Episodit
-
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 16th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Genesis 4:9:
“Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Then we go straight to Matthew 22:39:
“You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
It’s a commandment for you and me. It is not optional. The first family that ever existed was our Heavenly Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, His Son and His Holy Spirit - the First Family. Families are under tremendous strain at the moment. I am getting many letters from families who are not getting on. We ask ourselves the question, why is it that there is so much strife and so much trouble in the family unit? Well, I believe it’s because the family is so close to our Heavenly Father’s heart. He loves the family unit, and the devil knows it, and the devil hates God and the way that he can hurt God, is to hurt God’s family.
There is no one who fights like brothers, and it is not even a joke, folks; it is serious. The first two brothers in the Bible were the children of Adam and Eve. Their names were Cain and Abel. Remember, Cain killed his brother, Abel, and when our Heavenly Father asked, “Where is your brother?” He said, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Am I responsible? Well, the answer is yes, we are responsible. What about Joseph with the coat of many colours, how he and his brothers could not get on together?
No-one fights like brothers. The Jews and the Arabs have got the same father, Abraham, they are half-brothers, and look at what is happening as I talk to you now, in the Middle East. You know, I knew two brothers who could not get on and it got so bad that the one brother went to the government offices and got his surname spelling changed. He did not even want his name to be spelt the same as his brother's. It is not a joke, folks. It is so serious. We must to learn to forgive, to make up and to press on together, and we must also see how the devil’s hand is in this - he will do everything in his power to destroy the family unit.
So what is the solution? The solution is, we need to talk to one another, we need to ask for forgiveness, say sorry. You say, “I can’t.” Jesus says you can and you must for His sake, for your own sake and for your brother’s sake.
Jesus bless you and goodbye.
-
I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Monday morning, the 15th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Numbers 13:27-28.
"Then they told him, and said: "We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there." (the descendants of the giants there).
I read a statement, the other day, that really touched me. It goes something like this: "It is when we are in the way of duty that we find giants. It was when Israel was going forward that the giants appeared. When they turned back into the wilderness, they found none." If you are doing something today and feel you have mountains in front of you, you have giants in front of you, keep going forward. There is no reverse gear in the Kingdom of God. We need to go forward and that is why the Lord loved Caleb so much. If you just turn over the page, to the next chapter, Numbers 14:24 - one of my favourite verses, by the way, in the Bible:
"But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it."
It's a promise from God. You see, the other ten spies were so negative, but Caleb wasn't negative; he was going forward, and so was Joshua. I want to say to you today, my dear friend, let's go forward! Of course there are giants there. Anything worth having is worth fighting for! Isn't that true? So let's go forward and we know that the Lord goes before us.
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, and don't be scared of those giants.
Goodbye. -
Puuttuva jakso?
-
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 14th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Gospel of John 10:16:
“And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”
Apart from the Jews, the Lord says that there are other sheep who must come into the fold, gentiles. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, it doesn’t matter what your colour, your creed or your sex is. He died for you and me and He wants to bring you into the fold. He gathers the outcasts. That is what it says in the Book of Isaiah.
Romans 10:13 confirms what we are saying:
“For whoever (whoever means whoever) calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
We must never write off anybody. When you look at the disciples that the Lord Jesus chose, they were a real motley bunch, weren’t they? I mean they came from all different types of backgrounds. There were blasphemers, drinkers, they were fishermen, they were tax collectors - they were thieves, those tax collectors. They were zealots, terrorists, and they all came to Christ, and He used them to change the world. Let us not make the mistake of saying, “That person will never become a Christian.”
I remember when I was a new Christian, for quite a few weeks, I was actually chastised by my minister because he didn’t really believe I was for real. I said to him one evening, after Bible Study, “Why are you always picking on me?” And then he confessed and said, “I really didn’t think you were serious; I thought you were having us on.” I said, “No, no, no, my love for Jesus Christ is huge.” “He whom I have forgiven much loves me the most”, the Lord says.
So today, let's embrace the whosoever’s who come into the fold because Jesus died for every one of them, just like He died for you and me.
Jesus bless you and have a lovely day,
Goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 13th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Gospel of Luke 19:46:
'My house is a house of prayer,…'
Then we go to Mark 11:17, the same thing again:
'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'.
Everybody is welcome to pray in the House of God. Then, of course, Isaiah 56:7:
"For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations."
No one is excluded. Prayer is open to anyone who truly seeks help from God. I looked up the Oxford Dictionary to find out the literal meaning of the word "Prayer", which says: "It is a request for help or an expression of thanks, made to God." You say, "I don't know how to pray. I really am struggling." Well, it's funny you should say that because that's exactly what the disciples said to Jesus, in Luke 11:1. They said,
"Lord, teach us to pray,.."
I love sitting quietly and listening to little children pray. It brings a tear to my eye. I am sure the Lord stops in Heaven and says, "Hang on a minute", to all His angels, "these little children want to speak to Me. Just hang on a second."
"No, but there is a big concern amongst…"
"Yes, just hang on a minute, I want to hear these children." Oh, it is so beautiful and so sincere.
We really need to pray more and we really need to speak less. When I gave my life to the Lord, which was 46 years ago, we had a little follow-up meeting after the Sunday service, where mature Christians instructed us on the things of the Lord. We got into little circles, and they said, "Tonight, we are going to start to pray." I took a look around, we were all brand spanking new Christians. We still had the wrapping paper on! Each one of us had to pray out loud, and we were extremely nervous, and this is the honest truth. As we went around the circle, there was one old gentleman sitting there and I could see he had had a hard life. He had all those war maps printed all over his face. He had really been through some tough times, and I could see that he was extremely nervous and he prayed a prayer I will never, ever forget. He just cried out from the bottom of his heart, "God, please help me!" That was his prayer. Now, I have heard prayers from all over the world. I have heard eloquent people praying, but I will never, ever forget John's prayer: "Lord, please help me!" And do you know something? God helped him.
Do it today, it will change your life.
Jesus bless you and goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 12th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We go to the Song of Solomon 1:6:
“They made me the keeper of the vineyards,
But my own vineyard I have not kept.”Charity begins at home. Service starts with valuable time, spent first of all, in the presence of Jesus Christ, and then your family, and then your work. The Gospel of Mark 8:36 says:
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”
We need to spend more time in the presence of Almighty God, both quantity and quality. We need to be careful, and I am talking to myself here more than anybody, that the work of the Lord does not keep us from the Lord of the work—so busy for Jesus that we have no time to spend with Jesus. We really need to be so careful of that fact.
A man I have the utmost respect for, one of my heroes was James Hudson Taylor. That young man took the Gospel of Jesus Christ to China. As a result, they are having one of the greatest revivals in the world in the underground church in China, at the moment, and yet, that man could say, and I am going to read it, “Our attention is here drawn to a danger which is pre-eminently one of this day: the intense activity of our times may lead to zeal in service, to the neglect of personal communion; but such neglect will not only lessen the value of the service, but tend to incapacitate us for the highest service.” In other words, if we are not having a proper quiet time with the Lord, if we are not interacting with the Lord, it will even affect our ministry, let alone our family that will suffer, and most of all, our personal relationship with the Lord.
Remember, first the Lord, then your wife or your husband, then your children, then the rest of your family, and then the ministry or the work that God has called you to. If we do it in that order we will not fail.
Jesus bless you and have a lovely day,
Goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 11th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the New Testament, in the Book of Hebrews 12:1:
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,…”
Early this morning, before the sun came up, I went for a ride on my mountain bike on a gravel road. I had to use a little torch that I had fitted to the bike because it was still dark. As I was riding, I heard the most incredible sound. I don’t think I have ever heard it before in my life, and I am a farmer, a man of the land. I heard tens of thousands of birds singing. Now, I didn’t know where the noise was coming from. I was riding alongside a pine plantation on my neighbour’s farm. I wondered whether the noise came from there, but I had never heard that before. And as I was riding, the sun just started to peak over the beautiful surface of the world, and then I felt the Holy Spirit say to me, “Lift up your eyes and look up,” and I looked up and I saw something that really almost brought a tear to my eye.
I saw tens of thousands of swallows flying above. The whole sky was clear but it was full of swallows and they were singing. That’s where the noise was coming from. These swallows were focused; they were flying north to their home in the Northern Hemisphere because winter is starting here in South Africa, and in Europe, the summer is starting, and they were making their way back to their summer address. Their eyes were fixed on their destiny. They were going to their new home. They tell me, I don’t know, that swallows eat on the wing, while they are flying. They sleep on the wing - they have catnaps while they are flying. They are totally focused, they are looking straight ahead to their home.
I want to say to you, my dear friend, there are many people in Heaven, a cloud of witnesses, that are cheering you and I on, and this is what they are saying, “Be like that little swallow. Do not get distracted, don’t get pulled down by the things of this world. Do not allow the devil to rob your joy, keep your vision, keep your focus because soon, and very soon, you are going to get home.” We are going to arrive at our new destination. This is not our home, we are sojourners, pilgrims, passing through!
Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus today, the Author and the Finisher of our faith.
God bless you and have a wonderful day. Don’t forget the swallow, he is a good example.
Goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 10th of April, 2024, and this is your friend Angus Buchan with a thought for today.
We start in 1 Samuel 15:22, in the Old Testament,
”Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,...”
Then we go to the last book in the Bible, the Book of Revelation 2:4-5. The Lord Jesus says:
”Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”
Wow, obedience is better than sacrifice. In other words, to do as you are told, is better than continually saying, “I’m sorry.” The Lord is requiring obedience from us this morning. This scripture in Revelation 2, is one of the hallmarks in the ministry at Shalom. I was up at the Umkuzi game reserve in Northern Kwazulu-Natal, having a break with my dear wife, Jill. I was sitting there early in the morning having my quiet time, just like I’m doing right now. I thought I was doing a great job for the Lord, but you see, a good idea is not always a God idea. What are you doing at this time as you are listening to this message? Are you obeying the Lord or are you doing something you think the Lord would like you to do?
This scripture was very relevant in my life. The Lord says, ”I see all the good things you are doing but you have forsaken your first love.” That is your relationship with Jesus Christ. “You are so busy with the work of the Lord, that you haven’t got time for Me,” the Lord was saying to me. So I was listening, I was devastated actually. I felt the Lord saying, “Go home, cancel everything and then I will speak to you.” I did exactly that.
You know something folks? The Holy Spirit impressed upon me to start mentoring young men because we are living in a fatherless generation. I cancelled every single appointment and then I started to mentor young men. I thought maybe two or three and I really mean that. You know by the year 2010 which was seven years after the Lord had spoken to me, we saw no less than four hundred and fifty thousand men on this farm.
Obedience is better than sacrifice. Let’s start doing what the Lord has told us to do and not what we think He’s told us to do. “How do we do that, Angus?”, by spending time quietly in His presence.
Jesus bless you and goodbye.
-
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It’s Tuesday morning, the 9th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
Isaiah 55:11The word of the Lord shall accomplish what the Lord has said, and it shall prosper in the very thing for which it was sent. Just like the rain comes down from Heaven and waters the earth, and germinates the crops. I have seen it so many times; it makes them grow so that the seed will become bread for those farmers who cultivate it. I have seen it for over 40 years, and so the Lord says to us today, the spoken word, spoken out in faith, shall accomplish the same thing.
I had the privilege of watching a documentary just the other day, and part of that documentary was what happened in Cape Town in Mitchell’s Plain, one of the poorest places in South Africa, where probably about 250,000 people, many of them poor folk, came to speak the word of God over a city that was without water. People were panicking, they didn’t think they would have enough water to drink, never mind to wash or to grow crops. In the middle of that prayer meeting as we were speaking out the word of God, oh yes, it started to rain! I will never forget it as long as I live. I want to say to you this morning, I don’t know who you are or where you are, but you need to start speaking the word of God out again, by faith. The word of the Lord will never return void. If we look at John 1:1, the Bible says:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Speak the word of God, and it will accomplish the same thing that the Lord spoke because it is His word in your mouth, and my mouth, spoken by faith, will achieve the same thing. Speak to that mountain today and ask the Lord Jesus Christ, by faith, to remove it out of your life.
Have a wonderful day,
God bless you and goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Monday morning, the 8th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, Genesis 2:7:
"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."
Now George Matheson, that beautiful old Scottish preacher, who was blind, wrote,
"And so this soul of mine is a compound of two worlds—dust and deity! It touches the boundary line of two hemispheres. It is allied on one side to the divine; on the other, to the beast of the field. Its beginning is from beneath, but its culmination is from above; it is started from the dust of the ground, but it is finished in the breath of God.
My soul, are you living up to your two-fold origin? Are you remembering your double heritage, and therefore your double duty? You have a duty to your God for His breath is in you, and you have a duty to the earth, for out of it you were taken."
Today, you and I must live up to our duty. We must be good representatives and we must be good ambassadors for Jesus Christ. When people see us walking down the road, they must make no mistake, they must say, "You see that man, he has been created out of the earth but he has got Jesus Christ living inside him.
"…Christ in you, the hope of glory"
Colossians 1:27Let's go out today and show the world that Jesus Christ is alive.
God bless you and goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 7th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in 2 Samuel 7:8:
“Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.”
Wow, powerful words - a shepherd to a king! Then we go to Isaiah 55:8. The Lord says:
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.”You and I must never limit God in our lives. We saw a shepherd boy, but God saw a king. Do you remember that song, that very popular song that was sung quite a few years ago? The words go like this, I am going to read it to you:
One by one, Jesse’s sons stood before the prophet,
Their father knew a king would soon be found,
And each one passed, except the last,
No-one thought to call him, surely he would never wear a crown,
But when others see a shepherd boy, God may see a king.
Even though your life seems filled with ordinary things,
In just a moment, He can touch you and everything will change.
Where others see a shepherd boy, God may see a king.
One by one, problems come and dreams get shattered,
And sometimes its hard to understand,
But things like chance and circumstance don’t really matter,
The Father holds tomorrow in His hands,
And when others see a shepherd boy, God may see a king.
Even though your life seems filled with ordinary things,
In just a moment, He can touch you and everything will change,
Where others see a shepherd boy, God may see a king.I want to say to you today, my dear friend, even as the Lord is speaking to me, never limit God in your life. We may see a shepherd boy, but when God looks at you, He may see a king.
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 6th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in 2 Corinthians 6:10:
"…as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things."
Then we go to the Book of Nehemiah 8:10:
"Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
The joy the Lord is speaking about here, is not walking around with a big smile on your face, always laughing. That's not joy. Joy is not a feeling, it is a fact. Why should we be happy this morning? Well, maybe the first thing we can thank God for is for the opportunity of having eternal life. If you love Jesus Christ today, my dear friend, your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, and when the Lord comes to take you and I home, we will find our name is written there, not because we are good people but because we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Some people write to us, and they ask the question, "Why is Angus always so happy?" Oh, folks, I have to be honest with you. I am not always feeling happy. I really mean that. Sometimes, I am not happy at all, but it is the joy of knowing that Jesus Christ died for me, He loves me, and He will fulfil everything He promised me in the word.
Even King David, who wrote all those beautiful psalms, says sometimes, he speaks to his soul, "Oh my soul, why are you so downcast?" We need to understand that joy, always rejoicing, is a decision that we have to make. You know, sometimes when you get bucked off your horse, you don't always feel full of joy, do you? No - I have lost count of how many times I have been bucked off my horse. An old cowboy saying goes something like this: "Cowboy up (in other words, 'cowboy get up') or go and sit in the pick-up." We have got to get up, dust ourselves off and get back into the fight, because the Lord Jesus Christ never promised us a bed of roses, but He did promise us that He would walk with us through the fire.
A man by the name of W. Aiken, wrote: "No Christian can ever know what is meant by these two little words, 'Always rejoicing', but the Christian who takes up his cross and follows Jesus." That's right, he is the one who knows.
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 5th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Revelation 1:8:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Wow, what a confirmation! Then, of course, the Lord goes on again to say in verse 11:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,...”
I got so excited when I read that scripture again. I have heard it for many, many years, but it reminded me that He is everything you need, my friend, everything you need. What we need to do is live our dream. We need to fulfil our vision. Where there is no vision, the people perish - Proverbs 29:18. But if Christ is for you, who can stand against you? We hear that in Romans 8:31.
We have just recently completed a beautiful Passover season, and you know that beautiful scripture in Romans 8:11 that says:
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the tomb, is available to you and to me, because He is the Alpha and the Omega. It is like that massive oak tree. We have got some very big ones on the farms around our district, but every one of them started with a small little acorn. That acorn germinated and grew into a mighty tree. I want to encourage you to dream your dream, to fulfil your destiny. Do not let the devil stand on you and tell you that you will never make it. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
I still have many dreams that I want to see fulfilled before the Lord takes me home to be with Him in Heaven. And you, too, should do the same. Remember, if Christ is for you, you have nothing to worry about.
Jesus bless you, and have a lovely day.
Goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 4th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan with a thought for today.
We start in the last book in the Bible, Revelation 1:5:
”…Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.”
Wow, my dear friend, what a title! What a Man, the first to ever be born from the dead! He died and He rose again. Jesus Christ, our living Champion. There is only one Lord, and His name is Jesus, the Messiah, and the soon-coming King. The King of Kings; the Lord of Lords; the Lily of the Valley; the Bright Morning Star; the Alpha and the Omega; the Beginning and the End, and I love this title - the Friend of Sinners. That is who He is! He’s the God of all men if they will simply bow the knee and acknowledge Him.
In John 14:6, Jesus says:
”I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
What a mighty God we serve. We cannot apologise for that. It is written in the Bible, and we believe the Bible to be divine. It is a book written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by holy men. Yes, the Bible is Jesus Christ in print. John 1:1:
”In the beginning was the Word,…”
And that is exactly what I’m reading to you now.
Lord Jesus, we want to tell You today that we love You. We thank you for dying for us; we thank You for being so humble; we thank You for being so loving, and we thank You, Lord, for reassuring us every single day that You will be with us even until the end of the age. What wonderful news! Our faithful Witness, the First-born from the dead, the Ruler over the kings of the earth. There is no king, there is no ruler that is greater than Jesus Christ!
You don’t have to be controversial to be a Christian. You just have to read the Bible, and automatically you become controversial because people don’t like that. People would rather hear you say, “All roads lead to Heaven.” They would rather you say, ”There are many gods.” According to my Bible there is no other God, and there is no other Saviour, and His name is Jesus.
Have a wonderful day as you go out and tell people today, “He’s coming back soon to take us home to be with Him, in glory, forever and ever.”
Goodbye.
-
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 3rd of April, 2024, and this is your friend Angus Buchan with a thought for today.
We start in the Gospel of John 12:12-13:
”The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!”
Then we go on to Chapter 19:15:
”But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”
The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”I want to say to you today, do not play to the crowd, otherwise you’ll be like a yoyo. One minute, you’ll be up in the air; the next, down in the dumps, and you and I cannot live like that. I had the wonderful privilege of being with one of the top rugby franchises in the country just the other day. I spent the day with them and what wonderful young men and women they are, totally dedicated to the sport that they are playing. They are physically fit, they are mentally alert, they are totally committed. I had the privilege of sharing a short word with them, and this is the very word that the Lord put on my heart, “Tell them to not play to the crowd but play to Me and Me alone.” I reminded them that one day, you are a hero; the next day, you’re a villain. One wrong move can spoil the game and lose the match. South Africa is currently the world champion in rugby, but if you can remember, in the last three matches we played, we won them by one point, one single point.
Now you can’t live like that, I’m not just talking about rugby, I’m talking about life. You have got to put your trust, faith, hope, and future in Jesus Christ, and in Him alone. He will not let you down. He will not disappoint you. He says, ”I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5.
Today, go out and remember your responsibility is to please only One Person - and He is a good God. He is patient, He is very loving and He is on our side - His name is Jesus Christ.
God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, April 1st, 2024, and this is your friend Angus Buchan with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of James 5:16:
“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
Today, we are going to speak about the power of effective, fervent prayer. When Dr David Livingstone first began his ministry in Africa, some native tribes opposed him. One tribe said they were going to kill him and everyone in his party, one afternoon. As they were setting up camp, David Livingstone heard that the warriors had been tracking him all day long, and they were outside the camp, and they were going to attack and kill everyone when it got dark. On the night of 14th January 1856, David Livingstone wrote in his journal, “It was in the evening, I feel much turmoil and fear in the prospect of having all my plans knocked on the head.” Those who studied his handwriting said you could even see the fear in the way in which he wrote his journal. He went on, “…but Jesus said, “All power is given to Me in Heaven and on Earth and lo, I am with you always, even unto the ends of the earth.” Livingstone wrote, ”Now, this is the word of a Gentleman, of most strict and sacred honour. So that is the end of my fear. I feel quiet and calm now.” By this point in his journal, the writing has become firm and no longer betrays any fear.
They did not attack that night, and later, the tribe was brought to faith in Christ. David Livingstone asked the chief of the tribe, ”Do you remember the night that you were tracking down my party?”
“Yes,” the chief replied.
“We had heard rumours that you were going to attack us,” Livingstone said, “that night.”
The chief said, “We were ready to attack to attack the camp that night and to kill you and everyone else.”
“Why didn’t you attack?” David Livingstone asked the chief.
The chief said, “When we got close to the camp, we saw 47 warriors surrounding your camp with swords in their hands.”
David Livingstone was baffled. They hadn’t had any guards, nor even any warriors. Later on, when he was on leave in Scotland, he shared this story with the church that was supporting him. A man came up to him after the meeting with his journal and showed David Livingstone that he had written down on 14th January 1856 - it was the night that Livingstone was going to be attacked, that he had had a prayer meeting with a group of men, “and they came and prayed for your protection.” He had written it down. There were 47 men praying that night!
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 31st of March, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
It is indeed Resurrection Sunday. He is not dead, He is alive! Today is a day of rejoicing. Friday was a day of weeping, today is a day of dancing for the Lord. We look at Romans 8:11:
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
That is incredible news. The Lord says, my dear friend, if we have the Holy Spirit in us, the same Holy Spirit who raised Him from the dead (He had been in the tomb for three days and He was resurrected on Sunday morning), if that same Spirit dwells in you and I, that same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead shall quicken our mortal bodies, shall heal us, shall set us free, shall give us new life.
I have been there, I have been to that tomb, I want to tell you it is empty! There are no bones there, there are no relics there. Why? Because it is empty, because He is alive, He is in Heaven and by the way, He is coming back one of these fine days, to take you and I to be with Him in glory forever. Jesus Christ is the only God that there is, who died for our sins and was raised from the dead and is alive today. He is there for you and I. Please, let us take hold of this incredible miracle and gift which is available to us, set us free, give us new life, heal us physically, mentally, spiritually and give us an opportunity to start living all over again for Him.
God bless you as you enjoy this Resurrection Sunday of victory,
Goodbye.
-
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 30th of March, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Psalms 119:176:
“I have gone astray like a lost sheep;…”
Then we go forward to the Book of Isaiah 53:6:
“All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
The last scripture is in 1 Peter 2:25:
“For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
A sheep is the most defenceless of all animals. It needs more looking after than any other farm animal. A sheep is a follower, it is not a leader, it needs protection. Father God saw the plight of us, His creation, and He sent down from Heaven, the best Shepherd ever, His own Son, Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd. He sent Him down to help us, to guide us, to lead us and to protect us. You see, sheep simply follow sheep (if one goes over the cliff edge, it is the whole flock that will follow over the cliff’s edge), but the Good Shepherd leads His sheep from the front. He does not chase them from behind.
In the old days, the sheep enclosure, the crawl, never had a gate because the shepherd slept across the entrance at night. Any wild animal that wanted to attack the sheep had to pass the shepherd first.
Jesus died for you and me. We remember it at this time of year so that we can live, be protected, be led, and most of all, be loved. Let us not forget today the great price that the Great Shepherd paid for you and me.
Jesus bless you and goodbye.
-
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Good Friday, the 29th of March, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We go to the Gospel of John 15:12-13:
“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
In the year 2003, which is 21 years ago, my wife, Jill and I went to the Holy Land for the first time. I have been many, many times since then, but that particular trip, I have never forgotten. We went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem. As we walked into that place, I have never forgotten it, I sat down in a little bench and I looked across the way, and there were steps going up to where they say the Lord was crucified and I started to weep uncontrollably. I don’t think I have ever wept like that before in my life. The reality of what Jesus has done for me hit home, and my dear wife, Jill had to actually comfort me. I was completely overwhelmed at the price that the Master had paid for my sin. Yes, I realised what a sinner I was. I broke down and I wept.
I looked up and I saw pilgrims coming into this massive cathedral, flocking in from every part of the world. I saw women from Russia with those little scarves tied around their heads and their brightly coloured clothes, coming up to a slab of granite that they say the Master’s body was laid on when Joseph of Arimathea took Him off the cross after He had died. They were taking cloths from their bags and wiping the top of the concrete slab and the tears were flowing. They would obviously take these cloths back to Russia with them for their families. There was such a presence of the Holy Spirit and I think of all those multitudes of pilgrims from all over, from Japan, China, South America, Britain, South Africa, Canada, the United States of America, coming together and just spending time on their knees worshipping the Lord.
Now, we don’t know exactly where it took place. There is another place in Jerusalem also, where they say (The Garden Tomb) where the Lord was buried. That doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is that it happened and it happened in Jerusalem, in the Old City, and I just thought how Mary Magdalene felt when she cried and asked the angel in the morning, where the body of Christ was.
I want to say to you today, take time out please to sit on your own and contemplate. It wasn’t the Jews that killed Jesus, it wasn’t the Roman soldiers that killed Jesus. It was our sin that murdered the Darling of Heaven and we need to ask Him again to forgive us and we need to think carefully about our lifestyle so that it doesn’t happen again. This is a time for you and I to contemplate on the greatest sacrifice that has ever been made in the world.
Jesus bless you as you have a very thoughtful Good Friday,
Goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 28th of March, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Isaiah 53:1-3:
“Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”Oh, my dear friend, that is a description of our Lord Jesus Christ, written 700 years before He was even born. We want to thank our dear Lord Jesus this morning. Remember, this is the night before Good Friday. Tomorrow is the day we traditionally remember that Jesus Christ was crucified for your and my sins. When I think of the example that You set for us on earth, Lord, Your humility, a Man who was acquainted with sorrow and with pain, so much so that we even cannot look upon your face, a man who was despised by the world system because everything You ever said and did was the total opposite of the things of this world - but oh Lord, I love You. I love You because you were such an incredible example to us.
I think of the Baobab tree, the San Bushman tell you it is called the upside-down-tree because the roots look like they are sticking up into the sky and the top of the tree is underground. Well, I want to tell you, our beloved Jesus preaches the upside-down Gospel according to the world system because everything that the world says we must do and be, He seems to teach the exact opposite. When the world says you must get to the top, no matter how many people you trample on to get to the top, Jesus says, “Turn the other cheek”. When the world says you must be the greatest, Jesus says you must be the least. When the world says, “Let’s have a party and be happy”, you are found with those who are weeping, those who are mourning, and those who are sorrowful.
Thank You, Master, for leading the way for us, for teaching us, not so much by words, but by action and by lifestyle. Our desires are to become more like You everyday. We love You very, very much. Thank you for being our ultimate example and champion here on earth, Amen.
God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye. -
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 27th of March, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan with a thought for today.
We go straight to the book of Romans 5:3:
“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
Just yesterday I had a very severe lesson taught to me in patience, in humility and character building. I had to go and get a document from an institution that was full of people from every walk of life. I got there early in the morning. I waited in the queue and then by about nine or ten o’clock, I asked the lady at the counter, “What is the holdup?” She said that the internet is down and they cannot do anything. That’s right, my patience was starting to get a little bit tested, a bit ragged. I said, ”Well, should I come back?” She said, ”I think that might be a good idea.” “What time should I come back?” I came back at one o’clock.
When I got there at one o’clock, the place was packed out. There were queues everywhere. I had to sit and wait and you know, during that time of waiting, God started talking to me in my heart. First of all, I saw people from every walk of life and I realised how fortunate I was. An older lady was wheeled in a wheelchair because she had to sign the document. There was a man who walked in afterwards. He had obviously had a stroke. He was walking on one crutch, his wife was trying to keep him balanced and he was waiting for a document. There was a young man and a young woman with two little babies, obviously getting the babies registered. The babies were very hot and not comfortable at all and mom and dad were trying to hold the babies and sign all the documents.
I sat there quietly looking at all of this and the Lord showed me very clearly, just the tremendous need that there is in society. Sometimes, we are so busy doing things we don’t observe what is happening in the everyday lives of ordinary people. Yes, indeed, it was a character-building day.
Eventually, by about half past three in the afternoon, I managed to get to the counter again to collect my document, but only to be told that my fingerprints were not registering on the computer. The poor lady was trying her best to help me but she was failing. I said I’d come back again the next day. She said, ”Please sir, If you don’t mind, I would appreciate that.”
I walked out, and I thought, “I have achieved nothing today,” but just in my quiet time room this morning, I’m realising I had achieved plenty. God showed me just how little patience I have, just how little compassion I have for others, and God taught me a lesson in humility.
Today, don’t be afraid of tribulation. It will make a man or a woman out of you.
Jesus bless you and goodbye.
- Näytä enemmän
