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Remove the Plank
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 23rd of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to the Gospel of Luke 6:42:”…how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”I am laughing because that applies to every single one of us, especially you, sir! You know folks, I love Jesus so much and His teachings are so simple and yet so profound. Remember, people who live in glass houses don’t throw stones. Do not criticise, sort your own situation out before you start to criticise and become a hypocrite. Now, I looked up the Oxford Dictionary to find out the literal meaning of the word, “hypocrite”. It means “a person who pretends to have higher standards than they really have,” and that is you and I, isn’t it? Let’s be honest. I have one of my sons who is a very accomplished rugby coach. He has his full colours for Kwazulu-Natal for teaching schoolboys how to play rugby, and often he comes up and visits us on the farm (he is living down in Durban), and we have a little chuckle together. He says to me, “Dad, the main problem I have coaching rugby is not the little boys I have to teach. No, it’s their mothers.” That’s what he told me! He didn’t say so much about the dads. Mom, you must listen up today. He said they stand on the sidelines, and they are telling their little boy that they must kick the ball, or pass the ball or that he must tackle, or that he is messing up the game plan. He said it gets so bad that he has told the little boys - by the way, it is not their fault - ”If you listen to your mother shouting from the sideline, I am going to substitute you for somebody else." That is harsh, hey? But that is what he has to do because otherwise the kids are listening to their parents who have never played rugby, and this young son of mine has got his full colours as a rugby coach! And of course, the little boys listen to the rugby coach and that is why he is so successful.Today, please let us, all of us, take the plank out of our own eyes before we start to tell other people how to live. Let’s start doing what Jesus says and not what we think. Have a wonderful day,God bless you and goodbye.
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3:16
No Hiding
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, 22nd May 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for the day. We start in the first book of the Bible, Genesis 3:9: “Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” He could not find Adam. Then we go to Proverbs 18:24: “…there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” But if you want to have a friend, you have to be friendly!I want to say to you today that the reason why God created us, man and woman, is not because He needed us. God doesn’t need anybody nor anything because He is God. Go outside today and look around at the clouds in the sky, the moon at night, the sun during the day, the stars - He made them all by saying one word. In the beginning was the Word, so He doesn’t need us, but He created us because He wants to have you as His personal friend. Now, to me, it is one of the saddest scripture verses in the Bible. “Adam, Adam, where are you? I am looking for you.” What was Adam doing? Adam and Eve were hiding. Why were they hiding? Because they had been disobedient and had eaten of the forbidden fruit. God knew that, of course, because He knows everything, and He was so heartsore because His friends had actually disobeyed Him. Let’s not do that today.You see, God didn’t run away from Adam and Eve, they ran away from Him. Jesus never ran away from the disciples or blamed any of them. The disciples ran away from the only Man on earth who could help them, Jesus Christ. It is so precious to have a dear friend and another mistake that we make so often - “I want to go and see my old friend but I just don’t have the time”. Then eventually you get to it. You pick up the phone or you go and visit him and they say, “He died last week. He has gone home to Heaven.” What a tragedy, and you didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye.Today, do not hide from God and be obedient to what the Lord tells you. Go and visit your friend because if you are lonely, the best way to overcome loneliness is to go and be a friend to someone else. Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,Goodbye.
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2:57
Give Generously
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 21st of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go straight to the Gospel of Luke 6:38. Jesus says:”Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” We are talking about giving, and I want to clarify something here this morning. We are not just talking about money, although money is also a factor. What you give is what you get. If you give nothing, you get nothing. It’s very simple, and this is what the Lord is saying but, you cannot out bless God. I love Him so much. I want you to know that. The more you give Him the more He gives you back. You see, because He is a giver by nature. He’s not a taker. He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to you and me so that we might have eternal life.We started a little children’s home many years ago on the farm. I think you may be aware of that. I'll never forget, at one stage we had 18 cots, little cots in our children’s home with babies in it that were all a couple of months old. We didn’t do it for any return. We did it because Jesus said that we must take care of them. These children were abandoned and they were found in different places - abandoned in hospitals, abandoned walking down the road, and we took them in. Twenty-seven of them, plus a number that went to be with the Lord because they died in our little children’s home, but they were loved up until the day they died, but I want to tell you, you can’t out bless the Lord. The Lord says: ”For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”Just yesterday, I went into town to watch one of my little grandsons playing rugby. There was another school playing against the school my grandson goes to, and I looked up and I saw one of the coaches that was coaching the opposition team, and I looked and I saw that it was one of my sons that had grown up in our children’s home. He has grown into a fine, handsome young man. I shouted across the field to him and he shouted back, ”Hello Dad, how are you?” I was so proud. I didn’t have to tell anybody else, and I have many, many sons and daughters. Some are professional rugby coaches, others are international singers, others are farm managers, others are cordon bleu chefs. We have many that have done so well and we give all the praise, honour and glory to Jesus Christ.Today, start sowing intentionally and you will reap.God bless you and goodbye.
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3:21
Clean Lines
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 20th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in 2 Corinthians 11:3: “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus.” We have got to keep it simple, very simple. When the devil tempted Eve in the garden, he didn’t say, “God said this…” No, he asked her the question in Genesis 3:1:“Has God (really, has He) indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” You see, that is how the devil works, he doesn’t attack you straight on. He plays with your mind. He says, “It’s not that bad, is it?” We need to keep the Gospel simple. There is nothing difficult about the Gospel.I looked up the Oxford Dictionary to find out the literal meaning of the word, “simplicity” and one of the meanings is “clean lines”. Keep it clean, don’t let it get congested. Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith you cannot please God, and he who believes must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. God said it, we believe it, that settles it. We must be careful that we are not too clever for our own good because the devil will help you along.A lot of people in South Africa are starting to write exams, whether it be for your final year in school or university, and I want to tell you about something called cheating. Cheating is a sin. You cannot cheat. “Aah”, you say, “but Uncle Angus, it is not going to hurt anybody else. It is just going to help me along.” No, what it is going to do, it is going to open the door for the devil to come in and play havoc with your life. Remember, there is nothing new under the sun - the wisest man who ever lived said that. “Did God really say...?” That is how the devil works. “Is it really going to hurt anybody? No - well, then do it!” I want to say to you today, you need to watch out for the slyness of the devil. I was taught when I was a new Christian, “Look out for the 3 “P’s”. What are the 3 “P’s”? It is not a joke. The first P is power. When you get power, you want more power because people listen to you and you start thinking that you are something when you are not. That is the first “P”. The second one is petticoats. I am talking to the men. Look out for the temptation of the devil. You shouldn’t go anywhere with a woman who is not your wife by yourself, because of the temptation of the devil. “Aah, but it is just a one-night stand. No-one will find out.” Do you know how many letters I get from men who are broken because they let their wives down? It has destroyed their marriage. Then the pennies, chasing the money. Chasing the money, you don’t pay your income tax. You think you are clever? I want to tell you something now, you will be caught out. That is exactly what happened to Eve in the Garden of Eden.Today, let’s sharpen up our act and let’s not give the devil a chance to move in. God bless you and have a wonderful day,Goodbye.
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3:53
Women
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 19th of May, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. Genesis 2:18, yes, the first book in the Bible, says: “And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” He didn’t want the men to be lonely. Then we go straight to Matthew 19:5: ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’.Women are so different to men. I can hear all the men saying, “Hallelujah”! Do you remember that movie? Many of you don’t, but I am sure you have all heard of it, it was made in 1964, called My Fair Lady? The punchline from the movie is, “I said I’d make a woman and indeed I did. I knew that I could do it! I knew it! I knew it! I said I would make a woman and succeed, and I did.” Remember, the actor when he and his friend were in the street in London? They saw this illiterate young girl selling flowers on the street, and he said to his friend, “I will bet you that I can change that street urchin”, as it were, “into a refined lady”, and they took a bet. That was the theme of the movie. A common woman, uneducated, selling flowers on the street to try and make some money and he educated her into a beautiful, sophisticated young woman, and that is exactly what God did for you and me.My best friend is my wife. There is no doubt about it. I don’t have to go out with ten other people to enjoy myself. I can spend time with Jill, on my own, as long as I need to and hopefully she will say the same about me. Why? Because God has made and created you and I for each other. I read you the scripture just now. For this reason, a man will leave his mom and dad, and I love my mother and father, be joined to his wife and the two will become one flesh. Such a beautiful union, made in Heaven!Look after your wives today, gentlemen. Treat them gently. They are not rough like us. They are gentle and refined, they are beautiful, and they are very strong, and they are also made in the image of God. Have a wonderful day!Jesus bless you and goodbye.
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3:07