I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 5th of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Revelation 22:18-19:

“If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life,…”

You and I need to warn people about the word of God and how sacred a book it is. Come on, let’s be honest, the Bible is Jesus in print. If somebody says to you, “Show me this Jesus you are always talking about”, give him a Bible. It is the best gift you can give anybody, especially when a young man is graduating from university or a young girl is graduating from high school, a Bible. I remember my mother buying me a Bible when I had left junior school. I didn’t really understand it. It was in the King James Version, but I treasured that book especially. The Bible is our pathfinder in this jungle that you and I are living in.

When a hunter or explorer walks through the midst of a dense jungle, that compass is a matter of life and death to him. If he loses that compass, he will die in that jungle, he will never find his way out. We need to look after our Bibles like that hunter or that explorer cherishes his compass. It shows him the way out. Do you know, the ancient scribes in Jerusalem were called by God to write out the word of God, the Bible. Before they started to write the scriptures, they would go and have a bath. They would wash their bodies, put on clean clothes before they started to write out the word of God. If they made one mistake, and that goes even today, if they made one mistake when they were writing out the scriptures, they would destroy the scriptures and start again.

You and I need to respect God’s word a lot more than we are doing at the moment. They tell me that in some of the persecuted countries, where they meet underground they take a Bible and they take it apart, page by page, and they circulate the pages of the Bible through the congregation. They take it home and they memorise those scriptures, they bring them back to the next meeting and exchange that page for another one. We really need to memorise the word of God.

The young orthodox children in the Jewish faith memorise the first five books of the Bible before they become of age. That is quite something. I remember distinctly going to a Muslim’s home to have a cup of coffee with him, and I put my Bible on the carpet next to my chair, and he walked in and he said, “Sir, please don’t put that book on the floor. Put it on a coffee table.” That’s right. Let us start to respect God’s holy word.

Jesus bless you and have a lovely day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ name! It is Tuesday morning, the 4th of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the last book in the Bible, the Book of Revelation 22:11:

”He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”

The line is being drawn in the sand. Jesus says in Matthew 12:30:

“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”

We need to understand one thing today: that even as things are becoming more evil, more un-godly and more immoral in the world, one good thing is that we know who is for us, and we know who is against us. There has got to be a deciding moment in every person’s life. You see, for sin to abound, all good people have to do is nothing. When Emperor Constantine declared all of the Roman Empire to become Christian, I think that did more damage to the Christian faith than it did any good. Good is the enemy of best. Jesus has no time for a lukewarm Christian.

In Revelation 3:16, He says He would rather we be ice-cold than lukewarm, but if we are lukewarm, He will vomit us out of His mouth. Those are very strong words. We really need to have a good look at ourselves today and ask ourselves a question. Where do we stand? I was just reflecting again, on the 21 martyrs that died in Libya. They were ordinary construction workers, just ordinary people like you and I, 20 of them were Coptic Egyptian Christians, and one was a Ghanian Christian. They say that just before they had their heads cut off, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the last words they uttered were, “Jesus, Jesus.” They asked Matthew, “What about you?”. He said, “I am a Christian and I am like them.” And they cut his head off as well.

Folks, we need to understand that the time is coming when you and I have to be bold, and we have to literally stand for our faith. We cannot be undecided. We cannot be like the wind that blows the waves in the sea, this way and that way. We are either for Him or we are against Him. I pray today that you will be for Him because He is coming back very soon.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 3rd of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Jeremiah 6:16:

“Thus says the Lord:
“Stand in the ways and see,
And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,
And walk in it;
Then you will find rest for your souls.”

Then we go to the Book of Matthew 11:29, Jesus says:

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

The old paths. Why do we always want to reinvent the wheel? Let us not become so arrogant and let us start to listen to the Lord Jesus Christ. He has walked this old path before, He knows the way home. He knows about the pitfalls and the dangers.

You know the mighty Comrades Marathon that takes place in South Africa every year? It is two standard marathons, back to back. It is a killer, let me tell you. I tried it once and I didn’t finish. Why? Because I didn’t listen and I did not take advice, and I did not keep to the old ways.

You and I are running the marathon of our lives at the moment. We need a good bus driver. You might ask what is a bus driver. Well, I will tell you what he or she is. In the Comrades Marathon, you get an experienced runner who has run many, many marathons. They put a little reed on the back of their belt of their running gear and it has a little flag on it, and you get onto that bus and you run with that bus driver, and that bus driver will guarantee that he will take you home in the given time if you listen to him. He will tell you where to stop, he will tell you where to drink, when to eat, he will tell you when to walk and he will tell you when to run. He will tell you to swing your arms and sing songs when you are taking strain, and he will guarantee that he will take you home - if you listen to him.

Now, Jesus Christ is the absolute, all-time champion. He is offering you and I, today, the best way home. Let’s follow His instructions and enjoy the journey.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 2nd of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Revelation 21:23:

“The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.”

No darkness in Heaven, no need for any security lights at night because the sun doesn’t go down. There is no evil in Heaven, God will be our constant light and our security. Oh, my dear friend, what a day that will be! It’s worth waiting for, it’s worth getting prepared for, it’s worth getting ready for, because Jesus Christ, one of these fine days, is coming to take you and me home to a heavenly place where there will be no more fear, no more insecurity. There will be more need for any keys in Heaven, because nothing will be stolen, nothing will be lost, so there will be no need to lock anything up. Have you ever thought about that? I don’t know about you - I am always losing my keys. My wife is always saying, “Where did you put the key?” And I can’t remember where I put the keys. Now, in Heaven, there is no need to have keys. Everything will be open because there are no thieves in Heaven.

There is nothing to be afraid of in Heaven. We really need to lift up our eyes and we need to look to the Lord because He is our light, He is our security, He is our strength. Oh folks, in the meantime, let’s press on, let’s be good stewards of what God has given us. Yes, we have to look after what we have, and I can tell you something now, when you get to Heaven, you can throw those keys away. You won’t need them, you won’t have to lock up anything, you won’t have to put on the security lights, you won’t have to close those gates, because everything will be open, because there are no secrets in Heaven, there are no dark places in Heaven. It is a place of peace and joy and love.

God bless you as you have a special day today and you look forward to your home in Heaven.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 1st of June, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go straight to the Book of Revelation 21:5:

"Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."

That is a wonderful promise from God. He doesn't do patch-up jobs, He doesn't try and renew something that's old and broken. He does a brand-new job.

One of my favourite verses in the Bible, 2 Corinthians 5:17 says:

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

It is a miracle, an absolute miracle, and it is something I can never, ever get used to, and I have seen it for 45 years. You preach the Gospel with love, with sincerity. You challenge the men and the women, the boys and the girls - I have seen it from Sunday School, to men's conferences to ladies meetings, and then you give them an opportunity. You say, "What about giving your life to Christ today?" And you see the change in the countenance of the person. A person who is down and out, who is broken, who has been defeated, all of a sudden, it is the power of God, folks, it is the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit who moved in the upper room. A group of people who are cowering in the corner, absolutely petrified, waiting for the Roman soldiers to come in and to execute them, all of a sudden filled with the power of God and completely new life comes into them.

Remember Peter? He preached his first sermon and 3,000 people came to Christ. The same thing has happened, wherever I go I see it, and it touches me deeply. A man who is an alcoholic and is giving up, he prays that prayer, he asks Jesus into his heart, and God takes that thing away from him; broken marriages restored; physical healings taking place. He is the God of the impossible! Put your trust in Him today. I want to pray for you. Maybe you have never prayed this prayer yourself. Why not do it on the 1st of June, a new beginning? Pray this simple prayer after me:

Dear Lord Jesus,

I am tired of living the way I am living. Today Lord, I surrender my old life to You, and I ask You to make me a new creation. I want to start again, Lord. I repent of my sin, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. I will serve no other gods but You, today onwards, in Jesus' name,

Amen.

God bless you. Now, go out and tell the first three people that you meet what you did today. You are a brand-new person!

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is the 31st of May, the last day of the month, Friday morning, and the year is 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go straight to the Book of Psalms 39:3:

“My heart was hot within me;
While I was musing, the fire burned.”

“Musing” means contemplating. It means thinking deeply. It means being in a quiet place. You know that lovely old blind preacher, by the name of George Matheson, you hear me often speak about him. They loved him so much that when he died, and they buried him, they put the coffin in the grave, and they say they filled that grave with red roses. He was a wonderful man of God. George Matheson says we must come apart and we must sit quietly and allow the fire of God to fill our hearts, before we go out and speak to others.

He says, “Oh my soul, would you have your life glorified, beautified, transfigured, to the eyes of men? Get up into the secret place of God’s pavilion where the fires of love are burning. Your life shall shine gloriously to the dwellers on the plain. Your prayers shall be luminous, they shall light your face like the face of Moses, when he knew not that it shone. Your words shall be burning, they will kindle many a heart, journeying on the road to Emmaus. Your path shall be radiant when you have prayed in Elijah’s solitude. You shall have Elijah’s chariot of fire.”

We need to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us. Get alongside the Lord, sit by that little fireplace, and look into those beautiful bright coals and flames, and let the Holy Spirit speak to you. Then go into all the world and tell people about your beloved Jesus, and you will get amazing results. Because you see, they won’t see you; no, they will see Christ in you.

Have a wonderful day,
Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 30th of May, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Gospel of Luke 9:25:

"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?"

Oh, my dear friend, we have to stop working so hard. We have to stop trying to please God. The Lord loves us as we are. We don't have to do anything to earn His love. We just have to love Him, that's all. So many of us are trying to earn our way to Heaven. You can't earn your way to Heaven, it is for gratis, it is free. You don't have to pay for it, you just have to receive it. The Lord just wants you and I for fellowship. He created us so that He could speak with us, love us, and we love Him. That's all.

The other night, Jill and I were sitting, listening to the most beautiful song. It's called "Broken Ladders". The song was written by Samuel and Becca Mizell. I think that's how you pronounce their name. I want to read this to you. It is the most beautiful song:

You never asked me to be king
Build my tower up to the sky
So why do I try
You never asked me to be rich
And buy the things that gold can buy
So why do I try

All You ever wanted was my heart
My heart, my simple heart
To You that's all that really matters
Why do I feel I have to reach
Believe I have to rise
When You never said I had to climb
These broken ladders

You never asked me to be complete
By myself, find all I need
So why do I try
Oh, You never asked me to stand alone
Face the struggles on my own
So why do I try

When all You ever wanted was my heart
My heart, my simple heart
To you that's all that really matters

Why do I feel I have to reach
Believe I have to rise
When You never said I had to climb
These broken ladders

Cause all they do is take my eyes off You
And make me forget the truth
All You ever wanted was my heart
My heart, my simple heart
To You that's all that really matters

Why do I feel I have to reach
Believe I have to rise
When You never said I had to climb
Oh You never said I had to climb
These broken ladders
Oh these broken ladders

What beautiful words! Today, stop trying to do things for God and just love Him. That's all He wants.God bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 29th of May, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go straight to probably the most famous scripture verse in the whole Bible. Oh, my dear friend, this one verse sums up the whole Bible, 66 books of scripture in one verse, and we know it together, let's say it together:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
John 3:16

What a beautiful scripture! Do you remember that magnificent hymn, "The Love of God"? Now, I am going to read the last verse to you, but as I read it to you, and I am talking to the young people particularly, I want you to imagine and try and dream and think of what these words say. This is how it goes:

"Could we with ink the ocean fill,
and were the skies of parchment made;
were every stalk on earth a quill,
and every man a scribe by trade;
to write the love of God above (listen to this)
would drain the ocean dry;
nor could the scroll contain the whole,
though stretched from sky to sky. "

Wow! Imagine if the whole ocean was ink and the skies were paper, and every stalk on earth was a pen, and every single man and woman, boy and girl, was a writer by trade and had to write the love of God above, it would drain the whole ocean dry, and nor could that piece of paper contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky. That is how much Jesus loves you today, my dear friend. He loves you more than you can even imagine.

Yes, there is a lot of sadness, destruction, war, it's all foretold - but the love of Christ is bigger and more powerful than all of that put together. Today, when you go out, look at the sky, have a look at the ocean, look at all those stalks in the field, and think to yourself, if all of that were put to pen, it still would not explain the love of God.

Have a wonderful day,
Jesus bless you and goodbye.