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No Compromise
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 12th of August, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Genesis 39:3:”And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand.” Then we go straight to 1 Corinthians 10:12:”Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” What had happened was Joseph had found favour with Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer.The Bible tells us that Joseph was a very handsome young man and everything he did, he succeeded in and Potiphar gave him control over his whole household, but there was problem. There was Potiphar’s wife who looked at Joseph and wanted to sleep with Joseph. Joseph did not yield to the temptation, but it got him into big trouble.I want to say to you today, be careful how you stand lest you fall - that’s what the Lord says! You know, the most dangerous place to be is really in a place where you are succeeding. When you are taking strain and you’re down on you knees, you can’t fall any further, can you? But when you succeed the devil will try everything to tempt you to fall. When your business is going well and you, all of a sudden, start throwing caution to the wind, as they say. You start taking chances because you think you can’t fail and that is when you overstep your mark and you end up getting into big financial trouble. We really need to be careful.You know, I heard a very sad story about a young golf professional. He was a rookie, he had just started. A very big club employed him, the people loved him, he was a good looking man, he was a very good golfer. He had great prospects, and after he had played his 18 holes, the older guys in the club would invite him up to come and have a drink with them. He said, ”Sir, I don’t drink, but thank you for the kind offer.” But they persisted. You see, just like Potiphar’s wife persisted with Joseph, but unlike Joseph, this young man eventually said he would go up to the club and have a few drinks. Of course, he continued to do that and eventually he started to have a drinking problem. The tragedy is, the very same men who persuaded him to come and have a drink with them said, “Let’s get this youngster out of the club because he’s become a drunkard and he’s an embarrassment to us.” The very same people! Be careful how you stand today, lest you fall. Do not let success cause you to be tempted to compromise your stand for God.Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,Goodbye.
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3:28
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3:28
Expectation
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 11th of August, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.We go straight to Psalms 62:5: ”My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.” Then out of the Message translation, it says: God, the one and only—I’ll wait as long as he says. Everything I need comes from him, so why not?” Then the last one is from the Passion translation. It says: ”I am standing in absolute stillness, silent before the one I love. Waiting as long as it takes for Him to rescue me. Only God is my saviour and He will not fail me.” Who do you have your expectation in today? Is it the Government? No, you say you’re very disappointed. Is it maybe your favourite sports team that has let you down again and you’re feeling so despondent today? Is it maybe more personal? Is it at work? Has your employer disappointed you? What about at home? How is it with your wife? How is it with your husband? Have they disappointed you? What about your children? Are they just not performing at school or university? It’s costing you an arm and a leg and they just don’t seem to be trying their best?You see, the problem is not with all of those things. The problem is with us, with you and me. Our expectation is in the wrong place. Our expectation needs to be in God alone!One of my favourite scriptures is found in Hebrews 13:6: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” If Jesus Christ is Lord of your life this morning, you have nothing to be afraid of. You will not be disappointed and He will not fail you.Do you know that beautiful chorus, He is Lord? Maybe you and I today need to sing it. Maybe we haven’t sung it for a long time. Please join me:For He is Lord, He is Lord,He has risen from the dead, and He is Lord.Every knee shall bow, every tongue confessthat Jesus Christ is Lord!Go out today and let your expectation be in Christ alone, and you will have a beautiful day!God bless you and goodbye.
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3:30
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3:30
Generosity
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 10th of August, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to 2 Corinthians 9:7:”So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” I want to say to you today that I read a beautiful article written by an elderly pastor from America, a man who I respect greatly, and I’m just going to read it to you. This is what it says:”Are you aware of what waiters and waitresses say about the Christians they serve? Do you have any idea how much they dread waiting on our tables in restaurants after church on Sundays or any other day, when we go in groups with big Bibles under our arms? We gobble up the food asking for this favour and that favour, seldom pausing long enough to smile or say, “Thank you”. That’s bad enough, but when we leave a tip, that is more of an insult than a generous expression of gratitude! Just last week a waiter informed me that the place where he works has the toughest time getting a full crew of waiters who wait on tables on Sundays. “We’d all rather work late on Friday and Saturday nights, week after week, than work Sunday afternoons,” He said. When I asked, ”Why?” He told me, ”Because Christians are usually loud. They often lack good table manners, and they are stingy with the tips.” The waiter who spoke to me is a Christian. He’s on our side and he’s embarrassed! He says that he has a rough time talking to the crew about Christ after the place closes at night. They give him the cynical, ”You’ve got to be kidding!” response, that comes after six or eight Christ followers walk away, leaving a Christian tract or a one-dollar bill or maybe just the tract. Sometimes neither at all!If you’re among the thoughtful, the gracious, the kind who leave a full 15% or more, keep it up, may your tribe increase, but if you’re the type who falls into the tightfisted and less than thoughtful category, how about thinking of your witness as something more than a Bible in your pocket and words out of your mouth. Sometimes it’s what comes out of your pocket after something has gone into your mouth, and I’m not referring to a tract. Listen, it’s possible to give away and become richer. It is possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything. Yes, the liberal man shall be rich by watering others he waters himself. (Proverbs 11:24-25). Come on Christian, loosen up! If you can afford to eat out, you can also handle a healthy tip. Maybe all you needed was a shot in the arm.”Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day and don’t forget to tip generously,Goodbye.
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3:44
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3:44
Women's Day
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 9th of August, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in 2 Timothy 1:5: “…when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.“Today in South Africa, we remember National Women’s Day. I want to pay tribute today to the women. Lois and Eunice are not names that are used a lot in this day and age, but Lois was Timothy’s grandmother, and Eunice was Timothy’s mother, and these two ladies had a profound influence on the apostle Timothy’s life. Installed by the power of the Holy Spirit, Timothy had faith, so much so that the great apostle Paul mentioned it. He said, “That faith is also in you.”I want to say today to the men, we need to love our women. In fact, that’s what the word says. It says, “Women submit to your husbands, but husbands, love your wives.” We need to treat them in a very special way because we need to respect them as handmaidens of the Lord. You know that Mary Magdalene was a huge influence on Jesus’ life. She was so faithful. She remained faithful to Jesus when all the disciples ran away and forsook Him. She never left His side.I want to tell you a little story. My mother told me that when I was a newly born baby, I don’t think I was two or three months old, I had a digestive problem where the food could not go into my stomach. She took me to the doctors. They put me in hospital. Eventually, I lost so much weight that I was skin and bone. The doctor said to my mother, ”Take him home because there’s nothing more we can do for him. Take him home to die.” But my mother persisted, she never gave up, she prayed. She kept on putting those bottles of milk into my stomach and I kept bringing them up until one day, and she’ll never forget it, she gave me a bottle of milk and it never came up and that was the beginning of the rest of my life. My mother, what a wonderful woman of God. I had the privilege of leading her to Jesus Christ. Women have incredible resilience, strength, and determination.You know the founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth said, ”My best soldiers are women.” Today ladies, we want to respect you, honour you, and tell you that we love you and that we could not live without you.Jesus bless you and goodbye.
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3:11
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3:11
Wait to Speak
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 8th of August, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to the first book in the Bible, Genesis 37:8: “And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.” Then we go to the Gospel of Luke 2:19: “But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.”Be very careful how you speak. Joseph, with the coat of many colours - he had those dreams. He shared them with his brothers. The dreams were not wrong, they were quite correct, but the timing was so bad that his brothers actually hated him, the Bible says. Even his mother and father were also very upset when he shared these dreams with them. There is a time to speak and there is a time to be quiet. Mary, the mother of Jesus, did not tell everybody what the Archangel Gabriel had told her. She kept all these things in her heart and she pondered them. We really need to be wise. Some of us, and I am probably one of the worst, we speak too quickly. We need to wait and allow others to speak on our behalf, or wait for the action to take place and it speaks by itself. Don’t keep telling everybody.I looked up the word, “discretion”. Now, I really want you to listen to this, especially the young people. It means to be careful and prudent in one’s speech or actions, especially so as to avoid giving offence or attracting attention. We don’t have to attract attention to ourselves. If God has done something great in our lives, let the action speak for itself. Don’t go around blabbing about what the Lord is going to do in your life, or a word, because all it will do is cause contention, especially in the home. There is a time and a place for everything. Joseph messed up big time because he spoke too quickly and told too many people. Today, go to the closet, speak to the Lord, share your heart with Him, and He will tell you at the right time and the right place to share your vision with others.Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,Goodbye.
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3:07
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3:07