15/03/2024

Angus Buchan

15/03/2024

Unconditional Love

March 15, 2024 • Angus Buchan • 1 John 4:20, John 13:34

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 15th of March, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go straight to the back of the Bible, 1 John 4:20:

“If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”

Very, very powerful and challenging words.

“A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

John 13:34

Jesus said that. It is not optional. If we do not love our brother, the Bible says we are liars, and the truth is not in us. And by the way, we are talking about home base here. We are not talking about governments or different policies, no—we are talking about the family. The hardest place to be a Christian sometimes is at home base, isn’t it? We have got to learn to be more patient with one another, more understanding, and the best way is to try and see the situation through the other person’s eyes. Let me give you an example - I grew up in a home where I was not allowed to waste any food. My dad would allow us to eat whatever we wanted, as much as we wanted but nothing was to be left uneaten on that plate. He said, “You can take it but you must finish it.” And sometimes we used to get very impatient. “Why is dad so hard on us all the time? Why can’t I leave something I don’t like?” I tell you why, because my father was in the Second World War, and he was captured in North Africa and was sent to a prisoner of war camp in Europe. For three years and six months, he was half-starved. Food was very precious to him. Now, when you look at it through his eyes, you can understand why he would say that.

We need to give young people more grace. You say, “But Angus, I cannot afford to buy him another rugby jersey, or buy her another gym for netball.” They are not really concerned about having another garment. What they are concerned about is avoiding peer pressure at school. They just want to be like everybody else. It sounds as though they are demanding, its not that. Its just that they want to be out of the focus of the crowd, and just be one of the people.

I know an older woman who comes to work, she gets up at 02h30 in the morning. She has to walk about a kilometre to catch a taxi, then she has to sit in the taxi for one hour till she gets to town. Then she has to wait for her lift to come out to the farm. Sometimes it might look like she is a bit slow with her work, but you know, that woman is tired, she is sometimes exhausted. Give her some grace. That is how we love one another. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes.

Today, let’s love one another unconditionally. Why? Because Jesus said so.

God bless you and goodbye.

27/04/2024

April 27, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Isaiah 40:31

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 27th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to Isaiah 40:31: "But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; (now listen to this) They shall mount up with wings like eagles, ..." You and I need to fly high, just like that eagle. I love that bird so much. Often on the farm, when I am riding my horse, Snowy, I look up into the sky and I see that solitary bird flying high in the sky. He is not flapping his wings like those crows on the power lines. No, he has locked his wings, he has caught the thermals of the air, and he is flying high. He is keeping away from the corrupt things of this world. I really mean this - I think the Lord wants us to be very careful that we do not become polluted or contaminated by the things of this world. We must not be like that foolish eagle that kept pushing his luck, and kept flying lower and lower and lower until one day a farmer came out with his shotgun, thinking that, that majestic eagle was a chicken hawk that was going to kill his chickens. He shot that mighty eagle down and as the eagle lay there dying he looked up with his eyes, into the sky and he realised he had made a terrible mistake. He should never have flown so low and contaminated himself with the things of the world. Today, let us fly high. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ. Let us use those wings, those wings of the Holy Spirit to escape from all the hurts and all the troubles in this world of ours. Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, Goodbye.

26/04/2024

April 26, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Isaiah 60:11, Revelation 21:25

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 26th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Isaiah 60:11: “Therefore your gates shall be open continually; They shall not be shut day or night,…” Isn’t that beautiful? No need to lock yourself up at night. Then we go to the Book of Revelation 21:25: “Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).” There will be no night in Heaven, no need to shut yourself up, no need to lock the gates, put on the alarm, or make sure there is nothing left that someone can steal. There will be no night in Heaven, no darkness. Jesus will be there; He will be our light. I want to ask you a question this morning. Are you afraid of the dark? Do you struggle to go to sleep at night? Well, I have got good news for you. The Lord Jesus wants to assure you today that He will be with you in the dark of the night. You know, I have a picture of the Lord sitting on a big armchair, maybe next to a fire, on a cold night, and He is asking you to come and sit on His lap, and He wants to put His big strong arms around you and pull you into his ample bosom, into his chest, and just lie there and I will tell you before you know it, you will be sound asleep. It's not about counting sheep when you are trying to go to sleep. Just close your eyes and talk to Him and He will comfort you. You don’t have to worry about closing the gates, locking the doors, making a big fire so that no-one will come and disturb you. I think of many hunters when they camp at night, they make a big fire because they don’t want lions and hyenas to come into their camp, but when we are with Jesus we have nothing whatsoever to fear. There will be no gates in Heaven, the Lord says He will be our gate. So tonight, close your eyes, just rest in Him and He will give you ample sleep. Jesus bless you and goodbye.

25/04/2024

April 25, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Isaiah 60:1, Ephesians 5:14

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 25th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Isaiah 60:1: “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.” Then we go straight to the Book of Ephesians 5:14: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” Oh, like never ever before in this world of ours, it is time to shine for Jesus, so that the people will be taken out of their darkness. This world, my friend, is in an absolute state of desperation. It is lost, aimless, it is seeking for direction, for purpose for living. This is our greatest opportunity to show the sad world the way home, the way to the Lord Jesus Christ. What is man’s purpose for being here on earth? Maybe you are asking yourself that question this morning. “What am I supposed to be doing on this earth? Why am I here?” Well, two reasons: Number one is to glorify God, number two is to enjoy Him forever. I can hear somebody saying, “But I am not a preacher, how can I tell the people? We need to let Jesus shine through us today wherever we have been put. I love horses - I think you know that by now. Monty Roberts, the horse-trainer, the horse whisperer, was taken over to England to show the Queen Mother (she loved horses), how he could gentle a wild horse that has never been ridden before, a racehorse, a hot blood, in one hour, and he did it! A jockey got onto that big horse within one hour, having never been ridden before. You know, that it overwhelmed the old lady so much, she started to weep and Monty Roberts comforted her. Use what God has given you, the gift that God has given you. I remember an old man who came from Mozambique. He used to walk with a limp, I even remember his name, Napila. He was on our farm when we were in Zambia. That old man was a blacksmith and he had no equipment to work with. He had a home-made set of bellows. He made a hot fire, he used car springs. Now, any mechanic will tell you how hard a car spring is. He made the most beautiful axe-heads, out of those car springs which he put into indigenous wood. Have you ever seen a potter, working with clay that comes out of the earth and making a beautiful creation? Some of our African women are incredibly talented at creating the most beautiful vases and pots. So, I am going to encourage you today to use whatever gift God has given you. You might be a homemaker, a school teacher, a policeman, or a doorkeeper. It’s time to shine for Jesus! God bless you and have a wonderful day, Goodbye.