When our children were little our family had a bedtime habit of reading a story to them and then singing songs right before we kissed and tucked them in for the night. I would often stay just a bit longer to softly play guitar as they drifted off to sleep, then quietly leave. The classic "Jesus Loves the Little Children" was a regular in our nightly "set list". We would sing that chorus, then change the words and do one for "all the Mamas", then "all the Daddies", then name t

Genesis 1.27- "So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." Some of you read this and take inventory of your life, perhaps look in the mirror, recall what others -maybe even family members have said about you as though it were a denial of the Word of God you've just read above. REGARDLESS (or more accurately because) of these realities what God Himself says about us is more important that what others say. This u

Algorithms and AI for one thing -and in my view it's perhaps the Major Thing- is all about money. Capitalism is about finances. Every advert you see or hear in every mode is about finances -yours. The bottom line IS the bottom line. Face the gut-truth of this and you begin to recognize why capitalism (versus sharing, bartering, goods for services rendered) has never been a favorite system of mine. I honestly don't care about being labeled as liberal, progressive or socialist

Most everyone reading this uses email as well as mobile phones. So if you're like me you appreciate the filters one can turn on, even toggling varied levels of how tight you want them to operate in order to keep the boatload of unwanted, unsolicited contacts trying to sell you something to a minimum. I am seriously grateful for spam filters as every day I have real people and plenty of tasks I'm convinced God brings my way -plus limited funds much less time to give re. all th

If one should wish to really understand the meaning of this term, just have a slow, considered read at this link, then come back here for a short piece on the issue: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scapegoat The last two definitions so very fit how people who are angry, hurting, truly been abused, deranged or simply moving though their time on earth in "life sucks!" mode often grasp for someone or a group of them they believe worth blaming for their own fears, inad

Psalm 19.7-11: The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

A recorded statement of public prayer from King David re. building the temple: "But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You." -1 Chronicles 29.14 If you've been reading my posts here you'll know I've recently accented God as THE Source of all. Here David plainly proclaims "ALL THINGS come from You, and from Your hand we have given you." We are only returning to Him

You may have heard that phrase used for a sporting contest that "went down to the wire", perhaps a team way down in the scoreline making a comeback and winning. Today I'm using the phrase to talk about you. Yep- you! I'm about to do it via talking about myself and hope you can read the principles into your own life... Each of us is "one for the ages"! See, you and I are aging. I mean, you might be 16, 26 or 66 but the reality is that no matter how old you are or how long you

First, I'm only being half-snarky when I say this word seems far "too big" for many in our times... and before I begin, I don't think it means what many of us think it does -and that especially if you are a serious Bible-believing follower of Jesus Christ... Tolerance? If God wasn't tolerant many of us would be in hell that won't be due to His patience with us! "While we were yet sinners..." what?! Yep. There are broad ideas about the actual dictionary definition but they inc

In His Word (Bible) and via the vast majority of serious theologians teach that God is revealed to us as THE Creator. He Himself is UNcreated, UNchanging, Perfect, ALL-KNOWING. None of us are -any- of those... nor can we be. We, His children, borrow from Him as the Source of all truth and reality- He borrows from no one and nothing. He directly and through others inspires us. Nobody "inspires" Him in that sense. We imagine and create in part from various other human ideas and

As I was driving home from an errand this morning, at the stop light I saw two men, one in an electric motorized cart leaning forward to use the joystick as he crossed the street and right behind him a bro in a typical wheelchair holding on to the bar on the back of the other dude's chair. They continued down the side street in the direction of our shelter (Cornerstone Community Outreach). My mind immediately thought how cool they could assist one another like that, and in a

I have a good friend who is fully blind -and his relationship to Jesus and his daily walk though like mine and yours is anything but perfect... yet it causes him to see FAR beyond that of plenty of people with perfect physical vision. Jesus rocked a phrase that I've considered from time to time. "Blind guides". My morning recovery devo spoke to that issue. Addicts don't benefit by taking counsel from those who are still using -regardless of the substance. A solid sponsor, gui

That's the report from Matthew in chap. 14 vs. 20 Do I believe it? I do. Why? This morning's recovery devo ("God Grant") opens with "Of course we do not always feel satisfied with our lives, the way things are going for us or the world. But this is true for almost everyone". Isn't THAT the truth?! "They all ate and were satisfied". Was Judas? Was Peter immediately after he denied Jesus three times the night prior to the crucifixion? Was apostle Paul -before- he was let out of

Old writers and preachers used the phrase speaking of God the Holy Spirit as "the Hound of heaven". The brilliant A.W. Tozer wrote "The Pursuit of God" and in the more recent past we have titles like "Experiencing God" so of course these on top of a stack of other writings, historically ancient and new including the Bible and more the issue of both our pursuit of Him and His love-based pursuit of us has been covered in depth. Yet- have you ever wondered if He cares enough to

One of my devos last night brought me to this amazing phrase of apostle Paul once again. It's not easy to read much less contemplate. I've noticed that depending on the title I choose for my One Minute With Kaiz videos or titles of my blog posts more or fewer readers access 'em. If the title seems negative, less, if positive, more. I get it. We're stressed enough in this crazy world and who wants to think about pain and suffering?!! Jesus DID say "In the world you shall have

I often study etymology, that is, the origin of words, phrases and their meanings/definitions and use. This is an old phrase that's been around for many decades. The issue of course, is most of us most of the time -think- we know "what's good for" us, or at least we're chasing whatever we currently think "it" is. Further, an honest look into our own choices and history as well as human history at large reveals we often get it wrong, no? And we especially don't want anyone to

When time, calendar to-do's, touring and money allows my wife and I and often some of our family goes camping at a favorite Illinois state park about an hour and 20 minutes from our Chicago home. We try to do this once in Spring and again in Autumn when possible. This coming weekend I'll be offline and as my truly old mobile phone was about cooked I was blessed with a new one. I won't go into all the details but have long been adverse about using a lot of pre-loaded apps and

Yep. Years ago we had a kitchen plaque that said "Not faith or works, not faith and works- but faith that works". Yup. And the only way it does in the will of God is... "by love" and that meaning HIS love in and through you and me if we say we're followers of Jesus. Everything else is "wood, hay and stubble". Various English translations lay this out loud and clear. Paul writing to the church in Galatia dealt with the Jewish rite of circumcision and said in being circumcised

See, they ain't the exact same. Faith is often discussed as in she or he "is a person of faith" and that's cool, but the practical way of actually seeing such in a person's life is by their faithfulness, not ONLY (note that word only) a statement of faith. Yes, Paul wrote and I fully concur: "But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART” -that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and b

So different people interpret what having a "personal" Jesus is all about. For some the reality is they don't have such. In simple terms, to them He is an idea, a concept or perhaps only a myth and not a historic person who walked the earth. To some Jesus is simply an academic figure, one to be studied in the same way some think of the Bible not as the Word of God, holy and inspired by Him scripture but literature to be studied as one might study any literary piece. My unders