“Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer these people?”
“Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him…”
1 Kings 12:6&10
We need godly counsel.
King Rehoboam was Solomon’s son and he took counsel from the young men that he had grown up with. Inexperienced men, men who had never done much and he disregarded the counsel of the elders who were with his father, Solomon. As a result, King Rehoboam lost his kingdom.
There is no substitute for experience, listen to your father and your mother - I am talking to young people.
You say: "But they are always spoiling my fun Uncle Angus." They love you and they don’t want you to get hurt. If they tell you not to go out with that crowd, don’t do it. They love you and they don’t want you to get hurt there is also no shortcut to life, okay... The quickest way is not normally the way home, the way home is slow and sure. The school of life is where the elders have been. It’s tough and they have been there, they have got the scars but they know how to trust and obey the Lord.
The quick fix does not always last, all of us need a mentor - what is a mentor? "An experienced and trusted adviser", according to the Oxford Dictionary. I have four men who advise me, two are older than me and two are younger than me. We call them our trustees and I will not make an important decision without first consulting them. Most times they tell me to just go ahead but sometimes they might advise me to wait and sometimes even say to me: "No Angus, you have not heard the right way. Refrain from what you are doing."
Of course, the greatest adviser of all is our blessed Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He is the greatest mentor of all. If we look at Matthew 11:29 He says: "Come unto me and learn from me." Learn from the Lord. He says: “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30)
Everything that you and I are going through at the moment, pain, confusion, frustration and fear - He has been through it all, just call on Him today. You say, “But He is not answering me.” Then do not move until He does. Remember, silence is also an answer.
Have a wonderful day, God bless you as you put your trust in Jesus.
03/06/2021
Godly Counsel
June 3, 2021 • Angus Buchan
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.
24/04/2024
April 24, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Psalm 62:5
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 24th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Psalms 62:5: “My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him.” Not hearing from God? Why? Well, I want to tell you something now. Maybe, it’s not God’s fault, maybe it is our fault, and I really want to stress the fact that this message that I am giving to you today, is probably more for me than any of you. If you speak to my wife, she will tell you that Angus never stops speaking, and sometimes I have got to do a little more listening. Now, I am going to read something for you that I got from an unknown author, and it goes like this: “Did it ever occur to you that if you do not hear God’s answer to prayer, It may be, not that He is dumb but because you are deaf? Not because He has no answer to give but because you have not been listening for it. We are so busy with our service, so busy with our work, and sometimes so busy with our praying (now that is an interesting point, isn’t it?), that it does not occur to us to stop our own talking, and listen if God has some answer to give us, with that small still voice, to be passive, to be quiet, to do nothing, say nothing and in some true sense, think nothing, simply to be receptive and waiting for the voice of God.” I want to say to you today, we need to slow down. This world of ours is going at such a speed, we don’t even know how to be quiet, do we? And I want to say to you that that is an active word, “to be quiet”. It means you are doing something, you are being quiet. Today, be quiet and listen and God will speak to you. Jesus bless you and have a lovely day, Goodbye.