Carlos Aleman

Prosperity Gospel

Carlos — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:16:00 +0000

"...The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." When I heard these things, I sat down and wept... -Nehemiah 1:3ff

If you would like to be able to tell the difference between true Christianity and man made religion, I would love to recommend this book to you: Charismatic Chaos by John MacArthur Jr.

Tai Chi and Cigarettes

Carlos — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 01:25:00 +0000

I saw a man on the side of the road the other day practicing Tai Chi. And I thought to myself, "looks healthy", although I don't know much about it. As I got closer, I noticed he was smoking a cigarette, and I thought, "hmm, not so healthy.."

I thought about an observation that author Donald Miller made, that truth was complicated and messy. If something is not messy, then it's probably not real -somebody just made it up. His point was that the bible is complicated and messy, therefore real.

I think some would look at the Tai Chi and use it as a metaphor for spirituality and the cigarette as sin. Or, I suppose you can also look at the two as self righteousness and the reality that you cannot hide. I think the heartbreaking reality that the bible presents to us as Christians is that we have both an old self/sin nature and a new self/spiritual nature that we have to contend with. This is complicated and messy.

Lights

Carlos — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 11:07:00 +0000

Our fellowship met last night for the first time on our new property. A candlelight church meeting without a building. We sang, prayed and waved our candles -all for Him.

TruthSeekers

Carlos — Wed, 23 Feb 2005 12:50:00 +0000

Me and the 'TruthSeekers'

I've been teaching Sunday school again -it's good to be back. The mega quantities of vitamins and green tea have driven away fatigue and stress. I've lost some weight and my blood pressure is looking good. Thanks for your prayers!

The 'TruthSeekers' are a very special group. It's silly to think that I'm teaching them anything -most are over twice my age. I think the important thing is to just spend time with them. I sense that this is the work that has been given to me.

We'll soon be starting a new series based on the new book by Max Lucado, "Come Thirsty". I'm really excited about studying and discussing this book. Here's an excerpt:

The teacher sat up a bit straighter, made a tent with his hands, and began to speak. "Stress signals a deeper need, a longing. We long to fit in, to make a difference. Acceptance, significance -these matter to us. So we do what it takes; we go into debt to buy a house, we stretch the credit card to buy the clothes...and life on the treadmill begins."
"treadmill?"
"Right, we spend a lot of energy going nowhere..."

Genuine Love

Carlos — Fri, 17 Sep 2004 21:08:00 +0000

Just completed a project called "Genuine Love". Please take a look -just click here or on the image above. You'll need the Flash plugin to view it. Remember to turn on your sound.

If you like it, please tell a friend.

No Need to be Lonely

Carlos — Tue, 10 Aug 2004 12:20:00 +0000

See?? -This is what happens when I don't get any e-mails or replies to my blog... Just kidding!

I'm currently reading Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them by John Ortberg. Since I'm fascinated by people, I'm really enjoying this book that teaches how life is all about relationships and community. Ortberg points out that 90 percent of people have no close friendships yet most people would not admit that they are lonely.

The day I fell in love with the church was the day that my life changed. I realized that Christians are ordinary people who sometimes make mistakes and that it wasn't right for me to judge them. So many wonderful things began to happen to me that it was almost as if God were saying, "Good boy! Now you're learning!"

Last night, I was watching a documentary on Discovery Health about Terry Wallis who came out of a coma after 19 years. What really moved me was how his daughter, who was only a baby when he was in the car accident, loved him so much despite his brain damage and the vulgar things that came out of his mouth.

The program also featured a man who had suffered microscopic damage to the frontal lobe of his brain during a minor car accident and was now unable to love his family. His wife's love for him was amazing and unconditional.

If we could all love one another this same way.

"As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34

Drawing a Portrait (A Christian Perspective)

Carlos — Mon, 09 Aug 2004 12:15:00 +0000

Remember, you have a lot in common with the face you are looking at. Before you take a soft lead and capture their essence with a loose gesture sketch, think back to when you were a child drawing with crayons. Have you ever thought what you would tell a very young version of yourself? Maybe something like, "oh, you don't want to know..." Or maybe, "I'm so sorry about the things that are going to happen, it'll be alright".

The subject you are about to draw, has probably had his or her heart broken by some tragedy or struggle . It could be going on this very moment. Instead of wanting to hurt you the way they've been hurt, they are kind of enough to offer their face for study. Even if it's just a reference photograph, it is the same little child posing and saying, "this is me, hope you like". It's easy to love people once you are aware of this.

Drawing a portrait gives you a chance to remove yourself from your 'little world' and focus your attention on another person. It's been said that if you wish to be miserable, you must think about yourself, about what you want, what you like, and what respect people ought to pay you.

Being a Christian, I believe that there is an 'old self' that we need to deny, and that we need to 'put on the new self'. The biggest problem is forgetting who I really am -a new person.

Christianity is not a religion, therefore there is nothing required of me in order to gain God's love. I meet with other Christians on Sunday, because we are one and want to share what we've found. There are two main rules (actually three) -I'm allowed to break them sometimes, but the new person in me desperately wants to obey them. Here they are:

Love God, love your neighbor, love your self (new self).

One day, when we were scribbling away with our Crayolas, having the time of our lives, someone came along and told us that we were worthless -that we would never be creative artists or architects of something wonderful that would benefit others. That was when we put away our crayons. If you are still drawing or painting, you are either fortunate, courageous or crazy. :-)

Jesus never told anyone that they were worthless. However, He did condemn religious hypocrisy and warned about the false teachers to come. What is a false teacher? Anyone who would have you focus on your performance instead of your relationship with God, and [pardon my statement of belief] deny that Jesus is God.

These false teachers, that have never learned to love themselves, obsess about their neighbor's sinfulness. They are so angry and guilty that they make everyone around them angry and guilty.

Get to know real Christians, don't accept substitutes. Observe them and you will see what true love is. Our human love is fickle, depending on how others treat us. When Christ lives in our hearts, we now have a divine love that is ever present despite circumstances.

Now that you've made a rough sketch, [to be continued... ]

Pictures from NY and Virginia

Carlos — Tue, 29 Jun 2004 14:12:00 +0000

Benji in the back seat

Back from a conference in Virginia and a trip to NY. I had an opportunity to meet with believers from all over the world. I also viewed the World Trade Center site for the first time since the attacks. There was a new exhibit: "Unwavering Spirit- Hope and healing at ground zero" at St. Paul's Chapel which chronicles the volunteer ministry in the weeks and months after September 11th.

Here are some pics I took during my travels:

Christ vs Religion

Carlos — Thu, 17 Jun 2004 14:08:00 +0000

Our small fellowship group on Tuesday consisted of sharing our personal life stories. I think we all agreed that we were like turtles on top of a fence —we didn't get there by ourselves :-)

On Wednesday night, we concluded the study of Deuteronomy. Chapter 27 contains the words "Build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool upon them." How easily an altar can be 'altered' and turned into an idol. The message then was the same as in the New Testament -don't worship the worship.

Jesus never condemned a sinner but always criticized the religious hypocrisy of the time. Has our relationship with God turned into religion? Do we go to church to be made to 'feel religious'?

Unless we change and become like little children, we will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And those who want to turn our joy into intellectual doctrine...
it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

When Jesus was asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a little child and had him stand among them.

Recent Portraits (no hyperlinks):

those people who offend us could be our true friends...

Carlos — Tue, 15 Jun 2004 14:15:00 +0000

I would like to take this opportunity to be very direct -but of course in an indirect fashion. Sometimes a lump of clay is left on a table in a classroom -sometimes blank sheets with Crayolas nearby. The person who left them there asks, "what will they do with these?" and watches the children to see what they will make out of the clay -what will they communicate on paper. Ultimately, it reveals much.

The man robbed, beaten and left for dead also served as such a question. "What will you do with this guy?" The priest had no love for him, neither did the Levite. So much for the self-righteous 'perfect' people...

The most despised of men -the one considered the foreigner, the one who was so 'different' and who's beliefs angered many -he was the one who demonstrated love.

Who is it that you despise? Who do you consider to be an abomination? Might they have more love in their hearts than you? Are we so filled with knowledge that we can't love those who are difficult to love -those who are so different?

"Love your neighbor as yourself" was the command. The question then became, "And who is my neighbor?"

Broken heart

Carlos — Wed, 10 Jan 2001 19:40:00 +0000

"I Am Always With You" (acrylic on masonite) 2001

Excerpt from "Meet the God of Encouragement" by Max Lucado

The fog of the broken heart. It’s a dark fog that slyly imprisons the soul and refuses easy escape. It’s a silent mist that eclipses the sun and beckons the darkness. It’s a heavy cloud that honors no hour and respects no person. Depression, discouragement, disappointment, doubt... all are companions of this dreaded presence.

The fog of the broken heart disorients our life. It makes it hard to see the road. Dim your lights. Wipe off the windshield. Slow down. Do what you wish, nothing helps. When this fog encircles us, our vision is blocked and tomorrow is a forever away. When this billowy blackness envelops us, the most earnest words of help and hope are but vacant phrases.

If you have ever been betrayed by a friend, you know what I mean. If you have ever been dumped by a spouse or abandoned by a parent, you have seen this fog. If you have ever placed a spade of dirt on a loved one’s casket or kept vigil at a dear one’s bedside, you, too, recognize this cloud.

If you have been in this fog, or are in it now, you can be sure of one thing—you are not alone. Even the saltiest of sea captains have lost their bearings because of the appearance of this unwanted cloud. Like the comedian said, ‘If broken hearts were commercials, we’d all be on TV.”

Think back over the last two or three months. How many broken hearts did you encounter? How many wounded spirits did you witness? How many stories of tragedy did you read about?

My own reflection is sobering:
The woman who lost her husband and son in a freak car wreck The attractive mother of three who was abandoned by her husband. The child who was hit and killed by a passing garbage truck as he was getting off the school bus. His mother, who was waiting for him, witnessed the tragedy. The parents who found their teenager dead in the forest behind their home. He had hung himself from a tree with his own belt.

The list goes on and on, doesn’t it? Foggy tragedies. How they blind our vision and destroy our dreams. Forget any great hopes of reaching the world. Forget any plans of changing society. Forget any aspirations of moving mountains. Forget all that. Just help me make it through the night!

The suffering of the broken heart.
Go with me for a moment to witness what was perhaps the foggiest night in history. The scene is very simple; you’ll recognize it quickly. A grove of twisted olive trees. Ground cluttered with large rocks. A low stone fence. A dark, dark night.

Now, look into the picture. Look closely through the shadowy foliage. See that person? See that solitary figure?...

...The next time the fog finds you, you might do well to remember Jesus in the garden. The next time you think that no one understands, reread the fourteenth chapter of Mark The next time your self-pity convinces you that no one cares, pay a visit to Gethsemane. And the next time you wonder if God really perceives the pain that prevails on this dusty planet, listen to him pleading among the twisted trees.

Here’s my point. Seeing God like this does wonders for our own suffering. God was never more human than at this hour. God was never nearer to us than when he hurt. The Incarnation was never so fulfilled as in the garden.

As a result, time spent in the fog of pain could be God’s greatest gift. It could be the hour that we finally see our Maker. If it is true that in suffering God is most like man, maybe in our suffering we can see God like never before.

The next time you are called to suffer, pay attention. It may be the closest you’ll ever get to God. Watch closely. It could very well be that the hand that extends itself to lead you out of the fog is a pierced one.

—Excerpt from "Meet the God of Encouragement"
by Max Lucado