Thought For Today

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 19th of August, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
Today I am going to read a scripture out of the Amplified Version of the Bible - Hebrews 11:1:
“Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].”
That is very powerful. I want you to try and meditate on that fact. You see, faith is real, but you can’t see it, you can’t touch it, you have to believe it. Now, yesterday I shared with you how John Wesley, on his trip to America, got caught in a huge storm, was devastated, thought the ship was going to sink, the passengers were panicking, and there was a group of Moravian believers standing on board, singing calmly, singing hymns. They were not afraid at all, and it blew him away.
He realised he wasn’t even saved. Now I want to continue. Once Wesley came back to England, another Moravian, Peter Böhler, came along 3 years later, in 1738, and he told him he was at his lowest ebb spiritually. In fact, he wanted to give up preaching altogether. This is what Peter Böhler said to him and it has impacted my life as well. He said, “Preach faith till you have it, and then because you have it, you will preach faith.” I want you to think about that.
In 2008, the Lord laid upon me to book the biggest tent in the world at that time which could seat over 30,000 people. It took 17 40-ton trucks, with containers on board, to bring it to the farm, and took over 2 weeks to erect it by a man called Attie Van Staden, whose life was impacted by erecting it. It was the size of 4 rugby fields in the end. I had R500 in my pocket, that’s all I had but by faith I booked it but I didn’t ask for a penny, I never charged for a ticket, and we had it on this farm and we had an amazing encounter with God. Because of faith, God sent 60,000 men, 30,000 in the tent and 30,000 outside of the tent, and He paid for everything. I want to encourage you today to trust God. He will not fail you.
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 18th of August, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Hebrews 11:6:
”But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
In other words, without faith we can’t please God.
Then we go to Romans 10:17:
”So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Lots of people have written to me over the years and asked me, ”How do you get more faith?” Well, there’s the answer. It comes by hearing and listening to the word of God and reading the Bible.
John Wesley tells a story that took place in 1735. He boarded a ship for the USA, and on board were many English passengers and Moravian people going to America. Moravians from the early church that was started in Germany. As they went to sea, it was winter, it was freezing cold. A great storm arose, the mast broke, and it looked like the ship was about to sink. Now remember, John Wesley was a theologian. He had a Master of Arts Degree in Theology. He thought he was a man of faith. He thought he was a Christian but listen to the story.
The storm got so violent that the English passengers aboard were panicking and screaming. Then Wesley looked up on board, and he saw the group of Moravians quietly, calmly singing hymns to God as the sea washed across the top of the ship. Then he realised that he was not saved and that he did not really know God. It changed his life. I’m talking about faith being a practical thing. Folks, we need to realise faith is not a noun like a cupboard or a chair. Faith is a doing word. It is a verb.
By action, those Moravians showed John Wesley that he wasn’t even saved, but afterwards, in a little Bible study in Aldersgate in London - he went to a Bible study. He sat there quietly, and he said a strange warmth came over his heart, scales fell from his eyes, and he believed that at that moment he was born again.
We need to walk the talk. People need to see our faith by our actions.
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 17th of August, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Joshua 10:13:
”So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.”
Remember, Joshua asked the Lord to hold the sun in place until he defeated the enemies and that’s exactly what God did. The Lord works miracles! He expects you and me to believe Him and to trust Him completely.
Then we go to the Gospel of John 14:12 and Jesus said:
“…I say to you, he who believes…” That’s where we come in.”… he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”
If we, you and I, can believe for the miracle, the Lord can do it. If the Lord can make the sun stand still so that the man of God, Joshua, can win the battle, then surely, the Lord also can do it for us. The problem is many of us won’t believe it. “No, no Lord. You can’t do that.” He says, ”Try me and see.”
Many years ago on the farm when we had just started, we didn’t have much money, and we desperately needed water, and so I got on my knees, and I prayed, and I said, ”Lord, I’m going to take a peg. I’m going to put it in the ground and I’m going to believe you that I am going to hit water when I call the drilling company to come and drill a borehole.” Yes, I got some experts to give me an idea roughly where the rock formation is situated, but as you very well know, you can drill a hole and miss the water by a few centimetres. So I went out prayerfully, with faith, and I put the peg in the ground. Then I called the drilling company to come and drill in that place. Oh my dear friend, all the Glory to Jesus! You know that was fifty years ago. We are still using that same water from the same borehole. It has never gone dry even in drought years because our God is a faithful God.
Now, today, trust Him. I’m going to pray for you. Jesus, my friend, who is listening to this little message is desperate for the answer to the prayer of faith. I stand and I put my faith together with theirs and I believe for that baby that they have been waiting for, for so many years. I thank You by faith, she will conceive. They will have a child and they will give that child to you.
In Jesus name, we give You all the glory, amen.
God bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 16th of August, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We go to the Book of Romans 11:20-21:
“Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.”
I looked up the Oxford Dictionary to get the direct meaning of the word, “haughty”. It means arrogant and superior towards other people. My dear friend, you and I need to be very careful how we stand. If we look at 1 Corinthians 10:12:
“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”
There is nothing worse for me than to see a young man whose father has worked so hard and built up a very powerful and huge business and then his young son comes into the business - he struts around like a cockerel, shouting the odds to all the employees, telling them what to do, completely arrogant, and yet he himself did nothing towards the building of that huge company. We need to be careful how we stand, lest we fall!
Do you know that lovely old song? I am not sure if I have got the words correct, but it is a song that touched my heart deeply, and I want to sing it to you - just in case we start becoming a little bit haughty and thinking that we have done nothing special. Paul, the apostle, says, “Be careful how you stand.
He paid the debt he did not owe, I owed the debt I could not pay
I needed someone to wash my sins away
And now I sing a brand new song, "Amazing grace"
Christ Jesus paid the debt I could never pay
Just remember, we are saved by grace alone, undeserved loving kindness, unmerited favour from God, so let us not become haughty. Let us be grateful that the Lord has seen fit to save a sinner like us.
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 15th of August, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Joshua 9:14:
“Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the Lord.”
Then we go straight to Matthew 6:33:
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
I want to say today, we need to be careful of the smart-talkers, the sweet-speakers. The men from Gibeon fooled the man of God, Joshua, into making a deal with them, a covenant, that he could not break. They said that they came from very far off. They wore old clothes, broken sandals, stale food they had brought with them, and they needed protection. Joshua had compassion on them and made the deal, only to find out that they were actually their next-door neighbours. Joshua never sought the Lord first, and this is very important for you and me in these difficult days in which we are living. We need to hear from God, and He needs to confirm any relationship or decision we make.
I am talking to that young girl who is wondering whether she should marry the young man or not. Seek the Lord first because some of these young men are very sweet talkers, and then things don’t turn out that way after the wedding ring and the covenant has been made. Don’t do it. Seek the Lord! Don’t be rushed into any decision. Take your time. They will always tell you, you have to do it immediately.
I know a very sad story I want to share with you about a man I respect greatly, and he brought some young men into his business. He mentored them. They came in looking very innocent, and they were so excited to be brought in and to get shares in the business, but they had an ulterior motive and the businessman, my friend, did not know about that. Eventually, they literally voted him out of his own business and he lost everything. A godly man, maybe he should have sought the Lord first before bringing in these up-and-coming businessmen.
Today, let us seek the Lord before we make any decision, and get confirmation, and then things will go well for us.
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.