{"id":17084,"date":"2023-04-27T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-27T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/retro.piorevangelho.online\/?p=17084"},"modified":"2023-04-27T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T22:00:00","slug":"escape-vs-acceptance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/fuga-x-acolhimento\/","title":{"rendered":"Escape vs. Acceptance"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
And going down to Joppa, he found a ship going to Tarshish;
So he paid his fare and went down into the ship to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.<\/p>\n(Jonah 1:3 \u2013 ACF)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Precisely because he was not entirely obedient to God's call to take his message to the Ninevites, one of the most remembered prophets of the Old Testament has this memory among God's people: Jonah, as an Israelite, had no sympathy whatsoever for the people of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.
The Assyrian empire at the time was known for its extreme cruelty, having even invented impalement\u2014the act of inserting a stake into a person's abdomen or anus and then placing them in an upright position, causing a slow and painful death\u2014which became world-famous because of Vlad Tepes, who used to impale his prisoners of war and served as inspiration for Bram Stoker in the creation of the terrifying Count Dracula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given this, Jonah did not desire the repentance and conversion of the Ninevites; rather, he pleaded for divine judgment upon that people (and this is made explicit in the last chapter of the book). Knowing, however, that God was merciful and would not punish the city if they repented, he tried to do the impossible: to flee from God's presence.
The story is well known, and I don't think it's necessary to go into detail about it, but what I want to highlight in this reflection is Jonah's childish attempt, believing that he could escape God's presence.
Another famous prophet\u2014in this case, Jeremiah\u2014interestingly mentioned the impossibility of such an attitude, recounting a vision in which God tells him:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Am I only a God nearby, declares the Lord, and not a God far away?
Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? declares the Lord.
Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.<\/p>\n(Jeremiah 23:23-24 \u2013 ACF)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

There is no way to know if God said such a thing to Jeremiah in reference to the case of Jonah, who had died about a century earlier, but this truth is absolute and immutable.
David was another who recognized that there is no hiding from the presence of the Lord, writing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

You have hemmed me in behind and before, and laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, you are there also.
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
If I say, \u201cSurely the darkness will cover me,\u201d then the light around me will be night.
Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to you.<\/p>\n(Psalm 139:5-12 \u2013 ACF)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The fact is that there is no limitation to divine power<\/a>, And trying to hide from him is a completely childish attitude.
Although it serves as a warning against a sinful life\u2014reminding everyone that it is impossible to hide their failings from God's omniscience\u2014it can also be a source of profound joy for the sincere Christian.
A devotional passage from an old book of reflections called "Lift Up Your Life" tells the story of a boy who, attending Bible school and becoming aware that nothing can be hidden from God, expressed his fear of being punished to his teacher, because God was never inattentive to anything he did. He asked if God, even seeing all the sins he committed, would not stop loving him.
And the teacher kindly replied, "Never, my dear. God loves you so much that He can't take His eyes off you.".<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luther is said to have declared this teacher a doctor of theology, for knowing how to make such an impressive distinction between law and Gospel (the Reformer said that this is what most makes a person worthy of a doctorate: while for the unrepentant sinner omniscience and the impossibility of escaping the presence are frightening, for the sincere Christian willing to repent, such a situation involves acceptance on the part of the Father).
Knowing that God is always aware of everything, the sincere Christian has no need, as Jonah childishly did, to try to flee from His presence.
On the contrary, he is reminded that nothing is outside of God's control, that nothing that might happen to him\u2014even the most frightening things or the most difficult trials\u2014is beyond what the apostle Paul says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.;
But God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.,
But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.<\/p>\n(1\u02e2\u1d57 Corinthians 10:13 \u2013 ACF)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Each person can, therefore, by examining their own heart, know whether they fear or are grateful for divine omniscience, whether they fear that God is aware of their sins, or whether they feel the security of having a Heavenly Father who never takes His eyes off them, taking care of the child He loves at all times.
Fear and the desire to escape, or joy at divine acceptance\u2026 the choice is up to each individual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Bonds of Calvary<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div>

Eduardo Pydd Teixeira<\/p>

<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Coincidences (or not) aside, it seems that the end times are revealing themselves more and more rapidly, and before the Lord returns like a thief in the night, we can already observe signs of the prophesied reign of the Antichrist consolidating not only in Brazil, but throughout the world!
In the 2023 phase of "The Worst Gospel," I decided to use new formats in the hope of helping to increase the reach of content related to the Scriptures\u2014stories, videos, shorter texts, guest authors\u2026\u2014and this publication, which I took the liberty of revising and illustrating, is part of that project.
Thank you for reading this far.
I still need all the help I can get: comments, shares, and reactions help spread this content, which was entirely produced with the intention of contributing to the edification of the Body of Christ in the world.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Por\u00e9m, Jonas se levantou para fugir da presen\u00e7a do SENHOR para T\u00e1rsis.E descendo a Jope, achou um navio que ia para T\u00e1rsis;pagou, pois, a sua passagem, e desceu para dentro dele, para ir com eles para T\u00e1rsis, para longe da presen\u00e7a do SENHOR. (Jonas 1:3 – ACF) Exatamente por n\u00e3o ter sido inteiramente obediente ao chamado de Deus para levar sua mensagem aos ninivitas, um dos profetas mais lembrados do Antigo Testamento tem essa mem\u00f3ria junto ao povo de Deus.: Jonas, como israelita, n\u00e3o tinha qualquer simpatia pelo povo de N\u00ednive, capital da Ass\u00edria.O imp\u00e9rio Ass\u00edrio, na \u00e9poca, era conhecido por sua extrema crueldade, tendo inventado, inclusive, a empala\u00e7\u00e3o \u2014 ato de se introduzir uma estaca no abd\u00f4men ou no \u00e2nus de uma pessoa e coloc\u00e1-la a seguir na posi\u00e7\u00e3o vertical, causando uma morte lenta e dolorosa \u2014, que se tornou mundialmente conhecida por causa de Vlad Tepes, que costumava empalar seus prisioneiros de guerra e serviu como inspira\u00e7\u00e3o para Bram Stoker na cria\u00e7\u00e3o do tenebroso Conde Dr\u00e1cula. Diante disso, Jonas n\u00e3o desejava o arrependimento e a convers\u00e3o dos ninivitas, antes rogava pelo ju\u00edzo divino sobre aquele povo (e isso fica expl\u00edcito no \u00faltimo cap\u00edtulo do livro). Sabendo, por\u00e9m, que Deus era misericordioso e n\u00e3o puniria a cidade caso se arrependessem, tentou fazer o imposs\u00edvel: fugir da presen\u00e7a de Deus.A hist\u00f3ria \u00e9 bem conhecida e n\u00e3o creio ser necess\u00e1rio entrar em detalhes sobre ela, mas o que quero destacar nesta reflex\u00e3o \u00e9 a tentativa infantil de Jonas, acreditando que lhe era poss\u00edvel fugir da presen\u00e7a de Deus.Outro famoso profeta \u2014 no caso, Jeremias \u2014 curiosamente mencionou a impossibilidade de tal atitude, relatando a vis\u00e3o em que Deus lhe afirma: Porventura sou eu Deus de perto, diz o SENHOR, e n\u00e3o tamb\u00e9m Deus de longe?Esconder-se-ia algu\u00e9m em esconderijos, de modo que eu n\u00e3o o veja? Diz o SENHOR.Porventura n\u00e3o encho eu os c\u00e9us e a terra? Diz o SENHOR. (Jeremias 23:23-24 – ACF) N\u00e3o h\u00e1 como saber se Deus disse tal coisa a Jeremias como refer\u00eancia ao caso de Jonas, que morrera cerca de um s\u00e9culo antes, mas essa verdade \u00e9 absoluta e imut\u00e1vel.Davi foi outro que reconheceu que n\u00e3o h\u00e1 como ocultar-se da presen\u00e7a do Senhor, ao escrever: Tu me cercaste por detr\u00e1s e por diante, e puseste sobre mim a tua m\u00e3o.Tal conhecimento \u00e9 para mim maravilhos\u00edssimo; t\u00e3o alto que n\u00e3o o posso atingir.Para onde me irei do teu esp\u00edrito, ou para onde fugirei da tua face?Se subir ao c\u00e9u, l\u00e1 tu est\u00e1s; se fizer no inferno a minha cama, eis que tu ali est\u00e1s tamb\u00e9m.Se tomar as asas da alva, se habitar nas extremidades do mar, At\u00e9 ali a tua m\u00e3o me guiar\u00e1 e a tua destra me suster\u00e1.Se disser: Decerto que as trevas me encobrir\u00e3o; ent\u00e3o a noite ser\u00e1 luz \u00e0 roda de mim.Nem ainda as trevas me encobrem de ti; mas a noite resplandece como o dia; as trevas e a luz s\u00e3o para ti a mesma coisa. (Salmos 139:5-12 – ACF) O fato \u00e9 que n\u00e3o existe limita\u00e7\u00e3o ao poder divino, e tentar ocultar-se dele \u00e9 uma atitude completamente infantil. Embora seja motivo de advert\u00eancia contra a vida pecaminosa \u2014 lembrando a todos de que \u00e9 imposs\u00edvel ocultar suas falhas da onisci\u00eancia de Deus \u2014, isso tamb\u00e9m pode ser um motivo de profunda alegria para o crist\u00e3o sincero.Uma devo\u00e7\u00e3o de um antigo livro de reflex\u00f5es chamado “Ergue a Tua Vida” narra a hist\u00f3ria de um menino que, indo \u00e0 escola b\u00edblica e tomando consci\u00eancia da que nada pode esconder de Deus, manifestou seu medo de ser castigado \u00e0 sua professora, por Deus nunca estar desatento a nada do que ele fazia. Perguntou se Deus, mesmo vendo todos os pecados que ele cometia, n\u00e3o deixaria de am\u00e1-lo.E a professora, amavelmente respondeu: “Nunca, meu querido. Deus o ama tanto que n\u00e3o consegue tirar os olhos de voc\u00ea”. Lutero teria declarado essa professora como doutora em teologia, por saber fazer t\u00e3o impressionante distin\u00e7\u00e3o entre lei e Evangelho(o Reformador dizia que isso \u00e9 o que mais faz uma pessoa ser merecedora de doutorado: enquanto para o pecador impenitente a onisci\u00eancia e a impossibilidade de fuga da presen\u00e7a s\u00e3o assustadoras, para o crist\u00e3o sincero e disposto ao arrependimento, tal situa\u00e7\u00e3o envolve acolhimento da parte do Pai.Sabedor de que Deus est\u00e1 sempre ciente de tudo, o crist\u00e3o sincero n\u00e3o tem necessidade, de, como infantilmente agiu Jonas, buscar fugir de sua presen\u00e7a.Ao contr\u00e1rio, ele \u00e9 lembrado de que nada est\u00e1 fora do controle de Deus, que nada do que possa lhe acontecer \u2014 mesmo as coisas mais assustadoras ou as provas mais dif\u00edceis \u2014 est\u00e3o al\u00e9m do que \u00e9 dito pelo ap\u00f3stolo Paulo: N\u00e3o veio sobre v\u00f3s tenta\u00e7\u00e3o, sen\u00e3o humana;mas fiel \u00e9 Deus, que n\u00e3o vos deixar\u00e1 tentar acima do que podeis,antes com a tenta\u00e7\u00e3o dar\u00e1 tamb\u00e9m o escape, para que a possais suportar. (1\u00aa Cor\u00edntios 10:13 – ACF) Cada um pode, assim, examinando a seu pr\u00f3prio cora\u00e7\u00e3o, saber se teme ou agradece pela onisci\u00eancia divina, se teme por Deus ter consci\u00eancia de seus pecados ou se sente a seguran\u00e7a de ter um Pai Celestial que nunca tira os olhos de si, tendo cuidado do filho que ama em todos os momentos.Medo e desejo de fuga ou alegria pelo acolhimento divino\u2026 a escolha \u00e9 de cada um. Nos La\u00e7os do Calv\u00e1rio Coincid\u00eancias (ou n\u00e3o) \u00e0 parte, parece que os tempos finais est\u00e3o se revelando cada vez mais rapidamente e, antes que o Senhor volte como um ladr\u00e3o na noite, j\u00e1 podemos observar ind\u00edcios do profetizado reinado do anticristo se consolidando n\u00e3o apenas no Brasil, mas por todo o mundo!Na fase 2023 d’O Pior evangelho decidi lan\u00e7ar m\u00e3o de novos formatos na expectativa auxiliar a aumentar o alcance dos conte\u00fados relacionados \u00e0s Escrituras \u2014 stories, v\u00eddeos, textos mais curtos, autores convidados\u2026 \u2014 e essa publica\u00e7\u00e3o, onde tomei a liberdade de realizar revis\u00e3o e ilustra\u00e7\u00e3o, \u00e9 parte desse projeto.Obrigado por ter lido at\u00e9 aqui.Continuo necessitando de toda colabora\u00e7\u00e3o poss\u00edvel: coment\u00e1rios, compartilhamentos e rea\u00e7\u00f5es ajudam a divulgar este conte\u00fado que foi integralmente produzido na<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":17090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","iawp_total_views":5,"footnotes":""},"categories":[464],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apologetica"],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":464,"label":"Apolog\u00e9tica"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/runembrace-1024x576.jpg",800,450,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Eduardo Pydd Teixeira","author_link":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/author\/eduardo-pydd\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":464,"name":"Apolog\u00e9tica","slug":"apologetica","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":464,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":96,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":464,"category_count":96,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Apolog\u00e9tica","category_nicename":"apologetica","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/runembrace.jpg",1920,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/runembrace-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/runembrace-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/runembrace-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/runembrace-1024x576.jpg",800,450,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/runembrace-1536x864.jpg",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/runembrace.jpg",1920,1080,false],"trp-custom-language-flag":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/runembrace.jpg",18,10,false],"mailpoet_newsletter_max":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/runembrace.jpg",1320,743,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Eduardo Pydd Teixeira","author_link":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/author\/eduardo-pydd\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Por\u00e9m, Jonas se levantou para fugir da presen\u00e7a do SENHOR para T\u00e1rsis.E descendo a Jope, achou um navio que ia para T\u00e1rsis;pagou, pois, a sua passagem, e desceu para dentro dele, para ir com eles para T\u00e1rsis, para longe da presen\u00e7a do SENHOR. (Jonas 1:3 – ACF) Exatamente por n\u00e3o ter sido inteiramente obediente ao…","acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}