are constantly putting us down, bad mouthing us? What do we do in that case?” I will tell you what you do - you commit them into the Lord’s hands, you pray for them and then you move on, and you spend time with those who want to spend time with you, and you do not allow those negative things, those weeds, those tares, to influence your life to such a degree that the people that love you are neglected.

    C. H. Spurgeon, the prince of preachers, was walking down the high street one day and a man came up to him and said,

    ”You! You are the chief of all fools”, or words to that effect, and he turned around and said, ”Well, at least I’m the chief of something!” Don’t let those negative words, those negative influences, put you down.

    Today, let us walk with those who love the Lord and those who want to walk with us. Let the Lord take care of the weeds and the tares, and let’s start to be grateful for the friends that the Lord has given us.

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Nevertheless

    Nevertheless

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Gospel of Luke 5:5:

    “But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” 

    There is our key word for today, “nevertheless”. “Nevertheless, even though it is not working, Lord, You said it, nevertheless I will do it once more.” And Peter threw that net over and the fish that swam into that net were so many that the net was breaking and he had to call the boats to help him bring in the catch.

    Do not stop, do not give up. Never, ever, ever give up. Throw it in once more, try it once more, write that exam once more. Keep going, don’t stop, work on that marriage, work on that degree, don’t stop. Simon threw the net in once more and what a catch! Do you remember the story of the King of Scotland, Robert the Bruce? He was one of the mightiest kings that Scotland ever had but he was getting defeated by the enemy. His army was scattered everywhere. In fact, the King of Scotland was hiding in a cave for his very life. He was sitting in that dark cave, he was totally disillusioned, he didn’t know what to do. Then he saw a spider, and this spider was trying to weave a web and was swinging from one side of the cave to the other side but he kept missing. He couldn’t make it. He came short and he fell and he crawled up the wall again, and he climbed up the wall again and he swung across again, and he did it many times and eventually that little spider made it to the other side, and then he was able to weave his web. That little insect prompted the King of Scotland to get out of that cave, to rally his troops and once more take on the enemy. Yes, and he defeated the enemy and chased them out of Scotland.

    Today, do what the Lord says. If He says, “Nevertheless, do it once more”, please obey what the Lord tells you.

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye.

  • Trustworthy

    Trustworthy

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Book of Malachi 3:6:

    ”For I am the Lord, I do not change;
“

    Isn’t that a beautiful promise? Our Lord cannot tell lies, it is against His nature, He can’t do it. If we look at Numbers 23:19, the Bible says:

    ”God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” 

    Oh, you can bank on it, He will not disappoint you. I think, one of the hardest things for us to face is broken promises - when your husband promised he’d be home at 7 o’clock and he doesn’t come home, or that young lady promised that she’d deliver and she didn’t do it. It is so heart wrenching, isn’t it? But the good news is, there is One that we can be absolutely confident in, yes, His name is Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6:

    ”being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;” 

    Isn’t that wonderful? I want to say to you today that with a world that is so insecure, where you can’t trust anyone, there is One who is trustworthy. I read a beautiful reading early this morning, written by a mighty man of God, Samuel Rutherford. He said, and I quote:

    ”Our hope is not hung up upon such untwisted thread as for example, “I imagine so” or “It is likely”. No, rather it is the cable, the strong rope of our fastened anchor. It is the oath and the promise of Him who is eternal truth. Our salvation is fastened with God’s own hand and Christ’s own strength, to the strong stake of God’s unchanging nature.”

    Today, put your trust in the Lord. He will never disappoint you.

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, 
    Goodbye.

  • Imitate Jesus

    Imitate Jesus

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the 1 Corinthians 11:1. Paul says:

    “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” 

    Wow, there is a challenge for us! It’s no good shouting at your tractor driver because he is ploughing in the wrong gear, and he is wasting diesel as the black smoke goes out of the exhaust pipe. Stop him at at the headland, ask him to move over, jump on the tractor and show him how to do it and he will not argue with you. I remember years ago, buying a beautiful Simmentaler bull from a very, very well-established stockman. His name was Cedric Taylor. There was a group of young guys trying to help me, and we were trying to load this huge one-ton Simmentaler bull onto my truck, and he would just not go on, and we were trying everything, and then I heard the old man say, “Excuse me, can you just move over a bit?” And then he walked up to that bull and he put his big hand on the middle of the back of that big bull, and said, “Come on boy, let’s walk onto the truck’, and that big bull walked straight onto that truck. 

    You see, we need to imitate Jesus because He is the only one that can help us. Now that old gentleman didn’t have to tell me that he was a stockman, I saw it with my own eyes and I have never forgotten it. John, the apostle, the legend goes that when he was a very old man, he was the last of the disciples to die, they used to carry him in on a bed, to the meetings that he had, and he would always say, “Little children, love one another.” And they would say to each other and to John, “But John, why do you always tell us that?” And with tears in his eyes he would say, “Because that’s what the Master always told us to do.”

    1 John 4:8 says very clearly that:

    “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

    Today, let’s go out and imitate our beloved Lord Jesus. 
    God bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye.

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