I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 26th of December, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go straight to the Book of James 4:14:

“For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

Oh folks, we are coming to the end of 2024. Can you believe it? You know, it is not just older people I am talking to. When I speak to young people they say, “Where is the time going?” Just the other day I had the privilege of going to an old age home, and I sat there and I spoke to the old folk and I greeted them one by one. Some were smiling, some were tearful, some seemed to be in another place - they were daydreaming, and I just thought, “Lord, each one of these precious souls has got such a story to tell.” They have walked such a long road. The one old lady was about to celebrate her 90th birthday.

This life is so short, it is like a vapour. I sat there and I remembered all the people that have gone home to be with Jesus, and were in that old age home that I visited, wonderful people with incredible testimonies and stories. Then this morning, I read this beautiful reading that I want to share with you. You have probably heard it before. It goes like this: “Only one life, it will soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” Isn’t that so profound?

I was telling them that story of an old man who came to me many years ago and I now am also becoming an old man. I know! It’s a fact, you cannot get away from it. He said to me with tears in his eyes, “Angus, I cannot go down the well anymore, I am too old, but I can stand at the top and hold the rope for you.” So precious, and that rope is prayer. And I encouraged those old folks, some of them can’t walk, some of them need to be assisted, “You can still participate, you can still serve Christ, and probably in the most valuable way of all, and that is by praying and interceding for others, especially for the young people who have still got to run the race and walk the road that they are walking."

Today, let us not waste any more time.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Christmas Day, 25th of December, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. I want to wish every single one of you, my dear friends, a very blessed Christmas.

We start today in the Book of Isaiah 7:14:

”Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel”

What a beautiful word! I went to school with a young man named Emanuel, who was from a Portuguese background - Emanuel Da Silva. Maybe he’s listening to this message on this Christmas Day. That was about 60 years ago. Folks, I want to say to you that that Scripture was prophesied about Jesus about 700 years before it took place because if we go to Matthew 1:23, it’s the exact same Scripture. What a day Christmas Day is for us as believers all over the world.

Jesus Christ said to His Father, ”My people are struggling, Father. I’m going down to earth and I’m going to help them.” And because of that little innocent helpless baby born in that little manger, a feed trough in that stable in Bethlehem, you and I have hope. We have hope to get up again, dust ourselves off and keep up the good work for the Lord. We have hope in Jesus!

Folks, you know we used to do a lot of campaigns in the early days, in the 1980’s and we called it, “Hope in Jesus”. I want to encourage you today, whatever you do, wherever you go, encourage people and tell them there is hope in a hopeless situation because the Babe from the little manger in Bethlehem has told us it’s going to be alright. I have come that you might have life and that you might have it abundantly.

I want to pray for you as we close:

Heavenly Father,

I thank you for my dear friends who have been with me this past year, 2024. I pray that they’ll have a blessed day today with their loved ones, with their children, their grandchildren, and their families, and they will celebrate the birth of the greatest Person who has ever walked on the face of the earth, our beloved Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

God bless you and happy, prosperous and peaceful Christmas be to you and yours,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Christmas Eve, the 24th of December, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

Now folks, it is probably the most important evening of the whole year! This is the night that we celebrate the birth of our beloved Saviour, dearest Friend, Jesus Christ. We go straight to the Gospel of Matthew 1:21:

“And she (Mary) will bring forth a Son (Jesus), and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

I want us to have just a little bit of a cautious thought about things. I know it is very hectic, especially for mothers in the home, making sure that the food is all prepared; the decorations have been put up; the extra beds have been made because Aunty and Uncle are coming to spend Christmas Eve with you; and the Christmas presents for the children for tomorrow, are all being wrapped up. In the hectic attitude of this season, do not forget the baby! Do not forget that beloved baby - it makes me want to cry. You know, behind me in my prayer room, I have a beautiful picture of the nativity, of Joseph, of Mary and of that little Darling, from Heaven, Jesus Christ. In the busyness of our lives, let us never forget the main thing. The main thing is, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. It is so easy to get so busy that we forget the main reason for Christmas Eve.

I want to tell you a little story. I was sitting right here in the same chair in my prayer room, and I heard little footsteps coming through the door of my prayer room, where nobody comes except my immediate family, and I looked around and there was my little granddaughter, she is only about five or six years old. She looked very shy because she knew I was busy, but praise God, she felt she could come and approach her grandfather, and she said, “Kulu”, with those big eyes. She was holding a tube, a bicycle tube in her hand, and I said, “What’s wrong?” She said, “My bicycle has got a puncture, and my cousin (who lives over the road) is coming to see me and we are going to go for a ride but my bicycle is not working. Could you help me?” (I am getting emotional!) I said, “Of course.” I stopped everything. I went out, I fixed the puncture at the back but there was also a puncture at the front. I fixed that. Then she had no oil for her chain, so we put oil on the chain. Then the seat was just a little bit high because it used to belong to her big brother, so I adjusted the seat. Then her cousin arrived and that little thing, if I had bought her a Lear Jet, it would not have meant the same, and off they went cycling together.

Please look after your children, especially the smallest ones. Do not neglect them at this time. Jesus loves the little children.

Have a very precious Christmas Eve,
God bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 23rd of December, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the Gospel of Mark 3:35, Jesus says:

“For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”

Do you remember the story? Jesus was speaking to the multitude and they came and interrupted Him. They said, “Your mother and Your brothers are outside and they are waiting for You.” And that is when He said, “Who is my mother and my brothers?”

You know, I read a beautiful testimony of a young Muslim schoolgirl. She must have been a teenager, and she found Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Saviour. She was absolutely elated, but she came from a strong, devout Muslim family. She was given a little Gideon’s Bible, a little blue one, and she used to hide it under her pillow. At night, before she went to sleep, she would read it and pray to her Jesus, and in the morning, early before the family got up, she would have her devotions again and then hide the Bible under her pillow when she went to school.

One day, her dad came home in the middle of the day, he needed something and went into her room and found her Bible. When she came home from school, he was furious and told her that unless she repented and stopped this nonsense and started to follow Allah and become a good Muslim girl, he would disown her. She said, “I cannot because I am part of His family now.” So her father threw her into the street, literally, with nothing and she had an extremely tough time. Eventually, Christians brought her into their family, and she grew up and went to Bible College. I believe she is even a teacher of the Word at this time. But you know, the amazing thing is, she never, ever denied Christ. Her mother used to meet her under a bridge somewhere quietly where none of the family knew about it and they used to cry together, and she would bring her some food and she would bring her clothes. After many years, her father saw that she was not turning her back on Jesus and she definitely was part of His family, and by her lifestyle, eventually, she was allowed to come home and visit her father. She had the privilege of leading her dad and her mother and siblings to Jesus Christ.

I want to say to you today, my dear friend, your father, your brother and your sister, are those who worship and live according to the principles of Jesus Christ. There is no doubt about that! Yes, we have got to love our biological family, but we must not be restricted because they do not want to follow Jesus. Every single one of us need to meet Him in a personal way. Why don’t we do what that beautiful Muslim lady has done? By her lifestyle, she introduced her whole family to Jesus Christ.

God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 22nd of December, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the Book of Psalms 19:14:

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”

Yes, a very special scripture to me personally, I pray it every time before I preach, whether it be a large gathering or a small one. On that point, I want to tell you, folks, I am so proud of my grandson, 17 years old, yes - he has been on missions with a spiritual son of mine who is 50 years old, and their small team. They walked along the foothills of the mighty Himalaya Mountains, where Mount Everest is situated. Over 5000 metres above sea-level they walked. They walked sometimes up to 20 km a day, eating very, very meagre diets, maybe a little plate of rice if they were blessed to get that from some small cottage. And what were they doing? They were taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost.

I heard that there was an old person, I can’t remember whether it was a lady or a gentleman, something like over 80 years old and they wanted to hear the Gospel. These boys walked 20 kms to go to this little cottage to pray the sinner’s prayer. I can just imagine them as they were walking along those steep paths, struggling for oxygen, probably praying this prayer:

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”

Can you imagine them praying the sinner’s prayer with that older person? They came from the other side of the world to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and by the way, no - they were not speaking in any big stadiums, no - they were not on television, not at all, but I want to tell you they were surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. We find that in Hebrews 12, and I want to tell you something now folks, they have totally humbled me.

Thank You, Lord, for faithful people who are prepared to take the Gospel to the ends of the world. Maybe today you need to go next door. That’s right, 50 metres, and knock on the door and say, “I want to speak to you. Can I have a cup of tea with you?” And tell them about the Saviour of the world!

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 21st of December, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the Gospel of Matthew 25:40:

“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”

We want to speak today about the microscope of little things. I want to read something to you from that wonderful hymn-writer, by the name of Frances Ridley Havergal. She said: ”We talk about the telescope of faith but I think we want even more the microscope of watchful and grateful love. Apply the little bits of our daily lives in the light of the Spirit, and how wonderfully they will come out.” We need to remember the little things.

Now, I have had the privilege, and it has been a great privilege, to meet many great leaders, kings - yes, prime ministers - absolutely, leaders of great companies, international sportsmen, I have met wonderful people all of them, but I want to tell you, and I honestly mean this, in my little prayer room, I have got some momentoes, and one of them is a sucker stick. I am telling you, a little sucker stick with little writing saying, “Jesus bless you”, given to me by a little boy. This little boy can hardly read or write, he is probably 3 or 4 years old. He came to me one day, very bashfully, at church, and he gave me this as a book marker. Well, I want to tell you, it is up on the wall. Oh yes!

I have a photo of a little boy kneeling in the sand, his little bare feet put carefully behind him, his little hat off his head, his head bowed, and he is praying to Jesus. That brought many tears to my eyes. I have framed that photograph, someone sent it to me. It was taken at one of our large meetings where we were praying for the nation and there were thousands and thousands of people there, but that little photograph touched me so deeply, more than all the dignitaries who attended that great meeting, Governors of the different provinces, Representatives of the President, but that little boy touched me.

Today, remember, it is the microscope of little things that will touch Jesus’ heart.

God bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 20th of December, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the Gospel of Mark 14:50 - It says that all of His disciples abandoned Him and fled. They all deserted Him, all of them.

James Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission, was a wonderful man of God who took the Gospel to China in the early days. He lived with the Chinese people and brought a revival which I think has been unparalleled. Even today, China is a communist country, it is not a friend of Jesus Christ, and yet the underground church is flourishing like never before. They say there is something like over 60 million believers in China! James Hudson Taylor said, ”Separation never comes from His side”. Separation never comes from Jesus’ side. We are the ones that leave Him, He never leaves us. He said that to us: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5), and He means it, my dear friend. Many a time, people write to me and they say, “Where is God? Angus, when I was calling for Him, He wasn’t there.” Oh yes, He was, my dear friend. He will never leave you and He will never separate Himself from you. That is why I love Him so much.

I have been through many things in my life as I am sure you have as well, but I want to tell you, when the going gets really tough, He gets in even closer with us. Remember the story of the footsteps in the sand? Lord, every time things got tough, there were only one set of footsteps in the sand. Where were You, Lord?”

“Oh My son, oh My daughter, I was carrying you on My shoulders.”

Yes, Jesus Christ will never leave you and that is good news for you today. Go out and tell the world that many may betray you but Jesus, never.

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends”.
John 15:13

Does that sound like betrayal? Does that sound like separation, my dear friend? No! Today, draw close to Him and He will walk with you through the fire.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 19th of December, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start off in the Gospel of Matthew 16:24:

”Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

Then we go to the Gospel of John 3:3:

”Jesus answered and said to him (to Nicodemus) ”Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

What are we talking about today? We are talking about dying to self; we are talking about denying ourselves. You see the symbol of the Christian is the cross. I love to see young ladies with beautiful crosses hanging around their necks. It looks beautiful, but I wonder if many of them know what it actually stands for. It stands for dying to self and following Jesus. Jesus never promised you or me a bed of roses. No, but He did promise that He would walk with us, right through all our trials and our hardships.

The other day I was listening to a song, a beautiful country and western song. I love country music, oh yes, I am a cowboy, and I really love American Country Western music. I heard this song and some of the lyrics go like this: “Everyone wants to go to heaven but no-one wants to die”. Wow, what does that mean? Well, it means you can’t have your cake and eat it. It means is you want to follow Jesus Christ you have to walk the Christian road. It means you cannot live like the devil and expect to go to heaven, it doesn’t work like that. If you’ve given your life to Christ, Jesus says you must be born again and if you do not give your life to Christ you are not going to heaven. It’s very simple.

Now, I want to say to you today, we need to check ourselves and we need to say, “Lord,” like Paul said, ”For me to live is Christ and to die is but gain.”

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day,
Goodbye.