Our Father can be very creative in using the telephone lines to touch his children. 

A very interesting example of this happened several years ago and involved a small group fellowship attended by a couple of our team members in which there was a recent grandmother with a very serious problem. Her daughter was suffering from what health professionals call “severe postpartum depression,” to the point where she was very afraid of being alone with the baby because of the violent thoughts screaming through her mind! 

Grandma brought her daughter for prayer one evening and the Lord provided a breakthrough! Much of the “depression” lifted and in the days after her deliverance there were many blessings in their home! Praise God! 

But there were still some lingering “chemical” problems and Grandma began seeking help from local hospitals about what to do, but none of the private facilities were able to help her because of a lack of insurance to cover the treatments. When she finally called the county hospital, she didn’t receive the customary greeting, but instead there was a gentleman on the line who was evidently trying to reach the same hospital. Somehow, their “phone lines” were connected together instead of to the hospital staff! 

The gentleman asked Grandma who she was trying to reach and when he learned that she was trying to find help for her daughter’s postpartum depression, he said he knew something about that condition and suggested some herbs and other natural remedies. As he continued to encourage her and comfort her, Grandma began to get a very eerie feeling, with goose bumps appearing quickly! She thanked the gentleman for all his help and remarked that he was “such an angel” to help her this way! 

He replied that, “A lot of people call me that!” At this response, she was almost overpowered by a sense of awe and blurted out the question, “What is your name, if I might ask?” 

“Gabriel,” he replied, and the phone went dead! 

© 2022 The Father’s Touch Ministries

The degree to which we trust God is fascinating to ponder, yet not easily discerned or measured.  

The hope of the sincere Christian is that they would grow to trust Abba wholeheartedly as they mature into Christlikeness. At many points of ponder in their walk with Jesus there may be assurance of a greater level of trust in God that exceeds what was evident in previous seasons, but the question usually remains as to whether there is any “hidden” distrust of the Father that might still be lurking in a shadowy chamber of the heart.

While I might confess with my mouth that God is always perfectly trustworthy, how do I know if my heart truly agrees with my mind/mouth? Must I always go about life with a nagging uncertainty regarding just how much I really trust God? Questions like these can be bothersome or even upsetting as they pounce uninvited on weak places in our thought realm.

Here is some good news! Your Abba knows exactly where those doubts are in your thinking, and he knows the very best way(s) to encourage you in your process of gaining confidence in his trustworthiness. A powerful example from the life of Abraham provides insight into Abba’s fatherly love for his children and his attendant desire to help us grow in the knowledge of our trust in him.

In Genesis 22:1-18, the writer recounts the story of Abraham’s obedience to God in his willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac according to God’s command. The angel of the Lord called a halt to the sacrifice just in time to avert Abraham’s thrust of a knife into Isaac’s heart on a makeshift altar on Mount Moriah.  

There are many lessons that derive from this extreme act of faith on Abraham’s part, but let’s focus on a particular blessing born in the heart of Abba that will encourage us all. Abraham indeed “passed the test” of obedience to God, and God was pleased [Gen 22:16-17]. But there is an additional insight we can gain by thinking about God’s motive for the “test.”  

It is very likely that God already knew what Abraham would do in obedience to the command to sacrifice Isaac. So, it is doubtful that God was in “suspense” as Abraham lifted the knife above Isaac on the altar. I believe that at least part of God’s motive was to help Abraham believe that he could be obedient in the extreme! This was surely a blessing to Abraham, to know that his trust in God was strong enough to believe that God would somehow “raise” Isaac if indeed he was to die at Abraham’s hand. Abba purposed to display quite clearly to Abraham that his level of trust in God was indeed extremely strong. In other words, it was a “set-up” by God to powerfully encourage his friend Abraham!   

God’s confidence in Abraham’s desire to trust the heavenly design for the outcome of this strange command was accurate and the “set-up” demonstration of Abraham’s trust in God was intended, at least in part, for Abraham’s benefit!  

The trust was two-way; God “trusted” Abraham’s belief in his promise to father nations through Isaac and Abraham indeed trusted God, even though he was ignorant concerning just how the promise could be fulfilled after the anticipated sacrifice of Isaac. As a result, the relationship of Abraham with Abba grew even stronger and helped prepare Abraham even more for the rock-solid expectation of the fulfillment of God’s promise!

Abba derives joy in revealing to you the trust he has in your ability to trust him. You, in turn, can entrust treasures to others whom you trust in your sphere of influence, knowing that this joy of the Master awaits you as well [see the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30]!  

© 2022 The Father’s Touch Ministries

This is an “epilogue” to the previous Glimpse entitled “Missing Mosquitos!” If you missed that one, you can easily access the archived copy by visiting our Glimpse gallery here:  

https://papasteve.org/be-inspired/glimpses-into-the-fathers-heart/

Having experienced a wonderful “success” in commanding the mosquitos in Africa to “stay away from me” on my first mission to Tanzania, I was emboldened to explore a bit further into my “zone of dominion” over the creatures (see Genesis 9:1-2). On my second trip later that same year (2002), I decided that I didn’t like mice or cockroaches either, so before departing from my home in Torrance, California, I commanded all the pests in Africa to “stay away from me!”  

Sure enough, during my entire time in Uganda on that second mission to Africa, I didn’t see even one mosquito, mouse, or cockroach! Not even an ant! I should mention that some of our teammates were not quite so blessed – during our one night at the safari lodge near Murchison Falls in Uganda, some of the rooms had bats hiding behind the toilets. That made for some interesting conversation at the team breakfast the next morning!  

With these first two mission trips demonstrating powerfully to me that sons of God have authority over the creatures, I commanded the mosquitos and/or other pests in Africa to stay away from me during my third and fourth missions as well. And they did! I was on a roll!

Just before departure on my fifth mission to Africa, I was in a hurry again to finish packing at home so I could rush to the airport in Los Angeles to catch my plane. I almost forgot about the mosquitos and in my haste I said to the Father,

“Oh yeah, Father, please take care of the mosquitos!”

And with a dismissive wave of my hand I quickly hustled to get to the airport on time! 

Everything was fine until I spent two nights deep in the bush of Tanzania, sleeping in a very simple hut with no mosquito netting available. In my cockiness I, the “Master Over Mosquitos,” was not worried that first night about the lack of netting. So, I was indeed surprised to wake up the first morning with mosquito bites on every portion of exposed skin that wasn’t under the blanket.  And the same thing happened the second night as well.  

I was chagrined! What happened to my “dominion” over the mosquitos? Was it a temporary anointing? Did I somehow “lose” my authority? I asked the Father to tell me what went wrong.  He said with a chuckle (and a subsequent “belly-laugh”),

“Son, you asked me to take care of the mosquitos.  So I fed them!”

Up to that point in my Christian walk I hadn’t ever heard Abba laugh that hard. His “belly-laugh” must have reverberated through the universe!

Abba taught me a hilarious lesson on that trip: Be careful what you ask of the Father and how you ask! He has a sense of humor and he also wants to teach us the importance of making good word choices, and more importantly, asking with humility and without presumption.   

I reverted to issuing serious commands to the mosquitos and I’m enjoying a more humble position of authority as a son of God who has gained a bit more wisdom!

© 2022 The Father’s Touch Ministries

Abba is such a good Dad! He wants us to learn our authority and how to use it for Kingdom purposes.  

Occasionally he invites his sons into experiences and encounters that both teach and encourage us as he helps us mature (become more like Jesus)! One such experience 20 years ago taught me a huge lesson about not only our authority, but also about Abba’s passion to “set us up” for success in exercising that authority.

Before my first mission trip to East Africa (to Mwanza, Tanzania) in 2002, most of the 30 volunteer members of the team were like me: clueless about what to expect. I, along with the other novices, tried to prepare well by asking the few “experienced” mission team members many questions. Among them, “What should we do about the mosquitos?” [I personally had visions of mosquitos as big as bats!]

The advice that came back to us over the email channels was to get the best mosquito repellant possible, with the highest concentration of DEET. Moreover, we were advised to get a special repellant spray to use on our clothes before packing, letting the fabric soak in the (probably toxic!) chemicals and allowing at least four hours of drying before packing. All the novices (including me) were grateful for the advice and most heeded it in the hope of warding off the little critters as effectively as possible.

I had one problem, however. I forgot the advice until the morning of my final packing for the trip! I had only one hour left before departure for the airport when I realized I had not procured any repellant. I did manage to find a small, half-full spray canister (from an ancient hike) buried in a drawer in my frantic search for some defense, and I threw it in my suitcase. But I didn’t have any of the 4-hour stuff and had no time left to buy any, let alone do the necessary spray treatment.

So, I did what many of us do in the face of personal failure – I blame-shifted! In an exasperated tone, I complained to the Father that he was the one who made mosquitos and I should not have to deal with this issue! No, a lightning bolt did not strike me dead because of my petulant, disrespectful attitude. Instead, he immediately said to me:

“What are you going to do about it, son?”

My face brightened instantly; I realized that Abba was encouraging me! His question implied that I could do something about the mosquitos, and that he wanted me to take responsibility for dealing with them. Wow! This was one of the first few times, with many to follow, that Abba made it clear to me that my maturation as a son of God involves learning my authority and exercising it, instead of expecting Abba to do everything!  

With newly realized empowerment from Abba’s challenge, I stood in my bedroom in Torrance, California, and pointed in the direction of Africa and issued a strong, authoritative command:

“In the name of Jesus, as a son of God, I command every mosquito in Africa to stay away from me!”

That was it! I finished packing, went to the airport and flew on more than one plane to get to Nairobi, Kenya, where the team had a one-night layover before flying on the next day to Mwanza, Tanzania. While the team was relaxing in our hotel lobby before dinner in Nairobi, the television monitors caught the attention of several team members with an urgent news flash on the BBC channel: “Giant mosquito swarm in Mwanza, Tanzania!” That was the very city we were to fly to the next morning. It must have been a doozy of a swarm, since mosquitos are not generally news in Africa!

The team was “abuzz” with that news (pun intended). I hadn’t seen the news flash, but some team members relayed the “scary” news to me and declared how glad they were that they had prepared themselves with repellant and clothes appropriately treated. One of them in the group asked me, “Did you bring repellant, Steve?” I answered with what must have seemed a very strange retort: “The mosquito swarm will not be there when we arrive in Mwanza!”

As the team members walked away from me with eyeballs rolling, and the surety that I was “whacko,” I just smiled and rested in my confidence that the mosquitos had to “stay away from me.” Sure enough, when we landed in Mwanza the next day, there was no mosquito swarm! And during the next 6 days in Mwanza, and our subsequent safari across the Serengeti Plain, I did not see or hear even one mosquito, nor did my ministry squad of 6 that was with me most of the time on the trip.

The mosquitos went missing! They somehow obeyed my command even though they were 9,000 miles away from Torrance, and that command was in English, not Kiswahili! ☺ Abba mysteriously enforced my command as one of his sons. He will do the same for you, if you know your authority and exercise it according to his will.  

I later found a passage in Scripture that gave me additional assurance that we have a lot more dominion over the creatures than most of us realize. Genesis 9:1-2 relates a key promise given to Noah and his sons after the flood:  

1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands.”  [Genesis 9:1-2]

As present-day sons (descendants) of Noah, we are heirs to this same promise! You can command or swat – the choice is yours.

[There is an epilogue to this story, but this is just a Glimpse (albeit a long one already) so I’ll save it for another time.]

© 2022 The Father’s Touch Ministries

Contrary to what many people think and/or claim, God is not outside of time – he is everywhere in it!

To be sure, God is sovereign over time! He made it and he is Lord over it, often “adjusting” it as he sees fit. But to say that he is “outside” of it I think misses a key facet of God’s amazing nature. I presume that what most people are thinking when they say that God is “outside of time” is that he is not controlled by it, or limited by it, or otherwise constrained in the same way that we think that we are. 

Indulge me for a bit as I put on my “physicist’s hat.” Let me share a different perspective with you, one that takes into account some of the nature of this concept we call time as understood by physicists. 

In 1905, Albert Einstein burst onto the “public” scene with the publication of several revolutionary discoveries/theories, among which the most popular was what later became known as the “Theory of Special Relativity.” He hypothesized that both space and time were not absolute “entities,” in the sense that all observers would measure the same (or absolute) values of distance and time intervals separating two events. 

Instead, Einstein concluded that two observers in relative motion with respect to each other would measure different values for the distance and time intervals between two events, and these differences would become quite dramatic as the relative motion of the observers approached the speed of light! In fact, he proposed that “space” and “time” were not in fact independent of one another, but were intimately connected aspects of the more general four-dimensional “space-time” continuum that serves as the “grid,” so to speak, for describing events that occur in our physical realm. As a consequence, space and time could “morph” [my language] into each other, depending on the relative motion of two observers. 

Let me summarize this nature of space-time and its connectedness to observation with an over- simplification: 

One man’s “meter” is another man’s “hour!”

What’s the point? The point is that what we call “space” and what we call “time” may differ from what our brother perceives from his “vantage” point, if we are moving with respect to one another. 

How does this relate to God’s nature? If we agree that God is omnipresent (everywhere in space), then he must also be everywhere in time (omnitemporal)! Since space and time are not “disjoint” entities, in the sense described above, we cannot in the same breath say that God is “everywhere in space” and also say that he is “outside of time.” Indeed, instead of God being outside of time, he is everywhere in it! 

Put simply, if God is everywhere he is also everywhen!

© 2022 The Father’s Touch Ministries

One day, you will be “free” from freedom! If that sounds strange, let me explain.

It is always good to remember that your Abba is “others-focused” rather than “self-focused.”  This means that he is blessed when you are blessed! So, when you progressively receive more of the freedom that he purposed for you, he receives more blessing.

Freedom from the penalty of sin is just the beginning of your blessing because of the sacrifice of Jesus. For example, freedom from negative thoughts (lies) provides even more blessing. Your glorious freedom, however, is not limited to a mere escape from negativity and Abba desires much more for you.

Joy can be experienced in the process of obtaining freedom, but freedom, once attained through salvation and deliverance, will no longer be a focus of your thinking! Rather, freedom becomes a faded concept as you focus instead on your exquisite relationship with Abba that he purposed for you before the beginning.   

True freedom is something that, once attained, is no longer on the “radar screen!” The joy that it brings will not be dependent on a comparison to sadness; the innocence of the initially pure life of Adam and Eve that will again one day be yours will necessarily accommodate the purest joy possible! 

And then, you will be truly free from even the concept of freedom itself!

© 2022 The Father’s Touch Ministries

When Abba looked upon the face of Adam, he “saw” you and I and all the rest of Adam’s progeny!

He does not regard Adam’s family as just a bunch of generations loosely connected by reproduction; rather he purposed for Adam’s family to be a multi-generational organism, if I can use that terminology. In other words, we were all envisioned by Abba to be a “part” of Adam, intimately connected to one another by God’s design for a unified family. Indeed, the Hebrew word adam connotates an entire race of beings, and not just the name of one person.  

Abba’s view of family has multiple ramifications and delightful encouragements for you!

For example, a case can be made for your “presence” with Adam and Eve [e.g., see Heb 7:9-10] as they appeared “on the scene” and Abba subsequently looked on all that he had made and saw that it was very good (or pleasing). Your presence (with Adam and Eve) “caused” the goodness of everything else to increase to the very good level, in God’s sight [see Gen 1:31]!

Another blessing of Abba’s design of family is the joy you can experience in anticipating the successes and accomplishments (e.g., the good works predestined by God [see Eph 2:10]) of your believing descendants, even those not yet born!  In a sense you “participate” in those good works that will happen in the future.  

Yet another huge blessing of all believers being “connected” in the family of God is that we will eventually experience the immeasurable joy of complete (perfect) unity of the sons of God, with each other and with Jesus and the Father! This was prayed for by Jesus [see John 17:20-23] and Abba will undoubtedly answer that prayer of his beloved Son!

There is much more that awaits us as we realize (and experience) that all the blessings of Abba  belong to all of us collectively. In other words, the whole “kit and kaboodle” is all in the family!

Our Abba delights in surprising us as well as teaching us the importance of being sensitive to how he wants to move in any given situation. A huge lesson concerning the extent to which he will act on behalf of his children was provided during a very unusual time of ministry many years ago.  

A Father’s Touch team was praying for a woman and was just finishing up, so they thought, when the Lord impressed upon the leader that there was more to be done. When asked what other prayer needs there might be, the woman responded that she needed prayer for her feet. She had high arches and her excess weight was aggravating the condition, so much so that it was hard for her to stand very long or to walk very far without excruciating pain. 

So, the team gathered around her and was about to begin praying for the Lord to heal her condition when the leader began to notice something happening around her feet. The Lord brought the vision into focus of small angels tending to her feet by placing what could best be described as foamy sponges under each foot. A word came from the Lord that these angels would place these “cushions” under her feet every step she would take for the rest of her life here on earth! What an odd thing to hear! 

But out of obedience, the lady was asked to get up and walk, without the team uttering one word of “standard” healing prayer. She did so and soon exclaimed that she felt like she was walking on sponges! The pain was gone, but not in the way the team expected God to remove it! An important lesson was learned about the amazing extent to which God commands his angels concerning us [Ps. 91:11]. 

The last time I inquired of this woman regarding the status of her feet, more than twelve years had passed since the night of her tremendous and very unusual blessing from Abba! She reported that she was still “walking on sponges!” 

God is “… able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine…” [Eph. 3:20]! 

Jesus is coming back for a Bride (the believers collectively) that is perfect. The Apostle Paul shares this goal of the perfecting work of Jesus:

25 …For he died for us [his bride], sacrificing himself  26 to make us holy and pure, cleansing us through the showering of the pure water of the Word of God.  27All that he does in us is designed to make us a mature church for his pleasure, until we become a source of praise to him —glorious and radiant, beautiful and holy, without fault or flaw. [Ephesians 5:25-27 (TPT)]

For many years I did not understand how the Bride of Christ could be perfect if I, being imperfect, was to be part of this unblemished composite. I was not fearful of being “excluded” – I was just puzzled regarding the logic of how a collection of imperfect sons of God could, together, be perfect.

Then I realized that I had the answer at my fingertips for decades, and it was gradually being revealed to me over that span by the leading of the Holy Spirit.

In my work as a theoretical physicist (my former vocation), I studied the behavior of systems of large collections of objects (e.g., atoms or molecules) that, under the right conditions, actually exhibit perfect properties as a whole, even though there may be impurities present, or other imperfections in the arrangement of the objects (such as crystalline dislocations, voids, etc.). A simple example is provided in nature by certain metals (called superconductors) that, below a very low temperature, exhibit perfect electrical conduction even though the metal itself has imperfections. 

In my online course entitled The Ultimate Goal [see www.papasteve.org/fathers-workshop], I explain the analogy between such natural systems and the collection of the sons of God, and that the existence of superconductivity was a fantastic clue “stashed” by God until its discovery in 1911. My speculation is that the sons of God can exhibit the perfect unity that Jesus prayed for [see John 17:20-23], even though each of us, individually, is imperfect! In other words, our imperfections will be collectively invisible! The conclusion is profound:

The Bride of Christ can be perfect, even with your membership!