08/05/2024

Angus Buchan

08/05/2024

Prayer

May 8, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Psalm 32:5, Daniel 9:23

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

We start in the Book of Psalms 32:5:

“I acknowledged my sin to You,

And my iniquity I have not hidden.(in other words, I have confessed my sins)

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

Then we go to the Book of Daniel 9:23:

‘At the beginning of your supplications (your prayers) the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; …”

That was the angel, Gabriel, who brought a message to Daniel from the Lord. I want to say to you today that the Lord hears and knows your prayers, even before you speak them. Isn’t that wonderful news? You might say, “What is the point in us praying?” Well, mother, that little boy of yours, he comes into the kitchen. You know that he is ravenous, you know that he is so hungry but you want to hear him say, “Mom, could I please have something to eat?” And then you give him that lovely sandwich or whatever it is that he needs.

I remember going down to Cape Town like yesterday. They had no rain for two years, and the people were literally about to start dying of thirst. We had a prayer meeting on the sand dunes of Mitchell’s Plain, one of the most dangerous places on the Continent of Africa. Something like a quarter of a million people cried out to the Lord, asking God to send life-giving rain. I want to tell you, it makes me want to weep when I think of it. In the middle of the service, we hadn’t even finished the service, it started raining and it hasn’t stopped since. That huge dam that supplies water to the city of Cape Town was dry. It was like a desert. They said it would take seven years to fill if it started raining. Well, it was overflowing in 4 months. God knows what we are asking before we even ask and yet He still wants to hear us praying and saying, “Lord, please help.”

Today, let us ask the Lord with faith, believing, and then we start to thank Him for what is coming.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,

Goodbye.

30/05/2024

May 30, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Luke 9:25

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 30th of May, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Gospel of Luke 9:25: "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?" Oh, my dear friend, we have to stop working so hard. We have to stop trying to please God. The Lord loves us as we are. We don't have to do anything to earn His love. We just have to love Him, that's all. So many of us are trying to earn our way to Heaven. You can't earn your way to Heaven, it is for gratis, it is free. You don't have to pay for it, you just have to receive it. The Lord just wants you and I for fellowship. He created us so that He could speak with us, love us, and we love Him. That's all. The other night, Jill and I were sitting, listening to the most beautiful song. It's called "Broken Ladders". The song was written by Samuel and Becca Mizell. I think that's how you pronounce their name. I want to read this to you. It is the most beautiful song: You never asked me to be king Build my tower up to the sky So why do I try You never asked me to be rich And buy the things that gold can buy So why do I try All You ever wanted was my heart My heart, my simple heart To You that's all that really matters Why do I feel I have to reach Believe I have to rise When You never said I had to climb These broken ladders You never asked me to be complete By myself, find all I need So why do I try Oh, You never asked me to stand alone Face the struggles on my own So why do I try When all You ever wanted was my heart My heart, my simple heart To you that's all that really matters Why do I feel I have to reach Believe I have to rise When You never said I had to climb These broken ladders Cause all they do is take my eyes off You And make me forget the truth All You ever wanted was my heart My heart, my simple heart To You that's all that really matters Why do I feel I have to reach Believe I have to rise When You never said I had to climb Oh You never said I had to climb These broken ladders Oh these broken ladders What beautiful words! Today, stop trying to do things for God and just love Him. That's all He wants. God bless you and goodbye.

29/05/2024

Angus Buchan • John 3:16

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 29th of May, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go straight to probably the most famous scripture verse in the whole Bible. Oh, my dear friend, this one verse sums up the whole Bible, 66 books of scripture in one verse, and we know it together, let's say it together: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16 What a beautiful scripture! Do you remember that magnificent hymn, "The Love of God"? Now, I am going to read the last verse to you, but as I read it to you, and I am talking to the young people particularly, I want you to imagine and try and dream and think of what these words say. This is how it goes: "Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made; were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade; to write the love of God above (listen to this) would drain the ocean dry; nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky. " Wow! Imagine if the whole ocean was ink and the skies were paper, and every stalk on earth was a pen, and every single man and woman, boy and girl, was a writer by trade and had to write the love of God above, it would drain the whole ocean dry, and nor could that piece of paper contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky. That is how much Jesus loves you today, my dear friend. He loves you more than you can even imagine. Yes, there is a lot of sadness, destruction, war, it's all foretold - but the love of Christ is bigger and more powerful than all of that put together. Today, when you go out, look at the sky, have a look at the ocean, look at all those stalks in the field, and think to yourself, if all of that were put to pen, it still would not explain the love of God. Have a wonderful day, Jesus bless you and goodbye.

28/05/2024

May 28, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Psalm 3:2, Psalm 3:8, Psalm 4:2

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 28th of May, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Psalms 3:2: Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah And then we go on to verse 8: Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah And then we go on to Psalm 4:2: How long will you love worthlessness And seek falsehood? Selah The word, “selah”, literally means to pause, to think about it. Right through the Psalms, you see the word “Selah” at the end. I looked up the Oxford Dictionary to find out the literal meaning of the word, “pause”. It means to take a break, to rest, it means to wait, to take a breather, it means to stop talking or doing something for a short time before continuing again. I think this word is more for me than I think it is for you. If you don’t believe me, maybe you should ask my wife because she keeps telling me, “You don’t stop.” Now, we have got to pause, and that is what the psalmist means when he says, “Selah”. You read that scripture, then you pause, and you think about it, you “chew the cud” as the cow does, and you think about it, and then it makes sense. You and I need to slow down and start to “selah”, start to pause. The musicians tell me (and I love music, I think you know that, I can’t play any instruments but I love music) if there is no pause in the score in the music, then it doesn’t sound like anything. For example, you know that beautiful song that we sing, “Because He lives”? And because He lives (pause) I can face tomorrow (pause) Because He lives (pause) All fear is gone (pause) And because I know (pause) Yes, I know, He holds the future (pause) And life is worth the living (pause) Just because He lives. Jesus bless you today, as you take a cup of coffee, a cup of tea, and you pause when you read God’s word. Goodbye.