Wednesday, November 22, 2017

More articles coming...

Next article, "Does the Bible Require Churches to Assemble in the Midst of Disease Pandemics?"

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. . .

24 The Lord bless you, and keep you:
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”
/dmh

Tuesday, 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

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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.

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Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Why Do So Many Churches Not Talk About The End Times?


By Diane M. Hoffmann, B.th., M.Th., Ph.D./Th.
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

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