21/04/2024

Angus Buchan

21/04/2024

The Battle is the Lord’s

April 21, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Isaiah 59:19, Exodus 14:13–14

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 21st of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Isaiah 59:19:

“When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him”.

Then we go to the Book of Exodus 14:13-14:

“And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

Today, maybe you are up against a real fight. Maybe it’s at school, maybe it’s at university, maybe it’s in the workplace, maybe it’s a physical ailment, maybe it’s a family dispute, and you don’t know what to do. The Lord says, “Stand still. Stand still, the battle belongs to the Lord alone.” He will fight for you and I.

I love the African bush, being an African myself. The one thing I love to see is a pride of lions. A lot of females and young cubs, and then you will find one big, black-maned male lion just lying quietly by himself underneath the tree. You might think all he has to do is eat the meat, and the females have to go and catch the game, and look after the cubs. That is quite true actually, but he has a specific role to play. When the enemy comes in, like a group of hyenas, or maybe lions from a different pride, and they come to trouble the pride, what happens? Oh yes - the big boy stands up and he starts to growl, and he moves in and the enemy moves out!

Today remember, you have got the Lion of Judah. He is standing by and He is watching the situation. All you have got to do is call unto Him and He will answer you.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,

Goodbye.

03/05/2024

May 3, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Proverbs 20:22

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Friday morning, the 3rd of May, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Proverbs 20:22: "Wait for the Lord, and He will save you." I read a beautiful quotation by James Hudson Taylor. He was the man who took a thousand families to China to preach the Gospel, by faith! He says, "Quiet waiting before God would save from many a mistake and from many a sorrow. We need to wait for the Lord. It will save making many mistakes by quiet waiting upon the Lord Jesus Christ. This will save us from many a sorrow, quiet waiting." I am just thinking at the moment of all the students that are going to be writing exams again very shortly. I want to say to you, when you go into the exam hall and you sit down to write that important exam, take all the time they have given you. Do not rush. You see, some of the bright stars, they will write up their answers and they will be up and out of that exam hall so quickly, and that will put pressure on you. It will make you panic. "I better hurry up!" No, take your full time and when you have finished writing your paper and you have still got a half an hour, sit there quietly, spend a little bit of time in prayer and go through your answer paper again. I guarantee that you will pick up one or two mistakes, and that might just give you those extra marks you need to pass. I want to say to that businessman, don't make a rash decision. Tell them you will come back tomorrow. "Aah, but they said I have to make a decision today otherwise the deal is off." Well, rather let the deal be off. There is no pressure from the Lord. There is no rushing. That crop that you want to plough in - I have done it myself before. You want to plough it in because you can see there is nothing coming in from this crop. Just wait a little bit. You will be very pleasantly surprised. You might just get that last shower of rain that will just turn the crop and get it full to the brim with good grain. Folks, we need to wait upon the Lord quietly, and we won't make as many mistakes as we have in the past, and we won't be so sorrowful. That proposal that that young man has made to you, just wait, young lady, there is no rush. Tell him you will come back to him, you are going to pray about it. Absolutely, and then you can be sure that God is with you on that decision that you have made. Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, Goodbye.

02/05/2024

May 2, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Isaiah 62:2, Hosea 1:10, Luke 15:31

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 2nd of May, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Isaiah 62:2: “You shall be called by a new name,…” Then we go forward to the Book of Hosea 1:10: ‘You are sons of the living God.’ Sons of the living God, wow! Very personal and so intimate. A son has access to anything a father has. A son can go into the Holy of Holies. Oh yes, visitors have to wait outside until they are invited in. You and I need to understand something today - we are not hirelings. We are sons and daughters of the living God. We are not working for wages, a hireling works for his wages. He carries a watch on his wrist and whether it is 5 o’clock or whatever the time might be, he knocks off. It doesn’t matter what is happening on the farm or in the business. He is only working for a wage. He is not working for his inheritance. That’s the difference, but a son is working for his inheritance. He doesn’t wear a watch, he doesn’t watch the time, he does his job. You know the story of the Prodigal Son? We are always pretty hard on the older brother. Remember he said to his dad, “So this prodigal son has come home, he has wasted all his money, and you have killed the fatted calf for him and you wouldn’t even give me a lamb, to have a party with my friends.” And his father said to him, listen carefully, Luke 15:31: “Son”, I get tears in my eyes: “Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.” Maybe today you are going through a hard time and you say, “Where are You, Lord? I am Your son”, or “Your daughter”, but you are going through a time of learning, a time of testing. When I was on the farm with my two boys, they would work harder than anybody else. Don’t ask them about that, they always exaggerate of course, it wasn’t really that bad! But you know, when the cattle broke out in the middle of the night and went into the maize crop, who had to get up out of their beds? Yes, the boys and me, and we had to put the cattle back. You can’t expect the staff to get up in the middle of the night because they are not paid for that. We have to go the extra mile. Now, when you are a son of God and the Lord has promised you that He has given you everything you need and more - when we go home, we are not going home to Heaven as strangers, we are going home to Heaven as sons and daughters of the living God. He is waiting for us. He wants to spoil us. Now, today, we need to man up as they say; we need to understand that the going is tough for the sons because He is preparing us for eternity because He loves us so much. So, son, daughter, go out today and take your inheritance. Jesus bless you and goodbye.

01/05/2024

May 1, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Habakkuk 3:18, Nehemiah 8:10, Isaiah 61:3

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is 1st of May, Wednesday morning, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Habakkuk 3:18: “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Then we go straight to Nehemiah 8:10. We all know that verse: “…for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Now, you might say to me this morning, “What is there to be joyful about?” Well, let’s start with our salvation, because He has saved you and me from a terrible life of bondage to the devil. He has set us free! He has covered us with a robe of righteousness; He has hidden our shame; He has clothed us with garments of salvation. That’s right, yes, a new beginning. He has given you and me a brand new life. You know that scripture in Isaiah 61:3? He has given us a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Folks, this joy that the Lord is speaking to us about is not a feeling, it’s a fact. We don’t have to walk around with a big smile on our face all the time and be happy all the time. It’s a deep knowing that if we have to die today we are going home to be with Jesus, not because we are good people but because He is a Good God, and He loves us and we have acknowledged Him as our Lord and Saviour. It is a guarantee. For us to live is Christ and to die is but gain - that is what Paul, the Apostle said. I want to say to you today, it is the joy of the Lord. We need to praise God because when we praise Him, that is what takes that spirit of heaviness off us. Do you remember that song which the Gaither’s wrote, Bill and Gloria Gaither? It’s a song that has gone right around the world so many times. Early in the morning, on a Wednesday morning, there are men who get together in our little chapel on the farm, and we sing together, and this is one of the favourite songs that the boys love to sing, and I want you to sing it with me. It goes like this - Because He lives, that’s right, I can face tomorrow: Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives, all fear is gone; And because I know, yes I know, He holds the future, And life is worth the living, Just because He lives! Now come on, all together: Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives, all fear is gone; And because I know, yes I know, He holds the future, And life is worth the living, Just because He lives! Go out now and praise the Lord because He lives. God bless you and goodbye.