I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 22nd of March, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the first book of the Bible, Genesis 25:8 (Amplified Version)

Then Abraham breathed his last and he died at a good old age, an old man who was satisfied [with life];…”

Then we go to the Book of James 4:14:

”…you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

Life is very short. Now I had the privilege of reading a beautiful little description by the Scottish preacher, Alexander Maclaren, who lived some time ago, and I want to read it because I think it’s very special. This life is only a scaffolding for the life to come, which is eternity. Now this is what he says. He says, ”Scaffoldings are for buildings, and the moments and the days and the years of our earthly lives are scaffolding. What are you building inside it? What kind of structure will be disclosed when the scaffolding is knocked away? Days and years are ours that they may give us what eternity cannot take away. What is that? A character built upon the love of God in Jesus Christ and moulded into His likeness. Has your life helped you to do that? If so, you have got the best out of it and your life is completed, whatever may be the number of its days.”

Now this is very important. He says, ”Quality, not quantity, is the thing that determines the perfectness of a life. Has your life this completeness?” Beautiful reading! I want to say to you today that you need to have a good look and say to yourself, and I need to do the same - are we spending more time on the scaffolding than the building? Now the building is our nature, our character, our love for our fellow man and mostly for God, our patience, our endurance. Are we spending more time on the scaffolding - that’s going to fall away?

The temporal things that we are building - building our empires, building our future in money and in reputation, or are we building a building that will stand and soon as we are finished building it the scaffolding will be taken away, and then we will die and we will go to Heaven, and the Lord Jesus Christ will meet us there.

Spend more time building in eternity and less time building on earth.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 21st of March, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go straight to Exodus 17:2:

“Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.”

Then we go to Psalm 95:8:

“Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness,…”

The Lord says, “Do not contend against Me, do not argue with Me, do not challenge Me.” Never, ever fight with God. He has never lost a fight.

Folks, I really want to say to you today, don’t challenge God. Remember Job the farmer? After he had been arguing with God, the Lord said, “Stand up like a man and answer Me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” Exactly! It is almost ludicrous to challenge God. I have heard some people thump the table. It scares me, “When I get to Heaven, God is going to answer some questions that I have got for Him.” Oh my dear friend, you have no idea Who you are even talking about! If you want to fight, fight with the devil, but never, ever challenge the King of Glory. You know, He is for you, He is not against you. If Christ is for you, no man will stand against you. Why are you arguing with the only One in the world that can help you? “Yes, but I asked God to do this but He didn’t do it,” and “I asked God to do that and it hasn’t come through.”

I want to say something to you. He has never, ever let me down in over fifty years. It brings a tear to my eye when I hear people say, “God is going to answer some of my questions.” Don’t contend with the Creator of Heaven and Earth. Go to Him now, today, and repent and say, “I am sorry, Lord, I didn’t mean it. Please forgive me.” Do you know what happened to the Children of Israel, when they contended with God? Not one of them, except Joshua and Caleb, actually entered into the Land of Milk and Honey. They all perished in the desert. Only their children crossed over the Jordan. Do not do it today. I want to pray for you:

Heavenly Father,

I pray for my dear friend, that young girl, that young man who are contending, questioning Your authority, questioning Your love for them. Lord, please today, reassure them that You are in their corner, that You will stand up for them, and that they will have the victory if they have patience and serve You with all of their hearts.

I ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.

God bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 20th of March, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Jude 21:

“…keep yourselves in the love of God,…”

Then we go back to the Book of Romans 8:26:

“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.”

Remember, it is Christ in you, Christ in me, that is the hope of glory. It is not us, it is Christ in us. I read a beautiful little reading from an unknown writer, and this is what he says: ”Fruit ripened in the sun is the sweetest.” Isn’t that right? A lovely sweet apple, a beautiful sweet plum, is the sweetest when it is ripened naturally in the sun, not using a chemical ripener, but in the sun. Fruit ripened in the sun is the sweetest.

Now, we don’t spell that Son, S-U-N. We are not talking about that sun. No, no - we are talking about the Son of God, Jesus, S-O-N and you can see it, can’t you? People who spend time in the presence of God are very sweet people. Why? Because God ripens them through His Son, Jesus. I want to encourage you to spend more time with the Lord. Try and get up a little bit earlier in the morning and sit there quietly and read the scriptures, listen to Christian music and most of all, pray, speak to the Lord, and He will give you that sweetness that nothing else in this world can give you.

Take time out today to allow yourself to become sweet as the Son shines upon you and ripens you for His work in the Kingdom of God.

Jesus bless you and have a wonderful, sweet day today.
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 19th of March, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Acts 3:6-8:

Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

Then we go to verse 8:

“So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God.”

Ja, I’m laughing because, oh, oh, my dear friend, I love Jesus so much. I have had the privilege and the honour of seeing many, many miracles with my own eyes. Now, that man had been lame from his mother's womb. He had never walked in his life before and they laid him at the temple gate everyday to pick up alms, which is money gifts so that he could live, and he had asked Peter and John for money and they said, “Silver and gold we do not have, but in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

We have a very special saying here at Shalom: one genuine miracle equals a thousand sermons. Isn’t that right? You can’t dispute a miracle. The man was lame from birth. He never walked in his life. He jumped up and he started leaping and walking and praising God.

I remember, we had a crusade. It was a big tent, and we were bussing in people every single night, and the crowd was growing because people were being healed and set free. I remember us hanging a wheelchair from the roof of the tent as evidence that a lady had been supernaturally healed. There was a Sikh of the Sikh faith, he had a turban on, a very dignified man, and the Sikhs, they don’t cut their hair, and they brought him to the front and onto the platform when they saw the miracles that were taking place, and they said, ”This man cannot speak, he is mute, he is dumb, he cannot talk and he wants you to pray for him.” I said, ”No problem.” So we prayed over him. I anointed him with oil in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Then I laid my hands on him and I said, ”In Jesus name, be healed.” I took the microphone, I put it to his mouth and I said to him, ”Say Jesus.” He opened his mouth and he said, ”Jesus.” The crowd went berserk. They all knew him.

One genuine miracle equals a thousand sermons. Folks, go out and pray for the sick and Jesus will raise them up.

God bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 18th of March, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in that very special psalm, Psalm 23:3:

“He leads me in the paths of righteousness...”

Then we go to Proverbs 22:6:

“Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”

We need to understand that we have a responsibility as parents, even as young people, to lead our fellowman in the ways of the Lord. Do you know the old matriarch elephant? Yes, the bull protects the herd and breeds with the females, but there is a matriarch in the herds of elephants, and she is the dominant animal in that herd. She is the one that teaches her young their way and she leads them, and she leads them because her mother before her has shown her the right way to walk.

Now, in Africa, we have some terrible droughts. The rain goes away, the rivers dry up, the waterholes start drying up, and that is where the matriarch remembers. The elephant has an incredible memory that her mother showed her the way when she was a young elephant, the way to go and find those sources of water in the time of drought. She will lead the herd, all the way, sometimes forty, fifty, a hundred kilometres, and it will be something that she was taught when she was a young baby elephant. She never, ever forgets the way.

Now, Jesus Christ said in John 14:6: “I am the way”. Please parents, teach your children the way of the Lord, and they will never forget it, even if they go into the far country (I have been there myself), they will remember! "Granny used to nurse me on her knee when I was a small little girl or boy and she used to read Bible stories to me." She used to sing Christian songs. We have a little book called “Snowy”. It is all about my horse, and I want to tell you, little children love that book. They sit and they look at the pictures and then granny will tell them the story about Snowy.

I want to say to you today, please, take time out. Maybe you have a friend at university who has lost the way. Tell them the way because Jesus will lead them in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Have a wonderful day,
God bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 17th of March, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go to the Book of Acts 2:37:

“…Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

There’s a question, what shall we do? Then we go to Acts 9:4-5. Jesus says:

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”

Then we go to the last scripture, Acts 16:30:

”And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Paul and Silas, singing hymns and praying, the Holy Spirit visited that jail, broke open the gates, brought an earthquake, and released all the prisoners. The guard was so afraid, he wanted to kill himself, and Paul said, ”Do no harm to yourself, for we are all here. We are not running away. “What must I do to be saved?”

I want to ask you a question this morning. What must we do? This is what they asked Peter on the day that they were baptised in the Holy Spirit and filled with power. What did Peter say? Peter said in Acts 2:38:

”Repent and let every one of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

The Lord is asking you and me this morning, ”What shall we do?” What does the Lord want us to do? I tell you what He wants us to do. He wants us to tell them that they must be saved, and I’m not talking about telling people that they must stop drinking, they must stop swearing, they must be saved! I’m not even telling them that they must go to church, that they must read their Bibles, that they must have a quiet time. No, they must tell people that they must be saved!

The first man I ever led to Jesus Christ was a man named Jannie Barnard. We were refereeing a game of Polocrosse, that’s rugby on horseback, and he looked at me, and he said, ”There’s something different with you. What’s happened to you?” I said, ”I’ve given my life to Jesus.” He said, ”I also want that. What must I do?” “I said, “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon in my green cathedral, in my corn fields, my maize fields.” And at four o’clock that afternoon, I had the privilege of praying with Jannie Barnard and leading him to Christ. Go out and do it today.

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

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 16th of March, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go straight to the Gospel of Mark 16:15. Jesus says:

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

I’ve written in the bottom of my Bible here, ”A great privilege. Thank you, Jesus, for this great honour. Please help us to preach with great power.”

Early this morning, I got sent a little clip, and it has made me cry, and I have to share this with you. This year is the 20th anniversary of the making of the movie ”Faith like Potatoes.” I hope you’ve seen the movie. If you haven’t, you need to see it, but it’s all about ordinary people, just like you and me, but this clip was sent to me from bonnie Scotland.

It is made in the south side of Glasgow, a tough area - beautiful people, coming from a tough background and living life in a tough way, but the salt of the earth. The video shows an Englishman going into a little shop that is selling potatoes. The Englishman walks in and is impressed by the state of the shop, and he says to the young man, ”I see you’ve got a book here on the counter. It’s called, Faith like Potatoes.” The shop owner says,“Yes, sir.” He says, ”This South African came across, he wrote this book, and his father is in the book as well.” The Englishman is running a food blog, talking about food, nothing about Jesus at all, and he asked about the book. He said, ”You see sir, I was in a rehab. I had a problem, and God touched me, and now I’m doing this for Him. If you look at the walls of this shop, you’ll see Scriptures everywhere, and this book is a story about a farmer who also trusted the Lord and believed God in a drought time, that He would get potatoes, and he planted potatoes, seed potatoes, and he reaped a crop.” And this Englishman is enthralled by this young man’s story.

What I want to say to you today is, we love the church, but what is happening is, God is moving outside the walls of the church in a very powerful way, and by the way, he’s got a whole lot of extra shops now, all over Glasgow, and that’s all he’s doing. He’s selling these beautiful cooked potatoes but he’s got the word of God on the counter! He’s got Scriptures all over the place and he’s making no apologies, and this young Englishman is captivated.

Today, use what you’ve got for the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
God bless you and goodbye.

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 15th of March, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in Psalm 51:10-11. David cries out:

”Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.“

That was his prayer after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, and the Prophet Nathan had come and exposed him.

Then we go to Romans 10:13:

“For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

And you’ll find that also in Acts 2:21.

Anybody that calls upon the name, I said, anybody that calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved - the backslider, the thief, the murderer, the adulterer. Think about it: Moses, Zacchaeus, David, Paul, every one of them a sinner, called upon the name of the Lord, and they were gloriously saved and used by God.

I want to tell you about a baseball player who lived in the 1800’s. His name was Billy Sunday. He was a star player, one of the best in the world. On a Sunday afternoon, he was walking down the street in Chicago with a few of his baseball friends, and he went past a mission, a little city mission. He heard beautiful gospel songs being sung. He was a gambler, a drinker, and he used to swear like a trooper. What happened? He went in, he was called in by God, into that mission. They made an altar call after the preacher had preached. He went forward, knelt in public, cried out for forgiveness, and God miraculously saved him. He left a $3000 baseball contract and he became one of the greatest missionaries and evangelists that the world has ever known.

I want to say to you today, I don’t know where you are today, maybe you feel there’s no hope for you? “I don’t think that I have a second chance.” I want to tell you today, call upon the name of the Lord and He will hear you like He heard Billy Sunday and He will save you and give you a brand new life. “Whosoever” means literally any person, regardless of who, calls upon the name of Jesus Christ shall be saved. It happened to me, it can happen to you. I want to pray the sinner’s prayer with you right now.

Father God,

In the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit,

I repent of all my sins, and I ask you once more to be the Lord of my life.

Amen.

Go out now and tell the first three people you meet what you’ve done. Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.

Goodbye