I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, 27th October 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Exodus 25:8: ”And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.” Then we go to the Gospel of Mark 1:35: ”Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a “solitary place; and there He prayed.” Do you have a solitary place where you meet with God every morning? It is very important, especially in this hectic lifestyle that we are living in at present. I want to tell you about a place called a poustinia. It is a Russian word for a quiet time place. It literally means a desert place. Yes, a physical one but also a spiritual one. Do you have a place where you can come aside on your own, where the family doesn’t come and distract you, or anybody, and spend undivided time with the Lord every day? A poustinia is a quiet place to contemplate, to think about, a place to encounter God. It’s a place where you remove all distractions. It’s a place for solitude and prayer. It’s not a thing, it is a practice. Now, I want to tell you about my poustinia. When I travel, it is very busy. Sometimes I have to change planes, I have to wait in the departure lounge, maybe sometimes for an hour, two hours before I go to the next appointment to preach, and it is very busy. Then I close my eyes and go into my spiritual quiet time place, my poustinia, and I will describe it to you: There’s a place up in Zambia where they buried the heart of Dr David Livingstone after he died, and I went and spent time there. Now you walk down this little path and on the left hand side you’ll find a big log. I sit there quietly. I hear the birds singing. There’s a gentle breeze blowing the reeds and I pray and I spend time with God and refresh myself. Then I hear on the overhead speakers, ”Flight number 256, flying to Nashville, Tennessee, is now boarding through Gate number 25.” I get up, take my bags and I move on. I am refreshed. I have spent time with Jesus. You need to do the same today. God bless you and goodbye.
