A Hodge Podge of Logic & Leftovers from 2007

Well 2007 was an excellent year for foraging far and wide and my boots are well muddied and the lab is quite piled high with artifacts for collating and codifying. Here is a brief sample of some of the diverse discoveries, still covered in dust and in no particular order, from a year spent well:

The pastor went on to describe the process of dying that historically has occurred in the institutional church. You may be familiar with the example he cited of those magnificent cathedrals all through Europe, many of them built to accommodate congregations of four thousand, where the average Sunday attendance is about twenty-eight. This was his summary of their decline: God invests his message in a man, which becomes his ministry. Then the ministry becomes a movement, implemented by machinery. Then a monument is built to an institution. And finally it becomes a mausoleum.
Excerpt from Dying in the Institutional Church – Elaine Stedman, Ray Stedman's wife – Peninsula Bible Fellowship

Without Dad to confirm his manhood, the boy over-bonds with Mom, and later looks to women to define his destiny and save him from the crippling shame of fatherlessness...He's afraid to get close to a woman, for fear she'll discover his inadequacy and reject him. He's afraid to get close to a man, for fear men will take advantage of his weakness. It's hard for him to grasp a sense of calling or purpose in life.

Blaming Dad, who was himself abandoned by Grandad, only leaves a man alienated, bitter, and angry. Who can a man go to in order to get what he missed from Dad? Many of us have tried to get our masculinity from women, but it doesn't work. But we can't get it from other fatherless men, either.

When a man realizes that no human being can meet his need, he's ready to get real at last and cry out for his true Father God.
I think I got this from Gordon Dalbey at http://www.abbafather.com

God is going to invade this earth in force. But what's the good of saying you're on his side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else, something it never entered your head to conceive comes crashing in. Something so beautiful to us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left. This time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love, or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down, when it's become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing; it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realize it or not. Now, today, in this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever; we must take it or leave it.
C.S. Lewis quote on End Times

There are two spiritual forces at work in the Universe. One is only Good and the other is a deceptive power, using good only where and when it fits its greater destructive purposes. And make no mistake about it, the contrast between these two forces is extremely PERSONAL.
Much of contemporary wisdom tries to convince us that there are spiritual forces and principles that once you unlock the secret, can be utilized at your beck and call. Modern teachers refer to these like George Lucas does in Star Wars as a kind of universal force with a light and a dark side. This portrayal renders the force itself impersonal, a kind of universal mind or law that works like gravity for saint and sinner alike. THIS IS A LIE.
Beginning to a yet unpublished essay (of mine) entitled: The Uncertain Way: The Art of Living the Spiritual Life in a Deadly World

"The value of the myth is that it takes all the things we know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by the veil of familiarity… By putting bread, gold, horse, apple, or the very roads into a myth, we do not retreat from reality: we rediscover it…By dipping them in myth we see them more clearly."
C.S. Lewis speaking of Tolkien's work on The Lord of the Rings

Well, son, I'll tell you:

Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

It's had tacks in it,

And splinters,

And boards torn up,

And places with no carpet on the floor—Bare.

But all the time I'se been a-climbin' on,

And reachin' landin's,And turnin' corners,

And sometimes goin' in the dark

Where there ain't been no light.

So, boy, don't you turn back.

Don't you set down on the steps.

'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.

Don't you fall now—For I'se still goin', honey,

I'se still climbin',And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
Poem Mother to Son by Langston Hughes

I hope we'll all be able to meet again at the end of 2008 and the best meeting place would be at the Lord 's Table when he returns to bring the Kingdom of God to earth. But if we are not so blessed, then I hope that each one of you keeps climbing and, for God's sake, don't turn back.

King of Jesters and Jester to the King!


Then Jesus said to the Twelve, Do you also wish to go away?

Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the Words of eternal life. John 6:68

@ 2007 Joseph Ricciardi Jr

The Roaring of My Soul

Have you ever felt that because you're afraid to lose something or fail at something you are living way below your potential? I know I have. I struggle daily with the imposter that lives within me, the poser, the braggart, the man of flesh and blood, who fearful of dying sometimes forgets to live.

But isn't that what Jesus Christ did for us at the cross: take away the fear of death? So why are we still crawling around on our bellies licking up dust and running through the shadows?

I don't know but for me it's usually some kind of fear. Afraid that someone will not like me or respect me or understand me or whatever. You know, it's all a bunch of dung. The only thing that matters is what God thinks and says. Period. End of story.

But how difficult is it to believe that we are precious in His sight, chosen vessels to carry his treasure, more than conquerors over whatever may come our way, when our husband thinks we're stupid or our wife calls us a jerk or our kids are doing stuff they shouldn't and we don't have enough money to do whatever it is we want to do and it seems like days turn into weeks and we're like chasing our tails around and around and nothing seems to be changing. Even after all the great teachings and counseling and the 'breakthroughs' and epiphanies we've had in our journey thru life, things are still difficult.

That's the real rub isn't it? How do we have faith and believe in the words of the invisible God and our Savior Jesus Christ when all around us our little world is falling apart and we can't do a thing to stop some of the erosion. All we can do is take care of our own heart and soul and mind and strength and even that fails at times. Pile a little guilt and shame onto this fiasco and you have a full blown recipe for despair, I'll tell you what. And with all the knowledge and wisdom I think that I have, and all the friendships and relationships I think that I have, there are still days where the abyss comes rushing in usually during the late night, early morning hours and I am tempted to panic, to despair, to cut and run, to lash out against God and humanity.

I only know one thing to do when the whole world seems to be on fire around me and within me and I am not strong enough to save myself, let alone those I love: I have to roar out my praises to God. And for me it's really a roar: a deep, guttural groaning roar to the heavens. Loudly, knowing and caring nothing for my self for good or ill, I raise my head and roar my praises to Him and His son, the rightful rulers of the universe.

I am dust and I will return to dust. No matter how many times I spin this little dirt bike of mine around the world's track, no matter how many books or bucks I collect on the journey and no matter who loves or hates me righteously or unrighteously, I will someday in my body stand before the Lord God Almighty and my Savior Jesus Christ. That will be my day of glory for even if he judges me according to my deeds, yet is my salvation secure in my savior.

Therefore from the depth of my anguish and disappointments and inabilities I roar with the strength of the Lion of Judah within: Great is God our Father and Great is His Son Jesus Christ and Great is His Kingdom which is coming to earth. Let all who draw breath praise Him. Let all who are wise be fools. Let all who would speak before Him be dumb. Let the humble in spirit approach and let the meek guide all of us to His throne. I await the coming of the Lord God of hosts and the armies in heaven which shall be led by the One on whose thigh is written the name above all Names. Even so come quickly Lord Jesus.

In the meantime, while we are waiting, can I get anyone a glass of water?

@ 2007 Joseph Ricciardi Jr

Are You Naked?

49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49

This most precious clothing of the soul, the gift of holy spirit, poured out by Jesus Christ from the Father’s right hand, is the power and ability to overcome all of the inevitable challenges of life that will seek to cause us to run and hide from God’s presence in shame. There is no better way to cover the soul of man nor is there a more advantageous position that an individual can find than to be accepted by grace into the church of God by the death and resurrection of the Savior, Jesus Christ. No amount of good works either from the law of Moses or the laws of man, no disciplining of the body towards ascetism or honing of the soul towards the higher ethos will ever give an individual the warmth and security and complete covering of the soul’s nakedness before God than that which God himself provides for his people by way of the new birth.

When Adam and Eve first sinned, they sewed fig leaves together into aprons to cover their nakedness. In place of this, God gave them the best covering that was available at that time: the blood and skins of animals. In this incredible day of Grace and salvation, God has once again given the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, the best of what is available: the righteous life and death of His only begotten son.

We are no longer naked and ashamed, hiding behind coverings of our earthly making. We are now completely covered in Christ Jesus from any sense of sin, guilt, shame or shortcomings. This is the great message of the gospel of salvation: He has removed our poor, earthly rags that barely cover the soul of man and has replaced them with the unhemmed garments of purity, faith and love. We no longer need to flagellate ourselves mentally or emotionally with the consciousness of our unworthiness, groveling before the creator like a subject comes on their face before a mighty Gentile king or emperor. Rather, through the kindness and goodness of God as exhibited in the face of Jesus Christ we are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb and He himself has provided the garments we are to wear.

So then if this great thing has been done for us, why is there still those among us who are suffering mentally and emotionally? If this salvation is so great that it has now swallowed up the curse of the Law and overcome the weakness of our flesh, why do we still see members of the church of God begging in the town squares for understanding, for peace, for love, for acceptance?

There is one place and one place only to look and it is at once the most satisfying and terrifying of answers to the human soul. When all else is stripped away and we finally kneel in our own gardens of Gethsemane, we face the same agonizing choice that Christ faced in his earthly body: “not my will but thy will be done.” The inner heart of man, that which we direct through our mind and emotions, the seat of our personal life, that which makes you, you and me, me…this is the place where the battle now rages. “It is me, oh Lord. Help thou my unbelief.”

17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Eph 4:17-24

There it is, in all its simplicity and glory: “put off your old self (habits, ways of thinking…your old clothes) and “put on the new self” (the one that God created in you when you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior). This is the true secret to victorious living. Once a person has “clothed with power from on high”, it is up to individual to make the salvation we have been given the dominant awareness and reality of our hearts and minds by purposefully removing the tattered rags of the sin nature (our old man) and putting on in our heart and our thoughts the beautiful new nature of the spirit so that we will not “conform any longer to the pattern of this world“ but we will be “transformed by the renewing of your mind.”(Rom 12:2)

Are you still trying to “clean up your act” by dry cleaning the sin nature of Adam and Eve? Worse yet, have you rejected the old man with it’s deeds but rather than accepting the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ are trying instead to clothe yourself in some self-righteousness by prayer or good works or some other such ascent to godliness? Be wise and forego the agony for He who loves you has already ascended to the right hand of God to prepare a place for you and He will come back again to get you. Therefore, be wise as serpents but harmless as doves, accept the grace of our Lord Jesus and begin the heart strengthening work of sowing God’s thoughts and words into your conscious and subconscious mind. Reject the dead, lifeless philosophies of this world and the vain imaginings of the pontificating, supercilious old fool that lives within all of us who thinks he knows what’s really going on. Reject that poor soul and instead put on the rich wardrobe of the mind of Christ.

3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Cor 10:5

@ 2008 Joseph Ricciardi Jr

The Dirty Little Secret

If you haven’t heard about the book/DVD called The Secret that’s been making the rounds for the past year or so, you might now be in the minority. If you live in California, especially Southern California where this type of thing is embraced with messianic fervor, you would be in a very tiny minority.

The Secret, which was # 1 on the New York Times bestseller list for a number of months, has catapulted into our consciousness as a DVD that is a cross between a late night info-mercial and the movie The DaVinci code complete with conspirators and secret societies, who allegedly, kept this knowledge from us for millennia. Of course, now this one lady, who discovered the secret after her father’s death and at a low point in her life, she is the modern day apostle who is changing all that for the first time in history. You can see why people get excited over this kind of thing…it’s like an adventure novel just learning about it.

In the last six months or so, the Secret has been highlighted on Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Montel Williams and Larry King; it’s been spoofed and parodied on Saturday Night Live, Boston Legal and The Chaser’s War on Everything; it’s been talked about on Nightline and the Today Show; it’s been written about in Time Magazine, New York Post, Christian Science Monitor and the Ottawa Citizen.

The short synopsis of the book is this: The universe contains certain laws that are metaphysical (beyond just physical laws like gravity, for example). These metaphysical laws “govern” who does well and who does poorly. If you and I can learn these laws and operate them, we can be successful at anything, all the time, everywhere. The greatest law for the author, is one she refers to as “The Law of Attraction”. Understanding this law, the concept that like thoughts attract like thoughts, is her explanation for almost everything that happens to everyone day by day. You can watch the first 20 minutes for free on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b1GKGWJbE8 .

Here is the introduction to the DVD/book from the official Secret website: http://thesecret.tv/home.html .

The Secret is released to the world! This ground-breaking feature length movie presentation reveals The Great Secret of the universe. It has been passed throughout the ages, traveling through centuries... to reach you and humankind. This is The Secret to everything - the secret to unlimited joy, health, money, relationships, love, youth: everything you have ever wanted. In this astonishing program are ALL the resources you will ever need to understand and live The Secret. For the first time in history, the world's leading scientists, authors, and philosophers will reveal The Secret that utterly transformed the lives of every person who ever knew it... Plato, Newton, Carnegie, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Einstein. Now YOU will know The Secret. And it could change your life forever.

Obviously there are some real holes and gaps in this theory of the Law of Attraction and it hasn’t taken critics of this movement long to identify its real weakness which is the callous worldview that grows from an acceptance of this theory as explanative of things going on in the world generally and our lives personally. In this way it parallels the big social, pseudo-scientific movement of the late 1800’s: social Darwinism. Just like natural selection and survival of the fittest has given us the current species existing on earth, in like manner, that theory argued, those who are wealthy and in power are there because of an inane fitness and rightness to the social universe: nature has just exercised her prerogative to allow the strongest and the best to survive in a social parallel to physical evolution. This theory hit its height with idea of Eugenics which when adopted by the National Socialist Party of Germany in the 1930’s (NAZI party) as an explanation for cultural genocide, i.e. the gas chambers used to exterminate the Jews. Similarly critics have been quick to point out the parallels with the Law of Attraction. If everything is drawn or attracted to us, both positive and negatives, by our thoughts, what we’re dwelling on so to speak then it’s kind of like saying we all get what we deserve. So the murder victim, rape victim, terrorist casualty and cancer patient all deserved what they got? You can see where this leads quite quickly.

Albeit, these obvious criticisms notwithstanding, there are many who have become strong followers of this philosophy of attraction. Mostly, I believe, due to the book and DVD’s emphasis on material prosperity: cars, houses, jobs, etc. On some level all of us are tempted by greed and material abundance. When a book comes along that not only legitimizes greed but says the only reason you’re NOT wealthy is because your thinker is messed up, if your moral and ethical standards don’t throw up a few red flags, what is to stop anyone from just going for it? I mean who wants the opposite: attract poverty? Really.

But I think that the real little dirty secret goes way beyond the milk toast, pop culture concept of the Law of Attraction, to the undercurrent of many spiritualist groups and pseudo-religious groups in our midst, like the Unity Church, for example, for whom the law of attraction goes way beyond getting a parking space at the mall (one of the popular tests for new adherents to The Secret’s philosophy is to try and attract stuff to them in everyday situations, thus you find testimonials like: “wow, I pictured parking in a certain area and when I got there, there was this empty space…now I know it works”).

No longer desiring to be labeled as New Age, these groups preferring to be referred to as part of the New Thought movement, preach a blend of psychology, wealth building, personal wholeness and world peace that includes making contact with angels and spirit guides through opening the mind to the unseen realities. The actress, Della Reese, whose full name is now Della Reese Lett, is one such disciple. Most of us became familiar with Della when she was the star of a TV show entitled: “Touched by an Angel.” Ms. Lett is also the founder and minister of a church in Los Angeles called: “Understanding Principles of Better Living”. Here’s her take on “The Secret”:
"Child, The Secret hasn't been a secret since the times of Moses, if not before.but every generation needs a new way to look at things that have been around a while. I suppose right now The Secret is it."

Another avowed spiritualist who has been preaching this “secret” for years is a woman named Esther Hicks. Wikipedia defines her as follows:

Esther Hicks is an American spirit channeler, motivational speaker, and best-selling author. Esther Hicks identifies herself as the channel for a group of non-physical beings who call themselves "Abraham". Most commonly, this channeled material is referred to under the name Abraham-Hicks.

Her husband, Jerry Hicks is a long time devotee of Napoleon’s Hills classic book on prosperity “Think and Grow Rich.” Then during the mid 1980’s, Jerry became enamored of the spiritualist book by Jane Roberts about the spirit guide named Seth whom she channeled and who led her into writing a series of books by the same name. In bringing all this to his wife’s attention in the mid 1980’s she eventually became a channel for the “Abraham” group of spirit guides. Mrs. Hicks was actually on the original DVD of the Secret but her portion was removed due to contractual issues and disagreements over marketing. You can actually watch Esther’s comments about that on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtE4v3YYJEA . It’s a little weird in that Esther talks about herself as if she’s not there…it’s all in the 3rd person, so if this stuff creeps you out, you might want to avoid it.

The “Abraham” voice channeled through Esther take credit for the entire phenomenon called the Secret. The spirits speaking through Esther says that what the author of “The Secret” is doing is “not nice” and is concerned that the DVD/book doesn’t go far enough because it only speaks about the Law of Atraction and doesn’t talk about disembodied spirits and that we are “force energy” in physical bodies. It is both interesting and instructive to note here that according to Wikopedia, the teachings of this “Abraham” spirit working through this poor lady, Esther Hicks (who I’m sure counts herself as blessed…and she is very popular and wealthy) is promoting at least two of the same ideas that the the Bible records that serpent told Adam and Eve in the garden:

1) you shall not surely die
2) ye shall be as gods

Both of these lies, originally voiced by the enemy of the One True God, are two of the foundations of the New Thought movement as espoused by Esther Hicks as well as others. Mrs. Hicks claims publicly that her ministry is the “cause” for the book actually coming out at this time. In other words, her “throwing out” her thoughts and psychic energy into the universe (we used to call it the ether in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s but the universe is much more scientific sounding, don’t you think?) all these years by way of her teachings and publications actually (using the alleged law of attraction) brought this information to the author of The Secret, which Esther says (like Della Reese) is not really a secret at all but just something everyone experiences and knows about (like gravity) and the real secret is what she is promoting but the world isn’t ready for it yet.

Well I for one hope that the world is never ready for the preachings and teachings of New Thought adherents and spiritualists like Della Reese Lett and Esther Hicks. Their secret is a dirty one: “there is no God per se but we are all part of the godhead, an expression of the universe that we are all a part of. You just need to imagine (like John Lennon’s song Imagine) that none of these things are true and you become a “creator” by casting your thoughts into the unknown and then they come back to you” bringing seven other nasty thoughts with them.(if you get the reference). Or their other dirty little secret that “Christ was a man like everyone else and, although possibly a great teacher, certainly not the Son of God who died for your sins, we are all part saviors and sinners – what’s important is not the man Jesus but the Christ spirit that possesses those who seek for it”.

Well if you’ve read this far, you’re obviously a good friend, or highly intelligent, or really interested in this topic, or perhaps all three. But the real point is that no matter how popular an idea is, no matter how many thousands of people believe and espouse it, no matter how alluring or fascinating it may be to consider drawing all power to yourself (kind of like the genie in Aladdin’s lamp), there is a day of reckoning coming for all of us on earth where we will get to stand before the Creator (the real one…not the creator concept) and his judgements will be all that matter. Thank God that we have been enlightened, not by secret knowledge from Babylon and Egypt but by the only writing worthy of our devotion and adherence: the Holy Scriptures that God breathed by way of holy men of God who were moved by the holy spirit. The answers are out there…even on myspace. The antitode is growing within arms length of the poison plant. Remember friends don’t let friends get driven mad by insane philosophies and vain deceits of men, cunningly crafted fables designed to lead us away from the path and into the brambles of arrogance that grow up all around us in every generation.

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my Path.

@ 2008 Joseph Ricciardi Jr

What do you think?

In the early 1900’s, an obscure writer by the name of James Allen wrote a book entitled “As a Man Thinketh” which has sold millions of copies around the world in five languages. Some go as far as to claim that this book helped spawn the self-improvement industry that was such a large part of the 20th century. Mr. Allen got the inspiration as well as the title for the book from Proverbs 23, verse 7: “as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” The essence of the book’s message can be found in chapter one:

A noble and God-like character is not a thing of favor or chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking, the effect of long-cherished association with God-like thoughts. An ignoble and bestial character, by the same process, is the result of the continued harboring of groveling thoughts.

You know sometimes I doubt in my heart that I will ever even come close to a noble and God-like character but then other times I feel as if it is the only thing worth striving for. After all God has done for us through the agency of His son, our Lord Jesus Christ, should I do any less?

Well whether I ever attain that for which I seek, I am convinced that the thoughts and ideas that I sow into my heart and life will have a huge effect on the attitudes and behaviors that follow. Due to the weakness of my flesh and the circumstances of life, I am continually being put in situations to make choices to avoid things that are detrimental to my mental health. I'm kind of a like a 'mental health food nut' who doesn't want to poison the ‘body of my mind’ with sugar or coffee or alcohol or fatty foods. Of course, sometimes I slip but for the most part I choose not to indulge myself.

It always seems kind of ironic to me when I encounter people who fully understand the need to take care of their physical body: exercise, massages, healthy diets, etc. but see absolutely no need to care for their soul or mental health through a similar type of regiment. Have you run into this attitude also? People who righteously refuse to drink soda or eat greasy foods but who think nothing about swallowing mega doses of idolatrous philosophy or pornographic songs and images? Ohhhh and it makes me wonder…

Well I've got my own hypocrisy to deal with as well as my own challenges. Sometimes I'm really good at avoiding the bad thoughts, ideas and philosophies but I don't spend a heck of a lot of time sowing good ideas in. I've learned that it takes a proactive stance to be able to truly be "transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom 12:2). It doesn't just happen because I keep bad thoughts at bay or don't dabble in porn or listen to hard core sexual music or avoid egregiously ungodly movies, etc. The real treasure lies in being able to control not only of what I don't think about but also what I do think about as well. In other words, to think about what I'm thinking about. I am encouraged by Paul's reflection in Philippians chapter four, verses eight and nine:
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest , whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and worthy of praise. That’s quite a list. Paul sounds a bit like a good moral philosopher doesn’t he? Then he exhorts us to imitate his Christ-like example as well as to do the things which we have been taught in Christ and the God of peace will be with us.

I intuit a major difference between this Biblical exhortation to attain inner peace and some popular Eastern religious ideas that crop up now and again. My experience of the modern Eastern ideas has been that one needs to empty one's mind in order to gain inner peace. In contrast, the Apostle Paul is exhorting us not to empty our minds but rather to purposefully fill them with wholesome thoughts and then to act in a godly way in order to gain inner peace.

Perhaps this is why after a whole generation of Buddhist and Taoist practices and philosophies that have been introduced into our culture and language through pop music, people of influence, metaphysical teachers and new-age disciples we continue to see a rise in the number of FDA approved medicines aimed at reducing stress, acid reflux, heart disease and insomnia. It might be time to try something new and follow a more ancient path to peace. What do you think?

@ 2007 Joseph Ricciardi Jr

The Dynamics of Being

How difficult I find it to just “be”: to live in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and not be anxious for something to happen. There seem to be forces pulling constantly on my soul to “do more” or to “be more” or to “have more”. I seem at times to be suspended between the planning and the carrying out of the plan.

And whose plan is it anyway? Yours? Mine? Ours? Voices wielding shards of truth which stab at my heart in an attempt to root out apathy. Kind voices, concerned voices, angry voices, impassioned pleas drip off my soul like water after a shower.

Oh wretched man that I am…who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Those were the words of the Apostle Paul when he exposed to us and the “saints at Rome” the struggle with sin he had within himself.

For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Who am I that I shouldn’t find those same struggles within myself? Am I greater than Paul? Have I escaped the realities of existence here in the 21st century by way of knowledge or affluence or technology? “Not I”, said the cow with the curly horns who lowed at the babe on Christmas morn. Not I.

Paul’s response to this self-realization?: I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

For Paul it was a recognition that there was no good thing within him but that this new life, this new way of being: life in Christ, delivered him from the bondage of corruption, i.e. sin and death. I am because he (Christ) is. I have because he did. I will be because he has been and will come again. This is the true dynamics of being for a son of God thru Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rejoice my brothers and sisters. Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

@ 2008 Joseph Ricciardi Jr

Headstrong and Loving It?

You know when I was a kid I had two very strong attributes: my skull and the hair on top of it.

The hair earned me such inglorious nicknames, among the kind-hearted school children I was privileged to work with on a daily basis, as Brillo, SOS and steel wool. My hair is still pretty thick today, which at almost 50 years old is actually a good thing, although it still won’t get wet when swimming.

My thick skull, on the other hand, is a whole lot thinner (although as Jesus’ experienced firsthand, you can’t go by what your family thinks of you or you’re sunk before you start). And what I found out about myself in this lifelong, thinning process is that there was an inverse relationship between the thickness of my skull and the thinness of my skin. In other words, the more I let others opinions of me enter my “thin skin”, the more “thick skulled” I reacted in my day to day living with those same people.

Today, as one of the founding members of the “Let’s Cover Up our own Weaknesses and Insecurities by Being Angry and Blaming Others for our Unhappiness” club, it’s become exceedingly easy to spot other members. Unfortunately not all members have the awareness that they’re actually in our little club, which isn’t all that little either. Actually I think it’s more like an underground society than a club: nobody wants to admit that they, not others, hold the real key to their own happiness and freedom. Because after all, to borrow loosely from Stan Lee’s Spiderman: “with great freedom comes great responsibility”

I even know some society members personally who go out of their way to cover up their thin skinned membership by pretending that nothing ever bothers them in the least. They don’t need anybody. Man, can I relate to that. I sometimes wonder if God didn’t call me into the body of Christ just so he can point to me and say: “See that fool over there, yeah the one with the steel wool hair, you’re not as big a fool as he was and he’s changing.”

It’s difficult sometimes to see others, especially those you know and love, go down the same dead end roads of pain and loneliness that you hung out on for so long rather than admit that they don’t know it all and they might even be wrong sometimes! As if making mistakes and being wrong is the worst thing in the world. Remember the Pharisees? Jesus said if they had acknowledged their blindness it would be one thing, but they’re blind and trying to make everybody else think that they’ve got 20/20 vision, so Jesus said their darkness is doubly dark. That was me: the blind trying to lead the blind.

I can always tell someone who’s struggling with these issues in their own personal lives because they have no grace or forgiveness for myself or others. When I encounter someone holding a grudge or stuck in unforgiveness, they might have a whole Broadway show choreographed around why they’re justified in treating me or others they way they are but no matter how much the world applauds their little charade, they still have to remove the mask at the end of the day and face the man in the mirror, like the rest of us.

I recently watched this comic-tragedy play out in the marriage of two friends. One just refused to change. The individual felt justified in his/her actions and by God, no one, not even Jesus Christ himself, was going to talk him or her out of their anger. They earned it and they had a right to hate this other brother/sister in Christ. There is something about the marriage struggle that just seems to empower a man or woman to feel justified in our actions: every man is right in his own eyes.

It’s funny how stupid I always felt after the fact when I saw myself for what I was and how I had been acting. Yeah, you can fool most of the people, most of the time but what’s the use of trying?

There’s room at the cross for the thinnest skinned and thickest skulled among us, of which I myself am living proof, because he loves me and you NOT for what we could be, NOT for what we should be, NOT for what our husband wants us to be or what our wife wishes we were but he loves you and me just as we are: heads, hearts, hands and skin.

May we all be blessed with the drenching rain of simplicity, forgiveness, compassion and love towards our fellow men and women: especially they who are of the household of faith.

If it ain’t worth having, it ain’t worth holding on to. Why not lighten your own load today instead of waiting for others to lighten it out for you? All you’ve got to lose is your fat head and a little bit of pain.

The jester remains Headstrong in the faith and Thin Skinned towards evil-doers.

@ 2008 Joseph Ricciardi Jr

Rare Bear

I don’t remember exactly when I first had the pleasure of meeting Winnie the Pooh but I do remember when he became more than just a character in a children’s book. Sometime after the birth of our first child, Pooh became a member of the family and his adventures became favorite bed time reading stories. In fact, Pooh was so popular at various times throughout our family’s history that it was completely unnecessary to wait until evening to enjoy the camaraderie of Piglet, Owl, Rabbit, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga, Roo and, of course, Christopher Robin: we could tell stories of Pooh bear at any hour of the day.

I’ll never forget reading lines from one of Christopher Robin’s poems as almost a family right of passage when a child’s age would pass beyond that mystical time when each year could be represented by the fingers on a single hand:

Now we are six,
And we’re better than ever.
I think we’ll stay six,
For ever and ever.

Although all of our children are now well past that enchanting age of six, the memories of those days imagining the Hundred Acre woods were just outside our door are so precious that they dwarf the $26,000 being charged by a rare book dealer for the honor of owning a set of original first editions of the Winnie the Pooh books in excellent condition, encased in dust jackets, whose advertisement appeared on the back page of the New York Times Sunday Review of Books just last week. I would never trade.

“If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together.. there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. but the most important thing is, even if we're apart.. i'll always be with you.”

@ 2007 Joseph Ricciardi Jr

(old) Man to (young) Man

WARNING - the following unfiltered words come from the heart of a male and have not been processed with any artificial coloring or sweeteners. Do not continue reading this if you are easily offended by the truth or the use of the word “crap”. After reading, if you are left with a bitter taste in your mouth, it might be good to lay off the sugar coated identities that the American mainstream media has been shoving down your throat for years, bite your lip and get a grip. God has the answer to every possible question you could ask except one: “Are you willing to pay the price to know the Truth and thereby be set free?”

Young friend, the sooner you decide to stop feeling sorry for yourself and look around at the greatness of the opportunities you have been given, the faster you will progress in every aspect of life including relationships with the opposite sex.

You are what you eat and if you keep preparing and serving your heart crap about yourself, no one's going to go out with you, except some other poor soul who’s been slurping up the same diet. Believe me no matter what pseudo-romantic tripe Hollywood peddles as reality, two saps don’t make one awesome couple. The world will just keep spinning around the two of you, slowly and steadily sucking your youth, along with your time, talents and potential down the drain. It’s a tough road, my friend but you might be surprised how many of us still take it despite all the warning signs we put up at the entrance year after year for young travelers like yourself. I guess that’s why they say love is blind …and sometimes I think illiterate too.

Humility is very cool but timidity sucks and that’s more what I get from you when I hear you speak about yourself and read what you write. It sounds a bit like humility but it’s hollow. If you want one of these young ladies you know to get interested in you, then don't drop their names in a blog and talk about them. That's weak and they'll avoid you if for no other holier reason than to not look dumb to their girlfriends. Women at any age, definitely tend to feel sorry for whipped puppies and cute little kittens but the bright ones at any age, will still choose to go out with men. So get it together and get off the sympathy train before you decide to take a trip down lover’s lane.

If you want something, you have to go after it. Talk to the young lady herself (not to one of her ‘friends’) and tell her how you feel. Don’t make it up or embellish it just tell the truth. The worst thing she can do is laugh at you. However, my experience is that if you’re honest, most of the time that’s not going to happen. In fact, chances are she’ll be too stunned to laugh not having met that many authentic males in her life. Of course there are the ones out there that are still immature and you might run across one of those but at least then you’ll know what you’re dealing with. So either way you can’t really lose. And best of all, it puts you back in the driver’s seat. Instead of life taking you for a joy ride of heartbreak and disappointment, you can decide for yourself where to go, when to leave and how fast to travel.

Here's something to consider. You're really awesome when it comes to relationships and people. You're funny, kind, outgoing, brave, hip and intelligent. For some reason, right now you don’t see all that about yourself. Around women you’re kind of acting like a jellyfish, hanging around on the surface without any backbone. I’m not suggesting you become one of these immature young boys who act tough in order to hide the insecurities they’re carrying within. You passed that stage in 7th grade. But seriously who dropped you in the toilet man. You need to wake up and piss on the roses and BE someone that young ladies can't stand NOT to be with. You don't need a nurse to fix your wounded soul. Let God do that work. A woman can't do it anyway even if she thinks she can and even if you allow her to try to take the place of God in your life. In my experience, too many women attempt to be a man’s savior and consequently a large number of these get burned in their efforts by men who refuse to grow up. You are NOT one of those men. You never have been, so why are you pretending to be that now?

And when it comes to love, stop trying so hard. Love has a way of coming around more often when you're not shining a thousand watt flashlight in its eyes…Who’s putting pressure on you to get a relationship with a young woman by the end of this weekend or your life might be over? Pay attention to the little things around you every day. For instance, there might be some little thing right around you even now who "likes" you and would maybe even like you more if you paid some attention to her but you're not "seeing" what’s right in front of your eyes because you're too busy focusing on what you don't have. Who knows, her heart might be lonely and hurting sometimes just like yours is now and you might end up making a friend or two.

Finally, while you’re waiting for that incredible one woman who will rock your world and change the course of history, don’t forget to be on alert for the poor silly girls who have been fooled into believing that makeup, eyeliner, neck lines and skirt lengths somehow make up for personality, character, wisdom and intelligence. Pity them, educate them, help them but for God’s sake don’t fall in love with them; at least not until they’ve made the decision to grow up and become women. You might think you can change them but real change comes from the inside out and you might just be offering yourself up as a punching bag or sparring partner until they’re really ready to go the distance in the big dance. Unless you’ve got an unction from the holy spirit junction, I’d avoid that trap like the clap and find yourself a real woman.

Have an awesome day young man. I hope you change the world…for good.

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. Proverbs 31: 10-12

This is an open letter to any young American man struggling to have a real relationship with a young woman in his post-modern, absurdly-sensitive, digitally-enhanced world. It is written from the biased and limited perspective of an older American man whose God has shown him much mercy and grace throughout his journey thus far. Take it with a grain of salt.

@ 2007 Joseph Ricciardi Jr

The world that has been pulled over your eyes

I love the scene in “The Matrix” where Morpheus makes the offer to Neo (the Red pill) to find out what the Matrix really is all about. If you haven’t seen the movie, that scene alone is worth the effort. Morpheus calls the matrix:

… the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.

Of course, once Neo becomes “enlightened” to the truth his life actually becomes more difficult and bleak. Those of us who follow the Lord Jesus Christ and have accepted his offer of life in the age to come, are acutely aware of how true to experience this can be.

One of the other characters in the movie, Cypher, regrets his decision to take the red pill and find out “how deep the rabbit-hole goes”. He would rather be a slave, asleep and oblivious to the reality of what’s going on, feeding on “virtual” steak and accepting the blinders. In order to regain the womb to tomb comfort of the Matrix, he sells out his compatriots to the enemy. His spoken philosophy: “Ignorance is bliss.”

Gosh I’m so much like Cypher and like Neo. I want to be the one who takes the red pill, faces reality and lives out of my true heart come what may. But then I’m a well seasoned American child of affluence who enjoys worldly comforts. “Oh wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom 7:24) Like Cypher, I like my creature comforts.

So although we’re not just batteries for a race of evil machines, like the horrible future portrayed in “The Matrix”, there is an evil that would like to ruin our lives in a fruitless pursuit of things that are not worthy of our attention. In fact, the world in which we live, is, in many ways orchestrated to appeal to our basest emotions and intentions and thus shipwreck our faith and reliance on God and divine providence. I agree with the Apostle John in his first epistle to the Church where he writes:

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abides for ever. (1John 2:15-17)

Don’t let them pull the world over your eyes! Love God and eschew evil. Jesus Christ is coming again.

@ 2007 Joseph Ricciardi Jr