12/06/2024

Angus Buchan

12/06/2024

Real Wisdom

June 12, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Jeremiah 9:23–24, Job 28:28, Luke 2:47

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 12th of June 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the book of Jeremiah 9:23-24:

"Thus says the Lord:

"Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,

Let not the mighty man glory in his might,

Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;

But let him who glories glory in this,

That he understands and knows Me…"

The only thing we should glory in is knowing and understanding our Lord, Jesus Christ. Job 28:28: "...the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding."

Jesus was 12 years old when He was in the temple. Remember how His parents lost Him and couldn't find Him? They went back to Jerusalem to find Him sitting in the temple amongst all the teachers, the wise men, and the priests, and He was confounding them with the truth (Luke 2:47).

There is a wonderful old gentleman who is one of my advisors. He is a chartered accountant by profession. We often cannot balance the books because we get to the end of it and don't know where the next income is coming from. Thankfully, the books seem to balance. You know, two plus two, in God's kingdom, can sometimes equal seven, which confuses the mathematicians!

A few years ago, Jill and I visited Ethiopia to look at the incredible, miraculous stone churches. King Lalibela built them 800 years ago out of solid rock. There are architects who are not even Christians who come from all over the world to see this miracle. You see, King Lalibela, the then King of Ethiopia, had a dream, and the Lord showed him how to build 11 churches. He didn't create them from the bottom upwards, no, no, but he built them from the top, downwards with a chisel and hammer. Now, I've been to those churches; they are beautiful, 40 to 50 metres high. You can walk in there. There are beautiful arches and carvings, and they are incredible, all made out of stone. The local people say that the angels built them at night. You can say you don't believe it, but I want to tell you something now: I believe it because I believe in miracles! I've seen too many miracles in my life not to believe it.

I want to say to you today that it's very important to get an education. Study as much as you can, but never overrule the fact that whatever happens in your life, give the glory to Jesus. God bless you, and have a wonderful day.

Goodbye.

25/06/2024

June 25, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Matthew 5:13

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 25th of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Matthew 5:13: "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavour, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." Have you ever tried to eat a plate of food without salt? Have you ever tried to eat a plate of porridge with no salt! Oh folks! Coming from a Scottish background, where porridge is our staple diet, aah - it is terrible. It is bland, tasteless, it is extremely hard to swallow. It is like listening to a preacher bringing the word of God to a congregation, who is just so very boring, no passion, no conviction. I remember once preaching to a group of farmers down in the Eastern Cape and at half time, it was an all-day affair, I was in the bathroom, and an old farmer walked in and he said to me, "Son, when you preach, you don't have to sweat so much." I said him, "Sir, you haven't seen anything yet. Wait for the second half!" We need to be committed to our walk with Jesus Christ. Some people don't even believe in what they are preaching. There is no emotion, no tears. Charles Finney was a great revivalist from America. He said, "Where there are no tears and no "amens" there is no revival." No conviction, no love, no desperation - you and I have been called to be watchmen, we have been called to warn the people of the evil one. We need to prepare people's hearts for home time. We mustn't preach to the head, we must preach to the heart, always preaching for a response, expecting results. We want a verdict. It's like a defence lawyer. Have you ever seen him pleading for the life of his client who has been condemned to death? He is not playing the fool, he is desperate. He only has one opportunity. You and I are exactly in the same position. There must be an urgency for your loved ones to be saved. People must have an opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Now, maybe you are listening to this message for the first time and maybe you say, "I don't know what you are talking about, being born again. What does that mean?" It means you need to stop your life of total disregard for God, and you need to start living for Jesus Christ. Pray this prayer after me: Dear Lord Jesus, I repent of my sin today. I am sick and tired of doing things my own way. From today onwards, I choose to follow You and only You. In Jesus' name, amen. God bless you. Now, go out and tell the first three people what you have just prayed. Goodbye.

24/06/2024

June 24, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Jeremiah 17:7–8, Hebrews 13:6, Job 13:15, 2 Corinthians 5:7

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 24th of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Jeremiah 17:7-8: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.” Then Hebrews 13:6: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” We need to trust the Lord unconditionally. If we have done everything we can in our own strength, then after that, it is totally in God’s hands. I remember the drought we had on this farm. Folks, I want to tell you, there is nothing worse, there is nothing that puts a man down more than driving around a crop that he has planted by faith, and watching it start to shrivel up and die because there is no rain. That is the time when you and I have to trust the Lord unconditionally. Job 13:15, remember Job was a farmer, he said: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” You see, God can do something with a man like that who unconditionally trusts the Lord. Yes, you have got to do your homework, work hard, and make sure that you are walking according to God’s precepts, and then allow Him to change a drought into an abundant crop. Now folks, if you can’t believe in miracles, then you can’t be a Christian, because the word of God is one miracle from beginning to end. I want to tell you, I have seen too many miracles in my life not to believe that our God is alive, He is well and He is on the side of those who put their trust in Him. I have seen years where it looks as though the crop is done and then at the eleventh hour, the rain comes. The roots are deep into the ground, they are drinking the water and there is an incredible reward. Don’t walk by sight, walk by faith in God - 2 Corinthians 5:7, and He will see you through. Whatever that thing is that you are struggling with today, give it to the Lord, do your best and then start to praise Him and watch what He will do for you. Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, Goodbye.

23/06/2024

June 23, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Romans 12:12

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 23rd of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the book of Romans 12:12: ”…rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer:...” Wow, what a beautiful scripture! I looked up the Amplified version of the same scripture, Romans 12:12: ” …constantly rejoicing in hope [because of our confidence in Christ], steadfast and patient in distress, devoted to prayer [continually seeking wisdom, guidance, and strength],” Wow! Are you feeling a bit down today, or you just don’t seem to be able to get it right? Are you feeling like you keep dropping the ball? Are you feeling, “Lord I’m not growing in Christ.” Well, I want to tell you something, through that scripture, the Lord has said to us that our Christian walk is an ongoing state, it’s not a one-off state of mind. No, we are working at it all the way until we get home. It’s making an effort, and the easiest way is to spend more time with Jesus, because the people you spend time with are the people that you become like. I remember meeting a man, as a new Christian. This man was one of the strongest men I’ve ever seen. When you shook his hand, his hand enveloped your whole hand and what a kind man, but you see, he was in a wheelchair because he’d had an accident on the farm, one of the most even-tempered, godly men I’ve ever met. What an encouragement, I always liked to spend time with him. The other night I was listening to an interview on TV by Bill Gaither, he was interviewing a pianist by the name of Gordon Mote, and he said that they were all sitting at a roadhouse having a meal, the whole band, they were on their way to some event. They parked the Combi outside and when they’d finished their food, they all stood up and they walked outside and jumped into the combi. When they got into the combi, this makes me want to cry, they looked around to find out where Gordon was. Where was the pianist? He was still sitting in his place in the diner. You see, Gordon is blind, he can’t see. He was patiently waiting for somebody to take him out to the combi, and when Bill Gaither told that story there were tears in his eyes. Maybe today you’re feeling a bit overlooked. Well, how do you think David felt? Seven brothers all lining up to see if they are going to be the next king of Israel and Samuel the prophet said. ”No, it’s none of these, don’t you have any other sons, Jesse?” “Ja, Ja I’ve got one more, he’s looking after the sheep.” “Call him.” And he was anointed as the greatest king Israel has ever had next to Jesus. I want to say to you today, stop being irritable. Irritable means easily annoyed, angered, or bad tempered, grumpy. Don’t be like that. Jesus sees everything, He saw blind Bartimaeus, He saw the little man, Zacchaeus, up a tree, He saw the woman at the well, and He sees you today. Jesus bless you and goodbye.