05/05/2024

Angus Buchan

05/05/2024

Good Things

May 5, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Psalm 31:19, 1 Corinthians 2:9

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 5th of May, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in Psalm 31:19:

“Oh, how great is Your goodness,

Which You have laid up for those who fear You,

Which You have prepared for those who trust in You

In the presence of the sons of men!”

Then we go straight to 1 Corinthians 2:9:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

Nor have entered into the heart of man

The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Why do you and I always seem to settle for second best? The Lord has stored up such good things for you and I. He has stored up such good things for those who reverently respect God. Jesus has prepared so much for those who hold Him in affectionate reverence. Isn’t that beautiful? I got that out of the Amplified Bible (affectionate reverence), for those who obey Him and for those who recognise the benefits that He has given to us.

We think of the Prodigal Son. He had so much prepared for him, he had an inheritance. His father was a wealthy farmer. He was going to inherit part of that farm with his brother, but what did he do? He went and squandered everything he had, and if you look at Luke 15:16, he ended up thinking to himself, “I will gladly eat the food that the pigs are eating.”

It’s like a little child. Have you ever seen a little baby who gets a beautiful Christmas present or a birthday present with all that shiny bright paper and big ribbons around it? The baby undoes everything, and there is a beautiful gift awaiting that baby, but the baby ends up playing with the paper and the ribbons and doesn’t even look at the gift.

You know, a very sad story - King David who killed Goliath, I think he was only about 13 years old, he traded in his glorious future for a lustful affair with another man’s wife. Oh, it cost him dearly. Yes, he repented and yes, God forgave him, but he paid a terrible price after that. You never hear of David killing any Goliaths after that affair.

You and I today, rather let’s wait for the beautiful promises which God has prepared for us, and He will bless us immensely.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

26/06/2024

May 26, 2024 • Angus Buchan • 1 Peter 5:7, Philippians 1:21

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 26th of May, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. I am reading out of the New King James Version, out of the First Book of Peter 5:7: ”…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” What a beautiful promise! Then if you look at the Amplified Version, this is how it reads: “…casting all your cares, all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all on Him, for He cares about you with deepest affection and watches over you very carefully.” Isn’t that beautiful? I remember like it was yesterday, many, many years ago, we booked the Kings Park Rugby Stadium in Durban to hold an outreach. It was very exciting for me. It was the biggest attempt I had ever had and the first major stadium I had ever booked, and that night, I was so excited when the crowd came. We were talking about casting your cares upon the Lord, and what had happened was, there was a warning of el Niño, that massive drought that was going to hit South Africa, and the radio stations and the TV stations were saying to the people, “Don’t plant your crops on marginal land because it will fail.” That night, I stood up on the platform and I said, “To hell with el Niño, I am going home to plant up all my fields, and I am going to plant potatoes!” And folks, you know, after I got off that platform, I mean I had cast all my cares on Him, I had burnt my bridges, there was no turning back, I had committed myself, and then the devil started on me, “Well, yes, that is the end of you. You are going to go down because it is not going to rain and you are supposed to have irrigation when you plant potatoes.” I had no irrigation. But by faith, I went home and I planted that potato crop and I planted a maize crop, and I leased some other land and planted maize there, and then I started to pray, and I cast my cares on the Lord, every single day. Folks, I want to tell you, the good news is, we had a wonderful crop of potatoes, we had a beautiful crop of maize. It was a wonderful year for us. I want to say to you today, cast your cares on the Lord, lift up your eyes higher, higher folks. One man said, “He who aims at the stars, aims too low.” That’s right, we have got to aim above the stars. Philippians 1:21, Paul says: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” So what have we to be afraid of? Nothing. Today, cast your cares on the Lord and get on with the job that God has called you to. He will do it for you, He is not a man that He should lie. Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, Goodbye.

25/05/2024

May 25, 2024 • Angus Buchan • John 15:7, Philippians 4:13

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 25th of May, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Gospel of John 15:7: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” Wow! That is a beautiful promise from the Lord, but the key there is abiding in Him. Philippians 4:13 - we know that scripture so well: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Its Christ Jesus, folks, it is not our own efforts. Jesus spent thirty years with His Father, His Heavenly Father, in the carpenter shop for a mere three years of ministry, thirty years of preparation for three years of ministry. The devil wants you and I to rush, rush, rush. He keeps us off balance all the time, running, running, running, so that we cannot spend time with the Lord. But Jesus is the opposite. He is never in a rush and He is never late. Remember, He came to the tomb of Lazarus, His friend, 4 days after He had been summoned by Mary and Martha, Jesus’ friends. But what happened? A miracle took place. Lazarus was raised from the dead. The main objective of the believer is to spend time with Christ and to allow His strength to flow through us. Then, there shall be nothing too hard for us. Nothing is too hard for us when the Lord Jesus Christ is flowing through us, absolutely nothing. Remember the story I told you before about one of the greatest presidents of the United States of America? Abraham Lincoln was asked, “If you were given six hours to cut down that large tree, what would you do?” “Well,” he said, “I would spend four hours sharpening the axe.” Now, I cut trees and I split wood, I want to tell you, that is profound. There is nothing more sad for me to see than a man trying to cut a tree down with a blunt axe. It doesn’t work. John Wesley went across to Europe to meet with a very special man of God, Count von Zinzendorf, the founder of the Moravian church. Do you know what happened? This man, John Wesley, had an MA in theology, and von Zinzendorf made him work in the garden for months. He was so offended. What was he doing? He was trying to get Jesus into the man of God, and out of that, started one of the greatest revivals that the world has ever known. Today, spend time in His presence. Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, Goodbye.

24/05/2024

May 24, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Proverbs 16:32, Matthew 27:13–14

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 24th of May, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Old Testament, in the Book of Proverbs 16:32: “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” Wow! That is a powerful scripture. We need to exercise self-control. In other words, we cannot afford to lose the plot, as they say. You know, a moment of anger loses all your respect from other people. They just do not respect you at all. It is so sad when you see a grown man “throwing his toys”, as they say. And if we happen to be famous, or we happen to be rich, that has got nothing to do with it. I really want to say to you, some of the most wealthy people I have ever met, and famous, are normally very, very humble people. If we lose the plot then we become totally unacceptable. Jesus loves to see a person who is in control of themselves. I always say to people, if you have got a short fuse, count to ten before you say something, and then you will probably never say it. Don’t throw your reputation away in a fit of anger. Now, the greatest example for you and me when it comes to self-control is our Lord Jesus Christ. If you go to the word of God in Matthew 27:13-14, when Jesus was standing before Pontius Pilate, and this is what He said: “Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.” He couldn’t believe it! Pontius Pilate was trying to help Him. He said, “Speak up for Yourself” The Lord never said one word. I read something this morning, beautifully written by a man named Dean Stanley. He says, “More dear in the sight of God and His angels, than any other conquest, is the conquest of self, which each man with the help of Heaven, can secure for himself.” Today, let’s go out and let’s make sure that we don’t cause people offence, we don’t cause our brother to stumble, and that we answer every accusation with a gentle answer, and then the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, will be very happy with us. Have a wonderful day today. God bless you and goodbye.