I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 2nd of February, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Joshua 24:15:

”…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…”

That’s Joshua speaking to the children of Israel. He says,

”… But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

What a powerful declaration by the leader who took over from Moses! Then we go to the New Testament, Matthew 3:11:

”He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.”

Then lastly, 1 Corinthians 3:11, which says:

”For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.“

- spoken by Paul, when some people who were saying that, ”We are following Apollos,” and some saying they were following Paul. Paul stopped them in their tracks.

I want to say to you today there is only one person who you can follow and be very careful. I’m talking particularly today to ministers and leaders. Be careful that you are not drawing people to yourself rather than leading them to Christ. It’s very easy to happen, especially when people gather around you and they say, ”We love you and we’re going to follow you,” and “you’ve got the answers”. That’s a dangerous place to be.

I remember a long time ago, we had a little coffee bar in Greytown and it was thriving. We had all the denominations there. Up to two, three hundred children on a Friday night. So much so that I couldn’t cope because I was farming at that time, so we got a man to come and join us. A wonderful man and he had an amazing way with children, and he continued the good work. Then one day he got a call from another church in another city, and he had to leave. Before he left, I said to him, “You know, the true worth of your ministry is now going to be tested.” He said. ”How can you say that?” I said, ”If you leave and the children don’t come back to the coffee bar, you have been leading them to yourself, and if they continue to come back, then you know you’ve done your job.” Of course, they did come back. He had done a good job.

Today do not draw people to yourself, draw them to Jesus.

God bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 1st of February, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for the day.

We go straight to the Book of John 11:9:

”Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day?“

Now I listened to a beautiful little reading from a Scottish preacher who lived in the 1800’s. His name, William Arnot. Now, William Arnot said something profound. He said, ”The very fact of a Christian still being here, and not in heaven, is the proof that some work awaits him.” Yes, if we are not in heaven, then the Lord still has work for you and me to do; otherwise, he would have taken us home. I remember hearing a man of God say that we are immortal until our work on earth is completed. What does that mean, young person? Immortal - it means you can’t die. You cannot die until you have completed the work which God has ordained you to do while you are here, and that’s very encouraging for me.

Now, as a farmer we get up in the morning, we milk the cows, we feed the pigs, we tend the crops and we do it every single day. Oh yes, everyday you’ve got to feed those animals, every day, and do it joyfully as unto the Lord, whatever you do, and enjoy your brief time here on earth. Yes, maybe the person I’m talking to now has only got twelve hours left on this earth, so what must you do? You must be sure that you do not have any unforgiveness in your heart, that you don’t have any unsettled issues you need to deal with someone. Maybe you’ve had an argument, whatever, deal with it while you are still here because when the Lord calls you, you are going home immediately.

For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Paul, the apostle, said that. So let us live today as if it were the last day we had on earth, but let us continue to prepare as if we were going to live here for a thousand years. Most of all let us not waste the precious twelve hours that the Lord has given us today!

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful, fruitful day.
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 31st of January, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in Isaiah 59:19:

”When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.”

Are you lifting up your standard today, am I lifting up my standard today? Does the enemy recognise who we are? I hope so.

Then we go to Romans 1:16:

”For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”

When we stand up for the Lord, He stands up for us. I really want to say, especially to young people who are starting out in a new career, maybe this year you are going to university for the first time, maybe you’re starting an apprenticeship in a company, maybe you have just become a professional sportsman or woman. I want to say to you today, please listen to me, it is vitally important that you start the right way. Yes, you lift up your standard!

In the Book of Numbers, when the Children of Israel were travelling to the promised land, they marched in their different clans, following an order. We are Christians, we need to make sure that people know who we are. We must not be ashamed of the Gospel, in fact I want to go one stage further. I have found in my life that a man or a woman who is not really prepared to lift up the standard of Jesus Christ. In other words, they are believers, they say they love Jesus, but depending on which company they are found in. So if they are found in the pub where the boys are getting drunk and they are speaking about immoral things, and then if you want to join with them, then they look at you sideways, but you’re the person that’s in church on Sunday with your hands raised up shouting, “Hallelujah”, and they despise you for that.

You see, my dear young friend, people don’t have to like you, but they must respect you, and they will respect you if you stand firm in what you believe. I’m not saying you must point fingers. I’m not saying you must judge or criticise. I mean, who are we to criticise any man, but our standard must be clear. People must understand who we are and who we stand for and you know, when we get into trouble and we all get into trouble, all of us, they will come to you for help.

Today, raise the standard!

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.