I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is 1st of May, Wednesday morning, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Habakkuk 3:18:

“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

Then we go straight to Nehemiah 8:10. We all know that verse:

“…for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Now, you might say to me this morning, “What is there to be joyful about?” Well, let’s start with our salvation, because He has saved you and me from a terrible life of bondage to the devil. He has set us free! He has covered us with a robe of righteousness; He has hidden our shame; He has clothed us with garments of salvation. That’s right, yes, a new beginning. He has given you and me a brand new life.

You know that scripture in Isaiah 61:3? He has given us a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Folks, this joy that the Lord is speaking to us about is not a feeling, it’s a fact. We don’t have to walk around with a big smile on our face all the time and be happy all the time. It’s a deep knowing that if we have to die today we are going home to be with Jesus, not because we are good people but because He is a Good God, and He loves us and we have acknowledged Him as our Lord and Saviour. It is a guarantee. For us to live is Christ and to die is but gain - that is what Paul, the Apostle said. I want to say to you today, it is the joy of the Lord.

We need to praise God because when we praise Him, that is what takes that spirit of heaviness off us.

Do you remember that song which the Gaither’s wrote, Bill and Gloria Gaither? It’s a song that has gone right around the world so many times. Early in the morning, on a Wednesday morning, there are men who get together in our little chapel on the farm, and we sing together, and this is one of the favourite songs that the boys love to sing, and I want you to sing it with me. It goes like this - Because He lives, that’s right, I can face tomorrow:

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
And because I know, yes I know, He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

Now come on, all together:

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
And because I know, yes I know, He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

Go out now and praise the Lord because He lives.

God bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 30th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

“For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.”
Isaiah 41:13

Then we go to the Book of Hebrews 13:6 in the New Testament.

So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

A famous old preacher from way back said, “Don’t try to hold God’s hand, let Him hold yours. Let Him do the holding, and you do the trusting.” I think that is a beautiful reminder, the Lord has got hold of us. We don’t have to be concerned about that. You know, when you look at those trapeze artists in the circus, the one that we are all concentrating on is the flyer who goes through the air, doing somersaults, but we forget that the most important part of the act is actually the catcher. He is the big one with the strong arms who is flying backwards and forwards on the actual swing, and he catches the flyer. If he misses, it’s a disaster. I want to say to you that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Catcher in our lives.

Have you ever seen a fireman’s lift? Do you know what that is? It is when someone takes a hold of your arm and they hold your forearm with their hand and you hold their forearm with your hand. It’s a double lift, and if you are tired and you are weary (I have been there by the way) and eventually you can’t hang on anymore and you let go. You don’t fall because the fireman has got you by his hand. The fireman is nobody else but Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, and today you might feel like letting go. You might say, “Lord, I just can’t anymore.” He says, “Rest, relax, I’ve got you. Together, we can do this and we will.”

Remember the Catcher, His name is Jesus Christ. He has never dropped anybody in His life before and He is not about to drop you.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 29th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the Book of Revelation 5:11-12:

“Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain…”

What a day it will be when you and I meet the Lord Jesus Christ, face to face, in Heaven! It’s going to be amazing, folks, I tell you what. You know, I can only just….I haven’t even got a glimpse of it but I want to relate something to you. On this little farm, Shalom, I have seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears, approximately 450 thousand men worshipping and praising the Lord and saying, “Amen”, like a gunshot going off. You know that Greytown, the little town next to our farm, is approximately 15 Kilometres from this farm - they could hear us in Greytown! But I want to say to you, that was only maybe close on half a million men. What is it going to sound like when thousands, ten thousand times ten thousands are worshipping the Son of God and worshipping Him and thanking Him, the One who died for your sins and for my sins?

Maybe as you are listening to this message you are driving in your motorcar or maybe you are sitting in your home by yourself, and maybe you are feeling a bit down and a bit hard-done-by. I want to encourage you to start worshipping the Lord. Start singing to Jesus, start praising His name and you will be surprised how that heaviness will lift up off you and you will have freedom.

Just thank Him. “Thank Him for what?” you say. Thank Him that you are alive, thank Him that you have got a future, thank Him for dying for you, thank Him for the soon-coming time when we will meet together in Heaven, all of us and our loved ones, and we will praise the Lord together with one voice. What a day that will be! I can’t wait.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.