Episodit

  • Name Above All Names

    Name Above All Names

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Saturday morning. The 27th of July, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We start in the Book of Malachi 1:11 in the Old Testament,

    "For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down,
    My name shall be great among the Gentiles;
"

    Then we go to Matthew 8:8:

    "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed."

    There is no other name in Heaven or on Earth by which we may call Him. He is the Saviour of the world. He is the power, the authority, He is healing and salvation. He is God made flesh. You know what the problem is, my dear friend, you and I don't use it enough, do we? We don't make mention of His name enough because for some people it is offensive. I want to tell you something now - we have to start shouting out His name louder than ever before. Isaiah 62:6, the Lord says:

    "You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,
"

    We have got to speak it out. 

    Do you remember that beautiful old song, "It's the Name Above all Names"? Let's try and sing it together: 

    Its the name above all names, and we will declare it, we will declare it  
    Its the name above all names, and we will shout it to a dying world.
    Who will declare My name? Who will shout My name in the middle of the nations?
    Who will take the shield of faith and the sword of My tongue, And declare My name to a dying world?

    You who have declared Me thus far, Will walk in even greater power
    Though the sands of time are running out, My name will be declared in this final hour 
    I am Jehovah! I Am that I Am! And My trumpet will soon call out,
    I formed the worlds with a whisper But Im getting ready, I'm getting ready, I'm getting ready to shout! 

    Its the name above all names, and we will declare it, we will declare it, oh, we will declare it!
    Its the name above all names, and we will shout it to a dying world.

    Go out and shout it from the rooftops,
    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Miracles

    Miracles

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start the Book of Deuteronomy 1:33 in the Old Testament,

    ”
to show you the way you should go, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day.”

    Now we know very well the scripture in John 14:6. Jesus says:

    ”I am the way,
”

    You might say that was for the old days. No, it’s not. Hebrews 13:8 says:

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

    I was preaching at an open-air meeting in Tennessee, the United States of America. My dear friend, Pastor Alan Jackson, had organised a meeting for us on his campus in the open. It was in summer and it was extremely hot. There were thousands of people there. We stood on the platform and I could see the people were literally wilting under the heat. There were clouds above us and I asked the Lord, not quietly in my heart but openly and loudly, on the mic so that everybody could hear, “Lord, please put that cloud over the sun, so that we can get some shade.” And what happened, the Lord put that cloud over the sun for the whole time of that meeting.

    Now I can hear somebody saying, ”Oh, that was just a coincidence.” But the miracle was, there were other clouds on either side of that cloud and the wind was blowing and the clouds were moving except that one cloud. How can you explain that? Well, how can you explain a miracle? The Lord says to you today, my dear friend, you have to have the faith to believe Him for the impossible. In that desert that the children of Israel walked through, they say at night it went to sub-zero conditions, it was so cold, and yet there was a pillar of fire. Not only did it protect them, it kept them warm. During the day, there was a cloud that they followed but the cloud wasn’t just for direction but it was to keep the sun off the children of Israel because the temperature there goes up to 50 degrees sometimes.

    Jesus wants to direct your ways. He wants to shelter you. He wants to protect you. Please call unto Him and He will undertake for you.

    Have a wonderful day, 
    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

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  • Fellowship with Jesus

    Fellowship with Jesus

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start with the Book of Luke 6:46:

    "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?"

    It is not about doing, it's about being. It's about a personal relationship with Jesus. We cannot earn our way to Heaven. If that was the case, people from other religions would get there long before us! In Isaiah 64:6, the Lord says all our righteousness is like filthy rags in the sight of God. That is quite a statement. I want to say to you this morning, dad, your son wants you to spend more time with him, he doesn't want what you can buy for him, he doesn't want all the fancy goodies that you can get him, he wants you, he wants to spend time with you. Mom, your daughter wants to spend time with you. It's not what you can do for her, but she wants to spend time with you because she loves you and she needs you. And so is it with Jesus Christ - He created us to have fellowship with Him. He doesn't need us, He wants us. Remember, the whole of creation took place with one word. He doesn't need any man, but He desires to have fellowship with us. 

    We really need to spend more time with the Lord every morning. We need to sit and talk with Him and let Him talk to us in our spirit. You say, "I can't hear Him." No, you can't hear Him because you are too busy doing things, maybe even for Him. So sit down, be quiet, and let's have fellowship together. "Let's have a cup of tea together," the Lord says. 

    So today, make a point to spend quality and quantity time with Jesus, and you will find everything else will start to fall into line. 

    God bless you richly and have a wonderful day with your personal Saviour,
    Goodbye. 

  • Fruit of Repentance

    Fruit of Repentance

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Gospel of Luke 19:8:

    "Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."

    Then we go to the Gospel of Matthew 7:20, Jesus says:

    "Therefore by their fruits you will know them." 

    Zacchaeus was a scoundrel. He was a thief. He was like the mafia; he and his friends were stealing money from their own people. You couldn't get anybody worse than that. But what happened? Salvation came to his house.

    "Today salvation has come to this house,
"
    Luke 19:9

    We need to bear fruits worthy of repentance. What does that mean? Well mother, if your husband has had an affair with another woman and he comes back and asks forgiveness of you and says he made a terrible mistake, you must forgive him, but that man must bear fruit worthy of repentance. He must never be seen with any other woman, he must never ever be seen to text another woman, to phone - no! There must be fruits. He must repent completely. 

    That man who has become a Christian but was a thief, yes, he stole from his partner, he stole from the company, but now he has given his life to the Lord, there must be restitution. Now, what does "restitution" mean? According to the Oxford Dictionary, it means "The restoration of something lost or stolen, back to its proper owner." That's what it means. When He had healed or forgiven somebody, Jesus often said, "Go and sin no more, your sins are forgiven." In other words, "Go and bear fruits worthy of repentance."

    Remember Charles Colson? He was called "the hatchet man." He was President Nixon's righthand man. He went to jail in the place of Richard Nixon. He was such an otherwise kind of a person, Colson. They said he would walk over his own mother's grave to get what he wanted. But what happened? - 180 degree turn around in prison. He became a born-again Christian. He started the Prison Fellowship. For the rest of his life, he was one of God's greatest ambassadors. There has got to be a change. Yes, we must forgive; of course, we must, but there also must be a complete turn-around. 

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye.

  • The Narrow Gate

    The Narrow Gate

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start off in the Book of Matthew 7:13-14:

    “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

    There is no shortcut into the kingdom of God. There’s no quick fix, there’s no bending the rules. It’s not a case of, “Well I’ll just wing it.” You can’t wing it and you can’t cheat when it comes to the things of God. It’s like an engineer who bribed somebody to forge his qualifications, then all of a sudden he has got a degree in engineering. He gets the job but he can’t produce because he doesn’t know what he’s doing and he ends up jobless. I really want to encourage that young student who is studying. Do not cheat, but work hard and get a degree that is worthwhile, and then go into the world; you’ll be sought after.

    Like that young lady who’s trying to buy her driving license. There are many people that will give you a forged driving license if you pay them enough money, but what happens when you get into the motorcar and you don’t know how to drive it? Disaster!

    Titus 1:16 says:

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

    They say they love Jesus but by their actions, they deny Him. We need to go through the narrow gate because thats the one that will lead us eventually to eternal life.

    Jesus bless you and have a lovely day, 

    Goodbye.

  • Hardships

    Hardships

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Song of Solomon 4:16: 

    "Awake, O north wind, And come, O south! Blow upon my garden,
    That its spices may flow out. Let my beloved come to his garden
    And eat its pleasant fruits."

    The wind of hardship, the wind of pain and suffering. When an orange is on a tree it looks beautiful, it's got a lovely colour, but that's as far as it goes. You take that orange, and you squeeze it, and you crush it into a glass, and then and only then, can you taste its delicious flavour. When you go into a rose garden, those beautiful magnificent roses are so pretty to look at, but it's only when you take the leaf, and you break that leaf, that you can smell the beautiful perfume that comes from that rose. Oftentimes, suffering and pain bring a man or a woman into the fullness of what God created them for. I'm not suggesting a minute that God causes it but God works through it.

    A man came to see me a couple of months ago and he shared his story. He was a hugely successful man. He lived in a country north of our borders. He had everything that he wanted. He was a wonderful sportsman, he had plenty of money. He had achieved lots of wonderful things - wine, women and song as they say. Then one day he was falsely accused of murdering somebody, and they put him in a maximum security jail for no less than ten years, but he told me that through it all he found the true meaning of life. Yes, he found Jesus Christ as a result of that hardship, that pain and that suffering.

    Today maybe you are going through a hard time, you cannot even understand why. I want to encourage you my dear friend just to hang in there and to trust the Lord because something beautiful will come out of it.

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day. 
    Goodbye.

  • Persistence

    Persistence

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Gospel of Mathew 7:7-8:

    ”Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

    I want to ask you a question this morning, have you given up? Have you given up asking? Have you given up seeking? Have you given up knocking? Please don’t do that. I looked up the Oxford dictionary to find out the literal meaning of the word “persistence”. It means to continue doing something in spite of difficulty. Now, I want to tell you a little story. Many, many years ago, maybe 1993, I came back from preaching in Scotland. I had been there for three months, preaching with my oldest daughter, Lindy. When I got home, I felt the Holy Spirit tell me to take an A4 pad and a pencil and to write a book. I had no formal education and I started writing the book. When I’d finished writing the book, I published it myself because no one else would look at it. 

    I then took the book to a little bookstore in Pietermaritzburg, very close to us. I asked the owner if he would mind selling my book for me. He was reluctant. He said, “Local authors don’t do very well”. I persisted. Eventually, I think to get rid of me he said, ”Ok, give me one copy.” One copy that’s all, the last of the big spenders! He put that on the shelf and he said, ”I will phone you as soon as it gets sold.” I was so excited, I went home, told my family and we waited, and we waited, and we waited and we waited. After about three weeks I thought, “Why is he not phoning me?” 

    Now listen carefully to the crux of the matter. You see, if I hadn’t persisted nothing would have happened. Eventually, I put my pride in my pocket and I phoned the gentleman and I said, ”Did you sell the book?” He said, ”Angus, I sold it the next day but I lost your phone number and I couldn’t get hold of you.” If I hadn’t persisted, that book, “Faith like Potatoes”, would have never got onto the market. I can tell you it’s in 17 languages today, and a movie’s been made from it. Persistence -  ask, seek and knock! 

    Jesus bless you and have a lovely day, 
    Goodbye.

  • The Quiet Place

    The Quiet Place

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start with the Book of Jeremiah 29:13. The Lord says:

    "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."

    Then we go to the Book of Revelation 3:20. Jesus says:

    "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."

    The handle of the door is on the inside. There's no handle on the outside. The Lord expects you and me to search for Him but He says open the door and I will come in and sup with you and you with me. How many times have you heard the story of the young man searching for the girl of his life and he gets on the aeroplane and he flies all over the world looking for this girl and comes all the way back home and she is living next door and she's been there all the time for him. It's the same thing for the young girl who wants to have a career and meet the man of her dreams only to come all the way back and find out that he's the farmer that lives down the road.

    You know, Elijah was seeking for the Lord, (1 Kings 19:12), and he stood in the mouth of the cave, and a mighty wind went past and the Lord wasn't in that, then there was a massive earthquake, the Lord wasn't in that. Then there was a huge fire, the Lord wasn't in that, and then the still small voice spoke and the Lord was there. So often we search for the Lord in the wrong places, don't we? We go with great excitement and anticipation to a massive conference expecting to hear from God or we go to a huge stadium meeting and we expect to hear from the Lord, but we don't. He's not found in the overseas trips, He's not found in that latest book or that movie, no. He's often found in the quietness of the closet. 

    John Wesley went all the way to America to find God. He came all the way back disheartened and he met Him in a little Bible study in Aldersgate in London. Charles Finney met with God in the forest. The love of God was going through him so strongly he said, "Lord, if you don't stop, You'll kill me."

    Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the prince of preachers, slipped into a little country chapel just to get out of a snow storm, and heard a farm worker bringing the Gospel because the pastor wasn't there. "Look unto Me and be saved" -  that was the scripture he heard and changed his life.

    Today, you don't have to go overseas, you don't have to go to that big meeting. Go into the quiet place and He will speak to you there.

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, 
    Goodbye.

  • One Day At A Time

    One Day At A Time

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Friday morning, the 19th of July, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We go to the Book of Psalms 37:25:

    "I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread." 

    Wow! What a beautiful promise from the Lord. Maybe today you are worried, worried about the future; worried about your family; maybe you have got a sick member in your family; maybe you are financially strapped, and you don't know how it's going to work out for tomorrow. Well, the Lord is telling us very clearly not to worry about tomorrow, He says, for tomorrow has enough worries of its own. Do you remember that beautiful old Gospel song that goes like this: "One day at a time, sweet Jesus"?  Do you remember that? I am going to read you the words of that beautiful song. This is how it goes:

    I'm only human
    I am just a man
    Help me believe in what I could be
    And all that I am

    Show me the stairway
    That I have to climb
    Lord, for my sake, please teach me to take
    One day at a time 

    One day at a time, sweet Jesus
    That's all I am asking of You
    Just give me the strength to do everyday
    What I have to do

    Yesterday's gone, sweet Jesus
    And tomorrow may never be mine
    Lord, help me today
    Show me the way
    One day at a time

    Do you remember
    When You walked among men?
    Well, Jesus, You know
    If You're looking below
    That it's worse now than then

    Oh, there's pushing and shoving
    And it's crowding my mind
    So, Lord, for my sake
    Teach me to take
    One day at a time

    One day at a time, sweet Jesus
    That's all I'm asking of You
    Just give me the strength to do everyday
    What I have to do

    Yesterday's gone, sweet Jesus
    And tomorrow may never be mine
    Lord, help me today
    Show me the way
    One day at a time

    Lord, help me today
    Show me the way
    One day at a time

    Listen carefully to the words of that beautiful song and apply them to your life today.
    Jesus bless you and goodbye. 

  • His Plans For You

    His Plans For You

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, it’s the 18th of July, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We start in the Book of Isaiah 55:8, the Lord says:

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

    Then we go to Jeremiah 29:11, a very well-known verse in the Bible. The Lord says:

    “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” 

    What a beautiful promise from our Lord! Oh, my dear friend, maybe you feel forsaken today, maybe you feel the Lord has left you, maybe you feel He has got nothing for you. I want to tell you some good news! God has got plans for you and me, well-being and not disaster. You know, the farmer makes a plan. Well, I have got news for you - not one of my plans have ever worked! I have never heard God speak to me audibly, but in my heart, and one morning many years while having my quiet time, the Lord said to me in my heart, “Your busyness, Angus, is making me tired.” I shared that with Jill, my wife, and she reminds me often about that one. The Lord has peace for you and I, not evil. He has a future for you and I, a hope, and it is all found in Christ alone.

    Last week we had the AGM of the movie, “Faith like Potatoes”. Do you know that that movie was made 18 years ago and it is still going strong? Sony, the film-makers have just signed a contract for another 15 years for that movie. Isn’t that incredible? Now, I want to tell you very quickly what happened. I was standing on the platform at Kings Park Rugby Stadium in Durban, South Africa, and I made an outrageous statement, because a terrible drought was predicted - el Nino was coming. I said, “To hell with el Nino, I am going home and I am going to plant potatoes." I had never planted potatoes in my life before, I had no irrigation. You know the story very well, but you see, that wasn’t the plan. The plan that the Lord had was, out of that statement of faith, because that is what it was, raw undiluted faith, a little book was born called “Faith like Potatoes”, and then the movie was born. That was God’s plan, that wasn’t my plan. 

    I want to say to you in closing, that little book and that movie have touched more people than any bit of preaching I have ever done in 46 years. Now, today slow down, listen and do only what God tells you to do and you will be amazed at the plans He has for you.

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye.

  • Don't Be Anxious

    Don't Be Anxious

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 17th of July, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

    We start in the Book of Matthew 6:33:

    "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

    What a beautiful promise from the Lord! Just before that, in the same chapter He says, "Why are you worried, my dear friend?" Why are you and I worried? He says, "Look at the beautiful little birds in the field and look at the beautiful lilies in the valleys, look at the beautiful grass and the flowers", the Lord takes care of every single one of them. Why, then, do we worry about food tomorrow, about clothes to wear when the Lord is already supplying it for His creation?

    When I have to travel overseas, Jill, my wife, stays at home. She looks after things at homebase and often I will be in a hotel room somewhere on the other side of the world. It does get rather lonely, I must confess, especially after the meeting is finished and everyone has gone home, and I go to my hotel room on my own and I sit there sometimes and I tend to worry a little bit. Is Jill okay on the farm back home? Then the Lord reminds me, "Angus, what are you concerned about? You are doing the thing I told you to do, so why are you being concerned? You seek first My kingdom and I will take care of the family and of every need that they have."

    I want to say to you today, cast your cares upon the Lord Jesus Christ, for truly, He does care for you and me. He has cared for me for over 40 years and every time I come home, I find that everything is in order - in fact, sometimes it is better than when I left it because God has promised me, "If you do what I have told you to do I will take care of the rest." You and I need to do the same thing today.

    Do you remember that beautiful old hymn, 'His eye is on the sparrow'? It goes something like this:

    Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
    Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
    When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
    His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

    So let us live for the moment - carpe diem, seize the day, and leave the future in God’s capable hands.

    Jesus bless you! Have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye.

  • Be Decisive

    Be Decisive

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Gospel of Luke 16:13:

    “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” 

    Then we go to the last book in the Bible, the Book of Revelation 3:15. The Lord Jesus says:

    “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.”

    We cannot afford to be fence-sitters. Sitting on a fence is a very uncomfortable place to be, especially if it is a barbed wire fence! People despise folk who cannot make up their minds. 

    Have you ever tried to drink a cup of tea that is lukewarm. Now, I am a tea drinker, I love tea. I want to tell you, there is nothing worse than a cup of tea that is neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm. I don’t mind drinking iced tea on a hot day, it is very refreshing, the Americans do that, I love iced tea. But on a freezing winter’s day while sitting by the fire, when someone gives you a strong, hot, steaming cup of tea - wow! You can’t beat it. People never respect a man or a woman who cannot make up their minds because they don’t want to offend anyone. 

    If you need to follow Jesus, you need to follow Him all the way, or you need to disregard Him completely, which I would strongly advise you never to even think of doing. You see, people don’t have to like us but they must respect us. Lets be those who make up their minds. You are either black or white, no grey area. We are going to go on for Jesus. You know the old saying, “A faint heart never gained fair maiden”? If you love that girl, tell her. Don't let her have to guess it. Be determined. Young lady, if you have an affection for that young man, let him know, because the devil will try and keep you apart and then you will end up losing that person. 

    It is better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all. Today let us be definite, let people know that we are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation, for those who believe, first the Jew and then the Gentile. You will find that in Romans 1:16. 

    God bless you and have a decisive day today. Make some good solid Christian decisions.
    Goodbye.

  • Build on the Rock

    Build on the Rock

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Book of 1 Corinthians 3:10:

    "
as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it."

    " There is no quick fix drop, there is no building on the sand. Matthew 7:26 tells us:

    "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

    We cannot wing it, we cannot just quickly make a plan. Everything done today seems to be done instantly but it doesn't last. You see, when the storms of life come the building won't stand. We must build on the rock. Who is The Rock? His name is Jesus Christ. Especially for those who are coming after us. You see, when a building collapses it doesn't just destroy the builder but it destroys many other lives as well. 

    As Christians, we have an obligation to others. I can hear somebody saying, "Well, it is my life, I can do as I please." No, you can't. When you gave your life to Christ, you surrendered all your personal privileges. We are now living for the Lord and we are living for each other. 

    I remember a story of a young missionary that went to the Congo. This young man worked night and day. He was so passionate for the Lord, but you see, he wasn't spending time with God. He was building a hospital, he was building a school, he built a beautiful church. He never rested, he never spent time putting down foundations in the Lord. He was literally working himself to a standstill and the villagers were coming to church and they were serving the Lord and were so excited about what was happening. 

    One Sunday morning they arrived at church. The young missionary lived in a little hut but the door was closed, and they thought, "What is wrong, he is normally up early, he is normally the first there?" Then they knocked on the door. There was no answer. They broke the door down and they found that the young man had taken his life. He had committed suicide. They were devastated, that whole congregation went out, they closed the door and they nailed a sign on the door, "There is no god," and they went back to their former lifestyle.

    Be careful that we don't upset and chase other people from God because we are not building on The Rock. Jesus is The Rock, first the Lord and then the ministry, first the Lord and then your family and your future.

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Priorities

    Priorities

    · Thought For Today

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 14th of July, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Proverbs 23:4:

    “Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease!”

    In other words, stop it. Then we go straight to Matthew 6:21:

    “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” 

    “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”
    Mark 8:36

    I don’t know if you remember reading about the famous Wall Street financial crash. It happened in 1929, the Stock Market Crash. Overnight, share prices collapsed to nothing. That triggered the worldwide Great Depression, where there was starvation and hunger all over the world. That Wall Street Crash caused businessmen to commit suicide, literally jumping out of the windows of their business houses in their skyscrapers. 

    It is time for you and me to do a heart check today. Where are our priorities? Where are we spending all our time? What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul? I remember watching a programme on television many years ago, the history of the great motorcar manufacturer, Henry Ford. He had an affair with another woman and when he came home to confess to his wife that he had had an affair, he noticed she wasn’t surprised at all, and he asked why not, and she said, “You have been having an affair with your business for years and I have always come second.” 

    We must not do that, ladies and gentlemen. We must spend more time with Jesus, more time with our families. We must apply Matthew 6:33 which says:

    “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

    God bless you and have a wonderful day, and think about this, because I think it is very important to some people listening to this message, 

    Goodbye.

  • Heaven's Reward

    Heaven's Reward

    · Thought For Today

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

    We go to the book of Mathew 6:18, from the Amplified Version of the Bible:

    “
 your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.”

    Now, I don’t know about you, I want my reward in heaven, I do not want my reward here on earth. In Mathew 6, you will see the Lord says when you are fasting, you are going without food because you want to deal with an issue in your life or you want to grow closer to the Lord, don’t walk around looking like you are half dead but comb your hair, wash your face and don’t let anyone know what you’re doing and then you’ll be rewarded by the Lord.

    Jesus said in Mathew 11:11 about John the Baptist,

    “among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist”

    Why? Because John the Baptist never touched God’s glory. In John 3:30, John says:

    “He must increase, but I must decrease.” 

    We’ve got to remain humble and I want to tell you, I don’t know if you’re like me but sometimes I get so disappointed in myself. We love the applause of men, don’t we? The thing is, the Lord says if we get our applause here, or your reward here, there’s nothing for you in heaven. I remember one Sunday after Jill and I had preached in a church in Durban, we were on our way home and we went into a little restaurant and we had a meal together quietly. There were other people in the restaurant and when it came time for us to leave, we said to the waitress, ”Can you bring us the bill please.” She said, ”The bill has already been paid.” We said, ”There must be some mistake, we haven’t paid yet.” She said, ”No, the couple that was sitting across the way from you have paid for your meal.” And they got up and quietly left. Folks, that touched me so deeply. We couldn’t get out of the restaurant quick enough to see if we could find them. They were gone; they didn’t want their reward from us. They were just doing what they believed God wanted them to do.

    Today, don’t be so concerned about getting your reward here on earth, but be more concerned about obedience to God and the Lord is going to reward you on the great day when you meet Him in Heaven.

    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • Back to Basics

    Back to Basics

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start off in that well-known scripture found in 2 Timothy 1:7:

    "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

    They say that the twilight time of the day is probably the most dangerous time to drive a vehicle. I looked up the Oxford dictionary to define the word, 'twilight". It means scarcely visible, it means half-light, it means gloom - the most dangerous time to drive a vehicle. It's not light and it's not dark. You cannot distinguish things.

    Are you confused today? Confusion is uncertainty. It is when you are in a state of doubt or even bewilderment. Do you know where you are going? Do you know what you are doing? Do you know what you believe in?

    My one son is a horse trainer. He trains horses on the farm and we breed them as well, and he often tells me," Dad, the problem is not the horse, the problem is the rider." Some of these people get on a horse and they want to ride a horse, but they are pulling on the reins and they're kicking the poor horse to go forward. It's like trying to drive a motorcar with the handbrake on and you're putting your foot on the accelerator. It is totally confusing. The animal doesn't know what to do.

    I want to say to you today, there are some people who are confused about what they actually believe and we have got to back to basics. By faith, I said by faith, we need to take the Word of God, the Bible, and we need to believe it from cover to cover. As soon as you start pulling out parts of the Bible that you think are not accurate, you are in trouble. You are now becoming your own Saviour, your own god, because you are determining what you think the future holds. Don't do that - the Bible is accurate, I can tell you right now! I don't understand everything in the Bible, but by faith I choose to believe it and that gives me peace and calm in my spirit.

    Jesus Christ is the son of God. That's it! Jesus is the only way to the Father - John 14:6:

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

    That is a fact. If you don't believe that, you are not a Christian. The Bible tells us that if we confess our sins, He will forgive us (1 John 1:9). That is a fact. He says that there is another life after death; that is a fact. When you start to believe the word and you start to live it, then confusion goes out the window.

    Today, let's get back to basics.
    Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  • The Lord's Prayer

    The Lord's Prayer

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in the Gospel of Mathew 6:8-13:

    ”Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye:”

    Let’s pray this together, you and I:

    “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
    Thy kingdom come, 
    Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
    Give us this day our daily bread.
    And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
    And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: 

    For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”  

    That is the Lord’s Prayer that our Lord Jesus taught His disciples when they asked Him to teach them how to pray. We need to teach that prayer to our children, moms and dads, as young as they are. We need to teach that prayer to our staff at work. Young people, you need to teach it to your friends at school. Farmers, you need to teach that prayer to your farm workers. We need to teach that prayer in the office. It is the complete prayer which Jesus taught His disciples to pray.

    Maybe you are struggling with your memory at the moment. I want to tell you that, that beautiful prayer will sharpen your memory. Maybe someone catches you in the street, in a restaurant, or somewhere else, and he’s desperate and says, ”Please pray for me,” and you don’t really know what to pray at that particular time. Ask them to pray with you and pray the Lord’s prayer. It is complete. It is the most beautiful prayer ever.

    It’s an introductory prayer. You can pray that prayer before you start preaching or before you start delivering your message to whoever has asked you to speak to them. I want to say to you today that that prayer comforts you when you’ve lost a loved one. That prayer gives you direction when you do not know which way to go. When you pray, pray carefully and listen to the words, and Jesus will comfort you by them.

    Have a wonderful day,
    God bless you and goodbye.

  • Use God's Word

    Use God's Word

    · Thought For Today

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

    We go to the Book of Jeremiah 23:29, in the Old Testament

    “Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” 

    The Bible is the strongest weapon that we have as Christians to stand against the evils of our time. If we read just before this verse, we see that the Lord told Jeremiah that He has no time for false prophets. Now, how do you judge whether a man is telling the truth when he says he has had a dream and God has shown him something? How do you test the prophet? Only one way, and that is by the word of God, the Bible. If his prophecy lines up with God’s word, then we believe him. If it does not then we cast it aside. Now, fire burns up dross and rubbish. If you have seen a rubbish heap that people set on fire, all that rubbish gets burnt up and there is just ash afterwards, but it is clean. It purifies. You see, the word of God exposes lies and people who tell lies. 

    On the farm, we fight fire with fire. It’s the best weapon that we have at the end of the day to protect our precious crops and animals. Yes, we have water carts, we have firefighters, we have even got aeroplanes that drop water onto fire, but the ultimate weapon is to put a fire in and backburn against the on-coming fire, and eventually it meets in the middle and the fire is put out. Fire also breaks the hardest of hearts. “Is not My word like fire, like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” I have seen it so many times in my life. The word of God softens the hearts of the hardest of criminals. Yes, it sets the captives free, the spoken word of God, the Bible. It also frees men from all kinds of hellish vices, like alcohol, drugs, hatred, and unforgiveness. 

    If we go to the word of God in Luke 8:30-31, we see that Jesus cast out the demons from the Legion.

    Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion” because many demons had entered him. And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.”

    My dear friend, today, start using the word of God and stop reasoning so much, and start using and believing God’s word. I can tell you, it works every single time. 

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
    Goodbye.

  • Sharing Jesus

    Sharing Jesus

    · Thought For Today

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

    We go straight to the word of God, to 2 Timothy 4:2:

    “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and teaching.” 

    I want to read you a story that was sent to me a couple of hours ago from a dear young man that I am mentoring. 

    “Robert Schuller’s teenage daughter, Cindy, was in a motorcycle accident and had to have her leg amputated. John Wayne was a big fan of Robert Schuller. He heard Dr Schuller say on one of his programmes that his daughter had been in an accident and had to have her leg amputated. John Wayne wrote a note to her saying:

    “Dear Cindy, 
    Sorry to hear about your accident. Hope you will be all right.” 

    Signed, John Wayne.

    The note was delivered to her and she decided she wanted to write John Wayne a note in reply. She wrote: 

    Dear Mr Wayne,

    I got your note. Thanks for writing to me. I like you very much. I am going to be all right because Jesus is going to help me. Mr Wayne, do you know Jesus? I sure hope you know Jesus, Mr Wayne, because I can’t imagine Heaven being complete without John Wayne being there. I hope if you don’t know Jesus, that you will give your heart to Jesus right now. 

    See you in Heaven,
    (and she signed her name).

    She had just put that letter in an envelope and sealed it and written across the front of it, “John Wayne”, when a visitor came into her hospital room to see her. He said to her, “What are you doing?”  She said, “I have just written a letter to John Wayne, but I don’t know how to get it to him. He said, “That’s funny. I am going to have dinner tonight with John Wayne at the Newport Club down at Newport Beach. Give it to me and I will give it to him.” She gave him the letter and he put it in his coat pocket. 

    There were twelve of them that night, sitting around a table for dinner. They were all laughing and joking and the guy happened to reach into his pocket and felt the letter, and he remembered. John Wayne was seated at the end of the table and the guy took the letter out and said, “Hey Duke, I was in Schuller’s daughter’s room today in the hospital and she wrote you a letter and wanted me to give it to you and here it is.” They passed the letter down to John Wayne and he opened it, and someone happened to notice, looking down at John Wayne, he was crying. One of them said, “Duke, what is the matter?” And he said, “I want to read you this letter.”  He read the letter then he began to weep again. He folded it up, put it in his pocket and he pointed to the man who had delivered the letter to him and said, “You go and tell that little girl that in this restaurant, right here, John Wayne gives his heart to Jesus Christ and I will see her in Heaven." John Wayne died three weeks later.

    May God bless you richly. Tell somebody today about Jesus, 
    Goodbye.

  • Love

    Love

    · Thought For Today

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

    We start in 1 Corinthians 13, and it is the chapter on love. I am going to read the whole chapter to you and I would like you to be very careful to listen to every single word because this is Jesus in print. You see 1 John 4:8 says:

    "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." 

    I was at a prayer meeting, a mens' prayer meeting early in the morning and the one gentleman shared a testimony. He said, "I have got a man staying at our place. He is now a committed Christian, he has given his life to Jesus, he's been baptised and he gets up every morning at 4 o'clock and prays with some of his friends, and he prays again at 8pm at night. He said he used to be a Muslim and has changed. What is the reason? He says, "love". He has never known or experienced love like he has experienced among Christians. That is out of his mouth." I want to tell you that Muslims need Jesus. Listen to this beautiful chapter:

    "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

    Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

    Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

    When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known."

    And now listen to this, verse 13:

    "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

    Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day and go and tell somebody that God loves them.
    Goodbye.

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