Thought For Today

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 22nd of February, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in that very well-known Psalm 46:10. It says:
“Be still, and know that I am God;…”
Then we go to the Book of Acts 16:25-26:
“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.”
I remember many, many years ago, being invited to the maximum-security prison in Pretoria, and we had a wonderful meeting with those men. Those men sang their hearts out for the Lord, and as I was leaving the prison, walking through those dark corridors, one of the men who invited me said, ”You see down that passage?” I said, “Yes”. He said, “That is where the convicted criminals in the old days used to walk to the gallows where they were hung for their crimes.” And he said to me, “And Angus, they were singing hymns, every single one of them, so we trust that they repented.”
What about you today? Where are you today? Are you sick in your body today? Are you so stressed out because you don’t have a job? Is your business collapsing? Is it drought? Is it the Foot and Mouth disease? What is it that is pulling you down? I have just come from a men’s prayer meeting where we have been singing and it lifted that chapel’s roof. I want to sing with you today, but I want you to sing with me please. I am going to sing as best I can and you do the same, and let those shackles fall off you today. We are going to sing that beautiful hymn, “Be still and know that I am God.” It goes like this:
Be still and know that I am God,
be still and know that I am God,
be still and know that I am God.
I am the Lord that healeth thee.
I am the Lord that healeth thee.
I am the Lord that healeth thee.
In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust,
in Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust,
in Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust.
God bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 21st of February, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Proverbs 27:1:
”Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.”
Then we go straight to the Gospel of Luke 12:19. This is a parable that Jesus told about a foolish farmer who had a bumper crop and was bragging about how he was going to build another barn to hold his crop and then he was going to eat, drink and be merry. Listen to the story:
”And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease (take it easy); eat, drink, and be merry.” But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
Luke 12:19-20
Carpe Diem - that is a Latin phrase. It means “seize the day”, make the most of the present. I read a beautiful little quotation from a man of God. It says, ”The only preparation for tomorrow is the right use of today.” Think about that. We need to start living for today and stop always talking about tomorrow because we don’t have tomorrow, we only have today.
I had a very dear friend, he used to farm right next door to me and early in the morning we would stop our pickups, get out and we’d have a little chat across the fence, and Alan used to say to me, “Angus, take time out to smell the roses”, and it brings a tear to my eye. Alan was a huge man, and he met Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour. Alan is no longer with us, he has already gone home to be with the Lord, but he used to caution me, ”Stop running around so much Angus. You’re flying off here, you’re going off to that place, you’re going there. Take time out to smell the roses and do it with your wife.”
I want to say to the men today, when was the last time you smelled the roses with your dear wife? Take note, because tomorrow is not ours, we only have today. Seize the day!
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, 20th February 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We go straight to the Gospel of Matthew 5:9. Jesus says:
“Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.”
Peace (Shalom) - that is actually the name of our farm. It is the hallmark of a follower of Jesus Christ. Now some young people are asking the question, “What does the word 'hallmark' mean?” Well, I looked it up. This is what the literal definition of a hallmark is: It is a mark stamped on articles of gold, silver or platinum by the British assay officers certifying their standard of purity. So when you go into a jeweller's shop, and you want to buy a very special article, you normally turn it upside down, and you will see a hallmark stamped on it to certify that it is pure.
Now, the hallmark of a follower of Jesus Christ is peace, and folks, come on let’s be honest, where do you ever find peace in these days? Wherever Jesus went, the first thing he would say was “Shalom”, which means peace, the shalom of God be with you. “Blessed are the peacemakers”, the Lord says, “because they shall be called the sons of God”. Not peace-lovers - no, no, no! A peace-lover will do anything to have peace. A peace-maker sometimes has to cause trouble in order to bring peace. Remember before the Lord was betrayed, what did He do? He washed the disciples’ feet. Have you ever had your feet washed? I have. It is a very humbling thing.
A man came to see me once and he said, “I want to speak to you”, so I went to see him. He was standing outside and he brought out a basin, he brought out a towel, he even brought a container with water in it. He said, “I want to wash your feet, Angus.”
I said, ”No, I don’t feel worthy, please…”
“The Lord has sent me here to wash your feet”.
It was a very humbling thing and the peace of God was present with that man. I will never forget it as long as I live. Let us go out today and be a band of feet-washers that tell people and show people the love of God through the peace in our hearts.
Jesus bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 19th of February, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Isaiah 43:1. The Lord says:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.”
We serve a personal God. He is not just the God or the Creator of 8 Billion people, He knows you by name, and will prove that to you if you go to John 20:16: This was Jesus now after the resurrection when Mary Magdalene went down to the tomb to find the Lord’s body and of course it wasn’t there, and then she thought the gardener was there. She didn’t recognise the Lord. She thought it was the gardener, and she wanted to know, “What have you done with the body of my Lord?’ Listen to this:
“Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).”
She recognised Him when He called her by her name. A person’s name - it is so important. I remember when I was a little boy, my dad would come out and say, “Angus”, just once, and I knew exactly who it was, and I knew it was time to come in, no arguments. What about you today? Do you know His name? Is He personal to you? Is He a friend to you, who sticks closer than a brother? Oh my dear friend, if there is one thing I am looking forward to, it is the day I go home to be with Jesus in Heaven, and I want to hear Him say, “Angus, well done, good and faithful servant, come and enter into thy fullness!” That is what I want. I just want to hear my name called by the Creator of Heaven and Earth. What a privilege!
Names are so important. I have done many, many weddings. When I was younger, I had the privilege of marrying off three of my own children, and the beautiful thing is, after you have said the vows and the ring has been put on the finger then I love to just stand there saying, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I now want to introduce you to Mr and Mrs…..and then you can put, “Joseph” or whatever the man’s name is, and I tell you what, I always like to look at the face of that young bride. She now has his name, and then I see his face and he now has his beautiful wife.
Don’t forget the importance of names. Try and remember people’s names. It means so much to them.
Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 18th of February, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We go to the Gospel of Matthew 27:57-58:
“Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him.”
I want to speak to you today about being doers of the word.
Today is a special day today in our lives! My wife, Jill and I and our family, on this day, 47 years ago, we bowed the knee, and we gave our lives to Jesus Christ, a wonderful day for us. We were in a little church in the Main Street of Greytown, the little town which is 15 kms away from the farm, but that day, the minister didn’t preach, there were laymen and women preaching the Gospel, just like Joseph of Arimathea. He wasn’t a priest - no, he was a businessman, and that day we saw businessmen, housewives, builders, mechanics come forward and tell the congregation what Christ had done for them, and for the first time in my life I saw tears running down their faces.
Our marriage was in a mess, and we came to Jesus and He restored us. My relationship with my children was shattered, and we came to Jesus, and He changed our lives. After we had finished, it was a wonderful sermon. I didn’t see any shots of lightning, I didn’t hear any thunder, but I knew in my heart that I had given my life to Christ. We came home, Jill and I, and sat in the garden to have a cup of tea together, a car rolled up and out came an electrician, and he said, “I was in the service today, and I saw that you went forward and gave your lives to Christ. I said, “Yes, I did.” He said, “I want to challenge you to tell the first three people you meet and tell them what you did today”. I said, “I will,” and I did the next day. On the way to a stock sale, myself and Ian Walls, I said, “Ian, something happened to me yesterday.” He said, “What?” I said, “I gave my life to Christ.” That was the beginning of my work for Jesus Christ which I have never stopped since then.
What about you? When was the last time you told a person that you gave your life to Christ? Maybe you say, “Angus, I never have. I have always loved God but I have never had the opportunity. Why don’t you do it now? Pray this prayer after me:
Dear Lord Jesus,
Just like Joseph of Arimathea, I am an ordinary working man and today I surrender my life to You. I give You everything.
Forgive me for my sinful life, but from today and onwards, I want to put You first and foremost in my life.
In Jesus name, amen.
God bless you, and go out and tell the first three people that you meet.
Goodbye.