Spirit-filled Pastor Sam Storms says the enemy devises many tactics to divide the church when it comes to the gift of tongues, including one argument from the charismatic camp that is a lie from the pit of hell.

Storms says speaking in tongues “is a powerful instrument that God has given us by which we can praise Him and express our gratitude and our prayers as well as it being a weapon,” Storms, the pastor of Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of “Greenelines” on the Charisma Podcast Network. “But a lack of familiarity has a lot to do with the division.

“I think maybe a whole lot of reaction to this is because, over the years, some who are part of the charismatic Pentecostal renewal have suggested that if you don’t speak in tongues, you are not saved. That is rather offensive. Some have said that if you don’t speak in tongues, God doesn’t love you as much as He loves me. It obviously puts people off, and they think you’re saying that you’re holier than they are or you’re more beloved of God than they are. Of course, nothing can be further from the truth.”

Storms was raised in a Southern Baptist home, but he says no one ever talked about spiritual gifts and the mindset was one of cessationism, where the spiritual gifts weren’t valid in today’s church.

“Speaking in tongues, and others, are gifts of grace,” Storms says. “They are not badges of merit. They aren’t rewards for good works. They are the freely given blessings of God to His children because He loves them. This gift has been such a blessing in my life. It has enhanced my prayer life, and it has brought me closer to the Lord in terms of intimacy.”

More than 210 million pigs, or 30% of China’s yearly pork output, have been lost to disease this year, and the epidemic is spreading rapidly. End-times expert and popular blogger Michael Snyder says the outbreak, called African Swine Fever, is beginning to make American pig farmers and pork producers very nervous.

“Pig farmers here in this country, this is their No. 1 concern right now,” Snyder told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of “Greenelines” on the Charisma Podcast Network. “They are very concerned because if this disease gets into this country, it will be so hard to eradicate, so hard to kill. It can very easily be carried from one location to another.

“All over the world, we are seeing pig populations drop. In fact, the number of pigs already lost in China alone is greater than the number of produced by the entire U.S. pork industry in an entire year. So, it’s something that spreads very, very easily. That’s why customs officials here in the United States are keeping a very close eye on it. Once one thing gets infected on your farm, basically you’re going to lose all your pigs. It’s a 90% death rate, and it’s very, very ominous.”

FOX News recently declared the disease, known to some as “Pig Ebola,” to be “the biggest animal disease outbreak we’ve ever had on the planet.”

And the alarming news isn’t confined to the pork industry. Snyder says projections show that 6 million acres of U.S. farmland usually used for corn will go unused because of unusually inclement weather. Snyder says only 39 percent of the projected soybean crop in the U.S. had been planted by June 2.

For more of Michael Snyder’s thoughts about the American food industry, listen to the podcast below.

As a preacher for more than 30 years, Tom Anglin has seen radical and dramatic healings, some that brought people back from the brink of death. And he wants you to know you don’t have to beg God for Him to heal you.

As a former prodigal and drug addict who says he went to hell twice at a Black Sabbath concert back in the 1970s, Anglin knows firsthand of God’s amazing restoration power.

“Healing is God’s idea,” Anglin told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of “Greenelines” on the Charisma Podcast Network. “Healing is real, and God wants you to receive it. He is the God who not only forgives all our iniquities but also heals all of our diseases.”

Anglin prayed: “I declare over the listeners who need healing right now, in this moment of time, we serve notice on what that illness is, whether it’s brought on by demonic attack or whether it’s natural causes. Thank you, Lord, that you’re the God of healing, and you’re the God of divine health. And Lord, I declare over every listener today that they would just receive what you already paid for on their behalf. I pray they would take it by faith, just like they took their salvation by faith. Lord, we just agree and declare and thank you for their healing today.”

For more of Anglin’s powerful testimony, listen to the podcast below.

In 1986, Peter Rosenberger married Gracie, the woman of his dreams. No marriage comes easily, but the Rosenbergers’ marriage was harder than most. Just three years earlier, a horrific car accident had left Gracie disfigured. In 1991, doctors amputated one of her legs; her remaining leg was later amputated in 1995. Peter found himself shouldering the immense responsibility of caring for a double amputee.

He’s not the only one. According to a 2015 study by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, roughly one in six Americans—or 39.8 million—provide care to adults with a disability or illness. It’s an often thankless and tiring job that, for many caretakers, can feel like too heavy a burden to bear.

The Rosenbergers want to help ease that burden. Their ministry, Standing With Hope, offers spiritual, emotional and practical support to both the disabled and their caregivers. Peter says his quest is to provide caregivers like him with a message of encouragement, and to tell them that longsuffering and perseverance are two biblical qualities that Jesus smiles upon.

“Through everything I’ve been through, I’ve discovered that people want somebody to speak life into them so they can better withstand what they have to deal with,” he says. “There is nowhere in Scripture where there is a guy taking care of his wife through multiple amputations and 80 surgeries. But you know what? Jesus refers to Himself as the bridegroom, and we are the bride of Christ. We’re the wounded bride. My Savior is in love with a wounded bride just like I am. That’s enough to get me through the toughest times.”

The Rosenbergers started the ministry Standing with Hope out of Gracie’s passion to help her fellow amputees through a prosthetic ministry where she could share the gospel. The couple traveled to Africa, and out of that trip, the prosthetic ministry was born in Ghana, thanks to mentoring help from the ministry of Joni Eareckson Tada.

Recruiting prosthetists from around the U.S., Standing with Hope teaches and equips local workers within Ghana’s Ministry of Health to build and maintain prosthetic limbs for the people of Ghana as well as other neighboring countries. If a patient cannot afford the co-pay for the limb, Standing with Hope will sponsor that limb.

That ministry continues today, although Gracie’s participation has waned due to her declining health. When it became apparent that Gracie could no longer be the face of the ministry, Standing with Hope’s board of directors asked Peter to step up and showcase his communication skills to minister to other caregivers who needed encouragement and direction.

Peter remembers well the first time he was asked to speak about his life as a caregiver—there were four people in the audience. Today, he has the largest radio platform in the world for family caregivers. He broadcasts a weekly nationwide radio program on American Family Radio. He’s written two books and even released a CD: Songs for the Caregiver.

Since its founding, the ministry of Standing with Hope has expanded. Today the organization ministers not only to caregivers, but to the families of addicts, special needs children and those beset by mental illness. All told, the Rosenbergers say their ministry now reaches about 65 million people.

“We are so blessed that God has given us this ministry,” Peter says. “And the fact that it impacts so many people, we’re so grateful for that.”

Despite the ministry’s success, Peter admits he constantly must remind himself of God’s grace—for both Gracie and himself. There have been plenty of tough times for the Rosenbergers over the past three decades.

Doctors weren’t always sure Gracie would survive, that her body could withstand the incredible amount of medical procedures necessary to keep her alive. At times, Peter says Gracie has been so medicated with opioids that he could hardly recognize her. Her condition has left the Rosenbergers with more than $10 million in medical bills on top of the constant pain Gracie endures. Beyond the big procedures, there are a number of small daily tasks he’s had to perform to keep his wife comfortable and to help her maintain a somewhat tolerable quality of life.

“There are days when you just hang your head in weariness, frustration, anger and despair,” Peter says. “It’s mind-numbing. Being responsible for the well-being of another human being who has serious disabilities and issues is a huge burden to shoulder. When you try to white-knuckle it on your own strength, you find out quickly that you’re not up to the task, and that causes even more despair.”

But with Jesus, Peter finds much to be encouraged about.

“A secular reporter once asked me what Jesus would do as a caregiver,” he says. “I said, ‘Let me tell you what He did. He took care of His mother from the cross; He delegated. If Jesus can delegate, so can I. I can enlist the help of other people. It’s OK. I don’t have to white-knuckle everything by myself.’ That is the message I am communicating to my fellow caregivers: that you have a Savior who really understands this. He knows exactly what you are going through, and He is equipping you.”

Through it all, Peter’s faith has been severely tested. He says he’s failed plenty of times—he refers to himself as the “crash-test dummy of all caregivers”—but he’s come out the other side with a stronger faith and marriage than ever. He hopes, through his work, he can help others reach that place too.

“There is nothing like caring for somebody with severe disabilities for a couple of decades to expose the gunk in your own heart,” Peter says. “The amazing thing is, God still loves me, and so does Gracie. And I’m more in love with Jesus now than I’ve ever been because of His unfailing love for me. And that’s what I try to impart to everybody I reach through the radio and the speaking and the books. His love never fails, and you can make it through anything when you have God on your side.” {eoa}

Shawn A. Akers is a content development editor for Charisma Media.

California Pastor Wendell Vinson, co-founder of CityServe International, says the entire church needs to begin to exercise its “superpower” of compassion to help lower barriers to the gospel and reach the lost.

“As a church, we need to understand the power of the local church, engaging in community and reaching into the brokenness of society with the love and compassion of Jesus Christ,” Vinson told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of “Greenelines” on the Charisma Podcast Network. “When we are compassionate, when we operate in kindness, we can exponentially reach more people.

“Romans 2:4 says the kindness of the Lord leads us to repentance. Many times, people have barriers that they’ve put up. But as we reach them with kindness, they lower those barriers and they become more open to the gospel.”

Dave Donaldson, who co-founded CityServe with Vinson, knows all about reaching millions for the gospel with compassion. Donaldson is also the co-founder of Convoy of Hope, which has helped over 100 million people with its worldwide outreach ministry since 1994.

“So many pastors of churches in America and around the world are discouraged and, as Wendell says, they feel outgunned,” Donaldson says. “What we want to do through CityServe is to challenge and equip leaders to embrace the role that God prophesied in Isaiah 58, to rebuild ancient ruins and to raise up the age-old foundation. People who operate in the compassion of Jesus Christ build relationships with broken and lost people, hurting people. And this should be done through the local churches.”

For more about CityServe International, listen to the podcast below.

How much do you really know about the Bible? Chances are, the holy tome is Not What You Think. At least, that’s what authors Michael and Lauren McAffee say in their latest book.

Lauren and her husband, Michael, recently released Not What You Think, a book they hope will crush dated misperceptions about the Bible and spark the younger generations to look at God’s Word not as a book of rules or a book of morality but as a story about what God has done for them.

“We are particularly interested in millennials and Gen Z because, in looking at data showing biblical illiteracy and lack of Bible engagement, we see that it shows that millennials are the least Bible engaged generation in American history,” Lauren McAfee, daughter of Hobby Lobby Founder Steve Green, told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of “Greenelines” on the Charisma Podcast Network.

“As millennials ourselves, we wanted to be able to approach our own generation and look at some of the reasons for that and why we aren’t approaching the Bible in a way previous generations had. When looking at the mindset that millennials have, that often was generally secular,” Lauren said.

Michael offered further details.

“We had this growing, passionate desire to help rebrand the Bible to help our generation, our peers, see that the Bible isn’t what they think it is,” Michael said. “We want to help them form a new relationship with God. “We want to say to previous generations not to give up on us and to continue to pray for young people and to know that we have unique obstacles with the Internet age.

“But ultimately, the gates of hell will not prevail against the spread of Christ’s church. We can have confidence in the Word of God that it will not return void and we can continue to share the gospel with boldness and confidence.”

For more of the story of the McAfees’ efforts, listen to the podcast below.

“Today in the church, we have a generation of Ananiases and Sapphiras who will lie for the honor and glory of man rather than telling the truth for the honor and glory of God,” Holy Fire Ministries founder Bert Farias told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of “Greenelines” on the Charisma Podcast Network. “The Lord wants to deal with the greed and the covetousness that’s in the church concerning the glory of man.”

The author of Cleansing the Temple, Farias says if the glory of God came in as powerfully today as it did in the book of Acts, many more Christians would be found whose characters resemble those of Ananias and Sapphira. This couple, the apostle Peter said in Acts 5, “did not lie to men but to God” (v. 4c). Both died immediately.

To prevent that from happening, Farias says, church leaders must preach the whole counsel of God to their congregations.

“The apostle Paul said he did not want the blood of men on his hands. He wanted to preach the whole truth,” Farias says. “It’s not just exhortation and comfort and encouragement. In the Bible, the content of correction, reproof and rebuke is two times more than exhortation and encouragement.

“Years ago, the Lord dealt with me about writing more and speaking more on what He called ‘lost themes,’—things in Scripture that have been underemphasized, discarded or understated—things like holiness, the fear of the Lord, the judgment seat of Christ, the return of the Lord, hell and heaven. A lot of ministers, pastors are not ministering enough on the whole counsel of God.”

For more of how the glory of God needs to be restored to the church, listen to the podcast below.

He grew up the son of an atheist and never went to church. He came to know Christ through a baseball tryout at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And he went to seminary in a place where he could walk right out his door and into a high-risk area.

This eclectic background prepared Ed Glover for his work with the Urban Impact Foundation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the vital urban ministry he has run for the past 25 years. Called to the area as an outreach pastor, he and his wife moved right into the area of greatest need.

“We moved onto a street where four out of five homes were boarded up and unoccupied because that was the neighborhood. We began to do work, and about six years into the ministry, I walked out of my house, and my car was stolen for the third time.

“I remember looking down the street, saying, ‘Lord, can we make any kind of a difference here?’ And that’s when the Lord gave me this thought: ‘How do you eat an elephant?’

“I said, ‘One bite at a time.'” He took my mind and helped me to see if I can impact one person, then one family, then one block, we could transform the community. That’s when Urban Impact Foundation was born.

“We work with thousands of people now,” Glover says. “Areas, neighborhoods and lives have been transformed, all for the glory of God.”

For the rest of Pastor Ed Glover’s story, listen to the podcast below.

Americans have lost the art of being happy.

That’s the conclusion of New York Times’ best-selling author Max Lucado. And over the past decade, the annual Harris Poll Happiness Index confirms it. During that time, the index has ranged from as low as 31% to a high of only 35%.

“People just aren’t happy anymore; they’re grumpy,” Lucado told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of “Greenelines” on the Charisma Podcast Network. “We are just not as happy as we used to be. … But did you know that happier people make more money?

“We think if we make more money, we’ll be happy. But the opposite is the case. If I’m happy, I’m going to be more productive. So I have a lot to gain if I can crack the code on how to be happy. There is a big benefit to being happy.”

Lucado says social media has had a huge impact on our happiness. Comparison, disappointment and unmet expectations have also contributed.

“What has happened is that we have allowed our happiness to be dictated by other people,” Lucado says. “I talk about how Jesus teaches us to take the opposite approach. Happiness, according to Jesus, is what happens when I give it away. He said it’s better to give than to receive. So the simple truth of the matter is that happiness happens when I make other people happy.

“That’s why the verses in the Bible are so important that we call the one-another verses: serve one another, forgive one another, encourage one another, admonish one another. They are super practical, day-to-day tools that can help me give happiness away.”

For more of Lucado’s take on the biblical formula for happiness and his latest book, How Happiness Happens, listen to the podcast.

As a victim of sexual abuse in her childhood by a music minister’s son, Wendy Baisley Roche swore she would never walk into a church again. And for nearly two decades, she didn’t.

But when she discovered many years after her own abuse that her second husband had raped her daughter on a continual basis, she realized only one solution for her life that had become a chaotic mess: Jesus.

Not really believing that He could rescue her from her brokenness, Baisley-Roche says she “screamed out to God from the top of her lungs.” It took a while for God to convince her she was worthy to be loved by Him, but eventually Baisley-Roche began to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and the healing process began.

And now as a speaker and author, Bailey-Roche is helping other women to recover from similar circumstances through her own story.

“I was so insecure and such as broken woman, always trying to put on a façade that everything was good,” Baisley-Roche says. “But then, with one call where I discovered a horrible truth about my daughter, my world just came crashing down.

“But my story is not just about the horrific events that happened that took everything in my world down. It’s a story of what God can do in the midst of everything being swept away. God can rebuild, and He can rebuild bigger and better than we can ever imagine. Women can relate to my story because many have lost something, and some have lost everything along the way. But my story reveals how God can come in and heal your heart, no matter what your circumstance.”

For the rest of Wendy Baisley-Roche’s story, listen to the podcast below.