Scriptural answers to critical issues in the church today affecting both men and women.
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Monday, October 23, 2017
Help Meet, Not Help Mate
by Diane M. Hoffmann, Ph.D.
A lot of preachers out there, everywhere, are referring to the scripture in Genesis 2:18, as the woman being a "helpmate" to the man in marriage.
I hear this all the time, yet that is not what the Word of God says at all.
Now that is not to say that a man and woman in marriage are not to help one another.
The term "help meet" in Genesis has been misrepresented by most preachers and teachers of the Word of God. They usually refer to the term as either a "helpmate" or a "helper". By saying that, those people only show their lack of research in the interpretation or their study of the Bible.
In this scripture of Genesis 2:18, the word "help meet" (two words) refers to the delivering of man from his "being alone".
First, it is used in God bringing the animals to the man (same word). Animals are not helpmates or helpers. then God says: "... but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him" (v.20)
The words "help meet" are translated from the Greek as "ezer". It is used also in several other scriptures.
For example,
in Exodus 18:4, "And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was my help (ezer) and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh".
In Deuteronomy 33:7, 26, 29, the same word
appears:
"And this is the blessing of
Judah: and he said, Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his
people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and you be a help (ezer) to him from his enemies . . . "
"There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who
rides upon the heaven in your help" (ezer) . . .
"Happy are you, O Israel: who
is like unto you, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help" (ezer).
Again:
In Psalm 115:9, 10, 11, “O Israel, you trust in the Lord: he is their help and
their shield.” “O house of
Aaron, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield,” “You that fear
the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.”
In Psalm 121:1, 2, “I will
lift up my eyes unto the hills, from where comes my help.” “My help comes from the Lord . . .”; in Psalm 124:8,
“Our help is in the name of the Lord . . .”;
in Psalm 146:5, “Happy is he that has the God of Jacob for
his help . . .”
In Isaiah 30:5, “They were all
ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be a help nor profit
. . .,” in Ezekiel 12:14, “And I will
scatter toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all his bands
. . .”;
Daniel 11:34, “Now when they shall
fall, they shall be helped with a little help . . .”;
in Hosea
13:9, “O Israel, you have destroyed yourself; but in me is
you help.”
and there are many other examples throughout the Bible.
God is not a helpmate or a helper as it is being wrongly preached and taught. He is a deliverer of certain situations.
It means the woman was brought to man by God as a deliverer of the situation of the man being alone.
Read more about this, in the book "24 Hot Potatoes in the Church Today" under the "About the Book" tab above or the download of this one topic under the tab "PDF Downloads" above.
./dmh
Saturday, June 17, 2017
An Unexpected Meeting
Rev. Dr. Diane M.
Hoffmann
Message -- June 11, 2017
An Unexpected Meeting
(Adapted from “Songs in a Strange Land, by Charles R.
Hembre)
Scripture Reading: Genesis
28:10-13
10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
13 And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
Key verse: Genesis 28:13
May the Lord bless
His words to your hearts this morning. . .
In 1844, a man by the name of Charles Goodyear -- after
whose name the Goodyear Tire company was named – was seeking to learn how to
keep rubber from becoming soft when warm and brittle when cold.
He was an American self-taught chemist and manufacturing
engineer who developed vulcanized rubber (for which he received patent number
3633 from the United States Patent Office on June 15, 1844.
One night by accident, he left a piece of rubber
smeared with sulphur near a hot stove. The next morning he found a remarkable change
had taken place -- this was the solution he had been seeking…
This unexpected discovery ushered in a new industry called
“vulcanizing”, which all happened unexpectedly by accident. Many inventions have come along this way
unexpectedly by accident.
One of the greatest experience of Jacob’s life was an
unexpected meeting with God.
While fleeing from his brother Esau, he suddenly found
himself in the very sanctuary of God.
There, God gave him a promise that he would never forget.
This unexpected meeting would bless him for the rest of his days.
Today, Jesus Christ is our promise-giver, and
promise-keeper, who came – not unexpectedly – but was prophesied all along
throughout the Old Testament…
But, the thrilling thing about knowing Christ is that,
often, He reveals Himself to us when we least expect it. He gives us blessings greater than we
anticipate.
These exciting meetings can happen during prayer, while
walking down the street, while meditating, working, or any other time…
“And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the
Lord God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon you
lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed.” (Key v.13)
As our minds are stayed on Him, suddenly He is there, with
us, and we feel a richness not known by those in the world who don’t know Him.
In closing, I would
like to read from the book of Numbers, chapter 6:24-26. . .
25 The Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you:
26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
Let us sing our last song this morning,
“I’ll Fly Away”
/dmhTuesday, May 16, 2017
Low-Cut Tops, Sexual Harassment and Bill O'Reilly
An interesting article came out in CharismaNews last month which corroborates with what I'm saying in my book "24 Hot Potatoes in the Church Today"...
Click here to read it
Diane
Check out my book on Amazon.com
.
Labels:
Bill O'Reilly,
Low-Cut Tops,
Sexual Harassment
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Is There Life On Other Planets?
by Diane M. Hoffmann
I often come across people with whom thoughts about the awesome Creation of the universe are exchanged.
One of the questions that come up is “Is there life on other planets?”
My response to that is always “I personally don’t think so”.
Then people will say “Why not, the universe is so large and unending with millions of planets, stars and galaxies throughout -- there must be other intelligent beings somewhere out there.”
My response again is that I personally do not think so, which usually brings on the next comment “How do you know?”
I reply that I know because of what the Bible says. However, there is usually no time to continue a discussion on such a lengthy topic in brief meetings or encounters.
Even if there is some time to talk, I have the big picture in my head but not the details readily accessible for a discussion.
So, I decided to sit down and take some time to put it together for future reference and to make it available on my blog for those interested.
The more I read the Word of God, the more I am convinced that there is no other life on other planets or galaxies besides our own “life-giving blue planet”.
To read the article, click here
Please note: You will be asked to click again on the link provided there.
.
.
I often come across people with whom thoughts about the awesome Creation of the universe are exchanged.
One of the questions that come up is “Is there life on other planets?”
My response to that is always “I personally don’t think so”.
Then people will say “Why not, the universe is so large and unending with millions of planets, stars and galaxies throughout -- there must be other intelligent beings somewhere out there.”
My response again is that I personally do not think so, which usually brings on the next comment “How do you know?”
I reply that I know because of what the Bible says. However, there is usually no time to continue a discussion on such a lengthy topic in brief meetings or encounters.
Even if there is some time to talk, I have the big picture in my head but not the details readily accessible for a discussion.
So, I decided to sit down and take some time to put it together for future reference and to make it available on my blog for those interested.
The more I read the Word of God, the more I am convinced that there is no other life on other planets or galaxies besides our own “life-giving blue planet”.
To read the article, click here
Please note: You will be asked to click again on the link provided there.
.
.
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Why Do So Many Churches Not Talk About The End Times?
Author: 24 Hot
Potatoes in the Church Today
www.24hotpotatoes.blogspot.ca
It is indeed amazing how few churches teach or preach on the
end times. Yet, many church goers and unchurched ask questions
about it, especially now, as we see the chaos and frightening events taking
place increasingly around us.
According to write-ups on the question of why most churches
don’t talk about the end times, there are diversified reasons given. Some
churches don’t take the Bible literally, particularly on the topics of
prophecies and end-times. Some feel the book of Revelation is a mere allegory
and therefore not a subject of belief. Others may have ministers who lack the
training and education in that area and do not take the time to expand their
knowledge on their own. Many have been turned off by the date setters and
sensationalists. But there is another reason.
Underneath all of the diverse reasons why the church does
not talk about the end times, ultimately the real reason is because of fear.
Fear of offending people, because there is so much division as to the exact
interpretation and understanding. Fear
of dividing the church and creating arguments among the congregation. Fear of showing
their lack of knowledge on the subject. Fear of the political correctness that
has reached up to the church in these last days.
The various understandings never fail to raise contentions
when discussions are attempted, so it seems best to leave it alone. For example, the rapture (pre-, mid- and post-),
the millennium (pre-, post- a-), the representation of the woman of Revelation
17, the mystery of Babylon, the one-hundred and forty-four sealed servants, the
two witnesses, and so much more.
It is said that the most neglected book in the Bible is the
book of Revelation. It is often regarded as a difficult and complex book to
understand. Yet it is so important that God has attached to it a special
blessing for those who read, hear and keep the things that are written therein.
(Revelation 1:3).
And yet again, the first three chapters are most informative
and simple to understand. The next chapters, four to eighteen, are the more complex,
where the unfolding of the dealings of God on earth takes place, but one can
skip over this temporarily to the rest of the chapters and read about the
glorious victory that is to come.
Rather than focus on the parts of doom and gloom and
tribulation, we need to look at the book of Revelation as a book of hope. For
the Bible tells us to be “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13)
It is a book of power, throne, and victory and kingdom on
earth for both Christ and His Church. His Church being not religions or
denominations, but all those who believe in Him.
It would be ashamed to miss out on the most important book
for the time we are living in now. We are living in the book of the end times. Everything else in the Word of God is in the
past – except of course for the letters on how we should live as Christians. Of
course we still need to read the past and understand that the Old Testament is
history moving forward to the work of Christ on the cross for the redemption of
the world through the grace and mercy of God.
Then we need to know that the death of Christ (God who came
in the flesh) brought personal Salvation to each and every human being – that
includes you and me – which we only need to accept and receive through
repentance. We need to know and understand all that, but ‘now is the future’.
The part of the book of Revelation that is the hardest to
read and understand is such because we are seeing it being revealed as we speak.
We’re not quite at the end yet. And it is only as we read it week by week,
month by month, that our eyes are opened to clearer vision. Nobody can claim to
understand everything about it yet.
There are prophecies throughout the Word of God that lead
into the last book of the end times. It is helpful to read within the books of
the major and minor prophets in the Old Testament, where we see history
repeating itself. The book of Daniel expands directly into Revelation. In the New
Testament, Jesus gives us a good summary of things to come in Matthew chapter
24, Mark chapter 13 and Luke chapter 21.
There is much in the Word of God that the church can use
creatively to weave into Sunday sermons, to guide the sceptic, and satisfy the
longing of both the beginner and the more advanced.
All sixty-six books/letters in the Word of God work
together. Some places are harder than others to grasp. But, the Bible
interprets itself through reading and re-reading. It has been said that the
Bible does not need re-writing, it needs re-reading.
There is no limit to the time we need to spend in the Word
of God in order to get it all. Even a
lifetime is not enough, because as we familiarize ourselves and connect the
dots of each of the passages of scriptures, we find new riches to be applied to
the times we now live in.
Surprisingly, most people are eager to learn about the end
times. They only need their pastors to give them the Word of God. At the very least, the church needs to guide
people to do their own study of the subject by providing reading and study
material from reputable sources, rather than leaving it up to them to obtain
the wrong teaching from unconventional self-made or false teachers on the
internet. Christians and non-Christians
should be encouraged to attend regular group Bible studies facilitated by
qualified teachers. And the pastor of
the church should participate in them all.
For those who have fear of the things to come, Jesus says,
“Fear not”. He gave the revelation of the end times to show to his servants the
things that must come shortly to pass (Rev.1:1). The church must be ready for
the time of the second coming of Jesus Christ as the Lord of Lords and the King
of Kings. The nations must be ready. “For God hath not given us the spirit of
fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7 - KJV)
There is nothing more effective to build the faith of the
church then seeing the prophesies that have been fulfilled. As the Word of God says, one does not know a
prophecy is true until it has come to past (Jeremiah 28:9). When we see that
God’s prophecies are true, we can be certain that those that have not yet come
to past will do so as declared by the Word of God.
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of
God.” “But how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:17 and 15). (Scripture quotations are from
the King James Version).
/dmh
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Thursday, March 16, 2017
Hi folks!
This is not really about any issue in my book 24 Hot Potatoes in the Church Today, but it is some important material that is just coming out this month...
In view of the movie coming out I believe this week (mid-March) on "The Schack" (a follow-up of the book), I am placing the link here for a review by Global Watch Weekly.
Many people, including Christians don't really know what that book was about and now the movie... so here it is, check it out by clicking right here. check it out by clicking right here
.
This is not really about any issue in my book 24 Hot Potatoes in the Church Today, but it is some important material that is just coming out this month...
In view of the movie coming out I believe this week (mid-March) on "The Schack" (a follow-up of the book), I am placing the link here for a review by Global Watch Weekly.
Many people, including Christians don't really know what that book was about and now the movie... so here it is, check it out by clicking right here. check it out by clicking right here
.
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