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The Greatest Orator
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name!It is Saturday morning, 29th November 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go straight to the Gospel of John 7:44-46 (Amplified Version): ”Some of them wanted to arrest Him (that’s Jesus), but no one laid hands on Him. Then the guards went [back] to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not bring Him [here with you]?” The guards replied, “Never [at any time] has a man talked the way this Man talks!” Oh, what an orator! You know what an orator is? I looked up the Oxford dictionary - "a person who is good at public speaking”. Well, who was the greatest orator of all time? His name is Jesus Christ! When the High Priest’s soldiers were told to go and arrest Him and they heard Him speaking, they couldn’t touch Him. They said, ”We have never ever heard a man speak like this before.”I’ve got a book, it’s called ”Speeches That Changed The World”, and it’s got the most famous speeches, right from the beginning, right up until now, all kinds of speeches, good ones, bad ones, ugly ones. We just think of Abraham Lincoln. He said, ”Government of the people, by the people, for the people.” Then we look at Winston Churchill during the Second World War, he said, ”Blood, toil, tears and sweat. We shall fight on the beaches, but we will never give up.” Prime Minister Nehru, at the Independence of India said, ”At the stroke of the midnight hour, India will awake.” Then we think of John F Kennedy. He said, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Rather ask what you can do for your country.” But I want to tell you about my friend, Jesus Christ. He spoke to me, almost audibly, through a man, not even a preacher, we’re talking about laymen. They came to our little church and started to tell us about Jesus, and it was like my eyes were opened for the first time and Jesus said, ”Come to me, all of you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. 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”Today, listen to the greatest speaker who has ever lived upon the earth. He saved my soul. He can save your soul today if you will open your spiritual ears and listen to what He wants to tell you.Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.Goodbye.
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3:29
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3:29
Peace
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 28th of November, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Leviticus 3:1:‘When his offering is a sacrifice of a peace offering…” Then we go straight to the New Testament in the Gospel of John 14:27. Jesus says: ”Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.“ The dove, the symbol of peace. It symbolises peace and also new beginnings. If we remember Noah’s Ark when the whole world was flooded, the dove returned when the rain stopped, after everything had settled, with an olive branch in it’s beak, signifying the end of the flood and new life and new beginnings. Yes, the dove is also the symbol of the Holy Spirit. At Jesus’ baptism, at the Jordan river, remember, the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove and settled on the Lord. The dove represents reconciliation, mom, dad, brother, sister, reconciliation between God and man. If we look at Matthew 5:9: ”Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.” We named this farm that we are on at the moment “Shalom” and we named it almost fifty years ago. When we arrived with our truck and trailer from Zambia, with our little children, they were just babies. I will never forget, I’d come home for a bit of lunch, in those days there were no cellphones, we had the old crank system on the telephones, two shorts, one long! Do you remember that? Yes, the older people do, the younger people have no idea. We got a phone call from the Deeds Office in Pretoria. They said, ”We have just approved the subdivision of your farm; we need a new name.” I shouted through to the bedroom, ”Jill, I’ve got the Deeds Office on the phone. They need a name for the farm.” This was before we became Christians. "Give us a name quickly, any name.” I heard that beautiful voice come through and say, ”Call it Shalom.” I said to the Deeds Office, ”The name is Shalom.” And those of you who know us well will agree that the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ has really blessed many multitudes on this farm. His name is Jesus, the Prince of Peace.Have a wonderful day and go out and sow peace.Goodbye.
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3:19
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3:19
Speak Out Scripture
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 27th of November, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Isaiah 55:11, and the Lord says; ”So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Then we go to the New Testament, John 7:26:”But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? “ Now, remember what happened. Jesus told the disciples to go up to Jerusalem to the Feast of Tabernacles. He said, ”I will come later,” because they were seeking to kill Jesus. So eventually He came to Jerusalem on His own, and then He started to teach in the temple. His words were so bold that everyone listened without a word. The power of the spoken word of God. They recognised Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, by the words which proceeded from His mouth.I want to say to you today, my dear friend, and this applies to me, we are not using the word of God enough. That is where the power is! William Shakespeare was a great writer, but there’s no power when you quote Shakespeare. When you quote Sigmund Freud, there’s no power. When you even quote Albert Einstein, supposed to be the most brilliant mind, there’s no power, but when you quote the Word of God, there is power which accompanies the spoken Word of God.I have had the privilege of speaking at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem a number of times, and I want to tell you when you say, ”thus says the Lord,” the power comes down folks, especially if you believe it. If you look at some of those old crusade tapes of Dr Billy Graham and he says, ”and the word of God says….” As soon as he quotes Scripture, you can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in that stadium amongst those thousands and thousands of people. I’ve experienced it in my own life, standing up there, feeling totally inadequate, but as soon as I start quoting the word of God, a supernatural power comes down and energises me, and I can see a change in that vast crowd.I want to speak to mothers today. You’ve got a sick child. Oh mom, go and lay your hands on your child and speak the Word of God over that child, speak healing over that little child. I want to say to dad, he doesn’t know what to do at work anymore, there are big problems there. Speak the Word of God. I really mean that, quote Scripture. You will be surprised by how the men will come into line.Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.Goodbye.
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3:29
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3:29
Wait for the Lord
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 26th of November, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to the Book of Exodus 40:37-38: “But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.” They did not move until the cloud moved. Then we go to the Book of Acts 1:4: “…He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father,…”The Lord wants to talk to you and me this morning about not becoming so impatient. Many of us think that the Israelites just wandered aimlessly through the wilderness for 40 years. No, they didn’t. Their Heavenly Father did not leave them as orphans. He put a cloud over the tabernacle and He said, “Don’t move until the cloud moves,” and then at night a pillar of fire, as a sign of protection over them. We must not move until the Lord tells us to move. We go to the Acts of the Apostles, after the Lord Jesus Christ had been resurrected, they were totally lost, the disciples were all huddled together in the Upper Room. I have been to that room, I have laid on the floor of the Upper Room. I was so blessed, Jill and I. There wasn’t a soul in that Upper Room when we were there that day, and we just lay on that floor and we just worshipped God. He said that we must wait for the promise of the Father. Now that is where a lot of us are making mistakes. We are running ahead of God, and that is why we are getting into trouble. As a young farmer, I remember us going through a drought period. I had planted my maize crop, but there was no rain. I wanted to disc it in and start again, but I didn’t have the money. I waited, and you know something? My neighbours put the plough in and started all over again. I waited and I waited and then the rain came! When the rain came, that maize came through. It was a beautiful crop. If I had not waited, I would have got myself into terrible financial trouble.Today, wait for the promise of God. When the cloud moves, you move. When the cloud doesn’t move, you stay. If God doesn’t tell you to go, you better stay. If God tells you to go, pack your bags, then leave today. Jesus bless you and have a wonderful, peaceful day,Goodbye.
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3:03
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3:03
Stand for Christ
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 25th of November, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go straight to the Gospel of John 7:1:”After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.” Have you ever felt unwanted, my dear friend? Maybe this morning, you are feeling very alone because of your love and stand for Jesus Christ. Have you ever felt excluded? Now, this is an old term, “sent to Coventry”. What does it mean? I looked up the Oxford dictionary. It means being excluded from a group or social interaction and being given the silent treatment. Have you ever felt like that? Oh yes, and especially if you’re at school or university, you’re not one of the boys, you’re not one of the girls anymore. Why, what have you done wrong? No, you’ve done nothing wrong. What you have done is, you have identified yourself with Jesus Christ. That’s all you’ve done. You feel lonely? Well, I want to tell you, Jesus couldn’t even go up to Jerusalem because the Jews were waiting for Him, they wanted to kill Him. What had He done wrong? Nothing at all. He came to save the world!Have you felt left out of the office party? It’s coming to the end of the year. Will you be welcome there? Yes, we can come but they don’t talk to us, especially when they start getting drunk and they start telling filthy stories. You feel totally isolated, don’t you? What about that sports team? You are one of the best players, you know that, but they keep preferring other people. Why? Because you are not popular because of your stand for Christ. Have you been overlooked at work maybe, for a promotion, because you will not back down and say that all roads lead to heaven, live and let live? No, because you love people, you’ve told them the truth but it’s made you very unpopular.Well, I want to tell you today, shout for joy because you must be doing something right. If you look at Luke 10:20. The Lord says that your name, my name is written in the Book in Heaven, oh yes! When Jesus comes back, will He identify you as His friend or one of the gang? Well, stand tall, you won’t have to put your hand up He will find you, and He will take you home to be with Him, but in the meantime, the most important thing is that you do not compromise your stand for anybody.Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.Goodbye.
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2:57
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2:57