Thought For Today

A short, inspirational thought for today, from Angus Buchan.

  1. 20h ago

    Secret Sin

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 4th of August, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Numbers 32:23: “…and be sure your sin will find you out.” I want to speak today about secret faults, secret sins that no one knows about, so you think, so I think, but I want to tell you something now. Be sure your sins will be exposed. We go to Psalm 19:12, and the writer says: “Cleanse me from secret faults.” You know, it is a heavy one, but it is one we need to deal with because if we don’t, it is going to expose us. Yes, I am talking about things like pornography. Yes, you cannot continue to live like that and expect no one to find out. They will find out. I want to talk to that young man who is doing so well in business, but you are not honest. Your employer will catch you out. Stop doing it! I want to speak to that young man who is having an affair with a woman in his office, and he thinks his wife will not find out. She will find out and it will ruin your marriage and your family. Stop it today! There are no secret faults for a believer. We need to confess them and deal with them.  I have spoken at many prisons all over the world, and there is something that breaks my heart every time. When I am allowed to speak to a gathering of prisoners, I will see a young man standing there, and I can see that he is totally out of his depth. There are gangsters there who have been to jail many times, you can see it, but that young man has been caught and sent to prison because of fraud. Now, the young person listening to this message, do you know what fraud is? Well, I want to tell you my interpretation of fraud is when you take something that doesn’t belong to you, like money from the company, and you promise yourself you will pay it by Monday morning. But what you don’t realise is the auditors come in before Monday morning, they look at the books and they see there is a discrepancy and it comes back to you. And you tell them, “Yes, but I meant to repay it.” It is too late. You have to go to jail for your sins. Today, remember the secret is - you say to me, “Angus, what can we do?” Well, 1 John 1:9 says: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Just say sorry. Send a text to that woman today and say, “It is over”. Pay that money back. Go and see that employer of yours and say, “Look, I am very sorry, but  I will never do it again.” And God will redeem you. Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.Goodbye.

  2. 1d ago

    More Than Overcomers

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 3rd of August, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to the Book of Romans 8:31: ”What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Oh folks, do you realise Who is on your side? I think some of us forget, and that’s why we’re taking so much strain.  Then we go on to verse 37: ”Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”  Beautiful - game, set and match! Isn’t that wonderful? That’s why you find men like Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, when they win a major tournament, they literally collapse onto the grass or onto the clay, and they start weeping.  I used to play rugby many years ago, and I loved the game. Can you imagine running onto that rugby field with a huge stadium of people watching, and you look up at the scoreboard and already the score is 50 points to your team and no points to the opposition? It’s a win-win situation. So before we even start today, I want to remind you that Jesus Christ has paid the full price for all of our sins. He has made a way for us where there seems to be no way, and most of all He’s promised us He’ll never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) 2 Corinthians 5:7: ”For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Oh my dear friend, today lift up your head, lift up your eyes, you are looking too low. Jesus is not coming soon, I’m telling you He’s on His way and I cannot wait for that day.  Have a blessed day as you realise what the Master has done for you and me. He has given us eternal life!  Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day. Goodbye.

  3. 2d ago

    Trust the Lord

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 2nd of August, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Joshua 3:13: “And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.” Do you know, I have been to the Jordan River many, many times. I have had the privilege of baptising hundreds of people in that Jordan River. I want to assure you, the Jordan River is not a stream. It is the life spring of the country of Israel. Without the Jordan River there would be no Israel.  Then we go to Luke 8:25: “But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!” What we see here is that there are always signs and wonders. Every time the Lord performs a miracle, like stopping the Jordan River so that the people of Israel can cross over, just like calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee by speaking, the disciples were absolutely amazed. It reminds me of the story and I have told it to you a few times, I will probably tell you a few more times because it is a miracle that touched my life. We had a fire that was getting away from us on the farm. It was heading towards the forest on our neighbour’s farm and there were no clouds in the sky, there was no rain predicted. I got on my knees in front of all my workers and some of my neighbours, and they were helping me to put the fire out, and I prayed, “Jesus, please help us!” And the wind turned around, and it came up from the south, and a most beautiful, gentle storm of rain fell over Shalom Farm and put the fire out - a sign, a miracle and a wonder when we trust the word of God. Today, Trust the Lord. He won’t fail you. Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  4. 3d ago

    Our Shepherd

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 1st of August, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in that very well-known psalm, Psalm 23:1-2: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.” That is where our strength is. It is in the promise of God. Then we go straight to the Book of Hebrews 13:6: “So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” The other night I was listening to a wonderful documentary about those famous singers, Bill and Gloria Gaither. He wrote the music, and she does the lyrics, and I want to say to you, they have touched the whole world and have been voted as the best gospel group of the century. But what really touched me is, they are just ordinary people. She says sometimes she will be cooking in the kitchen, and the Lord would give her a word, and she would sit down at the dining room table, and take a pencil and an A4 pad, and write out the words God has given. She said to us that they were about to have their little baby son and he was about to be born, and they were concerned about bringing him into a world that is so full of turmoil and so destructive, then she realised that God is in control, and she sat down and she wrote the words of one of the most beautiful well-known Gospel songs, “Because He Lives, I Can Face Tomorrow.”  Isn’t that good news? She went on to say that this world has never been a safe place unless you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. Her little son grew up. He got married, and he had a little girl, and when she was about 13, he wrote to his mom, and he said, “Mom, what a world we are bringing these children into!” Then Gloria could remind him that she wrote that song with Bill when he was born. He must remember that God is completely in control.  I want to leave this thought particularly for young mothers with little babies, some who are pregnant, some who have a little baby who has just been born and you fear for the future of this little one.  Don’t be afraid because the Lord is our helper. He will be with us to the end. Jesus bless you and goodbye.

  5. 4d ago

    Disappointment

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 31st of July, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Psalms 62:5: “My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him.”  Then we go to John 13:7: “What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” I want to speak to you this morning about disappointment. Maybe your job has come to an end, maybe you are just not cutting it at university, maybe that proposal to that young girl has not worked out, maybe that business deal has fallen through and you are disappointed. The Lord will use that disappointment often to teach us lessons, and you say, “But it is too painful, I can’t take it anymore.” You can and you must because that teacher called “disappointment” is going to do a mighty work in your life.  Now I want to use an example. When I was a young man, I had just come back from Australia. I was a cowboy in Australia. I got a position in Zambia at a very big farm, but the two owners of the farm, were quite rough-handed guys, and they wanted their pound of flesh, probably like I was after that! I had to be standing on the parade ground - that’s what it seemed like - every morning at quarter to six. I had 150 staff that had to be organised to the different parts of the farm. We were doing vegetables, we were doing beef cattle, we were doing seed maize, we were doing commercial maize, and this gentleman used to walk around in gumboots, and he was a very articulate man. He said to me, “Angus, at 6 o’clock, I don’t want to see one person standing in the yard. Everybody must be at work.” We had 8 tractors in those days. Now that was a big outfit, and I want to tell you, he really tested me. I handed my resignation in no less than 3 times, and he just tore them up and carried on, but you know, when I look back, that gentleman and his partner, the two of them, taught me more valuable things about life than anybody else. A writer once said, “Dear old rough-handed teacher, we will build you a monument and crown it with flowers and inscribe on it, “Blessed be the memory of disappointment.” Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day. Don’t be afraid of disappointment. It will bring lots of benefits afterwards. Goodbye.

  6. 5d ago

    Wait on the Lord

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 30th of July, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to the Book of Deuteronomy 28:13: “And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail…” Isn’t that a lovely blessing? The Lord will make you, Sir, the head and not the tail, young lady, the head and not the tail. Why? Because if you love Him with all your heart and you obey the statutes that He has put before you, these are the consequences. Many things you can read right from verse 1: He will give you the fruit of your body, He will bless you to have many children, He will make you a name in the marketplace, He will increase your livestock, He will increase your ability to bless others by your lifestyle. We need to understand that the Lord loves us unconditionally. However, there are consequences for those who refuse to obey His commandments and then expect Him to bless them. That will not happen and cannot happen. I have seen it happen too many times in my own life, especially as a farmer, sometimes catastrophically. We have almost been wiped out by hail and I have said, “Lord, where is the blessing in all this?” And yet He has turned it around for good. I remember one year, maybe I have told you this story before, where I got my planting machine all mixed up and the seed came out and the maize germinated. There were huge gaps in the crop and I thought, “Lord, I asked you please to help me.” The stand, the population of the maize crop was so poor, I thought that I had just about declared myself bankrupt and yet that particular year we had one of the worst droughts in our area that we have ever had, and what happened? The maize crop spread out and there was plenty of room for the plants to grow. Instead of having normal cobs, they were gigantic, and as the farmers know, you don’t get paid on volume, you get paid on weight! When I took that crop to the silos and they put it on the weigh-bridge, they couldn’t believe the weight of the maize. That year I made more money than in years when I had everything in order. Why? Because God takes the tail and He makes it into the head if you are doing things His way! Just remain faithful, just remain steadfast. I am saying to that young girl who is desperately trying to have a baby - her and her husband just cannot fall pregnant, continue to obey God, love Him, trust Him, and your baby will come. I have got testimonies from all over the world of women who just could not conceive and yet with perseverance, the love of God, and the desire to do things right, Jesus blessed them eventually.  God bless you and have a wonderful day and remember, you are the head and not the tail!Goodbye.

  7. 6d ago

    Wait on the Lord

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 29th of July, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.  Isaiah 40:31:  “Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength,They shall mount up with wings like eagles,They shall run and not be weary,They shall walk and not faint.” I think, like never before, we need to start waiting more upon the Lord before we do anything. As an old farmer myself, I can tell you something right now. Sometimes a young farmer will become impatient. I was one of them. The cow is trying to deliver its baby, and instead of leaving her and waiting for her to do it on her own, we start to interfere, and eventually we mess it up completely. Let the Lord do the work.  Even relationships, don’t force them. If you have an altercation with somebody and you don’t know what to do about it, wait first, pray, pray for them. Pick the correct time, don’t run ahead of yourself. The Lord will give you the strength and the love and the ability to rectify the situation, but if you charge into it like a bull in a china shop, you will make it even worse. Those who wait upon the Lord...have you ever seen an eagle in full flight, to see him effortlessly catching the wind thermals, and moving gracefully, not flapping his wings? That lammergeier that we have in South Africa, those huge, bearded vultures with wingspans of over two metres- he doesn’t flap around. He just glides, catches the wind thermals, and the wind does the work for him. He just waits upon the right time to do whatever he needs to do. You and I need to do that as well.  It’s so graceful to see someone who is patient and waiting, and when he makes his decision, it is definite. No “maybe”, or “hope so”, or “let's give it a go”. No, let’s wait upon the Lord. If He tells you to buy that business, buy it. If He tells you to sell that business, sell it. If He tells you to propose to that girl, do it, and if He tells you to go and encourage someone, please do it, but wait first, make sure the timing is right, absolutely vital! Don’t spoil it by running ahead of yourself. Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.Goodbye.

  8. Jul 28

    Remember

    I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 28th of July, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Deuteronomy 27:2-3: ”…that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. You shall write on them all the words of this law,…” Then we go to 1 Samuel 7:12: “Ebenezer” Ebenezer, what does that mean? “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”  Remember, that is what Samuel did, and put those rocks there as a reminder.  At Shalom Farm, after we had been here for 10 years (we have been here almost 50 years), we got together as a family and a community, and we got large rocks, and we placed them outside our little thatched chapel as a reminder that the Lord has been with us thus far. I want to encourage you to do that. You don’t even have to do it physically. You can make a note in your diary, a reminder that the Lord has never forsaken us. My wife, Jill, has got green fingers. She can plant anything, and it seems to grow. When we arrived, she planted some beautiful plane trees and when I walk out the door of my little prayer chapel, at my house, I look up and I see a tree that has a circumference of about 3 metres and it stretches up to the heavens. She planted that tree as a little sapling which was smaller than my little finger, and often when I walk out I say, “Thank You, Lord, that You have been with us through thick and thin, through fire, through drought. You have been with us through economic disasters, You are still with us and we are still going strong.”  Today, take time out to plant a tree, that you will remember how far the Lord has brought you, to maybe set up a little cairn of stones as a reminder that the Lord has been with us. I used to climb up the mighty Drakensberg Mountains as a younger man, and when you get right to the top, there are not many paths because not too many people walk there, but good faithful climbers have put up little cairns of stones to show you the way to your destination. Remember, if Jesus is for you, you have nothing to worry about.  Have a wonderful day, till next time, God bless you, goodbye.

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A short, inspirational thought for today, from Angus Buchan.

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