Many people refer to Jesus as a man of sorrows, but for the most part His sorrow and grief were caused by the religious leaders who should have recognized who He was and known Him better than anyone else. Instead, they despised and rejected Him, criticizing everything He ever said or did. They constantly fought Him on every truth He spoke. However, the ordinary people loved it when Jesus hung out with them because He gave them a true sense of being accepted and not rejected. He enjoyedattending their social gatherings, their parties and weddings. They knew He loved them, and they loved being with Him. There had never been a rabbi who loved to go to parties and banquets and weddings. Maybe you just moaned and said, “NO! Jesus was serious and solemn! He was too holy to be fun!” I disagree! 

Consider Luke 7:34 in the Mirror Bible, “The Son of Man [Jesus] …eats and drinks and you say he is a glutton and a drunkard! I mean, look at his friends, they are the scum of society—prostitutes and publicans [tax collectors].” That same verse in The Message simply reads this way, “The Son of Man came feasting and you called Him a boozer.”

Why would Jesus hang out with sinners? In Luke 5:33-34, He was asked that question one day, “John the prophet is known for leading his disciples to fast often and pray. As the religious leaders of the land, we do the same. Why do you and your disciples spend most of your time feasting at banquets?” Another time they asked His disciples in Matthew 9:11, “Why would your Master dine with such lowlifes?” Jesus responded in verses 12-13, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do…I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”  

Jesus was full of joy and fun but that doesn’t mean He compromised His  heavenly message. He was true to the reason He came, to His principles, andz to His sincere love for the people. A good pastor friend said this years ago and I was changed by it: “If you knew all of my sins, you wouldn’t want me to be your pastor.” The whole congregation gasped! Then he said, “And if I knew all of your sins, I probably wouldn’t want you in my church, would I?!” Everyone laughed! I could put it this way, “If you kneweverything about me, you might refuse to read this article!” Butas the Apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:15, “…Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” I can totally relate to Paul! So I don’t want to judge people, because I know what Jesus saved me from, yet He still loved me and forgave me, and even today, He still forgives me! 

Let me end with Romans 5:8-9 in the Mirror Bible, “Herein is the extremity of God’s love gift: mankind was rotten to the core when Christ died their death. If God could love us that much when we were ungodly and guilty, how much more are we free to realize his love now that we are declared innocent by his blood?” This quote by Francois du Toit sums it up, “God does not love us more now that we are reconciled to him; [but] we are now free to realize how much He loved us all along.” 

Maybe you used to follow Jesus but fell back into sin and now feel that Jesus would never forgive you or accept you again—that’s not true! Just tell Him you’re sorry and turn back to Him! Or maybe you feel that you are too bad to be forgiven, too unworthy, too unacceptable, that Jesus would not even look your way—you are exactly His favorite kind of person. He would be sitting right next to you having a wonderful time, laughing and joking and loving you right into eternity. So, what are you waiting for? Here’s a simple prayer, “Jesus, I’m a mess and I have made a mess with my life, and I don’t see how You can ever love me. But I’m asking You to forgive me and I ask You to write my name in Your Book of Life!” If you prayed that prayer, I am proud of you!!

-Emil Liko 10/30/26

Many people refer to Jesus as a man of sorrows, but for the most part His sorrow and grief were caused by the religious leaders who should have recognized who He was and known Him better than anyone else. Instead, they despised and rejected Him, criticizing everything He ever said or did. They constantly fought Him on every truth He spoke. However, the ordinary people loved it when Jesus hung out with them because He gave them a true sense of being accepted and not rejected. He enjoyed attending their social gatherings, their parties and weddings. They knew He loved them, and they loved being with Him. There had never been a rabbi who loved to go to parties and banquets and weddings. Maybe you just moaned and said, “NO! Jesus was serious and solemn! He was too holy to be fun!” I disagree! 

Consider Luke 7:34 in the Mirror Bible, “The Son of Man [Jesus] …eats and drinks and you say he is a glutton and a drunkard! I mean, look at his friends, they are the scum of society—prostitutes and publicans [tax collectors].” That same verse in The Message simply reads this way, “The Son of Man came feasting and you called Him a boozer.”

Why would Jesus hang out with sinners? In Luke 5:33-34, He was asked that question one day, “John the prophet is known for leading his disciples to fast often and pray. As the religious leaders of the land, we do the same. Why do you and your disciples spend most of your time feasting at banquets?” Another time they asked His disciples in Matthew 9:11, “Why would your Master dine with such lowlifes?” Jesus responded in verses 12-13, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do…I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” 

Jesus was full of joy and fun but that doesn’t mean He compromised His heavenly message. He was true to the reason He came, to His principles, and to His sincere love for the people. A good pastor friend said this years ago and I was changed by it: “If you knew all of my sins, you wouldn’t want me to be your pastor.” The whole congregation gasped! Then he said, “And if I knew all of your sins, I probably wouldn’t want you in my church, would I?!” Everyone laughed! I could put it this way, “If you knew everything about me, you might refuse to read this article!” But as the Apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:15, “…Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” I can totally relate to Paul! So I don’t want to judge people, because I know what Jesus saved me from, yet He still loved me and forgave me, and even today, He still forgives me! 

Let me end with Romans 5:8-9 in the Mirror Bible, “Herein is the extremity of God’s love gift: mankind was rotten to the core when Christ died their death. If God could love us that much when we were ungodly and guilty, how much more are we free to realize his love now that we are declared innocent by his blood?” This quote by Francois du Toit sums it up, “God does not love us more now that we are reconciled to him; [but] we are now free to realize how much He loved us all along.” 

Maybe you used to follow Jesus but fell back into sin and now feel that Jesus would never forgive you or accept you again—that’s not true! Just tell Him you’re sorry and turn back to Him! Or maybe you feel that you are too bad to be forgiven, too unworthy, too unacceptable, that Jesus would not even look your way—you are exactly His favorite kind of person. He would be sitting right next to you having a wonderful time, laughing and joking and loving you right into eternity. So, what are you waiting for? Here’s a simple prayer, “Jesus, I’m a mess and I have made a mess with my life, and I don’t see how You can ever love me. But I’m asking You to forgive me and I ask You to write my name in Your Book of Life!” If you prayed that prayer, I am proud of you!!

-Emil Liko 10/23/26

Numbers 23:22 KJV, “God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.”

Unicorns! Yes, Unicorns! And to answer the question you’re asking yourself, “No, I am not drunk, as you may suppose,” to paraphrase Acts 2:15! The word “unicorn” appears in the King James Bible nine times in the Old Testament. You probably picture a large white stallion with a purplish ivory coat, a bright pink mane and tail, and a single rainbow-colored horn protruding from its forehead! So there is proof of a mystical horse in the Bible?! Hold on, not so fast! The original Hebrew word meaning a powerful horned animal was translated into the word “unicornis” in a Latin Bible written in the 4^th century AD. Then in 1611, in the King James Bible, the word in English became unicorn. Understanding that the original word described a single horned animal, untamable, ferocious, powerful, and wild, modern Bible translators corrected this to wild ox or rhinoceros. It all comes down to this: the Lord referred to Himself in Numbers 23:22 as using the strength of a rhinoceros, an unstoppable, untamable force, against His enemies. Sorry to dash your fantasies! This is why is it so important that we find a Bible version we can fully understand and want to get into, as I talked about last week. Otherwise, you will be telling people that God really created a rainbow one-horned fantasy horse!

Let me give you one more example. Here is a definition put out by the Scientific and Psychological scholars, “The simultaneous willingness to be completely vulnerable and the conscious, active commitment to hold space for another person’s reality without trying to control, fix, or erase it.” Say what?! Do you understand it? No! I’m with you! But we all desire this thing it’s defining. Let me give you my translation: “A warm fuzzy feeling in the depth of me that doesn’t go away!” What is it? It’s actually the definition of love! I like things I can understand! Simple! That is why the bright yellow and black Books for Dummies are so popular, with over 2,000 titles and over 250 million copies sold. There is even a Bible for Dummies! It’s true. People want to know and understand what they’re reading and doing!

It’s the same with the Bible—we can’t assume that we know when we have no idea what we know, so find something you understand and can dive into with all your heart and follow God to the fullest of His instruction, not ours. He loves us so much, and His desire is for us to know Him as well as He knows us. Proverbs 3:5–6 TPT says, “Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make. Become intimate with him in whatever you do, and he will lead you wherever you go.”

Pastor Jesse Duplantis writes, “Our body may be pulling us one way. Our spirit is nudging us another. But it’s our mind that makes the choice of which way we’re going to tilt.” The more you know the Lord, the more you’re going to tilt His way, choose His way and not the way of the world so that you will be abundantly blessed and live the life He came to give (John 10:10). Get to know Jesus! Get to know the Father! Find out what Jesus came to give us, all the benefits He made available to us (Psalm 103:2-5 to name a few).

As Brian Simmons, author of The Passion Translation, says, “Just imagine how differently the Hebrew authors of the Old Testament saw the world 3,000 years ago from the way we see it today. English language usage changes over time. About every hundred years or so, the vocabulary…undergoes a dramatic change.” By using everyday language, the text remains accurate and comes alive for modern ears! He continues, “That is what makes Bible translations so valuable, because each one will hopefully lead us to new discoveries of God’s character. I believe God is committed to giving us truth in a package we can understand and apply, so I thank God for every translation of God’s Word that we have.”

-Emil Liko 10/16/26

2 Timothy 3:16-17 TPT “God has transmitted his very substance into every Scripture, for it is God-breathed. It will empower you by its instruction and correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and lead you deeper into the path of godliness. Then you will be God’s servant, fully mature and perfectly prepared to fulfill any assignment God gives you.”

I bought a new desk recently that needed assembly. It had many parts and six hardware packages, so I pulled out the instruction manual. It was 32 pages! But the English instructions were only four pages. The rest were in 7 different languages. I paged through it until I found the language I could understand to get the job done. Were the other 7 printed languages wrong? No, they all said the same thing, but only one made sense to me! The Bible, the greatest Book ever written, is the same way. According to Global Bible Translation Statistics, there are more than 900 different printed English translations and paraphrases of the Bible, and the complete Bible has been translated into over 800 distinct languages worldwide. The New Testament only has been translated into more than 1,800 additional languages. In total, some portion of scripture exists in more than 4,000 world languages.

I love getting into the deep things of God’s Word. When I’m working on a sermon or writing an article, some translations help me convey what I want to say in a more understandable way. That’s why my new desk is six and a half feet wide so I can spread out many translations! I have been criticized for this. Several years ago, one arrogant pastor, whose daughter and grandkids came to our church, showed up at our house and said, “My daughter says you preach from an iPad! Do you look scriptures up on the computer?” “Sometimes,” I said, “because it’s easy to cut and paste them into my sermon.” He said, “You’re not a real pastor! True pastors only use a printed Bible, so you are a fake! Is it true that you use verses from Bibles other than the King James?” I said, “Yes, to make it easier for people to understand.” “That proves you’re a fake!” he shouted and stormed out. Wow!

In the early centuries, the Scriptures were written on scrolls. The scrolls were later printed into Bibles, and Bibles now are digitalized so anyone can access the Word of God online with any device. No matter what you use to read God’s word, they all are God-breathed. I can’t imagine the Lord with sweat on His brow and hands on His face moaning, “Oh no, they are reading it electronically! They are going to miss the depth of My Word!”

Many people stop at our Free Prayer trailer and tell us, “I have tried to read the Bible, but I just can’t understand it.” New Christians have a hard time understanding the King James version, so we give out New Living Translation Bibles. They are excited to read about God’s love and their lives change! Here is a sample of two totally different translations of 2 Timothy 3:16-17, the opening scripture, which was from The Passion Translation by the way:

(1) King James Version, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”  (2) The Message Bible, “There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.” Which one works for you? You choose! The Bible is the Word of God. The Old Testament teaches about God the Father and the coming of Jesus His Son. In the New Testament, Jesus reveals to us the Holy Spirit. So no matter what translation you read–a scroll, a book, a computer or a phone, it is still alive, and ready to teach you, guide you, or save you through a loving God! You can take Him at His Word!

– Emil Liko 10/9/2026

Hebrews 11:1-2 TLB “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen…the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.”  Hebrews chapter 11 is referred to asthe Hall of Faith, modern scholars naming it this as the Bible’s equivalent to today’s Sports Hall of Fame. Hebrews 11 is aboutpeople in the Old Testament whose unwavering trust and faith in God is famous and encourages us to imitate the faith of these people of the past.

I’ve been reading through Hebrews 11 for a few weeks now, and every time I finished, I felt I’d missed something! Realizing the Lord was prompting me to keep reading to discover what He wanted me to see, I finally saw it in verse 31! “By faith—because she believed in God and his power—Rahab the prostitute did not die with all the others in her city when they refused to obey God, for she gave a friendly welcome to the spies.” Along with those the Hall of Faith recognized, with greats such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, and Moses commended by God for their great faith, here is Rahab, a prostitute! 

To summarize the whole story in Joshua 2, the Israelite spies came into Jericho to run reconnaissance before invading it. They stayed at Rahab’s inn. In those times, houses of prostitution and public inns and taverns were often in the same place. The kingof Jericho sent troops to arrest the spies but Rahab hid them, then helped them escape the city, saving their lives. Joshua 2:15says, “So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall.” Rahab asked the spies if, when Israel invaded the city, they would treat herand her family the same way she treated them, with kindness—sparing their lives. 

Jericho was a fortress, surrounded by walls 25 to 45 feethigh. When the Lord caused the walls of the city to collapse, there was only one section of the wall that didn’t collapse—the part that held Rahab and her family! In the 1950’s Kathleen Kenyon oversaw an archaeological dig at Jericho. She was not abeliever that the walls fell by supernatural means, but she did discover that they had collapsed and the city was destroyed.However, she also discovered there was a small section of the wall that didn’t collapse.

Why would God spare a prostitute? The answer is in Joshua 2:11where Rahab declared, “The Lord your God is the true God who rules in heaven above and earth below!” The prostitute confessed her faith in God! Believing that God would rescue her and her family, she now trusted in Him. This faith in God and her action to save God’s people got her commended as a woman of faith! So what happened to Rahab and her family? We find in Joshua 6:25 that “Rahab the prostitute and her family went to live among the people of Israel.” She then became the great grandmother of King David of the lineage of Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus!

So if Rahab became part of Jesus’ lineage, why is she still known as Rahab the prostitute? It is proof that the Lord gives us all a hope and a future when we make Him our Lord and Savior, not to live in constant fear of past failures or regrets happening again. Don’t let your past dictate your future! The world around you reminds you of your past faults, but your faith in Jesus results in His response, “Faults? What faults?! Past? What past?!” 

So don’t feel you need to hide your past out of fear of being condemned, because God uses it as a victorious testimony of His grace and mercy to you.

-Emil Liko 10/2/26

Exodus 30:34-35 ESV “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each shall there be an equal part), and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.’”

In the temple in Jerusalem, incense was required by the Lord to be burned every day, a half-pound in the morning, and another half-pound in the evening. Its sweet aroma would permeate the temple. And once a year in the Holy of Holies, three pounds were to be burned at one time. That’s 368 pounds of incense burned each year. The smell of the incense was so potent that people living 12 miles from the temple, in Jericho, could smell the fragrance! Why so much incense? Because the daily animal sin sacrifices offered in the temple caused a putrid smell of blood, bone, and carcasses. On warm days, in the hot sun, the smell would have distracted people and repelled worshippers.The smell of sin was enough to repel anyone, so to speak. But the incense’s pleasing aroma did not keep worshippers away!

On the day when three pounds of incense burned in the Holy of Holies at one time, it was not to cover an odor. it was to keep the priest from dying. Leviticus 16:12-13 ESV says, “he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the veil and put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die.” The incense causeda sweet-smelling cloud to fill the Holy of Holies so that the priest could not see the Lord seated upon the mercy seat during his sacrifice for the sins of the people. God is so holy that simply looking at Him by a sinful man would cause sudden death. Sin complicated things and caused a separation with God.

But something happened. Matthew 27:50-51, “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom…” Jesus became the once-and-for-all sacrifice. The separation of our holy Lord was no longer. We were forgiven and now invited to visit with our holy God whenever we want! The stench of sin is now gone! So what about the incense? What about the Holy of Holies? The Holy of Holies continues! ”So where is it?” you ask! If you want to see it, look in the mirror! It is you! It is inside of you! 1 Corinthians 6:19 asks, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?” My favorite Bibletranslation, the Mirror, puts it like this in Ephesians 2:22, “In Him you are co-constructed together as God’s permanent spiritual residence. You are God’s address.” Understand? The Lord no longer resides inside a room blocked off by a curtain.The Lord has now entered into us and so now we are the Holy of Holies! And the temple incense is no longer needed. In fact, 2 Corinthians 2:15 explains, “Through us, [God] brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent [rich] with life.”

Lord, let those who encounter us recognize the sweet-smelling aroma of God’s incense upon us! Let others know by our actions and words that we carry the presence of The Holy One inside of us! And in life, like incense, we must be on fire to positively affect others with the presence of our Lord.

-Emil Liko 9/18/26

James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…” The word “near” in Aramaic is translated “and He will be touching you.” He isn’t a God so far out there that He is untouchable. The Lord is literally inviting us to come so close to Him that He would literally be close enough to touch! 

But this wasn’t always the case. When the temple was built in Jerusalem a thousand years before the birth of Jesus, it contained a special room called the Holy of Holies–the earthly dwelling place of God’s Presence. But God is a holy God and man is sinful. A sinful man could not just walk into the holy presence of God without being struck dead. So the Holy of Holies was built, a room that was specifically separated from the temple. It wasn’t a big room, only 900 square feet or 30×30, separated from the rest of the temple by a 60’ tall by 30’ wide curtain called the veil. It was no ordinary curtain. It was 4” inches thick, made up of many different woven layers. It weighed an estimated 30 tons and took 300 priests to carry it to put it in place according to a Hebrew historian. And sample pieces of the veil were so thick that two teams of horses were attached to either end of the piece and could not cause it to rip or tear into pieces. The separation between God and man was no joking matter. The Holy of Holies could only be entered once a year by the High Priest who was required to offer animal blood sacrifices to the Lord for the forgiveness of the sins of the people. 

But I said God is inviting us to draw close to Him. With a massive curtain in the way and penalty of death? Let’s look atMatthew 27:50-51, “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split…” At the very moment of Jesus’ death, the veil was torn from top to bottom by God’s own hand! Meaning from heaven to earth. Hebrews 10:5 says, “So when Jesus the Messiah came into the world he said, ‘Since your ultimate desire was not another animal sacrifice, you have clothed me with a body that I might offer myself instead!’”

The sin that caused our separation from God’s presence by the veil and required yearly sin blood offerings was now accomplished once and forever! Never needing to be done again! In Jesus’ words, “It is finished.” Jesus offered Himself in the place of another animal which only allowed a temporary means of forgiveness. 

Hebrews 10:19-22 further explains, “Therefore, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart…” The torn flesh of Jesus has now become the torn curtain giving us full access into the Holy presence of God!

The size and the weight of the veil was so much greater than any one person could manage, just like our sin. So huge and so enormous that no one but Jesus could do anything to get rid of itonce and forever. The high priest of the temple could only once a year enter into the holiest place on earth. But by the torn body and blood of Jesus, any Christian has daily access to the holiest place in heaven! The torn flesh of Jesus which tore the curtain in the temple has permanently mended our separation from God. So we are now invited to freely and boldly approach the throne of our holy God and enter His holy presence whenever we desire!

-Emil Liko 9/11/26

I learned this week three of the most important words known to mankind, the most important words in all of creation. Not “I got a raise,” or “I’m on vacation,” or even “I won Lotto!” All of these are great, and I wouldn’t mind any or all of them! So what are my three most important words? “Lord, I’m grateful!” Notice, I didn’t say “thankful.” I specifically said, “Lord, I’m grateful!” There is a huge difference between thankful and grateful!

Psalm 50:14 says, “Bring me your true and sincere thanks, and show your gratitude by keeping your promises to me, the Most High.” Gratitude is the attitude that moves the heart and the hand of God! You can be thankful without being grateful. Thankfulness is a quick, polite response to a specific action or moment. Saying “thank you” when someone holds a door open is not a deep emotion. It ends as soon as the moment passes. Butgratitude is a deeper, longer-lasting feeling. It impacts your heart so much that it stays with you for a very long time.

How important does Jesus regard gratitude? Luke 17:15-19 is a perfect example. “One of them, a Samaritan, when he discovered that he was completely healed, turned back to find Jesus, shouting out joyous praises and glorifying God. When he found Jesus, he fell down at his feet and thanked him over and over, saying to Him, ‘You are the Messiah.’ ‘So where are the other nine?’ Jesus asked. ‘Weren’t there ten who were healed?They all refused to return to give thanks and give glory to God except you, a foreigner from Samaria?’ Then Jesus said to the healed man lying at his feet, ‘Arise and go. It was your faith that brought you salvation and made you whole.’ Did you catch that? Ten lepers got healed but the only one who was saved was the one who returned to Jesus to express his heartfelt gratitude!

The Dayenu is a Hebrew song and prayer that expresses gratitude for God’s kindness. The word translates into English as “It would have been enough for us.” The Dayenu is traditionallysung during the Jewish Passover feast as they remember their escape from Egypt. It names 14 specific miracles; each one alone would have been more than enough to satisfy God’s people even if He didn’t do another thing for them. As I was writing this, I felt the desire to write my own Dayenu, “Lord, if You allowed me to be saved by asking You into my heart and forgiving my sins of the past and writing my name in Your Book of Life and then never did another thing for me, that would have been enough!” And then I had to add, “But Lord, You didn’t stop there. You did so much more!” My eyes filled with tears as I worshipped Him right then. It’s like singing along to a Christian song on the radio. You can feel good but never enter into worship. But when you sing out of the gratitude of your heart for who the Lord is and all He has done, now your heart reaches out to the Lord and you enter into worship! In my favorite song, Gratitude by Brandon Lake, he sings, “All my words fall short, I got nothing new, how could I express all my gratitude?….So I throw up my hands and praise You again and again ‘cause all that I have is a hallelujah!” I don’t know about you, but my hands are raised to Him just writing this!

Tears again filled my eyes and gratitude filled my heart as I read Hebrews 12:2. “We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God.” My hands are again raised in gratitude! Jesus willingly endured the excruciating pain of the cross with joy, knowing you would be His, just for the asking! And for that I am forever grateful! How about you?

-Emil Liko 9/4/26

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” To give is defined as to hand something over, present a gift, or transfer possession to someone else. Wow!Jesus was the promised gift to the world from God the Father. God gifted his Son to us! How? Once you accept Jesus into your heart, you now possess Him for your very own! At the Last Supper, before Jesus is crucified, He tells his disciples in John 14:16, “And I will pray the Father, and he will give you anotherHelper, that he may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth.” Then in Acts 1:4-5, the risen Jesus commands His disciples, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift hepromised, as I told you before.” A gift is something given voluntarily. It also means a legal transfer of property. The Father wants to give us another gift! Wow! Again the Father is going to make a legal transfer–the Holy Spirit. So when the Father gaveJesus, He gave us legal possession to Jesus’ salvation, to be saved. Now the Father is gifting us legal possession to the unlimited power of the Holy Spirit!

Jesus says in John 14:12, “I tell you this timeless truth: The person who follows me in faith, believing in me, will do the same mighty miracles that I do—even greater miracles than these because I go to be with my Father!”

Do more?! So many people ask, “How can I do more than Jesus?” I love Pastor Benny Hinn’s response: “The Holy Spirit is Jesus without limits!” Meaning that Jesus in the flesh was limited to a human body, bound by space and time. But the Holy Spirit within us is unlimited! All we have to do is activate His power and authority, and that’s what the baptism of the Holy Spirit does. In Acts 19 the apostle Paul baptized some believers in the name of the Lord Jesus. Verse 6 reads, “And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.”

Jesus gave his disciples temporary authority in Matthew 10:8and told them to, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.” This is the power and authority we are given through the presence of the Holy Spirit within us, also the working of miracles. So the Father’s full intent is to gift us with the legal possession of the Holy Spirit. If the Father has gone to such lengths to gift Him to us, shouldn’t we earnestly desire Him as 1 Corinthians 14:1 tells us, “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit…” Accept them, embrace them, activate them and use them! As I wrote last week, just being aware of them and not using them would be like receivingGod’s gift but choosing to only play with the box and not open the gift! 

So today receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and His gifts! Pray like this: “Heavenly Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus. I am a believer, and I am thirsty for more of Your presence. Your Word says that You give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. Lord Jesus, I ask You right now: baptize me with the Holy Spirit and with fire. I receive Him by faith right now. Fill me to overflowing, give me the power to be Your witness, and let me speak in new tongues as the Spirit gives me utterance. Thank You, Lord. Amen.”

Start using the gift that has no limits! Enjoy!!

-Emil Liko 8/28/26

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

My wife Karen and I enjoy watching the birds with our morning coffee. We have a wide variety of birds at the seed feedershanging on our deck. We have four hummingbirds that we love to watch, too! One day Karen showed me a video on her birding app of someone who made a hummingbird swing! Yes, a swing,and the hummers love it! “I can make one of those,” I thought. So I went to the store and bought a wooden dowel and colorful shoelaces to hang it on. It was a cool little project! Then I hung it between two feeder poles, and we waited in anticipation for the tiny birds to discover their new little swing. But the hummers did not use the swing! Instead they sat on the shoelace holding the swing in place between the poles! So I tried a variety of materials trying to find a combination that our little guests might enjoy. Time after time they chose to sit perched on the line holding the swing–whether it was a leather lace, a shoelace or even a zip tie–but never the swing. So yes, I did! I bought a “professional” hummingbird swing online for $8.00. When it came, I used a piece of thin wire to hang it from feeder to feeder and again we waited, excited! It is a lovely little swing, made of black ornate wrought iron on top with colorful beads up and down each side and a beautifully sanded wooden perch to swing on! And yes, they love it! But no, not the swing, but the wire holding up the swing! All four hummers love taking turns sitting above the swing on the mounting wire! While I sat watching, greatly annoyed, Karen couldn’t stop laughing and sending pictures to her bird-loving friends so they could have a good morning laugh, too—which they did! I finally said to the Lord, “I have tried everything I know to do to entice these little ones to just try it! I know if they did even once, they would absolutely love it! Lord, there isn’t anything more I can do for them!”Without hesitation, the Lord said, “I totally understand! Like when you buy a child a gift you know they will love, yet they spend all their time playing with the box it came in!” I ponderedwhat the Lord said and started thinking about the Lord’s gifts to us! In Luke 12:32, Jesus says, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

So how does the Lord give us the gift of the Kingdom of God? Through the giftings of the Holy Spirit! “Now about the spiritual gifts (special endowments of supernatural energy), brethren, I do not want you to be misinformed,” the apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:1. As the Lord led me through the followingverses, I became aware of the magnitude of the gifts the Lord gives to His people. Through the Holy Spirit we have the gifts of knowledge, wisdom, revelation, power, authority, signs, wonders, miracles and more! The Lord has gifted these to us to enjoy and to use, so why do so many people know about these gifts, yet are content to play with the box, so to speak, instead?Many people believe these gifts are given only to special people who earned them. No! These are gifts, not rewards! Playing with the box means knowing the gift is there, like the birds with the swing, but choosing to stay away from it! Possibly looking at it, discussing it, but never delving into it. The Lord desires us to want His gifts because He loves us. And we should desire to have His gifts because we love Him and want everything He has for us. 1 Corinthians 14:1 tells us to “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit…”

So much more to the Christian life is wrapped up in the activation of these gifts! God calls us to live supernaturally natural lives (John 14:12), meaning the Christian life is to be exciting and awesome, using the gifts on His behalf to bring healing or deliverance or salvation to those in need. People get to experience His love for them personally as signs and wonders are performed through us through the gifts of the Holy Spirit!It’s as exhilarating as riding in a convertible with the top down on a beautiful warm spring day! Joy beyond words! So how do you start experiencing this? Continued next week!

• Emil Liko 8/21/26