19/10/2021

Angus Buchan

19/10/2021

Vacant of Self

October 19, 2021 • Angus Buchan • Matthew 5:3, 1 Corinthians 9:8

Matthew 5:3, Jesus says:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

That great preacher, F.B. Meyer, says: “To be vacant of self” - that’s right, to be emptied of self-reliance. We need to be totally dependent on Jesus today to realise and to be brutally honest with ourselves that we can do absolutely nothing without God. We cannot even help others. How can the blind lead the blind - It’s impossible.

When we die to self we empty ourselves, we become vacant, then God can use us to assist others. You can’t help a drowning man if you don’t know how to swim. You know, our foundation verse here at Shalom is 2 Corinthians 9:8:

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”

For every good work... Having more than we need so that we can bless others.

When Jill and I first got saved, I wanted to sell the farm - not sell it but give it away. And I wanted to go to Bible College and I wanted to become a pastor. God said to me clearly in my heart: “Stay on the farm and make a place for others, which is what we are doing.

William Duma, a zulu herdsman,up in the mountains in Zululand, met Jesus in a special way and he emptied himself completely. He would do nothing without God’s permission. One day he was invited to go to Israel, him and a group of other ministers. All of them jumped at the opportunity and said, “Thank you very much, we are willing to go.”
Not William Duma! He said, “Can I let you know tomorrow? I need to ask permission from my Lord today.”

We need to empty ourselves. We need to become vacant inside so that God can fill us with His goodness so that we can be a blessing to others. Have a wonderful day today as you look to Jesus to be a blessing to others.

Goodbye.

19/09/2024

September 19, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Matthew 15:37, Exodus 16:14, Exodus 16:31

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 19th of September, 2024 and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Matthew 15:37: ”So they all ate and were filled,…” Our Lord Jesus Christ never sends anyone away hungry. He always feeds His people. Father God fed the children of Israel in the wilderness for forty years, every single day, with manna from heaven. Now what does the word, “manna” mean? It literally means, “what is it?” That is the actual meaning of the word, “manna” - “what is it?” Well, according to Exodus 16:14, it was small, round substance as fine as frost on the ground. You and I must get up early in the morning and He will feed us every single day with spiritual food. You see, when the sun came up and started to shine and it got hot, that manna literally melted, and they tried to keep enough for the second day but it didn’t work, it just went rotten. They had to get it every single morning, and by the way, it was delicious. Exodus 16:31 tells us it was like white coriander seed and the taste was like wafers made with honey. Wow, every single morning! Now, you and I also need to get up early in the morning and receive our spiritual manna from the Lord. We need to do it before the cares and worries of this world melt the food. You see, it doesn’t really work when we are trying to wing it. Driving to work, getting the children ready for school, we start thinking about other things, and that is why many of us are suffering from spiritual malnutrition. We are spiritually dying because we are not receiving that manna every morning. It’s no good trying to get it once a week, it won’t sustain you. The Lord gives us enough for every single day. As we close, I want to pray for you today. Heavenly Father, I pray for my dear friends who are suffering from spiritual malnutrition. They are starving to death spiritually. I pray that as of today, Lord, they will start to get up every single morning and they will receive that beautiful white coriander seed with a taste like wafers made with honey every day, and that will strengthen them Lord, to face every challenge in this life. I ask these things in Jesus name. Amen. God bless you and have a wonderful day, Goodbye.

18/09/2024

September 18, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Hebrews 13:8, Matthew 15:31

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 18th of September, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Gospel of Matthew 15:31: “So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.” Oh folks, it is amazing when you see a miracle take place! It really does something to your faith, doesn’t it? It lifts it right up. I remember many years ago, holding a huge campaign on the north coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal at a place called Salt Rock. We were bringing in crowds of people every single night in buses. The one night, the tent was packed full, there was a presence of the Holy Spirit, there was an expectation of miracles, signs and wonders, and a man came up onto the platform. He was actually one of the bus drivers, he had a turban on his head, he was of the Sikh faith and he came up with his father, and his father said, “My son is mute, he cannot speak.” Well, we anointed him with oil, we prayed the prayer of faith, I took the mic, I put it to his mouth and I said, “Say “Jesus,” and he opened his mouth wide and he said, “Jesus!” Well, the tent went wild. It was an incredible night! Jesus Christ is the Miracle-worker! He is the same yesterday, and today and forevermore. I want to say to you that there is nothing that is too hard for the Lord. The Lord is the same yesterday, He is the same today and He is the same forever. (Hebrews 13:8). I really want to say to you today, trust the Lord because He is alive and because He is alive, we can face tomorrow. Do you remember that old song, “Because He lives I can face tomorrow”? Let’s sing it together: God sent His son, they called Him Jesus He came to love, heal, and forgive. He lived and died to buy my pardon, An empty grave is there to prove my Saviour lives. And because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, All fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living just because He lives. So go out today and trust the Lord for your miracle. That is all we have to do, we have to believe, and then let the Lord work through our lives. Receive your healing today in Jesus name. God bless you and goodbye.

17/09/2024

September 17, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Deuteronomy 16:13

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 17th of September, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start off in the Book of Deuteronomy 16:13: “You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress.” The Feast of Tabernacles (it is also called Sukkot), is the time when the Israeli people celebrate what God has done in their lives. They build a little booth, which they call a sukkot, and that is where they spend time talking about the goodness of God. They decorate it with grapes, figs, olives and dates. They hang them in bunches all around this little building, and then for seven days, they go during the day and they sit in that little place, and they remember how God delivered them from Pharaoh, from Egypt, took them through the wilderness for forty years, and brought them into the Land of Milk and Honey, when they crossed the Jordan River. They sit and they tell their children, and they tell their grandchildren those stories, how God has protected them. They build up their faith. I believe that the strength of the Israeli nation is found in the fact that they continue to remember their past. If you have written a book, I have written a few, and you have no before-time and you just start writing, it doesn’t make sense. You have got to tell the people where you are coming from. The dictionary says that the word, “prologue” means “introductory scene to a play” or in my case, to a story - what happened before. And that is the strength of the Israeli nation. They continue to tell their children and their children’s children how God has undertaken for them. I want to tell you, I have got a story, and it started on the 18th of February, 1979 at about 10 a.m., in a little Methodist church in the Main Street of Greytown, our little town that is 15 kilometres away. That day, I met Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Saviour, and as they say, the rest after that is history, but it started many, many years before, and we have been through many hardships since. Yes, we have experienced droughts, fires, floods, disease, hardship, and personal tragedy, but Jesus Christ has been the Golden Thread that has held us together for 45 years on this farm, Shalom. You need to tell your story to your children. You need to tell them how you met Christ. You need to tell your friends at school how you have come into a relationship with God. That is what it is all about. Don’t forget the Feast of Tabernacles, seven days when the whole of Israel comes to a standstill and they remember where God has brought them from. You do the same! Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, Goodbye.