09/12/2024

Angus Buchan

09/12/2024

Determination

December 9, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Mark 2:5

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

We go to the Gospel of Mark 2:5:

”When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

Determination! Those four friends of that paralysed man were determined at all costs to make sure that Jesus was able pray for him. The crowd was immense. They couldn’t get anywhere near the front door. So what did they do? Yes, they made a plan. They climbed up onto the roof of the house, removed the tiles and let the paralysed man down with ropes and placed him right in front of the Master. You talk about persistence! There’s no ways they were going to let the Lord leave without praying for their dear friend. I looked up the meaning of the word, “determination”. This is what it says: “Persistence in continuing to do something even when it is difficult.” Now that event touched Jesus tremendously. So much so that Jesus healed the paralysed man immediately and forgave his sins.

I want to tell you the story of a determined young man. He lived in my house. He is a son of mine in the faith. He joined the elite Parabat Regiment, one of the elite regiments in the South African Defence Force. He was on his last event when he jumped out of an aeroplane with all the other soldiers and something went terribly wrong, some of the ropes of the parachute caught his fingers and amputated a couple of them. It was just before he was going to graduate and get his purple beret with his wings. But he did not give up. He went to the officers in charge and said to them, ”I want to do the course again.” This course is an extremely hard course. Many men don’t finish - and that young man did the whole course twice. You talk about determination! That’s the kind of man that I would like to go to war with. Oh, by the way, he’s now fully committed into God’s army.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,

Goodbye.

12/12/2024

December 12, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Romans 1:16, Acts 11:26

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 12th of December, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go straight to the Book of Acts 11:26: “And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” Another translation says, “the anointed ones.” This means that if we say we are Christians, we belong to Jesus. Isn’t that beautiful, folks? He should mean everything to us. Believers - some of the early Christians were called “The men” or “The people of the way.” There is a secret sign for the early Christians, because in Rome, when they were being hunted by the Romans, two Christians would meet each other in the street with a stick and they would draw a fish in the sand. And that was the sign to say, “I am a Christian.” We should be known by our fruit. Christians are full of love, the love of Jesus - power, patience, loving-kindness, faithfulness. By the way, there is no such thing as a secret agent Christian. Oh, folks, we have got to be a little bit more outspoken, hey? Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” What an honour to be called a follower of the most high God! It’s not something to be ashamed of. Oh, I love it if they say to you, “Are you one of those Christians?” Yes, I am indeed. You see, that is the name where the power lies! Folks, there is power in the name of Jesus Christ, power for healing. When I pray I don’t say, “In the name of God, be healed” - no, I say, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, be healed.” There is power in the name of Jesus. The important thing about a name, if you take the Zulu people, I love what they do. Many of them will not name their child until he is maybe a few months old, because they want to look at him, study his personality, his character, and then they give him a name according to the way in which he looks and acts, and I think that is fair, and he normally lives up to his name. Mom, dad - be very careful when you give a name to your child. It has a tremendous significance. So today, do not be ashamed to call yourself a follower of Christ, a child of the Lord Jesus Christ, because when He comes back, He will know you by your name. Jesus bless you and goodbye.

11/12/2024

December 11, 2024 • Angus Buchan • 2 Corinthians 12:10

I greet you in Jesus’ precious Name. It is 11th December 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for the day. We start with 2 Corinthians 12:10: “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” God’s way is different to the way of the world. With God’s way, we advance by going backwards. Oh yes, we become strong by becoming weak! We become wise by being fools. You know, the San Bushman call the Baobab Tree the Upside-down Tree. Why? Because in the winter, it loses all its leaves, and the branches look like their roots. So it seems as if its head is buried in the sand, and the roots are in the air - like it has been planted upside-down. When we become children of the Lord, we don’t work according to the system of this world. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, was a foot-washer. He washed the feet of His disciples, remember? They were arguing about who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of God. What did He do? He went, got a towel and tied it around His waist. He got a basin full of water and started to wash their dirty feet because they had been arguing about who would sit next to the Lord in the Kingdom of God. If we want to be good servants of the Lord, we must understand that we must take a backseat. We have to prefer our fellow man. That goes for our children and our parents. God will promote us when He sees fit, but until then, let us remain humble and work hard. Let us give all the glory to Jesus Christ and let Him be the One who promotes us. Remember, if you want to go forward or advance in the Kingdom, you must be prepared to go backwards. Jesus bless you richly as you start to live according to the principles of our Lord and not the principles of this world, which is to stand on everybody until you get to the top. That never works, folks. Let’s do it God’s way, and He will promote us in His good time. Jesus bless you and goodbye.

10/12/2024

December 10, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Psalm 23:1, John 1:1, Psalm 119:105

I greet you in Jesus’ precious Name. It is Tuesday morning, 10th December 2024 and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for the day. We go to Psalm 119:105: ”Your Word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” My most precious possession on this earth is Jesus Christ in print. Yes, I’m talking about my Bible. You know, some scribes might know God’s Word better than me. Some may even be theology professors at a university, but unless they have met the author of this book, they are merely history teachers. You will rarely see a photo of me without me holding my Bible. Why? Because my Bible has Jesus in print. When somebody says to you,” Show me this Jesus you’re always talking about.” Give them the Bible. I call it my Agricultural Manual, and I get criticism from many people. They say I’m making a mockery of God’s Holy Word. No, not at all, not at all, my friend! This book has instructed me how to farm for over fifty years. It teaches me to love my wife, respect my elders, and not antagonise my children. It teaches me to pay a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work. It’s the book that comforts me when I am in distress. It’s the book that lightens up my life every morning when I open it and read it. Oh, my dear friend, if you have never read this book, you have never lived. I want to tell you, according to John 1:1: ”In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” I really want to encourage you to start reading your Bible in the first person. You see when I read the Bible, I make it very personal. Let’s take Psalm 23:1: ”The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” I read it differently: “The Lord is Angus’ shepherd, and Angus shall not want.” Go out today with the book that changed the world. Start to read it - eat it, digest it, and enjoy it because the Lord is coming back very soon to take you and me home to glory forever. His Name is Jesus, the Author of the Bible. God bless you and have a wonderful day, Goodbye.