CHRISTIAN BIKER. Amos: The riding prophet from the South (part 4) Books by Rodney Osborne for sale. Order from:

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1 Books by Rodney Osborne for sale CHRISTIAN BIKER A Christian Riders Fellowship Publication ISSN (Print) Vol. 2.11, September/October 2016 ISSN (Online) Ut, He was with me Strangers & Aliens The Parallax Amos: The riding prophet from the South (part 4) Top row titles: $15 each Bottom row: $25 each The Parallax Mk.II Wasted Pain Order from: If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, you can do so, right now, right where you are, by placing faith alone in Christ alone. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (Joh 3:36). This is your opportunity. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Rom 10:13) If you made this decision, let us know so we can send you some helpful information. Contact Us Give us a call for more information about our services and products Christian Riders Fellowship Mob christianridersfellowship777@gmail.com In This Issue Amos: an Allegory Part 4, Bible Teaching: Mental health according to James, Rides, Meets & Church, 5000 Bikers in the Bible, Crash cards. Christian Biker 2.11 Page 1

2 Amos: The riding prophet from the South An allegory based on the Old Testament book of Amos. By Rodney J. Osborne (An allegory is a literary device or as rhetorical device that conveys hidden meanings through symbolic figures, actions, imagery, and/or events, which together create the moral, spiritual, or political meaning the author wishes to convey.) Part 1, 2 & 3 is available in the previous two issues of Christian Biker on the Christian Riders Fellowship web site. Review Part 1 Amos rode to seven surrounding locations, God will not turn a blind eye to what they have done, a] the domination over others, b] the oppression of other particularly for personal gain, c] the lack of integrity and causing of harm to others, d] the rage, anger and ruthlessness shown to brothers, and e] the prevention of others growth in order for selfadvancement. utterly destroyed even the memory of other leaders. rejected the law of God established by the forefathers Part 2 those in need came for help, you responded quickly by rubbing their faces in the dirt, When the poor came you refused to give them the same rights as the wealthy, discriminated against them and treated them in an undignified manner, When your eyes fell on another s girlfriend of wife, you lusted for her and then found a way to justify and satisfy your illicit sexual desires, You made people pay fines, sometimes calling it a tithe or an offering, God has gone even further and provided prophets, judges and other types of spiritual leaders to guide you, but you rejected them all. You have rejected the spiritual leaders God provided Part 3 that privileged relationship requires more from you and actually exposes you to greater judgment, you cannot have the result you hope for without the corresponding cause, you need to hear about rejecting divine warnings, God the Father disciplines those He loves so they will come back to Him hear about the perversion you call worship and justice Part 3 Amos 5:18 6:14 This part of Amos speech is a set of warnings concerning what is considered the twin evils that have become so common, it is now considered acceptable. Commonality is no qualification for acceptance. Christian Biker is published by Rodney J. Osborne. All material in Christian Biker is protected by the Commonwealth Copyright Act No material may be reproduced without written consent. Distributed by Christian Rider Fellowship. ISSN: Christian Biker 2.11 Page 2 bly result in deceiving self out of this recovery step. Hence comments like I m just not that smart or doctrine is boring and of no practical use. Bible doctrine can only be applied equally amongst believers, by the use of spiritual IQ. James continues on this theme in verse 23. The hearer only believer has heard the Bible teaching but does not believe all of it, evident by not acting on it. James uses the mirror illustration. The believer looks at the Word received through human IQ but he is looking at something that is spiritual, so all that is seen is pseudo doctrine, a copy or mirror reflection. Just as the image in the mirror disappears when the original moves away, so human IQ acquired doctrine vanishes as soon as the believers shifts his attention (24). Verse 25 changes the illustration from looking in the mirror at a copy image to looking (concentrating) into the perfect law (the Scriptures). It isn t just one quick look, but a persevering concentration, staying near to it consistently. This will result in not only becoming a doer, but being a happy doer speaking of recovery. Verses 26 and 27 introduces It is the environment of grace that is conducive to mental health recovery. the word religion which takes a mental leap to see the relationship it has with what we have studied so far. The relationship is another reason why some believers fail to be doers of the word. These are the ones who think they are doing right, but are off course. Religious activity is cited to illustrate. There is two types of religion mentioned in these verses: a] made up from two Greek words (thr = to tremble & esk = to adhere to) which would be better translated to adhere to fear, and b] a system of activity with God in mind. The adherence to fear type of religion comes from the doctrinaire (dogmatic about others acceptance of one s ideas; fanatical) teacher and the activity with God in mind type from grace. It is the environment of grace that is conducive to mental health recovery. It is pure (clean, unsoiled, guiltless) and protects the believer when he/she is active in Christian service and assisting others who suffer from similar conditions. After the information about the double-souled ( dipsuchos ) believer in verse 8, James identifies dichotomous behaviours that come out of the dipsuchos. There is the difference seen between the doers and the hearers only (vss22-25) and the differences between religion and grace (vss26-27). (Next issue: continues from James chapter 2) Works Cited Thieme, R. B James. Cond. R. B. Thieme. Comp. R. B. Thieme Compact Disc. Vlachos, Chris A James: Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman &Holman Publishing Group. Christian Biker 2.11 Page 15

3 logue. Some believers with mental illnesses start talking and can t be stopped. It requires the development of the discipline of slow to speak to help this person. 3] Slow to wrath: to be slow to wrath, one requires the discipline of controlling the mind (Thieme)., something the mentally ill struggle with. The one thing that fails to help in any way is, emotional excitement. There is therefore no place given or room provided for emotionalism in this assembly. Verse 20 amplifies the third discipline, indicating its necessity. Most are familiar with the verse be angry and sin not (Ps 4:4; Eph 4:26). James is using anger or wrath as an illustration of mental excitement which quickly becomes emotional expression. Worship is one of many activities in which pend up emotions can leak out of the soul. We could say be emotional, and sin not, meaning we have emotions and there is a time and place to handle them appropriately and the assembly is not one of those times or places. Continuing with verse 20 the reason is given: it does not produce the righteousness (divine good) sourced from God. It simply doesn t do the mental health sufferer any good whatsoever! James quickly keeps going in verse A decision must be made on what to do with the doctrine received. 21, as though not allowing any objection, therefore or because of verse 20, put away It s stated with such strength that it is like if you don t agree, you are wrong and you need to put it away now. Put away is a short way of quoting 1 John 1:9 otherwise known as rebound. The slow to listen, quick to speak, and quick to wrath is the filthiness, the mental attitude pollution of the mentally ill believer. Rampant is overflowing superfluity and the lack of hearing, abundant talking and emotional expression is considered wickedness. James then, as an imperative says to receive (embrace intimately) with meekness (recognition of authority) the implanted (in your soul) Word which keeps on being able to save (deliver) your soul from the conditions of the soul (scar tissue, blackout, fragmentation). The third point for the recovery (22-25) of the unstable believer is to act on that which has been received from the mentally healthy assembly. Every believer has a spiritual IQ which is equally distributed. This means that every believer can understand and apply every doctrine in the Bible. This is important to realise because God s grace and spiritual IQ can overcome any damage done by the human IQ (Thieme). Therefore, the application of the Bible doctrine received in the mentally healthy assembly brings recovery from mental illness. Vere 22 starts out with but be which means you do it daily. Doers is not overt action, though it will include it. Here it primarily means an action in the mind. A decision must be made on what to do with the doctrine received. Being a hearer only is intellectual comprehension and leads to selfdeception or delusion. Herein lies the reason for the bad name doctrine has gained in many circles. Trying to apply it through human IQ will predicta- Firstly, ardent worship without a corresponding concern for justice (5:18-27). One might wonder what could be wrong with ardent worship, or even what has that worship got to do with justice? In the first place, a point of doctrine needs to be clarified: acts of justice are inseparable to true worship. Yet this exactly what has happened. You purchased that brand new machine and partied hard to celebrate. The more you rode it, the more you enjoyed riding it. The bike responds to the slightest twist of the throttle. The exhaust thunders and cracks announcing your presence. You can now ride with the big boys and keep up. But when you ride with your brothers who have an inferior or smaller bike, in your heightened emotional state, you forget about them and leave them behind. The same is done in church: It probably started out by the celebration of past victories becoming the focus of worship, which naturally led to a high level of emotional content in the worship. People came from miles around to join in the wonderful worship service, went home feeling great and while being in a state of selfabsorption, abused their slaves and ignored the poor. Even more subtle, showed favoritism to fellow worshipers. All the while forgetting to be a peddler of justice. This splitting of worship and justice is not the only split that has occurred. You have also made yourself double-souled (James 1:8). This misguided doctrine of worship has become something even more sinister: the propagation of false optimism, a spiritualized form of positive thinking. You place an emphasis on mere rituals as if sacrifices and songs were powerful in themselves, but your lack of devotion and obedience converts your worship into little more than Christian Biker 2.11 Page 14 Christian Biker 2.11 Page 3

4 noise. Noise unfit for God not because of ritual impurity but because they are unaccompanied by acts of justice and righteousness (v.24). (Hubbard, pg181) Loud pipes don t always save lives. Sometimes it s just noise. But whilst you bathe in the emotional tsunami of your noisy public worship service, a false and shaky sense of security develops. Just know this, that a shaking (the coming earthquake) will show you just how misguided you have been. Those who seek to adore Yahweh s name must be those who honor Yahweh s character in deed as well as word. (Hubbard, Pg183) This is worship. Secondly, the opulent indolence without an appropriate awareness of pending calamity (6:14) What could be wrong with having luxurious things that provide a comfortable lifestyle? There can be nothing wrong with it unless laziness and complacency come with it. What has appropriate awareness of pending calamity got to do with materialism? The appropriate awareness in regards to materialism is, it is all temporary. The loss of material possessions for the one who has become lazy and complacent is calamitous. Laziness and complacency is the result of placing security in the material. Failing to check your bike over before a road trip just because of its brands reputation, is placing security in the manufacturer. This allows room for laziness and given enough time and enough kilometers, calamity is sure to come. At heart their false security was not in their military might or fortified capitals, proud as they were of these (cf.v.2, 8), but in their failure to believe that a day of evil (i.e. of divine judgment) would ever come (v.3). (Hubbard, pg189) Look at it another way; would it not be considered stupid to ride your road bike up a sand dune? How about attempting burn-out in the ocean (6:12-13)? To be lazy and complacent requires only the neglect of using your head. An inappropriate view of any kind is a divorcement from reality, from which it is but a small step to insanity. To use the QR code on the left and also located on the back page, download a QR code reader app such as QR Droid to your phone. Open the app and scan your phone over the code. This will take you to our web site.. Christian Biker 2.11 Page 4 ten about elsewhere in the book Wasted Pain, called scar tissue on the soul. James first point is a strong one: if you want to get stabilized, if you want to get out of mental illness, you must start with learning the Word of God. All this can be drawn out of these three verses, particularly verse eighteen with the phrase by the word of truth if a word study from the language that it was written in. The Word of Truth contains every good gift, which is perfect from God and the objects of this good and perfect gift are believers. It is stability for the unstable, the reality for those who have become divorced from it. It is the ray of light in the darkness of depression. The term of his own will (18) is the strongest of words for God s volition. It is like saying God has decreed, commanded, or mandated that the Word of Truth (the Bible) be that gift. Where the psychologist or therapist has to delve into the past to help, God has already been there and regenerated the believer Where the psychologist or therapist has to delve into the past to help, God has already been there and regenerated the believer. The first-fruits of what God has done trumps anything the psychologist might be able to do. The next part of the recovery plan is for the believer to be in a mentally healthy assembly. The word assembly is descriptive of two or more believers meeting together. Assembly has been used instead of church because it is a broader concept. Verses 19-21: Churches have the right to conduct their services in whichever way they choose. It is doubtful if any church has considered the mental health of attendees when deciding on how to do church. It is more likely that the way church happens has been a concept handed down from previous generations. Traced to its roots, we would expect to find a servant of the Lord simply acting in obedience. This next section, is therefore not a criticism. It is merely articulating what type of assembly would be effective and beneficial for the believer who suffers from a mental illness, according to the Word of Truth in James. Verse 19 starts with know this. This is like saying you are here to learn. This is the first characteristic of the mentally healthy assembly a learning environment for the Word of God. The word be actually means keep on being and leads into three disciplines everyone should adhere to: 1] Quick to hear: ready to concentrate on the text being taught. This requires a disregard for the teacher s manner or appearance, and regard and reception of the grace provision of the filling of the Holy Spirit. It means focusing on the message, not the messenger, good manners and poise, and recognition of the authority of the one teaching. 2] Slow to speak: this refers to both soul talking (talking to self) and talking out loud. Teaching in a mentally healthy assembly is monologue, not dia- Christian Biker 2.11 Page 13

5 pression. All too often, depression leads to suicide. James uses another illustration to describe this aspect of the unstable believer s life in verse eleven. The depression is as constant as the sun rising every day, it burns away any ability to function normally and life looks hopelessly ugly, purposeless and dead. The depressed believer feels as though he has faded away from existence and significance, and cannot even be seen or recognised by others isolated. James then brings out something (12-15) todays psychologist think they have worked out. One of the main causes of mental illness developing in anyone is from a traumatic or abusive personal history. The Bible teaches this as adversity on the outside of the soul being converted to stress in the soul. While the rest of the world develop stress management, the Bible teaches the believer to develop adversity conquering strategies as well as how to effectively bring healing to the stress invaded soul. Read verse 12 and then go back to verse 2 and the notes written about One of the main causes of mental illness developing in anyone is from a traumatic or abusive personal history the translation. There is joy and there is blessed. There is temptation and there is trial. The word steadfast means more to us if we say stay. Now we have the way a believer should handle the adversarial pressure while it is outside the soul: When the believer experiences pressure, he should immediately turn to the reality that the Bible provides which enables the staying under the pressure and preventing it from becoming stress in the soul. The believer that fails to turn to Bible doctrine (learnt beforehand) in times of trial will neither be blessed or steadfast, the antithesis of unstable, and furthermore will not be a recipient of the promises in the rest of the verse. The next three verses clear up the individual believer s responsibilities in regard to temptation (to solicit to evil, test for evil) Temptation itself is not sin. Temptation is the adversity pressure on the soul. Sin is stress in the soul. The term his own may suggest self-interest as opposed to a theocentric interest, (Vlachos) as the source of the temptation. That may be helpful for the person who is mentally healthy, but what about those amongst us who are suffering from mental illness? The rest of the book of James is sprinkled with incredible truths that hold hope for recovery and total healing, so stay with me as we dig deeper into this diamond mine called the Epistle of James. Getting well (16-18): though the outlook for the believer who is unstable or even with a mental illness appears grim, James outlines a recovery plan. Still addressing believers, he begins with Do not be deceived The unstable believer has been led astray by emotionalism, subjectivity, a frantic search for happiness and above all becoming negative to the value and importance of Bible doctrine. This is something writ- CRASH Caution don t put yourself in danger Road what is your exact location Accident how many vehicles involved Serious is anyone unresponsive Help don t move the casualty. Call triple zero (000) or 112 (mobiles) Get your Crash Card from Comes with a card on which you can enter your emergency information to be placed in the lining of your helmet and a red sticker to be affixed to the right side of the hel- Christian Biker 2.11 Page 12 Christian Biker 2.11 Page 5

6 Community Bible School Christian Riders Fellowship initiative Providing free on-line courses with a strong focus on Bible teaching. click on the Community Bible School tab and complete the form to enroll. It s really that simple! NEW!!! Ten Signs of the End of Times Weekly ed study coming soon. Request this study by sending a message to: christianridersfellowship777@gmail.com Christian Biker 2.11 Page 6 don t get the facts right, we no longer have an accurate reality. The only reliable source of facts is the Word of God. We are to add up the facts found in the Bible especially in times of adversity to see what is really going on. Verses three and four now come to mean that the believer having a proper understanding of reality (Vlachos) when faced with adversity maintains mental health evident by the absence of anxiety or depression. For those who have not this experience, verse five provides the answer. The proper understanding of reality, the source being the Bible, is wisdom. The believer need only ask and keep on asking for God to reveal through His Word that which you need to know. Praying whilst reading the Bible must be acted on together, lest the asking is asking amiss. Allow me to put it plainer. The believer who thinks just praying about it will suffice, is headed towards mental instability. The believer who prayerfully consults the Bible is headed for mental stability. Now that James has described the believer with mental health, he goes on to describe the believer who is mentally unstable (6-11). The stable believer prays in faith ( So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Rom 10:17). The unstable believer also prays but doubting. Now doubting does not mean what we think. James illustrates with doubting being like a wave of the sea. It is driven and tossed by every wind of false or incomplete doctrine, human wisdom, or formulas (Eph 4:14). When the translators wrote must not in verse 7, James wrote STOP IT! Verse 8 expands on what is meant by doubting (believing false doctrine, human wisdom and formulas - anything other than the Word of God) with another poorly translated word; double-minded. The Greek word used here is dipsuchos : di = double and psuchos = soul. It should be double -souled, which makes a believer unstable ( akatastatos = inconsistent, turbulent, fickle, restless, The believer who prayerfully consults the Bible is headed for mental stability. and vacillating). Now you tell me if that sounds like symptoms of anxiety and/or obsessive compulsive disorder. Furthermore, the term all his ways (hodos) is not all the ways this person does things. It is a characteristic of his life. To be more direct: the doublesouled believer has mental health conditions. James continues his description of the unstable believer in verse nine by identifying depression and being cast down (lowly) and then boasting in his exaltation. This makes no sense at all. Why would a depressed person think they were exalted, or feeling up? James did not have the vocabulary for identifying mental conditions that we have today, but it sounds like a mood disorder or Bi-polar disorder: lowly = depression, exaltation = mania. Boasting is arrogance. Can the reader cite when someone they know with Bi-polar disorder who goes on a manic episode and off their medication because they feel great and in fact healed? In verse ten it only gets worse. Humiliation is tapeinosis which means de- Christian Biker 2.11 Page 11

7 Let s just say for the moment, that James is the half-brother of Jesus and the church s first psychologist/ counsellor/therapist to write about the mental health of believers. With this assumption in mind, we will now study the book of James. Also, this study will highlight some translation surprises that may get the readers defences up. This reaction is addressed in the text, but be assured that any correction in translation has come from a word study of the original language. I encourage my readers to check their concordances and commentaries before writing me a I don t agree letter. James Chapter 1 Most read verse one quickly and treat it as just an introduction that tells us who the writer is and who he is writing to. While that is true, this verse is included in the Word of God which should alert us to there being more to learn. James, in this one verse uses himself as an illustration Name dropping and borrowing strengths are both signs of a crippled self-esteem of the mentally healthy believer with spiritual self-esteem. This becomes clear when we observe how James could have introduced himself, but did not. He would have been within his rights to write Mental Health according to James By Rodney Osborne (A section summary from Rodney s new book Wasted Pain.) James, the brother of the Lord Jesus Christ, eye witness to His miracles, and deacon in the first church in Jerusalem, personal friend of Peter... All this would have amounted to was name dropping to gain credibility, or borrowing the strengths of others to compensate for any of his own weaknesses. Name dropping and borrowing strengths are both signs of a crippled self-esteem. Instead James says who he is in God s eyes, which is called spiritual self-esteem. The first sign, therefore of a mental health problem is the person who has self-esteem issues (inferiority, superiority or god complex). Verse two contains one often misquoted phrase that would drive many to acts of violence, or at least feeling like it: count it all joy. On face value, this verse looks like it is encouraging masochism, sadism, or maybe a bit kinky. That s how we define the one who is joyful when tortured. There would have to be a few Roo s loose in the top paddock wouldn t there? So, here is what this verse means: The believer with spiritual selfesteem responds to pressure or adversity by examining the Bible facts, providing them with the reality of the situation, producing happiness. The word count means to add up all the facts and come to a conclusion. The key question is what are the facts? Facts represent reality. When we Christian Biker 2.11 Page 10 Share this Magazine Please tell others about Christian Biker, and encourage them to visit our site to download past and future issues. Print out as many copies as you like and give it away. a copy to your contacts Refer them to: ordpress.com for more information Associations, Clubs, and Groups Directory (To be listed here, Name, , website, city & state, and contact number.) Christian Riders Fellowship Illawarra, NSW christianridersfellowship777@gmail.com Web: christianridersfellowship.wordpress.com Apostles CMC Penrith, NSW apostlescmc@gmail.com God s Squad CMC International sydney@gscmc.com Web: Soldiers of the Cross CMC Illawarra, NSW southernstardeveloments@gmail.com 5,000 Bikers in the Bible Christian Riders Fellowship is creating a register of Bikers who are in a bible study every week. The goal is to have 5,000 Bikers in the Bible every week Australia wide recognised on this register. Individuals and groups can register by (christianridersfellowship777@gmail.com). The details you need to provide are name, indicate whether individual or group, Town/suburb/ city, contact number or address. Go to for more information and bible study resources. Let s light up Australia Your Association, club or group details can go here (no charge). Send us your details now: christianridersfellowship777@gmail.com Christian Biker 2.11 Page 7

8 CHRISTIAN BIKER MAGAZINE IS GRATEFUL FOR THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THESE CLUBS/ GROUPS TO THIS MAGAZINE ( ) 2016) Download it, print it, fold it, stamp it and hand it out Runs, Rides, Meets & Church Christian Riders Fellowship: Prophet mountain ride: last Sunday afternoon of every month. Rodney for details: Soldiers of the Cross Bible Scotty s shed: Monday nights in Wollongong. Call for details. Open & Combined BBQ: Last Monday of every month. Rodney for details. Apostles open meeting: Friday nights 6.30pm, 97 Gascoigne Street, Kingswood. Serving every Thursday night at Kingswood Railway station with the street feed held by "Christ Mission Possible" and we also Serve one Friday every month with "Hands and Feet Ministries" at Martin Place and Tent City at Central Railway. apostlescmc@gmail.com God s Squad (Sydney) : BIBLE STUDIES Wollongong: Monday evenings: Contact Bill: bill@gscmc.com, Sylvania: Thursday evenings: Contact Garry garry@gscmc.com, Hornsby: Tuesday evenings: Contact Fred: fred@gscmc.com, St Clair: Alternate Thursday evenings: Contact Neil: neil@gscmc.com, SHED NIGHTS: Londonderry: Alternate Thursdays alternating with St Clair bible study: Contact Michael mike@gscmc.com OPEN RUNS: Shall be advertised on Facebook, EVENT AND GENERAL EN- QUIRES: sydney@gscmc.com Does your club or group have rides and meetings that you would like to invite others to? Send in the details: christianridersfellowship777@gmail.com These tracts are for you to hand out to your biker friends. Please place your details on the space provided. FREE Download from christianridersfellowship.wordpress.com Christian Biker 2.11 Page 8 Christian Biker 2.11 Page 9