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  • Alone With Jesus

    Alone With Jesus

    · Thought For Today

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

    We go to the Gospel of John 8:9:

    “And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.” 

    Alone with Jesus, what a special time of the day! It must become your most privileged time of the day, a time never to be neglected, my dear friend. Maybe we feel a little nervous or shy being alone with Jesus, a bit like when you went out on your first date. Can you remember that? When you had to get all dressed up smartly to try and impress that young lady or that young lady putting on her best dress and asking her mom, ”Do I look all right because he’s coming to fetch me in a few moment's time.”

    Aah, but when you’ve spent many years and you’re married and you’ve got children and maybe even grandchildren, aah, it is so beautiful to know each other, to be in each other’s presence, and so it is when you’ve walked with the Master for many years. You can’t wait to be with Him in the early morning before the noise and the distractions of this world take away your attention from the lover of your soul. Do not waste precious time. Savour these moments because they might even save your life. He is gentle to your troubled soul. He will give you clear direction and even confidence and peace in your heart before you have to face the day.  

    You say, ”But I get very busy and I don’t have a time to spend with the Lord.“ Oh, you need to get up earlier in the morning, my dear friend. Yes, that is one appointment you must never neglect. That is the very appointment that could save your life. You see, Jesus was left alone standing with that woman. She was the woman that the Pharisees accused of being an adulterer but Jesus said, ”Woman, where are your accusers?” And she said, ”No one Lord.” And he said, ”Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

    That’s what the Lord wants to do for you and I today. He wants to sit with us alone, He wants to encourage us, He wants to love us, He wants to direct us. He’s a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He’s not the accuser, the accuser is the devil. 

    Early in the morning, spend time alone with Jesus. It will change your life.
    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Further the Kingdom

    Further the Kingdom

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Book of Isaiah 64:4:

    ”For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him.”

    Did you hear that, “Who acts for the one who waits for Him.” Then we go to the 1 Corinthians 2:9-10:

    “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.”

    The only qualification required to succeed in this life is very simple. It is to love Him. That’s all. It’s not a doctorate in university. It’s not a fancy degree. No, it is just to love Him. The Lord says eye hasn’t seen, ear hasn’t heard, nor has entered into the heart of a man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.

    That little boy with the two sardines and the five small barley loaves of bread, he loved Jesus. Jesus said, ”Has anybody got any food around here?” And he said, ”Yes, I have.” And he took his little lunchbox that his mother had made for him, enough for one little boy to eat. He gave it to Jesus and what did He do? He fed five thousand people. Today, God wants to use you. 

    When Moses met with the Lord at the burning bush and the Lord said, ”Go and set my people free.” He said, ”I’ve got nothing, what can I use” He said, ”What have you got in your hand?” He said, ”A stick.” He said, ”Good, use it.” He became probably the greatest leader in the history of the world. He took a whole nation through the desert for forty years and delivered them right to the edge of the River Jordan and then the Lord allowed Joshua to take them across. Today the Lord is speaking into your heart. My dear friend, pick yourself up. Understand that there is nothing too hard for those who would choose to love the Lord. 

    I’ve been doing a bit of research. I’ve been looking at ten of the wealthiest Christians in the world, and you’ll be surprised how they started. There’s a man in Scotland, his name is Robert Todd. He’s a strawberry farmer. He read a book called, ”Faith like Potatoes." He decided to close his shop on Sundays. He had a massive farm store. His employees said, ”You’ll go bankrupt.” He said, ”No, on the Sabbath, I’m going to rest.” You know something? His turnover doubled. 

    Today, open your heart to Jesus and let Him use you for the furtherance of His kingdom.

    God bless you, goodbye.

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  • A New Heart

    A New Heart

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Book of Ezekiel 36:26:

    ”I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

    Then we go to 2 Corinthians 5:17, a very well known scripture, one of my favourites, and this is what it says:

    ”Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

    A new heart! You know, fifty-two years ago, on the 3rd of December, 1967, the first heart transplant was performed by Dr Christiaan Barnard in Cape Town. The whole world was ecstatic. A man who was dying of heart failure, his old heart was taken out of him, and someone else who had donated their heart was put into this man and he lived. I want to tell you, today that’s still the greatest miracle of all, the most beautiful thing to see is someone who has had a change of heart, where the Lord Jesus Christ has performed spiritual surgery in a man’s heart.

    I love the story of Zacchaeus, that little short man who climbed up the wild fig tree, the sycamore tree to see Jesus coming into Jericho. Jesus looked up into the tree and said, ”Zacchaeus I’m coming to your house today. I’m coming to have a meal with you.” Zacchaeus was overwhelmed. You see, he was a bad man, folks. He was a thief, he even stole from his own people. He was a tax collector. He called all the other tax collectors together. They came to Zacchaeus’ house and what happened? There was a heart transplant. A heart transplant took place in that feast. Zacchaeus found Jesus Christ. His heart was changed. He said, “If I’ve stolen anything from anyone, I will give them back four-fold, that’s four hundred per cent of anything that I’ve stolen from anyone.” That is a completely new man!

    What about Saul of Tarsus, Paul? From being an arch-enemy of Christianity, he became its greatest ambassador. On the road to Damascus, he was knocked off his horse in the middle of the day and Jesus said, ”Why are you persecuting me?” He said, ”Who are You, Lord?” He said, ”I am Jesus.” A heart transplant took place at that moment on that road and that man became one of Christianity’s greatest ambassadors.

    Today, open your heart, let the Lord take out that heart of stone and put in a brand new heart of flesh.
    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • His Holy Name

    His Holy Name

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in 1 Peter 1:16 and I am reading this out of the Amplified Version: 

    “
because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY (set apart), FOR I AM HOLY,” “Isn’t that beautiful?  “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

    In bold italics, in capital letters - our God is a holy God and He says today that you and I must be holy, even as He is holy. We must have a deep respect for the Lord. That is what the word, “reverence” means - a deep respect for God. Oh folks, He is not our mate, He is not the man upstairs, He is not my buddy, He is God and we need to appreciate that and He expects us to live like He does. We cannot have one foot in the world and another foot in the Kingdom. He says very clearly in Matthew 12:30:

    “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”

    We cannot serve God and mammon. We need to live a holy life. You know that people have died for their faith just because they will not deny that name. They have had their heads cut off. They have been told, “Deny that name, Jesus Christ and we will let you live. They say, “We can’t and we won’t”, and they die. They have been burnt at the stake, they have died terrible deaths because they will not deny the name of Christ. Do not use that name cheaply. Oh folks, it is a beautiful name, it is the most beautiful name that I have ever heard in my life. 

    Holiness is the end product of obedience. That is what holiness means. When we are obedient people then we are holy. You see, there is power in that name, there is healing in that name, there is forgiveness in that name, there is peace in that name. When people are dying and they hear that name, Jesus Christ, it gives them peace and absolute joy. There is hope in that name and most of all, there is salvation in that name. At that name, the Bible says, “Every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess.”

    Today, let's go out and let's use that name very carefully, and let us magnify Him.
    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Consistency

    Consistency

    · Thought For Today

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

    We go to the Book of Hebrews 13:8:

    “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” 

    The Lord is looking for consistency. This is what the world is desperately looking for and they can’t find it. I looked up the Oxford Dictionary, to find out the literal meaning of the word, “consistent”. It means, “always behaving in the same way.” It means, “unchanging, steady, stable.” This young man, is what a young girl always looks for and this is what the employer always looks for in his employees, trustworthy, consistent people, and by the way, that is absolute character of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

    You know folks, this world is so up and down at the moment, isn’t it?  It is like a yoyo, it is like a roller-coaster. One minute you are up in the sky and the next minute, you are down in the dumps. You can’t live like that. This frantic, desperate world is looking for stability and dependable people and situations, something that they can trust. Well, I want to tell you about my best friend, my most trustworthy friend, yes - I am talking about my Bible, I am indeed. The other day I was in the shops and a young girl came up to me and she said, “I see that big red Bible of yours. It looks so big, why is that?” I said, “So I can read it easier.” You see, you can’t change the Bible. No, it has been there from the beginning of time. You can’t upgrade it, no. It doesn’t tell lies, that’s for sure. It cannot be persuaded this way or that way. It has all the answers that we need. It doesn’t tell lies. 

    Matthew 5:18 says very clearly,

    “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”

    Jesus is so steadfast. Today, consult Him. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He never changes and He is there for you. He loves you. Call upon Him, spend time with Him. Read Him, He is the Word and He loves you so much.

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Betrayal

    Betrayal

    · Thought For Today

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

    We go to the Gospel of Mark 14:11:

    “And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.” 

    We are talking about Judas Iscariot who betrayed the Lord for 30 pieces of silver. You know, folks, when you are betrayed by someone you don’t regard very much, it is painful, but it is not that painful, you kind of expect it, but when you are betrayed by someone who trusts you - and Judas was entrusted by Jesus to look after the money bag. He was from the inner circle. He was one of the twelve.

    That is why divorce is such a painful thing. When people don’t regard you very much then it is not so hurtful, is it? But I want to tell you something now - when it is someone you love and you trust, then it is extremely painful. You know, when Judas Iscariot took the soldiers of the high priest into the Garden of Gethsemane in the darkness of night and betrayed the Master, he walked up to Jesus and he kissed Him. Folks, so painful, very painful! Maybe you are there today. Maybe someone has really hurt you and let you down. You need to stand because Jesus will never betray you. 

    Do you remember that movie, The Cross and the Switchblade? There was a book written as well about that skinny preacher, David Wilkerson, who had a heart for the gangs in downtown New York. The leader of one of the main gangs was a man by the name of Nicky Cruz. He was the leader of the Mau Mau Gang, a fierce gang. His own mother called him “the son of satan.” He was an evil young man but he came to Christ. David Wilkerson preached the Gospel and he accepted Jesus, and one night he was tested. They had had a meeting in a movie house, or some place like that, and they took the collection and they asked Nicky Cruz to take the collection. Some of David Wilkerson’s men said, “Don’t let him do that. Don’t trust him with that money.” 

    David Wilkerson allowed him to take the collection. He went right down the aisles and then he had to go up onto the stage, behind the curtain and there was a door, an open door there. He could have run away with all the money, and then he had to come around the curtain and down the other side of the steps to collect the money on the other side, but he didn’t run away. He carried on. That man has become one of the greatest evangelists of the modern era. 

    Let’s not betray Jesus today by selling Him for 30 pieces of silver. Let’s be bold and stand up and say, “Yes, I am a follower of Jesus Christ.” Let us not turn our backs on Him. He has promised you and me in Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave you and I will never forsake you.”

    He won’t betray you.
    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • The Good Shepherd

    The Good Shepherd

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus' precious name. It is Saturday morning. The 2nd of November, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan with a thought for today.

    We start in the book of Ezekiel 34:11:

    “For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.”

    Then we go straight to the Gospel of John 10:11:

    ”I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”

    Beautiful scriptures!  

    The Good Shepherd, He will search for them and He will find them and He will save them because they belong to Him. They do not belong to you or to me. I’m speaking particularly here now to mothers and to fathers, and maybe you’ve got a son or daughter who has gone into the far country, a prodigal child that is rebellious, that is not listening, that does not want to have anything to do with the Lord, and they’ve gone into a foreign place. The Lord is reminding you today, mother and father, just pray for that child.

    Maybe it's young people, and they are worried about their parents. Their parents are digging their heels in and they will not bow the knee to Jesus, and you can see that hometime is close for them and you are desperate for their salvation. The Lord says, “They are my sheep and I will find them and I will save them.”

    What do we have to do? We have to pray, and we have to take our grubby fingers off because sometimes we mess up so badly. Maybe there’s a lady who is so desperate for her husband to come to Christ and she’s leaving those magazines on the coffee table, and she’s sending messages to him on the telephone, on the cell phone, maybe even my message. The Lord says, “Lay off.” You need to pray for him. Maybe it’s a wife that's rebellious - you need to pray for her and let God take care of His sheep because they are actually His creation and He paid the ultimate price for their lives.

    It’s like when I was actively cattle farming, my sons are doing it now, we would have a large herd of cows in the mountains and we would be bringing them home because they were starting to calf down, they were starting to have babies, but there would be one calf and we just could not find it. We had been out on the horses looking in the krantzes, valleys, and forests; we cannot find that calf. We have had our workers walking over the fields looking for them. We cannot find that calf. Then what do we do, we bring the whole herd back home, and we take the mother of that calf, on her own and we let her go into the forests, into the fields and the next morning we go out and there she is suckling that beautiful baby calf.

    Oh friends, I’ve seen it before, a mother at a creche, a whole lot of little children all shouting and playing and her little baby falls and hurts itself and starts to cry. She recognises that voice above all the other children and she goes straight to that baby.

    Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He will save your loved one.
    God bless you and goodbye. 

  • The Little Things

    The Little Things

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the book of John, the Gospel of John 13:14:

    ”If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”

    It's the little things that count. If you look at Matthew 25:40, the Bible says:

    ”And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” 

    It’s the little things in life that really count, isn't it? You know, that cup of cold water for somebody that's thirsty, Matthew 10:42, doing something for someone who cannot repay you. I think of all the nurses in the hospitals and the doctors. We salute you. We really do. We love you. When I go into a hospital and I see the love that these nurses and doctors give to people that they don't even know, it touches my heart deeply. When I see a policeman trying to help someone who has been hurt, it touches me deeply. 

    The people that have really impacted my life and the situations, are not the big massive splitting of the Red Sea, walking on the water, calling fire down from heaven. No. The things that have really impacted me is like old Uncle Jimmy, who stayed on our farm with his dear wife Moira for many, many years. He wasn't very well. He'd had TB that he got in the Royal Navy in the Second World War. He had a very weak chest. He didn't sleep much at night, spent most of the night on his knees praying. Jimmy would come down every morning to the farm with a little piece of paper and a scripture verse for me, touched me deeply. I miss him a lot. Old Aunty Peggy, she came and she stayed with us. She told her family on her 70th birthday, I'm going to join Shalom Ministries full time. She had sugar diabetes. They amputated one of her legs beneath the knee. She had blood pressure and all kinds of problems, but what a prayer warrior. I miss her terribly. There's a security guard in town that works at one of the hardware stores. He impacts me every time I go to that store. You know that that gentleman's shoes are shiny. They look like mirrors. I can almost see my face in his boots. His uniform is immaculate. He's got one of those old-fashioned moustaches that I'm sure he waxes that turn up at the ends and his bright and happy demeanor impacts me. Old Oom Johannes Nell came to us and started preaching underneath the trees to a handful of Zulu people. That was the beginning of the church that we have today, which can seat 500 on the farm and we have two pastors doing a wonderful job. It's the little things that really touched me deeply. 

    Today don't underestimate your opportunities to help people. 
    That's what Jesus did. 
    God bless you and goodbye. 

  • Small Beginnings

    Small Beginnings

    · Thought For Today

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

    We go to the Book of Matthew 28:16:

    ”Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.”

    Then we read on to verse 19 and Jesus said:

    ”Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
” 

    Small beginnings - don’t despise small beginnings. Eleven disciples took the Gospel right around the globe. There weren’t hundreds of thousands, no, just eleven, and they were obedient. I want to say to you today, do not despise small beginnings.

    A man by the name of Charnock said, ”The biggest actions in the world have usually started from very small beginnings.” He says, “Of a few letters of the alphabet, how many thousands of words are made? Of ten figures, how many thousands of numbers have been made? A point, one point, is the beginning of all geometry. A little stone flung into a pond makes a little circle and then a greater one until it enlarges itself to the sides.” So from small beginnings, God causes huge things to happen right throughout the world. 

    I remember in 2003, in a game reserve in the north coast of Kwazulu-Natal, sitting, having a rest with my dear wife, Jill, and the Lord impressed upon my heart to mentor young men. That was the birth of the Mighty Men Conferences. The first one we had at Shalom, there were 240 men that came. The last one we had at Shalom, approximately 450,000 men came and now I can report with great joy and humility that we have over 20 Mighty Men Conferences taking place in this year alone, and I’m talking about places like Canada, places like Australia, Namibia, all over South Africa, and they are starting one in South East Asia and Nigeria. They are wanting them all over the world - started by one word from the Lord! And you know the amazing thing folks? I’m not going to be at any one of those Mighty Men Conferences myself this year. The Lord is doing it! Do not despise small beginnings, just do what He tells you to do and He will do the multiplying.

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, 
    Goodbye. 

  • Be Ready

    Be Ready

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Book of Jeremiah 8:20:

    “The harvest is past, The summer is ended, And we are not saved!”

    Then we go to the Book of Matthew 25:2-4:

    ”Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.” 

    We must be ready! Oh my friends, time is flying by, isn’t it? You know, as I talk to you now, you can see in the shops people are starting to get ready for Christmas. Yes, Christmas is around the corner. I want to ask you a question today and I’m asking myself the same question. Are our homes in order or are we going to say to the little baby that was born in a manger, a feed trough, in a little village called Bethlehem, two thousand years ago, ”Not this year, don’t come yet, I’m not ready for you”?

    When it was time for Jesus to arrive, He came. Now, I’m talking to a lot of mothers and fathers. Do you remember when your first baby was born? There was no notice given when it was time for baby to arrive, baby was coming whether you were ready or not. Our beloved Jesus, He never had a beautiful baby room all prepared with a decorated cot, no. His cot was a manger. Now a manger is a feed trough, it’s where you put food to feed your animals. No, but you know something folks? When it was time for the Saviour of the world to come, He didn’t waste time, He came and Joseph and Mary had to be prepared.

    You and I cannot say, ”Next year Lord. We’ll think about it next year,” because next year may be too late. There may be people listening to this message now who will never see another Christmas time. I want to say to you today, the Lord says do not postpone action - that’s what a procrastinator is. Be ready, be prepared and when the Lord comes you can say, ”Lord, I am ready for you to come.”

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, 
    Goodbye.

  • Delight in the Lord

    Delight in the Lord

    · Thought For Today

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

    We go straight to the Book of Psalms. I just love the psalms! Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.”

    Now folks, I don’t know how it is with you but with us here at Shalom, the Lord gave us a specific scripture to stand on. Now, we have adopted this scripture verse as our verse for this ministry. Now, we got it from George MĂŒller, the man who started the children’s home in Bristol, England. Something like 10,000 children went through his home, 60 million pounds through his hands, and what a man of faith, a great inspiration to me, a practical man. 

    I never had the privilege of going to Bible College, and I tell you what - it is a great privilege and I am very sorry about it. I would have loved to have gone to Bible College but the Lord sent me to a different Bible College. It’s called “the school of life, the school of hard knocks” - that’s right. My school fees were paid on the farm, through drought, through fire, through personal tragedies, through economic hardships, through disease. That is where I learned to delight myself in the Lord and He gave me the desires of my heart. That is why I am speaking to you this morning, my dear friend. Please today, focus on Jesus and He will take care of the rest. 

    The very next verse, verse 5 says: “Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.” 

    That was one of the great explorer’s verses. I am talking about Dr David Livingstone from bonny Scotland, who discovered the Victoria Falls, who was instrumental and one of the main players in abolishing that horrible human trade of selling people as slaves - David Livingstone. I want to say to you folks, there was many a time he didn’t know where he was going because no one had ever been there before, but he committed his ways to the Lord, and the Lord did the rest.

    Today, delight yourself in the Lord. Let Him take care of your situation. Commit your way to the Lord and let Him direct your paths. 

    Have a wonderful day,
    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • This is the Day

    This is the Day

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Book of Ezekiel 33:5:

    “He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life.” 

    Then we go to the Book of Hebrews 2:3:

    ”
how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, 
”

    We need to listen for the sound of the trumpet calling. It’s a warning, my dear friend, for the time is running out. I just feel in my heart I am speaking to a man at the moment, and maybe a woman as well, who is continually digging your heels in and you are saying, “Tomorrow, I will make my peace with the Lord.” But the trumpet is blowing. The Lord is saying, “This is the day that you need to seek Me with all your heart." This is the day that you need to make your peace with God.

    A long time ago, I heard a story about a miller - you know, the old-fashioned mill where it had a wheel and a little stream running past, and the water turned the wheel, and the wheel turned the two huge grindstones, and they ground the corn into meal. This miller was very hard-working but he was totally obsessed by his work. He wasn’t interested in anything to do with the Lord, but he got very sick and his family was worried about him, and they realised the old gentleman was dying. They called an evangelist in, “Please come and tell our dad about Jesus because he is going to meet the Lord very shortly.” They came down to the mill and the old man was now bedridden, and what he had done was, he had asked them to put the bed right next to the grindstone so that he could hear the wheels grinding the corn and making money for him. The evangelist walked up and he started to say to him, “Please sir, the trumpet is calling, home time has arrived. You need to make your peace with Jesus. ”And he kept saying, “I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you because of the noise of the mill, grinding the corn.” And eventually, he died and he went to hell.

    Folks, I want to tell you, we have got to speak up. I want to pray with you today. I just feel that there is a man and a woman listening to this programme who have never made a commitment to Christ. You know what to do, you know what you are supposed to do but you have been so busy, busy with your work, busy with your vision, your ambition. If you are that person, I want to give you the privilege of praying this prayer with me, a simple prayer. Let us pray together: 

    Dear Lord Jesus,

    I acknowledge today that I have been wasting valuable time. I ask You therefore, to be my Lord and Saviour. I am so sorry that I have been chasing after other gods, like money and fame and ambition. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Amen.

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye.

  • The Holy Spirit

    The Holy Spirit

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Book of Proverbs 18:24:

    “But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

    You don’t have to be lonely today. Then we go straight to the New Testament to the Gospel of John 16:7, and this is the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples. He says:

    “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” 

    The Lord Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit.

    I want to say to you this morning if you are feeling lonely or if you are feeling fearful, you have got a huge task on your hands next week and you just don’t know what to do, call upon the Holy Spirit. You know, so often we talk about our Heavenly Father, we talk about the Lord Jesus Christ, our best friend, but we don’t always talk about the Holy Spirit, and I want to tell you, He is part of the Holy Trinity, and we cannot do it without Him, believe me! Whenever I stand on that platform and I look out on that sea of faces, I say, “Lord, Holy Spirit, please help me because I can’t do this.” And He does, every single time. In Zulu, we call Him, “Umoya oNgcwele”. Umoya oNgcwele - the Spirit who lives within us. Isn’t that beautiful? In Afrikaans, we say, “Heilige Gees”, He is my Friend, He is my Helper. The Greeks call Him, Paráklētos which means The Helper.

    I want to say to you today, we need to call upon Him, we need to love Him, we need to speak to Him because He wants to speak to you. Do you remember that beautiful chorus, “Spirit of the Living God fall afresh on me”?  Why don’t you sing it with me?

    Spirit of the Living God,
    Fall afresh on me,
    Spirit of the Living God,
    Fall afresh on me.
    Break me, melt me, mould me, fill me.
    Spirit of the Living God,
    Fall afresh on me.

    God bless you and have a lovely day,
    Goodbye.

  • The Sword

    The Sword

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Book of Isaiah 40:8:

    ”
the word of our God stands forever.”

    Then we go to the New Testament, to Matthew 24:35:

    ”Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

    Now that’s Jesus speaking Himself. You see, the word of God is the Bible. It is Jesus Christ in print, as I always say, and that is why even the Master Himself quoted the word of God when He was tempted in the desert by the devil. Remember He said, “It is written, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God”. “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the Lord your God.” It is an extremely powerful weapon. It’s like a sharp two-edged sword, that’s what the Bible says.

    Have you ever watched those fencers at the Olympic Games. It’s incredible, the speed that they use those weapons with, but there’s no good having a fancy jewel-studded weapon that we can’t use. Now, when I read my Bible I don’t just read the Old Testament or just the New Testament, I read them together. I read them systematically. I read them daily. I read them in the first person. What does that mean? Well, let’s take Psalm 23:

    ”The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

    When I read it I read it like this. ”The Lord is Angus’ shepherd and Angus shall not want.” Then it becomes extremely personal. I also want to encourage you to get a sword that you can handle. Get a translation that you can understand. I personally use the New King James Version. I find it very easy and accurate to handle. You need to get lessons, like any sword fighter! Somebody can give you a brand new set of clubs, that doesn’t mean to say that you will be able to hit the ball like my dear friend, Gary Player. Oh no, you need lessons. You need to know how to hit that ball. I really want to encourage you to start using the weapon which God has given you. He’s told us that even heaven and earth will pass away but the Bible will never pass away. Carry one in your pickup. Carry one in your motorcar. Folks, I love Bibles, I really do and every time I read the Bible it means something new to me, it’s so exciting. Now, if you don’t know how to read the Bible, why don’t you start in the Psalms. Start with the Psalms and read about ten verses every morning and get a little notebook and write in the notebook what it means to you, and then go to the New Testament and start in the Gospel of John, and every day just read a portion of the Bible in the first person and it will change your life. It will protect you and it will comfort you. 

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day. 
    Goodbye.

  • Through the Storm

    Through the Storm

    · Thought For Today

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

    We go to the Old Testament to the Book of Isaiah 50:10:

    “Who among you fears the Lord?
    Who obeys the voice of His Servant?
    Who walks in darkness
    And has no light?
    Let him trust in the name of the Lord
    And rely upon his God.”

    Are you going through a rough time at the moment? Oh yes, I know those rough times very well. Is everything dark? Have you lost direction? Do you know where you are going? Is there anybody to help you? Listen to this beautiful reading that I stumbled across early this morning, written by a man by the name of Richard Fuller. 

    He says, “In fierce storms,” said an old seaman, “we can do but one thing. There is only one way; we must put the ship in a certain position and keep her there.” This, Christian, is what you and I have to do today. Sometimes, like Paul the Apostle, you can see neither sun nor stars, and no small tempest lies on you (a massive storm). Then you can do one thing, there is only one way. Reason cannot help you. Past experiences give you no light, even prayer fetches no consolation. Only a single course is left. You must put your soul in one position and keep it there. You must stay upon the Lord; come what may—whether there are winds, waves, lightning, thunder, huge rocks, roaring breakers— you must tie yourself to the helm and hold fast your confidence in God’s faithfulness, His sovereign engagement, His everlasting love in Christ Jesus, and He will see you today through that storm, and the sun will shine again, and He said, “I will never leave you and I will never forsake you.”

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye.

  • Under His Wings

    Under His Wings

    · Thought For Today

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

    We go straight to the Gospel of Matthew 23:37. Jesus said:

    “How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”

    Have you ever seen a mother hen, the way she fusses over her little chicks? It is quite something to see. One of my daughters has got a big flock of chickens, little bantam chickens. They are minute in size and they strut around the farmyard, picking up all the insects and making a big noise. They are beautiful! I remember a story like yesterday that I was told from a pastor in the Eastern Cape, many, many years ago. When they were burning fire-breaks on the mighty Drakensberg Mountains, as winter was approaching, that grass burnt very, very quickly, and they finished burning a massive break on the side of the mountain and they were doing a clean-up operation, and as they were walking they found a partridge that had been caught in the fire and it was lying face-down with it’s wings spread out. And as they walked up to this partridge, they turned the partridge over and underneath the partridge was a clutch of little chicks. The mother had protected her chicks from the fire by giving her life up. That is how Jesus is with you and me!

    We need to know that He loves you so, so much, more than you will ever realise. In Israel, in Jerusalem, you have the Mount of Olives, and on the side of the Mount of Olives is a little chapel. It is formed in the shape of a teardrop, and you can go into that little chapel and there is a huge window and you can look out of that window and look straight across from the Mount of Olives, through the Kidron Valley, up the other side, and there is the Old City of Jerusalem, and that is where Jesus wrote this. He wept over Jerusalem.

    Jesus today is weeping over us. Folks, do not harden your heart against the Lord. He loves you so very much, like that partridge, He too has put His arms out to protect you and I. He died for our sins so that we could have a second chance. Let us love Him and serve Him with all our hearts today. 

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Humility

    Humility

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Gospel of Matthew 23:12. Jesus says:

    “And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” 

    Humility - the Oxford Dictionary defines humility as a humble view of one’s own importance. Whoever humbles himself shall be raised to honour. I like what The Message says about this scripture verse. It says: “If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.” When I think of humility, I think of a big ship, a huge cruiser, these massive ships that are about six or seven decks high, they almost look top heavy, and thousands of people go on holiday on those massive ships. But you know, there is a little part of that ship called the rudder. The rudder of the ship, it is underwater all the time, no-one ever sees it, no-one ever speaks about it, but I want to tell you something, my dear friend, without that little rudder, that ship is going nowhere, the captain has got no control over that ship and it will probably end up heading for the rocks.

    We are called to be humble, the Lord is the One who raises us up. When I was sitting here, contemplating someone who I regard as humble, I remember reading about a man by the name of Father Nash. That was his nickname, that is what they called him. Now we have all heard of the great revivalist, Charles Finney, but not many people have heard of Father Nash. You see, he was just the rudder of Charles Finney’s ministry. What would happen is, Charles would be going to a town but a week beforehand, Father Nash would go to the same town, check into a little hotel room and start to pray for revival, and he would pray for a solid week. They said that he prayed so loud they could hear him down the street, and the day before the revivalist, Charles Finney, arrived in town, Father Nash would pack up his little suitcase and he would leave town and go to the next town and do the exact same thing. A humble man indeed! But I think when we get to Heaven we will realise just how much work Father Nash had done.

    Today, remain humble and the Lord will exalt you.
    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,

    Goodbye.

  • Children of God

    Children of God

    · Thought For Today

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

    We go to the Book of Romans 8:19:

    ”For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.”

    The Amplified Version says:

    ”For [even the whole] creation [all nature] waits eagerly for the children of God to be revealed.”

    The whole of the universe is waiting for what the children of God are going to do. You know how often people come to us as followers of Christ and they say to us, ”What are you going to do about it?” I’m laughing because it’s ridiculous or, ”How can God allow this to happen?” Now when people come and say that to you do not be upset, it’s actually a backhanded compliment because they see you and I as representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ. So when we see the chaos taking place, and we weep with the world, and people come to us and say, ”You know, how can your God allow this to happen?” It’s a wonderful compliment because they recognising that you are a representative of Jesus.

    When there is a crisis, that is when we are called in to sort it out, isn’t that right? Where there is a tremendous drought, I don’t know how many times it’s happened to us, they call us, ”Please come and pray for rain.” It’s something that touches me deeply when I drive up to the robots and I’m waiting for the robot to turn green and a pick-up drives up alongside me and a farmer winds his windows down and says, ”Where’s the rain?” -  as if I’m the rainmaker, no, but I am not the rainmaker - but I am the rainmakers son, and then they say, ”You’ve got a hotline to heaven.” It almost sounds disrespectful but you must understand that’s how they see it before they come to Christ, “You’ve got a hotline to heaven. Why don’t you pray about it?” Do not get disheartened. The world is always looking to us for the answers because they don’t have them, but you and I must exercise extreme compassion. Jesus wept with the people before He raised Lazarus from the tomb. You can see that in John 11:35.

    So if there’s a family dispute and they call you in, maybe try tears before you start telling them what to do. Maybe there’s a business confrontation where two partners are almost at blows with one another, that’s the time to come in and bring peace and sanity into the situation. Marriage arguments - sit down and talk with the couple. Yes, you and I, as followers of Jesus Christ, we have the ability to defuse a potential disaster. How do we do it? We use the manual, we use the Bible and Jesus will rejoice and people will even perceive that we are wise, just by using the Word of God.

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • He Is Close

    He Is Close

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Book of Genesis 28:16:

    ”Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”

    Then we go to the book of Luke 24:15-16:

    "So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.”

    The two men on their way to Emmaus. Jesus arrived and walked amongst them and they did not know Him. Often we look for Jesus in famous places, in beautiful cities, in lovely church buildings. We hear great preachers preach wonderful sermons only to find out that He has been with us all along and we did not recognise it. So it’s not looking for Jesus in famous places, it’s opening our spiritual eyes and ears because He’s right there with us. 

    Listen to this little story. It’s very cute, I think. It was written by an unknown author. It goes like this. The parish priest climbed up into the high church steeple to be nearer to God so that he might hand down His word to the people, and in sermon script he daily wrote what he thought was sent down from heaven and he dropped the papers down on the people’s heads two times a day. In his old age, God said, ”Come down from the steeple, it’s time to die.” And the old priest cried out from the steeple, ”Where are you Lord?” And the Lord replied, ”Down here among my people.”

    Oh folks, He is so close, He is in your heart. Speak to Him today because He wants to speak with you.

    Jesus bless you and goodbye. 

  • Habits

    Habits

    · Thought For Today

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

    We go to the Book of Proverbs 6:10:

    “A little sleep, a little slumber,
    A little folding of the hands to sleep—
    So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,
” (like a thief)

    Then we go to Luke 4:16:

    “So He (Jesus) came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.” 

    We want to speak today about habits. There are good habits and there are bad habits. Discipline is absolutely vital for a Christian to succeed. You see, a good farmer will check his crop of corn or maize or wheat every day. A poor farmer will check his crop maybe once a week, and it could be his downfall. I remember like yesterday, we had a neighbour who came and farmed very close to us. He was a wonderful man but he came from a different district. He was a sugar cane farmer, a very successful one and a very good one, but he started to grow seed maize, a very technical, tricky crop to grow. One day, I was driving down near his farm and I stopped and looked over the fence and I saw that there was an infestation of cut worm. Now cut worm had just arrived overnight and they were decimating his crop. I phoned him. I said, “Did you check your maize yesterday?” He said, “No, I have been away for a few days. I said, “Please get there quickly.” And he got there and he saw that this infestation of cut worm was literally decimating his crop. We got the spray out and we were able to save his crop. You need to check your crop every single day if you want to succeed as a good farmer. 

    Now, the Lord Jesus was extremely disciplined. Many times His disciples tried to find Him. “Lord, where have You been? The crowds are waiting for you.” Where had He been? That’s right, up the mountain, spending time getting instructions from His Heavenly Father, as Jesus continually did, a good habit. I want to say to you today if you are taking a lot of strain in your life, have a good look at what your habits are like. You need to maybe spend more time praying and less time speaking. You need to maybe get up earlier in the morning, and go to bed earlier at night. You maybe need to read your Bible more intentionally. Just show me a man’s Bible and I will show you how much time he spends with God, reading the Old Testament and the New Testament systematically, every single morning, and then you need to meditate. Sit quietly with that cup of coffee, that cup of tea, and just let your soul meditate. You will find that your life will become totally different.

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

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