Crumbs from the Table

We had such a powerful time this past Wednesday looking at Acts 11-12.  One of the crumbs that fell from our table was our looking at the difference between how man looks at things and how God looks at things.  When Peter was sent to the gentile Cornelius, whose entire family was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, some of the Jews complained to Peter because he moved outside of their religious Jewish laws and customs.   How dare Peter go into the house of a gentile.   But God had other plans and God put His stamp of approval on Cornelius and his house.   

How often do we get upset when some seem to operate outside of our “religious requirements” without seeing the real purpose in what God is doing.   The Jews finally saw that salvation in Christ and the infilling of Holy Spirit are actually the fulfillment of the purpose of all of their rituals and laws. 

So we began to look at what are the essentials of the faith and the non-essentials.   Of course the essentials include there is only one God and there is only one way to Him and that way is through Jesus Christ.   With the essentials, there must by unity and these are non-negotiable.   

Then there are the non-essentials, such as do we dip or sprinkle, do women wear pants or dresses, do we sing out of hymnals or choruses, do we only use the KJV or are other translations allowed, etc.    These do not determine our salvation and we must give people the freedom to operate within non-essentials without guilt and condemnation.   I remember Pastor Robbins telling me once his denominational church split because men wanted to wear their wedding rings.   

However, these non-essentials cannot violate God’s word, such as we see in some of our cultural compromises like gender confusion, marriage exclusions, immorality, etc.   We looked at Eph 5 which tells us clearly what the essentials are in the way we walk and live our lives. 

Augustine said, “With Essentials there is unity;  with non-essentials there is liberty; and with all things there is charity.”  We all have our preferences which are non-essentials, but we do not want to “throw out the baby with the bathwater.”  We do not want our non-essentials to cause strife or disunity.   We must remember and exercise that in all things, there must be love.

So, as we walk together as a church, we each have our preferences in some things. These can never cause strife or division, or we have mishandled our freedom in Christ.  Stay in love with Jesus and these things will not seem to be so important. 

Blessings,

Pastor Donna Wise

I pulled this from my 2025 journal.  As I read it, I was excited and also a little angry.   Excited because the assignment is much clearer than it was at the time I wrote it, and angry because I see that I have not spent enough time in the secret place.  As I look back to September 14, 2025, I see so many changes God has brought into my life that relate to “The Assignment.”  I believe this is applicable to anyone who feels the call of God on their life, regardless of what that call is.   I also believe the Holy Spirit has spoken something very similar to many people.

The Assignment

Evening Thought:  The Assignment Sept 14, 2025

“About 4 years ago, the Lord told me the assignment was coming and it would be revealed at the “Kairos” time. I was also told the strategy for the assignment would be found in the secret place. That time is now.

Nothing else matters when the assignment is clear because the weight of the assignment crushes out the need for false priorities, lame relationships, and those seemingly important fun distractions.  The weight continues to drive me back again and again to the secret place, feeling that there is more that is needed. Superficial religious cliches such as “Jesus is enough” won’t work as He has made it clear He needs me for this assignment or it will not get done.

It does not matter who understands, because the assignment is everything and just as He needed Nehemiah to rebuild the walls, He needs each of us to answer the call.Just as He needed Moses to lead the people, Joshua to invade the promised land, and David to take down Goliath, He needs us for the assignment.

There is no promised notoriety with the assignment but there is the promise that you may be misunderstood, ridiculed, and abandoned.  But that is ok because suddenly the assignment is so weighty, all that matters is getting back into the secret place for the next “now word” that is required to keep you on track.

I realize as I look back over the years, that every problem was a steppingstone of preparation. Even the failures were beneficial. I realize that God brought some into my life and removed others to get the assignment completed.  All the night dreams and prophetic words now make sense.  I also realized that a short time ago there was a decision that had to be made before the assignment could be released and that decision initiated the Kairos release. What seemed so cloudy is now crystal clear.

I have no idea why I am writing this except I know there are many just like me who are waiting for their Kairos release. Remember that nothing is wasted. Don’t give up! Your assignment is different but it’s yours and God has the strategy for you, and it’s found in the secret place. God needs you to complete your assignment.  If you don’t, who will?”

Today, as I look back at this journal entry, I now see the bigger picture that has developed over the past 6 months.   I see how clear it is that every day counted when it was not so obvious as each day flipped through the calendar, one by one.  I wonder what I missed when I was too busy for the secret place, even when I got nudges to stop and be still.  But I also see how important the days ahead are.   I see the priceless value of remaining in the place of communion and fellowship with God.  I see the importance of staying in the “Now” with every word.  I see the importance of the dreams, visions, and God Words that were deposited over the past 6 months, each carrying a divine directive for that day.  I see the importance of obedience to The Assignment, regardless of the cost.   Things are much clearer than just 6 months ago.

The Assignment is given to each of us, and we are responsible to steward our assignment well.    There is an enemy who will distract and discourage if allowed.  But he knows he can only influence where he is allowed entry.   Understanding spiritual warfare is critical in this day.   Over 1 year ago, I heard clearly, “You can be appointed and anointed, and not complete your assignment.”   Why?  Because there will be something that suddenly becomes more important or more valuable than The Assignment.  It may be pleasing people, as King Saul learned.   It may be greed, as with Judas Iscariot.   It may be following the wrong voices, as with the man of God from Judah in 1 Kings 13 who was deceived by the elderly prophet of Bethel.   We must stay close to the Words of God being given to us in the Secret Place of communion with God and in His Word.  A large following does not guarantee a person is speaking the Word of God.  God will speak and direct each of us if we remain in the secret place with Him.   Many are being led astray today by false prophets, enticing pseudo-doctrines, and entertainment theology.    As God told Joshua, “Be strong and courageous…obey and meditate on His Word day and night…and then you will make your way successful.” Joshua 1:7-8.

As 2026 has gotten into full swing, I continue to hear the warning many are hearing concerning 2026. That warning is that 2026 will be a difficult year, and much is in the balance. Our nation is in turmoil. Our children are being mesmerized by a force they have come to know and depend upon: social media. AI is taking prominence in every area of life. The very name “Artificial Intelligence” should raise a red flag. Reports of rising mental health problems in the lives of our children are being published.  Cheryl L. Green, M.D., a child and adolescent psychiatrist, says that today’s youth are facing significant pressures that are impacting their emotional well-being like never before.  According to Green, 21% of adolescents meet the criteria for clinical depression, but when surveyed, a staggering 53% of high school girls report persistent sadness or hopelessness.  Yet, we cannot see the cause because we have been lulled to sleep, or worse, we justify it by our own lusts of the flesh for entertainment, fleshly comfort, and convenience. We are convinced that if something makes us uncomfortable, it must be wrong.

And the church, in many cases, is riding the fence. We acknowledge what hurts us, but steer clear of anything that might interfere with or remove our comfort or entertainment. The Super Bowl is a good example of the church’s status. The halftime show has been reported for months to contain an artist who represents the perversion and darkness of our world. Yet how many have I heard say, “Well, I don’t have to watch the halftime show to enjoy the game.” This is true; however, by participating in activities that promote this perversion, we give it our stamp of approval. We are funding the source that perpetuates the darkness.  This may sound extreme to many, but is it really?  When we entertain our children with entertainment with demonic undertones, do we realize what we are doing?   Do we understand that the enemy is desensitizing our children to darkness, little by little, so that the darkness of evil does not really look so bad after all?

I sat recently with a couple who were very concerned because their high school-age son was now addicted to porn, and the venue of exposure to the pornography was the Anime video games he played. I have seen it numerous times: children in restaurants, mesmerized by their tablets or smartphones while the rest of the family eats. The child is completely absent from family involvement, but the parents can eat without interruption.  We begin desensitizing our children without knowing the danger because “it provides a good ‘occupier’ while we are about our more important business, whatever that is.  What have we deemed more important than the minds and lives of our children?

The church must wake up and quit riding the proverbial cultural fence because we are afraid we will offend someone, even those we are responsible for. Where do we begin? We begin with repentance for our own participation in the kingdom of darkness. We repent for knowing so little truth that we cannot recognize error. We repent for filling our own minds with that which destroys and leads us astray. We repent from twisting the facts to accommodate our own personal, social, and religious agendas. We repent for compromising truth for personal reputation, financial gain, or favor of those “in our tribe.” 

Many knew in 2024 that our nation was being given a reprieve from the anti-God government ruling our nation. Many know today that this can shift this year as we watch the mid-term elections play out and observe how the nation really feels about the direction it is going. Regardless of our like or dislike for our current President, he has stood for moving our nation away from the hideousness of anti-God policies such as the death of children in the womb, the twisted perversion of same sex agenda and transgender ideologies as an applauded lifestyle, and the insane invasion of our nation by godless people seeking their own financial gain. We have seen a person gain the respect and attention of the world because he has chosen to do what is right regarding the lives of people across the world. Yet many will twist the reality of the good because it does not fit the demonically derived agendas that want to murder children in the womb, allow children to mutilate themselves because they are not “feeling their gender”, or create power by controlling illegal minorities of people to raise their voter base. Witchcraft is on the rise in many cities, including my own. Why is this? Because the “houses” were found to be empty, and when the evil returned, it brought 7 more, worse than itself, and has filled the house with its evil. (Mt. 12:44).  

This may sound political, but is it? Is it political to pretend that we do not see the darkness or the anti-Christ-affirming polarization that has occurred along party lines? This would be ignorance and denial at its peak. There is a line that is no longer being drawn in the sand, but has been clearly drawn, and the true followers of Christ cannot pretend it does not exist and that a decision is not required. Huge churches and influential leaders are covering up the sinful lifestyles and compromises of some of their “tribe” because they do not want the collateral damage that could come to them by holding sinning leaders accountable. The recent exposure of the false prophecies and sexual deviances of Shawn Bolz and the attempted camouflage by leaders such as Bethel Church are hard to wrap our heads around. And when there is no other option for those who covered his sins for over a decade, tears of repentance conveniently flow. Hopefully, the repentance is genuine and not a contrived ministry-survival option.  Paul told Timothy that “repentance should lead to a knowledge of the truth so they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:25-26)  Even the church is divided, each side using Scripture to support its views on how to handle such matters. The only opinion we can have is what the Word of God clearly states.  

Have we lost our moral compass and all common sense in our nation and in our churches? There is a spirit of delusion that has swept across our nation, more than any nation in the world. This delusion has one goal, and that is to stamp out the image of God in our families, churches, schools, cities, and ultimately our entire nation.

But in Matthew 16, Jesus promises that the gates of hell will not prevail. The gates of hell will not stamp out the image of God in His people. The remnant, those not on the fence, must arise and stand for truth, His truth! We must return to our prayer closets and call for true worship of God, being worship that is in Spirit and Truth, and not entertainment-driven.   

Time is running out, but what we see should not take us by surprise. It is clearly written in the Scripture how the last days will look; how the very elect could be deceived; how those who call themselves believers will be participants in darkness, leading many astray. The fence seems to be getting broader and broader, but there is a remnant that will no longer ride the fence of compromise. We must return to the truth of God’s Word concerning His church and our role in the earth.

In our recent study of the book of Acts, we see in the first few verses of Chapter 1 four foundational principles that we must have as the church.   These foundational principles are:

1. The Only Head of the Church is the Resurrected Lord Jesus. The resurrection separated all other religions from the true religion. The resurrection confirmed Jesus as the Son of God and no other. The resurrection brought us justification before God as children of God. The resurrection proclaimed that Jesus did not die for church membership, but for disciples who would emulate Him in the earth. 1 John 3:8 tells us the reason Jesus came was to destroy the works of the devil. The resurrection confirmed that a new Kingdom is now available to all who believe.
2. The Only Message is the Message of the Kingdom of God. This foundational message is the only message of the church, and that is the only message Jesus preached. What is that message? That message is freedom from slavery to sin. It is a message of our restored relationship to the Father, which gives us identity as children of God. It is a message of hope and a message of victory over life’s traumas. It is a message with tangible confirmation, such as bodies healed, demons cast out, and the dead brought back to life. It is a message of salvation, power, and a victorious life brought about by His Cross and Resurrection.
3. The Only Source of Power is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was so important that Jesus told His disciples, “Wait in Jerusalem until you receive the promise of the Holy Spirit.” This is the only source Jesus said would empower us to be witnesses for Him. It is the same power that enabled Him to do the work He did on earth, as Acts 10:38 states. John 14:12 tells us that we are to do the same work Jesus did. If He needed the Holy Spirit, how much more do we? Acts 1:8 tells us this power is supernatural (dunamis), with the ability to influence and change the reality we see in the earth.
4. The Only Purpose of the Church is to Make Disciples. Acts 1:8 tells us that we are to be a living, empowered witness for Jesus. The word “witness” is the Greek word for “martyr.” We are to lay our lives down for the cause of Christ. We are to make disciples everywhere we go. This is not about church membership only, but believers who live the example Jesus set for us. We are to pick up our cross and follow Him.

So, in all of this, we learn that Jesus is not some type of cosmic life coach sent to earth to give us our “best life now.” He was sent to the earth to reverse the power of sin in the lives of people. He was sent to destroy the works of the devil. And we are sent to do the same. We can never destroy the works of the devil if we are riding the fence of compromise and complacency.

All of the church exposure that is taking place is God getting His church back into the condition so that it can be used for His purpose. There is no room for condoned immorality in the church. There is no room for the cover-up of the molestation of children and adults. There is no room for manipulation for greedy financial gain. There is no room for manufactured “prophetic words” based on man’s imagination or pride. An error can only be exposed when the truth is present. We must get off the fence, pick up our cross, and follow Him.

Let’s not rely upon “Artificial Intelligence” but rather seek the only source of “Authorized Intelligence”, His Word!

As I am reading today in Acts 5, I see that the Apostles were doing the work assigned by God, imprisoned by jealous Sadducees, released from prison by an angel, and then apprehended again by their own Israelite brothers (church people). They were brought before the Sanhedrin, who could not ignore God’s hand on them, yet were afraid of them because of what they could not deny. Eventually, they scourged them publicly and they were released. But the remarkable thing was these disciples of Jesus “… went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the name of Jesus.” (Vs 41)

I thought of today and how often some will become jealous, critical, shaming…and these are people within the body of Christ, or supposedly Christian brother and sisters. How do we handle the jealousy and abuse of others? Does God call us into a work, knowing that we will be accused, ridiculed, shamed, and maligned? Of course He does because people are no different today than 2000 years ago during Acts 5. This situation was no different than centuries before when God had called Nehemiah to rebuild the walls. When some of the ruling officials, (Sanballat & Tobiah) saw the work God had assigned to Nehemiah, they became jealous, accusing, defaming, etc., just as Acts 5 and even today.

Often God will remove an assignment from one to give to another because of unfaithfulness to the task. Have you ever been the recipient of a “transferred” task? In the days of Nehemiah, there were priests and officials in Jerusalem, yet none bothered to rebuild the walls. God had to call a “Nehemiah” to do the work that needed to get done. The Jews of Acts 5 had missed the visitation of the Messiah. These Jews had been entrusted with the oracles of God, yet they had no discernment concerning the reality of the Messiah, Jesus.   So, God called uneducated and untrained people who were faithful and who would represent Him with honor and integrity. Unfortunately, when God transfers assignments, it can get very messy because those who forfeited the work become jealous, accusing, and disrespectful.

It would be wonderful if those called to do the work could avoid the jealousy, slander, accusations, etc. from those who have failed in their assignment, or were completely ignorant of what God is wanting to do. But unfortunately, this is not and will not be the case. As days get darker and the lines are drawn more clearly between those who only carry a “label” of Christian and those who carry the Spirit of Christ within, we can anticipate much of what we have only read about in the past. But how will we respond? Will we succumb to the pressure and compromise? Or will we rejoice that we are counted worthy to be treated wrongly by those who profess what they do not possess, all for the honor of our Lord, Jesus?

We live in an age where the church is drifting further and further away from its Biblical pattern. This pattern is not about how we “do” church, but if we really “are” the church. Do we represent the values of the Lord of the church or are we more concerned about the bylaws of our denominations and affiliations. Are we more concerned about crowds than lost souls? Do we bend our knees to compromise to keep the image, the offerings, the numbers in the seats? Do we run from this church to that church looking for entertainment rather than a discipline of life? Do we refuse accountability, and then suddenly God calls me to “start my own work”, completely unaccountable to anyone other than a handpicked board that will always see things my way? We are seeing so much of this today, and God is demanding accountability.

Do we understand what the Scriptures mean when it says, “they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully by others on behalf of Christ?” We live in a money craving, fame-seeking culture and this “cultural virus” has bled into the church looking for a weakness in the character of leaders to attach itself.  

One of the greatest dangers is that we respond incorrectly to the “Sanballats and Sadducees” in our own lives and then we become defensive allowing our hearts to become filled with resentment and unforgiveness. The enemy will work on both sides to disqualify us from the assignment at hand. Rather than responding out of hurt and disappointment, we should follow the example of the disciples. First, they spoke truth to the Sanhedrin and told them of their sin of murdering the one God sent. We cannot be afraid of truth and calling a situation as it truly is. Jesus confronted the religious Pharisees when they had allowed their own personal traditions to nullify the Word of God.  (Mark 7:13) This only further enraged those opposed to what God was doing. And secondly, they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer the accusations and attacks of those who were not found worthy or who were disqualified.

So, we rejoice in the calling. The calling is not dependent on who surrounds us with praise or support. It is dependent upon the God who called. He is faithful. He is worthy. He is the reason. He is enough.

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As I ponder what I see in our world and especially in our community, I can’t help but wonder how we got to this place. I was reviewing some notes from my journal and I ran across a dream I had on August 3, 2024. It was no doubt a spiritual dream and I sent it to several to get feedback. I have a note at the end of the dream that as I awoke I heard, “You have no idea what level of warfare you are in. You must pray more.!”

Looking back now a year plus later, there is no doubt of the level of warfare that we have been and remain in. We are seeing it in our nation and we are seeing it in our own community.

A few weeks ago in our Saturday night prayer at church, I heard the Lord say we have a “Nehemiah Call.” Nehemiah has always been one of my favorite Old Testament books and I have found much confirmation and direction from this book. While in prayer today, I heard clearly that my next book would be entitled, The Nehemiah Call: Called, Appointed, Anointed!. I felt this same clarity of title with my first book, “The Power of Empty”, knowing clearly the title was from God.

Today, we are beginning a pre-prayer discussion of the Book of Nehemiah as we have heard in prayer that the answer to the issue in our city will be found in the Book of Nehemiah. A few weeks ago, I also heard, “do not get in a hurry to make decisions, steward well the assignment, and get out of My way!”

We no longer have time to tolerate bad doctrine, immature believers whining over their long past hurts, and complainers. This may sound hard, but we are where we are today because the church has been more of a social organization than a power house that the gates of hell will not prevail over. We have tolerated sin in order not to hurt feelings. We have followed quasi prophets who want a following and a dollar bill and we have put more stock in titles than function. I’m tired of “Amway” Christianity where character is less important than performance. Just make the sale! We cannot continue with this mentality and the church must wake up and get up. God told Joshua, Moses is dead. The old way must be dead, as good as it was in its time. Every place God sends us has been given to us, as it was with Moses and Joshua.

Witchcraft is permeating our cities and states. We not only tolerate it, we celebrate it and entertain ourselves with it. Parents allow their children to be entertained with witches, sorcerers, ghosts all in the name of “entertainment.” Many of our children are being led to the slaughter and no one is watching or calling them out. And those who do are deemed as fanatical or super spiritual, and ridiculed. Our city recently had a week where witches, sorcerers, wizards, and enchantresses were invited to participate. The next week we had a shooting in our street when families with children were present to light the city Christmas tree. Do we understand? Are we so blinded by the wizardry of evil?

We have been so consumed with having church that we forgot to be the church. We counted success by numbers and not the visible results of light dispelling darkness. Do we understand?

Even today with what is so painfully visible, some will refuse to pay the price. Some will refuse to step outside of comfortable Christianity to answer the call of what church really is supposed to be. If it is comfortable, we are not doing it right. If we are not awakened in the middle of the night to cry out for the prodigals, we possess nothing but a membership in the local meeting hall. We have been lulled to sleep by the powerless, religious entertainment industry that operates on emotion rather than truth, professional music rather than worship, and programs that replace power.

Why Nehemiah? Why you? Why me? Why do some feel the burden while most do not? When Nehemiah was told of the condition of Jerusalem, Nehemiah prayed, fasted, mourned for four months before he was released to the assignment. Do we mourn over what we see? Or do we think someone else will take care of it? There were Jewish leaders, priests, nobles, and officials in Jerusalem, but Nehemiah had to come from Babylon to rebuild the walls and the gates. Walls represent security, divine separation and holiness. Gates represent authority and choice. Many were in Jerusalem who could have rebuilt the walls, but God called Nehemiah. They lived among the ruins, yet did nothing to change it. Do we understand?