I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 28th of November, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Leviticus 3:1: ‘ When his offering is a sacrifice of a peace offering…” Then we go straight to the New Testament in the Gospel of John 14:27. Jesus says: ”Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.“ The dove, the symbol of peace. It symbolises peace and also new beginnings. If we remember Noah’s Ark when the whole world was flooded, the dove returned when the rain stopped, after everything had settled, with an olive branch in it’s beak, signifying the end of the flood and new life and new beginnings. Yes, the dove is also the symbol of the Holy Spirit. At Jesus’ baptism, at the Jordan river, remember, the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove and settled on the Lord. The dove represents reconciliation, mom, dad, brother, sister, reconciliation between God and man. If we look at Matthew 5:9: ” Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.” We named this farm that we are on at the moment “Shalom” and we named it almost fifty years ago. When we arrived with our truck and trailer from Zambia, with our little children, they were just babies. I will never forget, I’d come home for a bit of lunch, in those days there were no cellphones, we had the old crank system on the telephones, two shorts, one long! Do you remember that? Yes, the older people do, the younger people have no idea. We got a phone call from the Deeds Office in Pretoria. They said, ”We have just approved the subdivision of your farm; we need a new name.” I shouted through to the bedroom, ”Jill, I’ve got the Deeds Office on the phone. They need a name for the farm.” This was before we became Christians. "Give us a name quickly, any name.” I heard that beautiful voice come through and say, ”Call it Shalom.” I said to the Deeds Office, ”The name is Shalom.” And those of you who know us well will agree that the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ has really blessed many multitudes on this farm. His name is Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Have a wonderful day and go out and sow peace. Goodbye.
