I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 1st of July, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Gospel of Matthew 5:22 and Jesus says:

“But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”

That’s quite a statement. Don’t call any man or woman “a fool.” You know, years ago when children were taught at school, they all had to write with their right hand, and little children who were born left-handed would get punished if they tried to write with their left hand. As a result, many left-handers from that era are very poor writers, (I happen to be a left-hander), but we cannot presume that people are foolish because they don’t do things the way other people do. Mother, be very careful how you talk to your children. Some people learn slower than others but they are not fools. No, in fact, often the ones who learn slower, when they get it, they are brilliant. 

I read the life story of a woman called Helen Roseveare. She was a missionary doctor who went right up into the Congo. She built a hospital, literally out of the jungle, and she even taught her clearners, the people who swept out the wards where the patients were lying and made the beds and took the rubbish out - she taught them how to be surgeons. Now they couldn’t even read or write. She taught them how to deliver babies by operating on that mother when she couldn’t give birth naturally, delivering the baby, then stitching up the mother’s wound and making sure that mom and baby were both perfectly healthy, a miracle! 

We need to dream our dream. Don’t call anybody foolish. As Christians, we need to encourage one another, to dream our dreams. Speak it into being - have patience with each other because we all operate at different paces and different levels.

Let's be encouragers today and not critics.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,

Goodbye.