‘Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent.”
Mark 3:4
As Christians, we are under obligation to speak up. Our lives are not just about salvation but also righteousness. Some of us say that we have given our lives to Jesus but there is no power in our lives. Maybe it is because we are too fearful, or even ashamed to be identified with Jesus Christ and His principles, to stand up and be counted.
A beautiful scripture and one of my favourites:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” Romans 1:16
You see, Jesus asked the people in the synagogue a question and they would not answer because they were afraid of repercussions from the people. You and I need to start to speak up and then we will see the power of God manifest through our lives.
One of my heroes is an early church father by the name of Polycarp. Polycarp was not afraid to speak up for Jesus. At 86 years old, he was arrested for his faith and was to be burned at the stake, in front of all the people on a Saturday afternoon, in the Colosseum by the Roman oppressors.
He was given an opportunity, by the governor, to live. The governor said: “If you reject Jesus Christ and you follow our gods, the gods of Rome, we will let you live.” His answer was, “He has never once failed me in all of these 86 years of my life. How can I deny Him now?” And as a result, they burned Polycarp at the stake in front of all the people. But he was not cringing, he did not moan - he rejoiced because he was about to meet his risen Lord and Savior.
Today, you and I must also speak up for the truth. We must live righteous lives and people must see Jesus through us. We are not ashamed of the Gospel because the Lord Jesus Christ has saved us to the uttermost.
As you go out today, witness to somebody - Maybe in the office, your workplace, at school or in the university and say: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ and I will speak up, I will not keep quiet.”
Have a wonderful day. You will experience the power of Christ in your life, through the Holy Spirit. God bless you.
04/06/2021
Stand Up
June 4, 2021 • Angus Buchan
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.
23/04/2024
April 23, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Revelation 3:16, Matthew 26:75, Mark 16:7
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 23rd of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Revelation 3:16: “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” Wow! Very strong words from the Lord Jesus Christ. It is better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all. We need to call sin by it’s name. We need to stand up and be counted. In order for sin to triumph, all that good people need to do, is nothing. To turn your back on the enemy is the most dangerous thing to ever do. Ask any boxer and he will tell you. When he turns away from his opponent, he is as good as dead. We have got to face our enemies and face them head on. A very famous statesman once said, “A man is not defeated by his opponents, but by himself.” Peter, the big fisherman, would have understood exactly what that saying meant, when he denied the Lord Jesus Christ three times, after having told Him that he would die for Him. We can find that in Matthew 26:75. He went out and he wept bitterly. But praise God that our Lord Jesus is the God of the second chance. Yes, Peter got a second chance. You will find that in Mark 16:7. The angel told them: “But go, tell His disciples—and Peter (isn’t that beautiful?)— that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.” And Peter - thats why I love the Lord so much. He knew that Peter would never go because he had denied his Master, so the angel said, “Tell the disciples—and Peter.” That is so precious. If we look at the word of God, all the patriarchs, the men that God chose, men like Moses who was a murderer, remember he killed the slave-driver, but he got a second chance at the burning bush; King David, he did a terrible thing. Nathan, the prophet came and told him, but he got a second chance; Saul of Tarsus was persecuting Christians but he got a second chance, and became Paul the Apostle. Today, ask Him and He will give you a second chance. Jesus bless you and goodbye.