MONDAY, 7TH SEPTEMBER 2020: ENTREPRENEURSHIP, TRADE AND COMMERCE
PRAYER GUIDE
ISAIAH 51:15-16 (NKJV)
15But I am the Lord your God,
Who divided the sea whose waves roared—
The Lord of hosts is His name.
16And I have put My words in your mouth; [Emphasis Added]
I have covered you with the shadow of My hand,
That I may plant the heavens,
Lay the foundations of the earth, [Emphasis Added]
And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
JEREMIAH 1:9,10 (ESV)
Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
EZEKIEL 37: 3-5, 7, 9, 10
And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, [Emphasis Added] O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live….
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, [Emphasis Added] and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone…
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, [Emphasis Added] Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on
these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, [Emphasis Added] and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
MARK 11:13-14
And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he
came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, [Emphasis Added] “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. [Emphasis Added]
MARK 11:22-24
And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, [Emphasis Added] whoever says to this mountain, [Emphasis Added] Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says [Emphasis Added] will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, [Emphasis Added] believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
GUIDING TEXT FOR THE FASTING SEASON
ISAIAH 32:1-8
1Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,
And princes will rule with justice.
2A man will be as a hiding place from the wind,
And a cover from the tempest,
As rivers of water in a dry place,
As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
3The eyes of those who see will not be dim,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.
4Also the heart of the rash will understand knowledge,
And the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly.
5The foolish person will no longer be called generous,
Nor the miser said to be bountiful;
6For the foolish person will speak foolishness,
And his heart will work iniquity:
To practice ungodliness,
To utter error against the Lord,
To keep the hungry unsatisfied,
And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7Also the schemes of the schemer are evil;
He devises wicked plans
To destroy the poor with lying words,
Even when the needy speaks justice.
8But a generous man devises generous things,
And by generosity he shall stand.
Day |
Day of the Week |
Date |
Area of Focus |
WEEK THREE |
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| 20 | Monday | 7th September 2020 | Entrepreneurship, Trade and Commerce |
| 21 | Tuesday | 8th September 2020 | Land Management |
WEEK FOUR |
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| 22 | Wednesday | 9th September 2020 | Water Management |
| 23 | Thursday | 10th September 2020 | Biodiversity & the Natural Environment |
| 24 | Friday | 11th September 2020 | Livestock, Fisheries and Agriculture |
| 25 | Saturday | 12th September 2020 | Energy |
| 26 | Sunday | 13th September 2020 | Minerals |
| 27 | Monday | 14th September 2020 | Tourism and Hospitality |
| 28 | Tuesday | 15th September 2020 | Housing and Construction |
WEEK FIVE |
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| 29 | Wednesday | 16th September 2020 | Entertainment and Celebration |
| 30 | Thursday | 17th September 2020 | Sports and Recreation |
| 31 | Friday | 18th September 2020 | International Cooperation |
| 32 | Saturday | 19th September 2020 | International Geopolitics |
| 33 | Sunday | 20th September 2020 | Africa, Israel and the Nations |
| 34 | Monday | 21st September 2020 | The Executive |
| 35 | Tuesday | 22nd September 2020 | Cabinet |
WEEK SIX |
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| 36 | Wednesday | 23rd September 2020 | Local Government |
| 37 | Thursday | 24th September 2020 | Public Service |
| 38 | Friday | 25th September 2020 | The Army and the Reserve Force |
| 39 | Saturday | 26th September 2020 | Border Control |
| 40 | Sunday | 27th September 2020 | Justice, Law and Order |
| 41 | Monday | 28th September 2020 | The Police and LDUs |
| 42 | Tuesday | 29th September 2020 | Prisons and Rehabilitation |
WEEK SEVEN |
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| 43 | Wednesday | 30th September 2020 | The Legislature |
| 44 | Thursday | 1st October 2020 | Political Organizations |
| 45 | Friday | 2nd October 2020 | The Electoral Commission |
| 46 | Saturday | 3rd October 2020 | The Electorate |
| 47 | Sunday | 4th October 2020 | The 2021 Elections |
| 48 | Monday | 5th October 2020 | Post- Election to Swearing-in |
| 49 | Tuesday | 6th October 2020 | Marketplace Restoration |
CONCLUSION |
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| 50 | Wednesday | 7th October 2020 | Dedicating the Decade 2020 -2029 |
| Thursday | 8th October 2020 | Dedicating 2020/2021 | |
| Friday | 9th October 2020 | THANKSGIVING |
DATES TO NOTE
CONCLUDING VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
Monday, 5th October to Wednesday, 7th October 2020 (6 pm to 9 pm)
CONCLUDING NIGHT VIGIL & DEDICATION OF 2020/2021
Thursday, 8th October 2020
ENTREPRENEURSHIP, TRADE AND COMMERCE
Entrepreneurship, trade and commerce are major components in building any economy. Entrepreneurship is the activity of setting up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit. Commerce is the exchange of goods and services, especially on a large scale. It includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural and technological systems that operate in a country or in international trade. In the economic sense, “commerce” refers to the conduct of trade among economic agents.
In addition to sustaining law and order, governments create a conducive environment for business by enacting and enforcing favourable policies, helping in providing social security and take care of public utilities. When a government is functioning properly, businesses become profitable and bring prosperity to both the people and the government by improving the quality of life, generating employment, reducing poverty and distributing income. If the environment is not healthy, doing business becomes difficult, businesses struggle and even fail, investors leave the country, and both the people and government are losers.
In Matthew 25:13-30 and Luke 19:11-27 Jesus tells similar stories. In both accounts, a man who is preparing to leave on a journey entrusts his possessions to his servants. In Matthew’s account, the man distributes his wealth among three servants on the basis of their abilities. In the Luke account ten servants are recipients. These parable focuses on four major themes: resources, work, time and profit. When work is applied to resources over time, God has provided that the result will be profit.
A talent of gold was a lot of money. The approximate value of a talent of gold then was the equivalent of 20 years’ wages for a common laborer. This means that even the man who got one talent actually received a lot of money. The first and second servants immediately got to work with his master’s money. The third servant was lazy and only had excuses – he didn’t do any work. He didn’t even hand the money over to bankers to let them go to work with it. Our Lord’s teaching in the parable of the talents is that God expects profit that is the product of our labors. He provides the resources and the ability, but we are expected to work hard with what He has given us, for the profit of the kingdom. In the parables, money was given to use, to work with not just to give back.
The parables teach us that those who over time, work with what they are entrusted, in order to make a profit for their master, are rewarded for their faithfulness. Those who are unfaithful lose not only their reward, but also their stewardship. God expects to see a profit with the resources that He has entrusted to individuals, families, organizations and nations. Just as a businessman expects to make a profit so God expects a profit. He has granted the time and the resources for men to make a profit until He returns. These should be sobering thoughts for a country that prides itself in being “gifted by nature”.
The lazy, wicked slave in the parables is that person who refuses to go to work with the resources God has provided. Faithful saints are given even greater responsibilities, and even more work. So in summary, God provides resources, He expects us to work with the resources he provides, He expects profit from what He has endowed us with, and there is a reward for faithfulness but loss for unfaithfulness. These principles apply to individuals, families, corporations and even nations.
The World Bank classifies countries according to their income: Gross National Income (GNI) per capita – the total income the country receives from other countries each year from both goods and services. It is not a perfect tool but gives an idea of how the country is faring economically. Using this classification, Uganda is a low-income country with a Gross National Income per capita of USD 780 as at 2019.
SCRIPTURES FOR PRAYER AND PROCLAMATION
DEUTERONOMY 25:13
“You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the Lord your God.
LUKE 19:11-27
As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ And he said
to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man.
You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”
Luke 12:48
…For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
Psalm 112:5
It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.
PROVERBS 31:10
An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
PROVERBS 31: 13.14
She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.
She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar.
PROVERBS 31:18,19
She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.
She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
PROVERBS 31:21-25
She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant.
Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.
WORSHIP GOD THE CREATOR OF ENTERPRISE THANK GOD FOR:
- The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives and the work they do for the development of the country.
- The abundant resources Uganda is blessed with.
- The ability to convert resources to wealth
PROCLAMATION FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP, TRADE AND COMMERCE
God is raising entrepreneurs and merchants in Uganda who will conduct their trade with righteous
and justice
These are men and women that will have been delivered from the spirit of mammon and greed.
They will hate dishonest gain and will be accountable and generous.
The private sector will grow rapidly with the formation of family businesses, enterprises and
corporations
The private sector will be vibrant and absorb the energies and abilities of the growing population
Cooperatives will be revived and there will be community enterprises and social enterprises
SACCOS will become entrepreneurial
The required managerial skills will be built through training programs and schools that meet the
needs of the sector.
As a result of refocusing, concerted efforts made in the education sector will result in a
large pool of entrepreneurs.
The citizens of Uganda will put the abundantly available raw materials in the country to
good use
Policies that promote entrepreneurship, trade and commerce and discourage importation
will be fully enacted and enforced.
Uganda will have a vibrant business sector that powers our economic engine and breathes life into the economy.
Gift by nature will translate into booming by enterprise as the country moves up the income ladder in a way that is shared by all citizens
AMEN
