MONDAY, 24th AUGUST 2020 – CULTURE AND VALUES
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.”
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.
WEEK ONE (19th – 25th August 2020)
| Day | Day of the Week | Date | Area of Focus |
| WEEK ONE | |||
| 1 | Wednesday | 19th August 2020 | Personal Preparation |
| 2 | Thursday | 20th August 2020 | Families |
| 3 | Friday | 21st August 2020 | Youth and Children |
| 4 | Saturday | 22nd August 2020 | The Elderly and Disabled |
| 5 | Sunday | 23rd August 2020 | Church Leadership |
| 6 | Monday | 24th August 2020 | Culture and Values |
| 7 | Tuesday | 25th August 2020 | Community Leadership |
| WEEK TWO | |||
| 8 | Wednesday | 26th August 2020 | Medical Service Delivery |
| 9 | Thursday | 27th August 2020 | Sanitation and Community Health |
| 10 | Friday | 28th August 2020 | Pharmaceuticals and Herbals |
| 11 | Saturday | 29th August 2020 | NGO and CBOs |
| 12 | Sunday | 30th August 2020 | Education |
| 13 | Monday | 31st August 2020 | Science, Research, Innovation |
| 14 | Tuesday | 1st September 2020 | Information Communication and Technology |
| WEEK THREE | |||
| 15 | Wednesday | 2nd September 2020 | Labour & Employment |
| 16 | Thursday | 3rd September 2020 | Banks and Finance |
| 17 | Friday | 4th September 2020 | Domestic Revenue |
| 18 | Saturday | 5th September 2020 | Transport and Logistics |
| 19 | Sunday | 6th September 2020 | Manufacturing & Industry |
| 20 | Monday | 7th September 2020 | Entrepreneurship, Trade and Commerce |
| 21 | Tuesday | 8th September 2020 | Land Management |
| WEEK FOUR | |||
| 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 | |||
| 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 | |||
| 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 | |||
| 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 | |||
| 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
CULTURE AND VALUES
Culture is an umbrella term that covers the social behavior, and customs found in human societies. It includes the characteristics, knowledge, beliefs, music, arts, laws, customs, capabilities and habits of the individuals in these groups. The Lausanne Committee on World Evangelization defines CULTURE as “an integrated system of beliefs (about God or reality or ultimate meaning), of values (about what is true, good, beautiful and normative), of customs (how to behave, relate to others, talk, pray, dress, work, play, trade, farm, eat, etc.), and of institutions which express these beliefs, values and customs (government, law courts, temples or churches, family, schools, hospitals, factories, shops, unions, clubs, etc.), which binds a society together and gives it a sense of identity, dignity, security, and continuity. Culture is the glue that holds a nation together.
Value systems are standards and self -discipline sets, based on the common sense and wisdom of knowing what the proper moral rules and discipline are, and the amount of willingness to abide by them. A value is an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence. Values determine how one ought to or ought not to behave or act. Once embraced, they become part of a nation’s identity. While values are internal to a person, the values of individuals and groups shape national behavior and culture. For a nation to forge a successful direction individual values must be largely shared, otherwise the nation flounders and fail.
The word “culture” comes from a French term, which in turn derives from the Latin “colere,” which means to tend to the earth and grow, or cultivation and nurture. The Body of Christ is mandated to disciple society and “baptize” them with the teachings of Christ. Jesus used the metaphors of salt and light to refer to the role of His followers in the world.
SALT
Salt had two purposes in the Middle East of the first century. First, because of the lack of refrigeration, salt was used to preserve food, especially meat, which would quickly get spoilt in the hot desert environment. The Body of Christ is called to be preservatives to the world, preserving it from the evil inherent in the society perpetuated by ungodly men whose unredeemed natures are corrupted by sin.
Second, salt was used as a flavor enhancer. In the same way that salt enhances the flavor of the food it seasons, the followers of Christ are called to stand out as those who “enhance” the flavor of life in this world. Where there is strife, we are to be peacemakers; where there is sorrow, we are to be the ministers of Christ, binding up wounds, and where there is hatred, we are to exemplify the love of God in Christ, returning good for evil.
LIGHT
In using the metaphor of light, Christ stated that the good works of His followers are to shine for all to see. The presence of His followers must be like a light in the darkness as they live out the truths that He taught. It only takes the presence of light for darkness to retreat.
Culture, without the positive influence of Christ’s disciples, is decaying just as meat without a preservative gets rotten. Note that both salt and light are useless unless they go into their mediums: salt must go into the food and light must go into the darkness. The Body of Christ is called to engage society. There have tended to two extremes in engaging with culture. On the one hand some have opted to disengage and completely retreat from it, pursuing “purity” while abandoning the culture. On the other hand others have embraced the culture but only preached a social gospel that lacks the power to transform culture. The latter have ended up being so absorbed in popular culture that they have been transformed by the culture instead of transforming it.
Both responses fail to be redemptive or transformational. Our mandate to be salt and light means that in addition to pursuing personal holiness and doctrinal correctness, we also pursue cultural influence for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. These two pursuits are not mutually exclusive. In addition to feeding the hungry and preaching the gospel we also have to engage and transform all the spheres of society, baptizing them into the truths of our Saviour.
SCRIPTURES FOR PRAYER AND PROCLAMATION
ROMANS 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
COLOSSIANS 3:11
Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free;
but Christ is all, and in all.
Matthew 5:13-16
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is
no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
I John 4:7-11
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
WORSHIP
Let us Worship God who is Love, and who, through His Son Jesus Christ and His death at the cross, translated us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom light where the kingdom culture is Love.
THANKSGIVING
- Give thanks for the positive aspects of our culture that make Uganda unique. The diversity of 56 tribes who are blessed with different cultural norms and values.
- Give thanks for the diversity of talents, the richness of culture, distinct physical features, language and cuisine, that define each people group in our nation; drawing out our uniqueness and yet unifying us as one people.
- Give thanks for the value systems that promote honor, humility, kindness and hospitality. Thank God who has given us as Ugandans a culture of hospitality and friendliness for which we have been recognized internationally. Uganda has been recognized as one of the most hospitable countries in the world.
PROCLAMATIONS ON CULTURE AND VALUES
Psalm 67
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!
In the unfolding season the Lord’s face is shining upon Uganda and His grace will be evident to the different the tribes in our country. Our tribes will increasingly experience the blessing of the Lord in place of the curses that have been the consequences of idolatry. As our tribes continue to enter into a covenant with the Almighty, they will enjoy the blessings of the Lord. The years of tribal repentance are bringing us to a time when His face will shine upon the people.
In place of the ways of traditional gods and ancestral spirits, the ways of Jehovah God will be fully known in the nation. A cultural revolution is imminent as God moves across the land and the Church takes up its role to disciple the nation, teaching them everything Jesus commanded.
The Body of Christ is awakening to her role as salt of the earth to preserve society through righteousness and justice, and to enhance the flavor of life in all spheres of society. The Bride of Christ is awakening to her role as light of the world to expose darkness by living out the principles and precepts of the Kingdom of God in all spheres of society, and glorifying God by her good works in society. In the unfolding season light will triumph over darkness as sons and daughters of God’s Kingdom understand the true meaning of the mandate to “make disciples of all nations”, and take up their respective places as they commit to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. True repentance in the Body of Christ is resulting in a full return to God’s ways so that the light coming from the Church draws the nation to God.
Godly values and a culture of honoring God’s word are taking centre stage. Citizens love and appreciating the country God has given us and its diversity. Stewardship of the country and all it is endowed with is increasing and the saving culture is growing as the dependency culture wanes.
The national motto, “For God and my country” is at last finding true meaning in the life and practices of Ugandans.
The salvation of the Lord will be known in our nation as millions come into the Kingdom of God. God’s praises will be heard in every tongue and tribe as even the tribal songs and anthems praise the Lord. Many new songs will be written especially among tribes that did not experience much of the East African revival in the last century
Where there has been much mourning because of death, diseases like malaria and HIV-AIDS, poverty, and war there are times of tribal gladness ahead. Kings, Chiefs and other Traditional leaders will come to know the Lord Jesus and bow down to Him as the King of kings and Lord of lords. Those who have championed idolatry will sing the praises of Jehovah. As a result of what God is about to do in the nation in the season ahead, our people will experience the guidance of God and enter into their redemptive purposes and callings.
The curse on the land will be lifted and the land will yield its best for the indigenous people of the land. As the Lord restores the tribes, the people we will receive from the land the best in agriculture, mining, tourism and development.
God’s work of tribal transformation will be so thorough that the resulting blessing will cause the ends of the earth to fear the Lord.
So we now proclaim Psalm 68:1-4
God shall arise in this season, his enemies in our cultures and value systems shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him! As smoke is driven away, so God shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked and those who stubbornly hold on to the value systems of rooted in the kingdom of darkness shall perish before God!
But the righteous and those who uphold God’s Kingdom value systems shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy! We will sing to praises to God in every tongue and language of our country. We will lift songs to him who rides through the deserts; His name is the Lord; All you tribes and peoples exult before him!
