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Most of us probably know the story of Abraham and Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian maidservant. She became Abraham’s second wife and bore his first son, Ishmael. Conflict and jealousy arose within the family, which led to Ishmael’s banishment, not only from Abraham’s household but also from his father’s inheritance. And yet, the Lord said, “And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation” (Genesis 17:20, NKJV). Ishmael’s prodigy was not the recipient of the...

God’s intention in the election of Israel had always been the blessing of the nations and the salvation of the world. The Arabs, descended from Ishmael or not, compose part of that broader crowd of “all the families of the earth” that God intended to bless through Christ. “All” really means “all” here. If, by faith, Arabs or Palestinians are united to Christ, then in the body of Christ they “are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29) in the truest sense, because “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male...

The quiet heartbreak and pain of infertility is well known to many evangelicals, whose aspirations to have a child have been frustrated for reasons they cannot understand or control. It is frequently a secret burden that couples carry, which only emerges into the open as they reveal their struggles to family, friends, and doctors. The weight of infertility and the value of children has increasingly prompted infertile couples to pursue procreation by every means possible: artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, and even surrogacy have all found their way into evangelical communities. Yet while evangelicals have become increasingly aware of the...

Ronnie Montrose, who is best known for his fiery guitar work as a member of the band Montrose, died Saturday. It is believed that the cause of death was prostate cancer, which he had been battling for the past few years. Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/guitarist-ronnie-montrose-dead-at-64-20120304#ixzz1qgRRM6jk

Los Angeles - No doubt Sammy Hagar, a former lead singer for Van Halen, has enjoyed a lot of far out experiences in life, but on Monday, the rocker told perhaps his farthest out tale to MTV. He was abducted by aliens. Or, at least, his brain was. (Snip) Hagar laughs and goes on to explain that a passage in the book described as a dream in which he is contacted by aliens from outer space in California was, in fact, reality. The tale describes how the beings tapped into his mind through a wireless connection.

Iraqi policemen shot dead four US soldiers and their local interpreter in the main northern city of Mosul on Tuesday, an interior ministry official said. "Four US soldiers and their Iraqi interpreter were killed by two Iraqi policemen who opened fire at them in the Dawasa district of (central) Mosul and then fled," the official told AFP, declining to be named. The incident took place during a US army visit to the Mosul headquarters of the Iraqi police in charge of protecting the city's bridges, police said. The bullet-riddled body of the interpreter was taken to the local mortuary. It...

The United States is one of the few countries in the world that has an official day on which fathers are honored by their children. On the third Sunday in June, fathers all across the United States are given presents, treated to dinner or otherwise made to feel special. . The origin of Father's Day is not clear. Some say that it began with a church service in West Virginia in 1908. Others say the first Father's Day ceremony was held in Vancouver, Washington. Regardless of when the first true Father's Day occurred, the strongest promoter of the holiday was...

A Sandia National Laboratories RATLER™ vehicle named HAGAR was loaned in a technology evaluation program to the Sierra Army Depot near Reno Nevada for use in their open-pit munitions demolition activities. The open-pit detonation method sometimes results in 'misfires' where a pit stack was commanded to detonate from the manned command bunker but failed to do so. In the case of a misfire, which can occur due to either electrical or mechanical failures in the remote detonation system or the stack itself, the pit stack must somehow be inspected and rendered safe to approach before workers can re-rig the...

Abraham and Sarah were childless. Sarah wanted a child so badly she asked Abraham to take her servant Hagar and have relations with her and thus, de facto, she could have a child that way. In the Middle East, a barren woman at that time might strip down and the newborn child would be placed on her to symbolize that she had "given birth". In this way, she would be honored by having a "child". This was apparently an attempt to practice this very thing. However, it backfired horribly. Genesis 16:1 Now Sarai, Abram's wife had borne him no children,...

I am posting this off of info and a few new shots I have seen in the last few days. It is now told that the constant delay of Van Halen moving on is due to the fact that Edward Van Halen is still battling cancer and he is not looking all that well. The guitar legend was diagnosed with tounge cancer from years of smoking and has had a hip replacement as well since 1999.The failure of the bands last disc Van Halen 3 with former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone has brought out the rumor mill that David Lee ...