Giving

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 20th of October, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We go straight to the Book of Exodus 20:15:

“You shall not steal.”

Then we go to the Gospel of Luke 19:8-9:

”Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold. And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house…”

We may not take something that does not belong to us. Zacchaeus was convicted when Jesus came to his home to have a meal with him, convicted by the presence of the Lord that he was a thief. He had been stealing money from his own people, charging them exorbitant tax fees and putting the money in his own pocket. He was convicted and said, ”Lord, I will repay anything that I have stolen from anybody else 400%.” Folks, that is beautiful, that is conviction, and I want to tell you that Zacchaeus slept very well from that night onwards.

What about you? Are you sleeping well at the moment? You say, ”But Angus, but I haven’t stolen anything from anyone.” Are you sure? The Holy Spirit’s been talking to me this morning. If you are not paying your income tax, that’s theft. You say, ”But I don’t believe what the government stands for.” That’s got nothing to do with it, my friend. The Lord says be no man’s debtor. Pay your debt. What about time from your boss? Are you stealing time from your boss? Are you doing other things in his time that you shouldn’t be doing? You are stealing his time. What about paying your debt?

I want to tell you a sad story. I remember a young man, many, many years ago. He was starting on his own as a mechanic. He would come to our farm and repair tractors or implements that I couldn’t repair myself. Eventually, one day, he never came back. I made enquiries, ”Where is this young man?” And they said, ”He’s gone bankrupt.” I said, ”Why?“ He said, “because the people would not pay their accounts and he couldn’t carry on.” 

So sad, and then lastly, what about the time you are stealing from the Lord? Oh, my dear friend, you need to have a quiet time with the Lord every single morning. You say, ”I can’t Angus, I’m too busy.” You can never be too busy to have a quiet time with Jesus. You owe it to Him. Give Him the first most precious moments of the day and you will be surprised how He will reward you.

God bless you and have a lovely day, 
Goodbye.