Thought For Today

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 9th of June, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Acts 22:1-3:
“Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now.” And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said: “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.”
He had to convince the people he was one of them before he met Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Paul used his background and his heritage to convince the mob and to try and win them over. You and I need to do that. Don’t take your background lightly. If you come from a certain people group and you are trying to convince people in that group to turn to Jesus, tell them where you come from. Tell them what you did.
Paul told them he was taught by the great teacher, Gamaliel. Now, if we look at Gamaliel in Acts 5:38-39, we will see that this man was a great teacher of the law and obviously a man of God. He says:
"And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.”
Now, that is good counsel.
Now, when you want to go to the doctor, the first thing you find out is, who is this man or woman? Where did they study? What reputation do they have? Have they got a good name? Yes, they have helped many people, then you feel secure. It might also be that if you want to find out something very important about the word of God, you don’t just go to anybody. You must find a person who has walked the road, knows what he is talking about before you start to trust him. That is exactly what Paul was doing with the mob. He was trying to show them that he was not somebody who had just arrived, he is a man of standing, he has a good reputation, comes from a good background, a good home and has also been taught by the best.
Today, go out and use every opportunity and qualification that you have to bring people to Jesus.
God bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 8th of June, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Proverbs 4:23:
”Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”
Then we go to 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.”
We need to protect our hearts. We need to put guards as it were. What am I talking about? I’m talking about the little things in life, not the big things. We need to watch out for that cell phone, and I want to talk not only to young people, but to the older folk as well. Be careful what you are watching on that cell phone.
We need to be very careful how we speak, be careful that we are not blaspheming. We start off swearing with small little words, and slowly but surely, they become worse and worse. Make a covenant with yourself that you are not going to swear anymore. The first thing that happened to me after I gave my life to Christ, I stopped swearing. I have never sworn or blasphemed since that day and that’s a long time ago. It takes discipline to do that.
Be careful with the company you are keeping. There are certain groups of people you are going out with that you know in your heart is going to lead to a dangerous place. Don’t go there! Remember, your heart is the wellspring of your life, it’s where the things come out of. Keep it clean.
Be careful what you are looking at with your eyes. Put a guard over your eyes because slowly but surely it will lead you down the path. I get very concerned when I hear statistics about the amount of Christians that are watching pornography. That is a very bad and hellish thing, don’t go there!
Keep your language pure. Do not swear. Make sure that whatever you’ve got to say is sweet because one day you might have to eat it yourself, and that is not a joke at all. So let us be today those ambassadors of Jesus who will bring glory to His name alone.
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 7th of June, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Deuteronomy 11:26:
”Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse:…”
Then we go down to verse 32:
”And you shall be careful to observe all the statutes and judgements which I set before you today.”
Then we go to the New Testament, Matthew 6:33:
”But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
I read a very interesting quotation in a book from a man of God. He says, ”We need have only one care, that we put the first thing first, faithfulness to God, then all else we need for both worlds will be supplied. God will never fail us, but we forget sometimes in our rejoicing over such an assurance, that we must fulfil our part if we would claim the divine promise.” Folks, the choice is not God’s, the choice is ours. If we put the Lord first in our lives, then He will take care of the rest. Yes, we will have challenges, we will have ups and downs, but at the end of the day, we will prevail because His word is sure, it is true, and it never fails!
I want to encourage you today to sit down quietly and have a look at your life and see if you are indeed putting God first - Jesus first, then your family and then everything else, in that order. If you do that, you will not fail because the Lord will ensure that you succeed and that you prosper. Jesus Christ is the guide in our lives, nothing else. Today, let us focus on serving Him with all our hearts and then we will see with our eyes how He will bless us as He has just told us, and we will succeed.
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 6th of June, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
If we go to 1 Corinthians 4:15, Paul says:
“For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.”
Ten thousand instructors, very few fathers, and I want to include mothers in this thought today. I am talking about the heads of our homes. I looked up the Oxford Dictionary to see the literal meaning of the word "mentorship" and "a mentor”. A mentor is an experienced person who advises you over a period of time. It takes a long time to be a mentor, a father, a mother. If you look at the next verse, 1 Corinthians 4:16: it says,
“Therefore” Paul says, “I urge you, imitate me.”
Then we go to 1 Corinthians 11:1, he says it again:
“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”
Now there is a challenge. It is not easy, no ways, and it takes a long time. In fact, it takes a lifetime. My children are grown up and my oldest children are grandparents already, but yet I am still there for them. I am still their mentor and their dad. A mentor is a counsellor, a consultant, a trainer, a guide, an instructor, a teacher. Are you talking to your children every day? Are they talking to you? Because if they are not, you are not doing the work God has called you to. It is not easy. I know. I have many children. In fact, I am mentoring over 500 men at the moment, so I really know what I am talking about, and it is not easy and often you drop the baton.
We were asked many years ago by the ANC, our political party in South Africa, to stop criticising the party and to come with constructive criticism, as it were. I got an opportunity to speak to the President of South Africa, and I said, “Sir, the problem in our nation is a fatherless generation.”
I want to say to you today, take up your role as mentor in your home. You might be a single parent but you still have to take the responsibility, father or mother, because the children are desperate for leadership.
Jesus bless you and have a good day.
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 4th of June, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We go straight to the Book of Acts 20:37-38:
”Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.”
Now we know that was the last time they saw Paul and they knew it because from there he eventually ended up in Rome and he was beheaded by the Roman Emperor. Always a sad thing to say goodbye, isn’t it? An airport for me is always a bitter sweet place. I sit often and I watch when I’m waiting for my plane. People that are arriving, and there is absolute joy and tears and hugs having not seen their loved ones for maybe a number of years, but it is also a place of great sadness when some loved ones are saying goodbye knowing that that they will probably not see them again in this life.
I want to tell you about the Drakensberg Boys Choir. Just a short while ago, I had the privilege of speaking to these young men. As we were finishing up, we’d made the alter call, we’d prayed the Sinners Prayer, we’d repented, we’d rejoiced, and a group of these young men gathered around me and they said they’d like to sing me a song, and they sang that beautiful song, “Until we meet again” and I must say it did bring me to tears but you know the Good News is, as believers, as followers of Jesus Christ, it’s never goodbye forever. No, it’s only for a season.
If we look at John 14:3, the Lord says, ”I will come again”. It’s a promise! He’s coming back to fetch us, you and me, who believe in the Lord and who love Him, and He’s going to take us home to Heaven to be with our loved ones. So that is wonderful news and Jesus has promised that to all who believe in Him. I want to encourage you to pray for your loved ones and pray that you will see them again in Heaven.
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.