And a very good morning to you!
It is Tuesday morning, 18th January, the year 2022, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
“Be still, and know that I am God”
Psalm 46:10
And then we go to the New Testament, Mark 6 and I am reading from verse 30:
“Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.”
A few years ago the Lord spoke to me almost audibly and do you know what He said? He said: “Your busyness is making Me tired.” I tell you what folks, it was a wake-up call. God is not impressed by our busyness - He wants you to Himself. It is only the world that is impressed - “I am going here, I am going there, I am doing this, I am doing that!”
Even the disciples did not have time to eat. They were telling Jesus of all the miracles and the healings that had taken place, and Jesus said, “Come aside and rest a while.”
You know I ride my horse Snowy, I love that Appaloosa and he talks to me probably more than a lot of people. If I am in a rush and I just want to have a quick ride before I have to go and do something, that horse of mine becomes very agitated. He becomes naughty sometimes. He doesn’t listen to what I am saying because he thinks that there is trouble, he thinks that Angus is too uptight. We need to relax and we need to be still and know that the Lord Jesus Christ, He is God.
The Lord always makes people feel important. Remember the woman at the well? She wasn’t even a Jew, she was a Samaritan. Jesus had time to speak to her and tell her her whole life story. I am talking about God Himself. What about the little people? They came to Jesus, the disciples tried to chase them away. He said:
“Suffer the little ones to come unto Me and forbid them not for of such is the Kingdom of God.”
These days, nobody wants to listen anymore... We really need to take time out. My old friend, Alan, who was my neighbour on the farm next door, we used to stand at that barbed wire fence, early in the morning, waiting for our staff to come to work. I am talking about before 5 o’clock.
We used to chat to each other, and he always used to say to me, “Angus, take time out to smell the roses!” Alan, I am trying - I am trying!
Go out today and smell the roses.
Jesus bless you.
Goodbye.
18/01/2022
Smell The Roses
January 18, 2022 • Angus Buchan • Psalm 46:10, Mark 6:30–32
19/04/2024
April 19, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Isaiah 58:6–7
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 19th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Isaiah 58:6-7: “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?” (your own family) This is the chapter on fasting, going without food. Now, to fast is very important. Jesus did it for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert. It is a very good practice. It brings the body into subjection with the spirit. It is necessary for each believer to do. However, the Lord says, ”but this is the kind of fasting that I have chosen.” We have got to be doers of God’s Holy Word. We have got to lift the burdens of the oppressed, we have got to share our food with the hungry, we have got to give a bed to those who have no roof over their heads, and we must not hide ourselves from our own families. Jesus says, if we do this, then the light will break forth like the morning, and healing will spring up speedily and then the glory of the Lord will be our portion, and then when we call on the Lord, He will answer us and He will say, “Here I am.” Today, we need to be doers of God’s word. I remember my dear old dad just after I had led him to the Lord. I said to him, “Dad, we have got to fast as well now that we are Christians, and that old Scotsman looked at me with those blue eyes of his, and he said, “Laddie, fast?” He said, “I fasted for three and a half years.” You see, he was a prisoner of war in the Second World War. He was imprisoned in Germany and Italy. That didn’t impress him so much as when he saw us taking care of the poor and the needy. That impacted my dad’s life more than anything else. Today, yes, we must fast but let us fast as the Lord says - by taking care of those who are hurting, those who are lonely and those who are fearful. Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, Goodbye.
18/04/2024
April 18, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Psalm 27:1, Matthew 28:20, Philippians 4:13
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 18th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in Psalm 27:1: The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? Then we go to Matthew, the Gospel of Matthew 28:20, the last verse in the Book of Matthew: “…I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” You and I can never be alone. Jesus has promised us that He will be with us always. We must always add His resources to our own when we are making calculations. That is what F B Meyer says, and I agree. When you sit down and work out your budget, when you are working on your spreadsheet and making plans for your future, always put it next to it with a little + sign, “But God.” So when people come to you and say it will never happen, it is too big, just answer two words, “But God!” Remember, we can do all things through Christ Jesus, who strengthens us. (Philippians 4:13) William Carey, who translated the Bible from English into many different Indian languages, was just a cobbler. People mocked him and said, “You are a shoemaker, aren’t you?” He said, “No, I can’t make shoes, I can only repair them.” Yet God used that man because He brought God into all his calculations. He became the Chief Interpreter to the High Court of Delhi. A country boy, just a man who could repair shoes, why? Because he added God into all his calculations. He added God into all his resources. He said, “Attempt great things for God and expect great things from God.” Today, remember to add “But God” to all your calculations, and you will be surprised at what things you can do for the King. Jesus bless you and have a lovely day. God bless you and goodbye.
17/04/2024
April 17, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Psalm 34:7, Psalm 147:3, 2 Corinthians 12:10
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 17th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in Psalm 34:7: “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.” “He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3 In the New Testament, 2 Corinthians 12:10, simply says: “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” And we ask ourselves the question - how come? Well, it’s because when we get out of the way and let God take over, He makes us strong. You know, proud people are often very lonely people. When we come to the Lord Jesus because we just can’t go on anymore, that’s the time that He takes over. It happened in my life and I am sure it has happened in your life. He says, “I can,” just when you say, “Lord, that’s it. I cannot do it anymore.” Maybe you are in that position today. As an evangelist, always the highlight of any service for me, is when we make the altar call. We ask people to come forward and to lay their burdens down at the altar rail, at the foot of the Cross. We see instant and miraculous changes taking place. It is quite something. You see a whole crowd turn in an instant from being down-hearted, fearful and afraid. All of a sudden, they start to smile, there is a real sparkle in their eyes. Many are weeping because they are free from the chains and the shackles of guilt and condemnation. It’s definitely the highlight for me, every single time, and I never, ever get used to it. Billy Graham always used to sing a song, “Just as I am, without one plea”, as the people started to come forward, and I have done it myself many times. It is a very special hymn, it’s a deep hymn, it’s a hymn that sets the captive free, it heals the brokenhearted. That hymn, you know that hymn, maybe you would like to sing it with me? Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bidds’t me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come! I come! Just as I am, though tossed about With many a conflict, many a doubt, Fightings and fears, within and without, O Lamb of God, I come, I come! Jesus bless you, Have a wonderful day, Goodbye.