31 Days of Wisdom and Worship – Day 29 – Pastor Banks Babade

Wisdom
Proverbs 29 vs 18 NLT
“When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild.
But whoever obeys the law is joyful”
Imagine a pilot without the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) to help navigate from one point to the other. What chaos we will have in the sky and so many lives at risk.
Imagine a pilot who chooses to ignore the guidance of the ATC or the line of communication failing between the pilot and the ATC. Chaos is inevitable.
God is our divine guidance and as Christians we want to follow His guidance but the line of communication between us and Him often seems to be broken or there is just too much interference and we are not sure of His voice amongst false alternative voices.
The way to solve this problem is by spending more time with Him. The more time we spend with Him the more we will be able to distinguish His voice in the midst of several voices.
We spend more time with Him through worship, prayer, praise and reading His word. The more we do it the more like Him we become.
Worship
Psalm 27 vs 1
“The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble?”
Father I thank you that you guide and lead me in the right paths. You said that your sheep hear your voice. Lord I thank you because you are a good shepherd and I hear your voice. There is no confusion regarding the right steps for my life because I follow your guidance in every aspect of my life. Thank you Jesus for leading me today.

31 Days of Wisdom and Worship – Day 28 – Pastor Banks Babade

Wisdom and Worship -Day 28

“The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.” Proverbs 280:1 NKJV

Wisdom

Boldness is the willingness to take risks and act innovatively; confidence or courage. Boldness is a virtue that successful people seem to have in common. The ability to take well calculated risks. There are so many great ideas that are out there that never see the light of day because they were never put in motion. It takes boldness to start a business, learn a new trade, exercise, change diet, get rid of habits, go on a date, study a new book, relocate to a new country… Abraham the father of faith left his country for a new place he had no idea existed without a map or GPS but he trusted that God had made ready a place for him.

There are steps God is asking you to take today that you need to step out in faith and boldness like a lion. There is so much joy for you at the end of the tunnel. Don’t let the absence of immediate results and gratification stop you from moving today. Go out and conquer your fears because you are more than a conqueror.

Lastly boldness is not the absence of fear and anxiety. Boldness is acting inspire of fear and anxiety because God is with you. The reason for our fear is that we recognize that we can’t do it on our own. Our ability is not of ourselves but of HIM that calls us. So go with God today and accomplish all that God has planned for you.

Worship

“4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

”Psalm 23:4 KJV

Father, I thank you for making me as bold as a lion. Though I am faced with intimidating challenges, I fear nothing because you are with me. I take rest in your comforting arms because you go before me all the days of my life. Amen

 

 

Wisdom and Worship – Day 27 – Pastor Banks Babade

“As a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man that wanders from his place.” Proverbs 27:8 KJV

Wisdom

The feeling of being lost or feeling out of place is not a pleasant one. When someone finds their PLACE they find comfort, joy, rest, security, protection, fulfillment… There are several reasons why a person can wander away from their PLACE, one of them is OFFENSE. Offense can make someone walk away from their marriage, church, job, friends, parents, calling, ministry, destiny, assignment, the PLACE where God has reserved for them.

Offense means “annoyance or resentment brought about by a perceived insult to or disregard for oneself or one’s standards or principles.

Offense hurts, it makes us feel undervalued, under-appreciated, we feel like we are trampled upon and castigated. No one likes the feeling that comes when we get offended.

2 Challenges for today:

  1. Let’s guard against offense and make sure that we don’t let it drive us away from our PLACE. The enemy recognizes your PLACE and can orchestrate for people around you to get you offended so you can leave your PLACE. That’s the goal of the enemy to get you out of PLACE so you never fulfill the assignment that God has for you in that PLACE.
  2. If you left your PLACE due to offense, try to find it in your heart to go back to your PLACE. It takes humility and letting go by forgiving those that brought the offense. You have to be like Jesus at this time. It’s difficult but you can do it because you are like your heavenly Father. It’s not about them, it’s about your PLACE and what God is calling for you to accomplish. Your assignment from God is very important. Fulfilling it will bring you comfort, joy, rest, security, protection, fulfillment, transformed life, meaningful impact… Don’t let offense or anything else or anyone make you wander around like a bird. God loves you so much!!!

 

Worship

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths

for his name’s sake.”

Psalm 23:1-3 KJV

 

Father, I thank you today for your word of wisdom and counsel. Lord you are my guide and leader. I pray you give me the courage today to not allow offense to lead me out of my PLACE. Lord in the areas where I am out of PLACE that I need to return to, I ask that you will guide me along the right paths to get back to my PLACE for your name’s sake. Amen

31 Days of Wisdom and Worship – Day 25 – Pastor Ryan Binkley

“Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are. Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools, or they will become wise in their own estimation.

 

Honoring a fool is as foolish as tying a stone to a slingshot.

 

An employer who hires a fool or a bystander is like an archer who shoots at random.”

Proverbs 26:4-5, 8, 10 NLT

 

Wisdom

 

A good portion of this chapter in Proverbs addresses the pain of having someone who is foolish in their life around you. We all have some family member, work associate, or friend that we love and care about but is also foolish in their actions. Solomon starts off the discussion with a contradiction by stating that you should not answer foolish arguments of fools or you will become like them, then he states that you should answer them or they will become wise in their own minds.  I think what he is stating the we all will deal with difficult people who are responding and acting foolish at times and sometimes they need to be addressed and sometimes they need to be ignored.  The first thing is that you have to be careful of is to not answer a foolish argument in the same manner as they do.  If you are upset or if you are angry about their comments, be slow to speak or you will come across as foolish as they did.  Many times the response is worse than the initial comment or action.  We must also be wise about our response and make sure that it with understanding, patience, and clarity. It is important to answer the right way otherwise a foolish person will think that they are right and likely feel empowered to keep acting foolish. You have to address and correct a foolish person in the work place or they will bring havoc in the organization. He goes on to say that honoring a fool is like tying a stone to a sling shot or when you hire one it is like an archer who shoots at random.  This means to me that even a fool will do some things right on occasion, but as soon as you appreciate it they are likely to do something foolish and you will come to regret it in the end.  We need to be steadfast, diligent, faithful, patient, hardworking, good listeners, and consistently responsive and we will know how to respond to and avoid foolish people that may be in our lives, otherwise if we respond like they do we will come across foolish ourselves.

 

Worship

 

Give your love of justice to the king, O God, and righteousness to the king’s son. Help him judge your people in the right way; let the poor always be treated fairly. May the mountains yield prosperity for all, and may the hills be fruitful. Help him to defend the poor, to rescue the children of the needy, and to crush their oppressors. May they fear you as long as the sun shines, as long as the moon remains in the sky. Yes, forever!”

Psalms 72:1-5 NLT

 

Father, give me a heart for justice and righteousness and may your ways be established in my heart.  Help me to lead and judge people fairly and to always have the heart to help those in need.  Help and defend the poor in our generation and remove the oppressors for their lives.  I love you and may our nation and city bring grace to love to all those in need. May they know that you love them through the church and our actions and may You be glorified in all that we do.  Amen.

31 Days of Wisdom and Worship – Day 25 – Pastor Ryan Binkley

“It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them.”

Proverbs 25:2 NLT

Wisdom

There are many times that I have received hints or thoughts from the Lord about a ministry or business idea and they have been enlightening but somewhat vague.  What I have learned over the years is that the Lord will drop things to us but often will not give us all of the details of what He has planned because he wants us to enjoy discovering something new.  It is His privilege to conceal things, but if you ask He will reveal things to you at the right time.  It was well over ten years ago that the Lord gave me a dream about my purpose.  He told me that I was called to build a great company and then I would plant a church in the suburbs and then one in the city.  I remember thinking at the time why would I go through all that trouble to start a church in the suburbs and then let that go and start another one in the city.  Then about a year or two later, the technology became available for churches to use broadcast technology over the internet to simulcast services so they can have the same services at multiple campuses. The Lord showed me aspects of this before it was being done or before I understood it.  I also didn’t know what suburb I would start in until years later.  I really didn’t worry about it at the time because I knew the company I was running was not really that great at the time and we had a lot of work to do, but eventually the company excelled and the time came for me to start seeking Him for the vision of the church.  And when I did in 2012, He started sharing more details and gave me the location and name for Create Church in Richardson, Texas.  It was great privilege to discover all that He had in mind and I know there is much more to discover every month as He reveals His plans layer by layer.  Keep seeking His plan for your life.  Although many of His plans may be concealed at this time, they will get revealed as you seek Him and inquire about your future.

 

Worship

 

“God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God.”

Psalms 53:2 NLT

Father, I thank you for looking down at me and allowing me to see all that you have my future.  Lord, I look to you now and praise you for all that You are and are doing in my life.  Restore me, strengthen me, and give me vision for the future.  I am seeking You, Your heart, and Your will for my life. I look to you and you alone for my future.  I bless Your name today Lord.  May you be exalted in every area and facet of my life.

31 Days of Wisdom and Worship- Day 24 – Pastor Banks Babade

“33
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
34 and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.” Proverbs 24:33-34 NIV

Wisdom

Growing up my parents did a pretty good job with this scripture to scare me and to get me to stay up late to study because they said based on this scripture if I slept too much I was guaranteed to be poor. I am from Nigeria and I’ve seen what poverty looks like and trust me, poverty is not something I want. The problem I have now is not necessarily sleeping too much, but actually sleeping too little because I would stay up late and still wake up early to be at work on time. I stay up late most times because of fruitless time spent on non essentials of life like social media, channel surfing, internet surfing, checking email over and over again. The issue here is that I am not spending quality time on these wonderful tools to develop my spirit and my mental faculty. I’m sure a lot of people can identify with what I am talking about here. Perhaps you spend too much time on social media and it simply makes it impossible for you to get to work early or you get to work and you are extremely tired to give your very best.

This scripture is a warning for us to make sure that we spend quality time on what is necessary. Whatever area of our life that’s experiencing poverty is calling for quality time. It could be relationships with your spouse, children, academics, or occupation; give it the right amount of quality attention and you will see a major change. Let’s cut down on fruitless, time consuming items and increase time on things that enhance our Spirit and Mental faculty so we can experience God’s blessings and abundance in those areas.

Worship

“You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Psalm 23:5 NIV

Father, I thank you that poverty is vanquished in my life. I manage my time appropriately today. I am disciplined and focused to invest my time in what is essential. In the midst of my enemies (the distractions of life) I flourish because the anointing on my life causes me to triumph in Jesus name.

31 Days of Wisdom and Worship – Day 23 – Pastor Banks Babade

 Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.” Proverbs 23:17-18 KJV

 

Wisdom

 

I had lunch with my friend Chris this week and we spent time talking about our unmet expectations. We talked about the pain, anxiety, uncertainty, insecurity, feelings of betrayal associated with unmet expectations when we felt like we’ve prayed in faith and done all that we know to do to get God to move but yet God did not come through when we hoped He would.

 

Chris and I went down the list of men and women in the Bible and realized that it’s the same story with them also that they all had similar feelings at some point. Perhaps you or someone you know might be going through a situation that’s causing you to think that God has forgotten about you, you’re wondering if God sees you and knows your situation, if He realizes how badly you need Him today. You look around you and you see others getting what you have need of.

 

The scripture above encourages us to not be envious but keep trusting God because our expectation shall not be cut off. I love how it says “For Surely there is an end” this should let us know that right now there is A Gap between us and our miracle. That miracle is ahead of you. The faith you should be applying now is called Patience. In the time being let us worship and praise Him and rejoice with others because our miracle is coming.

 

Worship

 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1 KJV

 

Father, I worship and praise you today for all the things you’ve done in the past, I thank you for all that you are doing all around the world. You are great and mighty to be praised. There is none like you because you are God and God all by yourself. I thank you because you are my shepherd, you are a great shepherd leading me in the right path to my miracle. I trust the journey and the process because you never fail. Amen

31 Days of Wisdom and Worship – Day 22 – Pastor Banks Babade

“Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.” Proverbs 22:29 NIV

 

Wisdom

 

A lot of people have desire to serve before kings and eventually become the king in their industry. The word “industry” here is applicable to everything we love to do or that we are involved with on a daily basis; career, vocation, school, calling, business, sports… How often do we make plans or set goals to get better in our industry? Naomi Osaka a 20-year-old defeated Serena Williams in the US Open just this weekend because she’s skilled in her industry. Naomi did not let her age become a factor. She trained and worked diligently to get to where she’s at today. You and I can stand before kings and eventually become kings in whatever we are involved with if we see it, believe it and make calculated moves to get better skilled. You are perhaps one online training away from your promotion; go for it and don’t let fear stop you. Disregard all the excuses and the reasons why you think you can’t do it and do it. There is a crown waiting for you!

 

Worship

 

Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.” Psalm 126:6 NIV

 

Father give me the courage and boldness to take the necessary steps to get better skilled today. I know that the journey is not easy, it will require somethings to die, it will take some financial risk, time and me giving up some things but I know that there is great joy ahead. Holy Spirit I need you today because your word says, “I can do all things through Christ that gives me STRENGTH” Amen!

31 Days of Wisdom and Worship – Day 21 – Pastor Banks Babade

The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
    but victory rests with the Lord.” Proverbs 21:31 NIV

 

Wisdom

 

My precious sister who was highly successful, who accomplished so much in a short period of time, who climbed the highest pinnacle you can imagine as a Doctor, an Anesthesiologist who graduated top amongst her peers at every level. She went to be with the Lord few months ago and there is not a day that goes by without me thinking of her. I asked her a question, I said, Sister Mo what is the secret of your success? She said “I pray as though it all depends on God and prepare as though it all depends on me.” This statement is the key to success. Most times we have people doing one or the other or simply none of the above. If we model our lives by this principle “getting our horse ready for battle but knowing that the victory rest with the Lord” we will become unstoppable. Pastor Ryan once preached about the 5 P’s (Prayerful Preparation Prevents Poor Performance). The quality of the output of our investment in the different facets of our life is depended on how ready our horse is and our closeness to the heart of God. God will guide us and lead us in the right path regarding our finances, relationships, children, business, career… He knows the right path for us to take. Knowing the right path is simply not enough we need the strength and courage to embark on the path and that’s where preparation comes in.

 

Worship

 

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”Psalm 20:7 NIV

 

Father, it is your desire that I triumph in life. Lord give me the strength to be as diligent as I should be and give me the heart of worship to be so close to you so my strength is renewed like that of eagle. I don’t want to be slothful in business but fervent in spirit serving the Lord. 

31 Days of Wisdom and Worship – Day 19 – Pastor Ryan Binkley

Wisdom

 

“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.”

Proverbs 19:17 NIV

 

 

The Lord owns everything.  He says in Psalms that every beast of the field is His and He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and this means that really it all belongs to Him.  The Lord owns everything but he does borrow resources on occasion and he needs you and I to loan Him kindness, mercy, food, clothing, and money to Him when called upon.  He chooses to bless others people though people and whenever you are blessing and lifting up the poor you are essentially loaning to the Lord. The Lord commanded the harvesters in the Old Testament to not harvest every piece of grain and every corner of the field but to also leave some behind for those “gleaning” behind them.  Some of the less fortunate would walk behind the harvesters and whatever was left over they would pick up and take home.  One day, Boaz instructed his workers to watch over and leave some behind for Ruth as she was working in the field.  God blessed Boaz, eventually he married Ruth and they were blessed.  Their legacy as parents is that their son Obed, was the grandfather of King David whose lineage included Jesus the Messiah.  Now that is a reward.  God doesn’t just pay us back financially for being kind to the poor but also rewards us spiritually and in every way. God wants us to be available to lend to Him on occasion and let’s be a light to the world by helping the poor.  When we do everyone will be blessed and God’s kingdom will advance!

 

Worship

 

Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble. The Lord protects and preserves them— they are counted among the blessed in the land— he does not give them over to the desire of their foes. The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.”

Psalm 41:1-3 NIV

 

Father, I thank you for opening up my eyes and heart to others that in difficult situations.  Protect and preserve your children in times of trouble and be with them in their life.  May all of your children be counted among the blessed in our city and world and may we do all we can to touch the lives of those in need.  Thank you for blessing me to be a blessing to someone else today.  I love you Lord, be with me as I go about my day and may you be glorified every where my steps take me. Amen.