Despite the fact the Rangers were 1-for-20 on Wednesday night with runners in scoring position – and that one hit was a bunt single – thanks to some great pitching and a Mark DeRosa walkoff homerun in the 12th, the Rangers knocked off Baltimore 2-1 for their 5th consecutive win.
Meanwhile, the Angels lost their sixth in a row tonight, putting the hated Angels 4 ½ games behind the Rangers in AL West standings.
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Today is the National Day of Prayer. This morning in my email inbox, I was reminded of the importance of this day by Christianbook.
"At a time when so many principles found in Scripture have been rejected by society, it's all the more vital that God's people stand firmly in defense of the precepts He's laid out in His Word. As we wage this cultural battle, however, none of our efforts are assured success without consistent, fervent prayer for God's intervention." Shirley Dobson, National Day of Prayer Chairman--------------
(courtesy of National Day of Prayer Task Force)
If these words echo your desire for our country, we hope you'll join folks across America in prayer for our nation on May 4th, 2006. The theme of this year's National Day of Prayer is "America, honor God" and is based on 1 Samuel 2:30: "Those who honor me I will honor" (NIV).
Special days of prayer have been held throughout America's history. In 1775 the Continental Congress called for prayer for the birth of our nation. Abraham Lincoln called for a day of prayer in 1863. Congress established the annual observance of the National Day of Prayer in 1952. Celebrated on the first Thursday of May, it is a time for all citizens to pray for our nation and its leadership.
“In the contemporary climate, more needs to be said in regard to the acapella practice. Possibly we have stressed the necessity of vocal music to the exclusion of instrumental accompaniment so much that we have left some other important things unsaid and maybe even left a wrong impression. That music is vocal does not alone make it acceptable. The music in church must accomplish the purposes of praising God, giving thanks to God, preaching Christ, confessing faith, expressing the indwelling Spirit and Word of Christ, mutually edify, expressing deep religious emotion and portray the unity of the church. We may think that if something is done with the voice, then it is all right. But the same doctrinal purposes that eliminate instruments will eliminate uses of the voice which do not edify, that is, which do not make intelligible sounds, which do not express the indwelling Word of Christ, which do not preach Christ and confess faith. The issue goes beyond a simple contrast of voice versus an instrument.
The Biblical principles stated above, therefore, raise some serious questions in my mind about certain practices. Perhaps I enter here the realm of opinion, but I ask for your consideration of certain practices on the basis of the theological principles just stated. Can descants, singing rounds, and choosing songs with complicated music be justified in the assembly? These practices work against congregational singing and the principles of vocal music stated in the Biblical text. They put the emphasis on the musical quality rather than on the words. They make it difficult for the ordinary person to understand what is being said and to participate meaningfully” (Dr. Everett Ferguson, In The Eye of the Storm: Critical Issues Today, p. 9).
