Bruce Willis, one of Hollywood's greatest actors, had to end his career due to a condition called frontotemporal dementia, which impairs lucidity and memory.
Phil Collins, one of the greatest names in music history, also had his career cut short by serious back problems that hindered his mobility and prevented him from playing the instrument that made him famous, the drums... even having to perform his final shows sitting down.
While I was writing these lines, it was being reported that C\u00e9line Dion, one of the most famous singers and owner of one of the most beautiful voices in the world, has been afflicted by stiff-person syndrome \u2014 an incurable autoimmune disease that causes muscle stiffness and painful spasms \u2014 and her health is deteriorating: according to sources close to her, she "can barely move," in addition to facing the terrible pain caused by the muscle spasms characteristic of the disease, and no treatment has made her better.
Sources close to C\u00e9line have said that all indications suggest she will never be able to return to the stage\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is there anything wrong with being successful in your career, with being victorious in life?
Certainly not!
However, success cannot change something entirely inevitable: no one stays "on top" forever.
We could even cite several cases of Olympic champions who had to sell their gold medals after ending their careers because, after leaving the spotlight, they simply didn't even have money to eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earthly glory is not necessarily wrong or sinful, but it has one detail that cannot be ignored: it is definitely something fleeting.
It will eventually end with the death of its holder, but, as in the examples cited, it may end even before that: Bruce Willis, Phil Collins, and C\u00e9line Dion will no longer be seen live by the general public, only in archive footage.
In other words, they will no longer be able to enjoy the audience's ovation, which they have relied on for decades of their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, the truth is that the attainment of earthly glory, besides not being guaranteed (after all, very few achieve it, even working their entire lives for it), is something that will not be maintained indefinitely.
The apostle Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, who were facing persecution because of their faith, highlights an interesting point:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nFor our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Therefore, we fix our eyes not on what can be seen, but on the things that are unseen;
For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.<\/p>\n(2\u207f\u1d48 Corinthians 4:17-18 \u2013 KJA)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nIt may seem strange for Paul to speak of "light and momentary" tribulation to people who were relentlessly persecuted by a tyrannical and hostile Empire, persecution that resulted in imprisonment, torture, confiscation of property, and death.
However, all of these things would remain, and still remain, restricted to Earth and to the time of this life: just like glory, earthly tribulation is also something entirely temporal, without any continuity in the World to come, the New Jerusalem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The same anti-Christian sentiment that is spreading throughout the world today will be unleashed\u2014according to the words of Jesus himself in the Eschatological Sermon (see Matthew 24-25<\/mark><\/strong>, Mark 13<\/mark><\/strong> e Luke 21<\/mark><\/strong>) \u2014 a tribulation that will have no precedent in history: the persecutions that occurred in biblical times, during the Inquisition, and at various points in history were restricted to a specific region where state power prevailed, but the one that precedes the end times \u2014 with globalization, the exchange of information, and influence around the entire planet \u2014 will be worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHowever, this too will be something fleeting, for this world will have an end: whether it be glory or tribulation, all that can be seen in this world is something that is restricted to the present reality of earthly existence and will not continue after this world has passed away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The greatest evangelist the world has ever known rightly said that "what is seen is temporary, what is unseen is eternal," for he acknowledges that, in earthly terms, he suffered only losses after converting to the Christian faith: he, a Jew of the Pharisaic class (Philippians 3:5<\/mark><\/strong>), a Roman citizen (Acts 22:25-29<\/mark><\/strong>Well-versed in Greek culture, he was a respected figure in all three cultures and moved freely between them.
Upon converting to Christianity, he was persecuted and had to face many difficulties and sufferings (as presented in 2\u207f\u1d48 Corinthians 11:23-28<\/mark><\/strong>), however, he began to consider everything he had before as "refuse," or, as the original term says, \u03c3\u03ba\u03c5\u03b2\u03b1\u03bb\u03b1<\/strong><\/em> (SK\u00daBALON)<\/em>, "Dung," because it was worthless compared to belonging to Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSonship with the Father through Jesus may not bring any advantage now, but the advantages of this world are fleeting and even insignificant compared to what awaits us: as Paul himself said in the base text of this reflection, the weight of glory that will be given to the saved is "beyond all comparison," that is, not even the angels will have such great intimacy with God as the saved in eternity.
The saved will reign with Christ in a reality where suffering or any unpleasant sensation will never touch them.Revelation 21:4<\/mark><\/strong>And best of all, this will be ETERNAL, not something fleeting like the joys and glories of earthly life.
Therefore, let our hearts be set on things above, those things that Christ won for us through his death and resurrection.
Everything we have and will eventually have will be left behind when we depart from this world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nBecause we enter this world with absolutely nothing,
And when we leave here, we can take nothing with us.<\/p>\n(1\u02e2\u1d57 Timothy 6:7 \u2013 KJA)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nThat which we cannot yet see, however, is not only beyond our comprehension, but is infinite, something to be enjoyed for all eternity.<\/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
ORIGINAL TITLE<\/mark>Paying attention to things that cannot be seen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nEverything seems to indicate that the end times are unfolding ever 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":"
Bruce Willis, um dos maiores atores de Hollywood, teve de encerrar sua carreira por causa de um problema chamado dem\u00eancia frontotemporal, que perturba a lucidez e compromete a mem\u00f3ria.Phil Collins, um dos grandes nomes da hist\u00f3ria da m\u00fasica, igualmente teve sua carreira interronmpida por s\u00e9rios problemas de coluna, que dificultam sua mobilidade e o impedem de tocar o instrumento que o consagrou, a bateria\u2026 inclusive tendo de realizar suas derradeiras apresenta\u00e7\u00f5es sentado.Enquanto escrevia estas linhas estava sendo divulgado que C\u00e9line Dion, uma das cantoras mais famosas e dona de uma das mais belas vozes do mundo, foi acometida pela s\u00eddrome da pessoa r\u00edgida \u2014 uma doen\u00e7a autoimune incur\u00e1vel que provoca rigidez muscular e dolorosos espasmos e seu quadro de sa\u00fade est\u00e1 se agravando: segundo fontes pr\u00f3ximas, ela “mal consegue se mexer”, al\u00e9m de enfrentar as terr\u00edveis dores causadas pelos espasmos muscularers caracter\u00edsticos da doen\u00e7a, e nenhum tratamento a tem feito melhorar.Fontes pr\u00f3ximas de C\u00e9line j\u00e1 disseram que tudo indica que ela jamais conseguir\u00e1 retornar aos palcos\u2026 Ser\u00e1 que h\u00e1 algo de errado em ser bem-sucedido em sua carreira, em ser vitorioso na vida?Certamente que n\u00e3o!Por\u00e9m, o sucesso n\u00e3o \u00e9 capaz de mudar algo totalmente inexor\u00e1vel: ningu\u00e9m permanece “no topo” para sempre.Poder\u00edamos, inclusive, citar v\u00e1rios casos de campe\u00f5es ol\u00edmpicos que tiveram de vender suas medalhas de ouro ap\u00f3s encerrar suas carreiras, porque, ap\u00f3s sair dos holofotes, simplesmente sequer tinham dinheiro para comer. A gl\u00f3ria terrena n\u00e3o \u00e9 necessariamente errada ou pecaminosa, mas ela tem um detalhe que n\u00e3o pode ser ignorado: definitivamente trata-se de algo passageiro.Ela, ao mais tardar, ir\u00e1 terminar com a morte de seu detentor, mas, como nos exemplos citados, pode ser que termine mesmo antes disso: Bruce Willis, Phil Collins e C\u00e9line Dion n\u00e3o ser\u00e3o mais vistos pelo grande p\u00fablico ao vivo, apenas em imagens de arquivo.Em outras palavras, n\u00e3o poder\u00e3o mais desfrutar da ova\u00e7\u00e3o do p\u00fablico, com a qual contaram por d\u00e9cadas em suas vidas. Assim, a verdade \u00e9 que a conquista da gl\u00f3ria terrena, al\u00e9m de n\u00e3o ser garantida (afinal, h\u00e1 pouqu\u00edssimos que a conquistam, mesmo trabalhando a vida inteira para isso), \u00e9 algo que n\u00e3o ser\u00e1 mantido indefinidamente. O ap\u00f3stolo Paulo, ao encrever aos Cor\u00edntios, que enfrentavam persegui\u00e7\u00f5es por causa de sua f\u00e9, ressalta um ponto interessante: Pois as nossas afli\u00e7\u00f5es leves e passageiras est\u00e3o produzindo para n\u00f3s uma gl\u00f3ria incompar\u00e1vel, de valor eterno.Sendo assim, fixamos nossos olhos, n\u00e3o naquilo que se pode enxergar, mas nos elementos que n\u00e3o s\u00e3o vistos;pois os vis\u00edveis s\u00e3o temporais, ao passo que os que n\u00e3o se v\u00eaem s\u00e3o eternos. (2\u00aa Cor\u00edntios 4:17-18 – KJA) Pode parecer estranho Paulo falar em tribula\u00e7\u00e3o “leve e moment\u00e2nea” para pessoas que eram implacavelmente perseguidas por um Imp\u00e9rio tir\u00e2nico e hostil, persegui\u00e7\u00e3o essa que resultava em pris\u00f5es, torturas, confisco de bens e mortes.Por\u00e9m, tudo isso eram coisas que ficariam, e at\u00e9 hoje ficam, restritas \u00e0 Terra e ao tempo de vida: tal como a gl\u00f3ria, tamb\u00e9m a tribula\u00e7\u00e3o terrena \u00e9 algo inteiramente temporal, sem ter qualquer continuidade no Mundo vindouro, a Nova Jerusal\u00e9m. O mesmo sentimento anticrist\u00e3o que se espalha pelo mundo hoje ir\u00e1 desencadear \u2014 conforme as palavras do pr\u00f3prio Jesus no serm\u00e3o Escatol\u00f3gico (veja Mateus 24-25, Marcos 13 e Lucas 21) \u2014 uma tribula\u00e7\u00e3o que n\u00e3o ter\u00e1 precedentes na hist\u00f3ria: as persegui\u00e7\u00f5es que ocorreram nos tempos b\u00edblicos, nos tempos da inquisi\u00e7\u00e3o e em diversos momentos na hist\u00f3ria eram restritas a uma determinada regi\u00e3o onde o poder do estado imperava, por\u00e9m a que antecede o fim dos tempos \u2014 com a globaliza\u00e7\u00e3o, a troca de informa\u00e7\u00f5es e a influ\u00eancia ao redor de todo o planeta \u2014 ser\u00e1 mundial. Por\u00e9m, tamb\u00e9m isso ser\u00e1 algo passageiro, pois este mundo ter\u00e1 um fim: quer seja a gl\u00f3ria, quer seja a tribula\u00e7\u00e3o, tudo o que se pode ver neste mundo \u00e9 algo que se restringe \u00e0 presente realidade da exist\u00eancia terrena e n\u00e3o ter\u00e1 continua\u00e7\u00e3o depois que este mundo passar. O maior evangelista que o mundo conheceu disse com toda a propriedade que “o que se v\u00ea, \u00e9 temporal, o que n\u00e3o se v\u00ea \u00e9 eterno”, pois reconhece que, em termos terrenos, teve apenas perdas ap\u00f3s ser convertido \u00e0 f\u00e9 crist\u00e3: ele, um judeu da classe farisaica (Filipenses 3:5), um cidad\u00e3o romano (Atos 22:25-29) e versado na cultura grega, era uma personalidade respeitada nas tr\u00eas culturas e com livre tr\u00e2nsito entre elas.Ao se tornar crist\u00e3o, passou a ser perseguido e tendo de enfrentar muitas dificuldades e dores (conforme apresentado em 2\u00aa Cor\u00edntios 11:23-28), por\u00e9m, passou a considerar como “refugo” tudo o que ele tinha antes, ou, conforme diz o termo original, \u03c3\u03ba\u03c5\u03b2\u03b1\u03bb\u03b1 (SK\u00daBALON), “esterco”, porque de nada valia, comparado ao fato de pertencer a Cristo. A filia\u00e7\u00e3o ao Pai por meio de Jesus pode n\u00e3o trazer qualquer vantagem agora, mas as vantagens deste mundo s\u00e3o passageiras e at\u00e9 mesmo desprez\u00edveis se comparadas ao que nos espera: como disse o mesmo Paulo no texto-base desta reflex\u00e3o, o peso de gl\u00f3ria que ser\u00e1 dado aos salvos \u00e9 “acima de toda compara\u00e7\u00e3o”, ou seja, nem os anjos ter\u00e3o uma intimidade t\u00e3o grande com Deus quanto os salvos na eternidade.Os salvos reinar\u00e3o com Cristo em uma realidade onde o sofrimento ou qualquer sensa\u00e7\u00e3o desagrad\u00e1vel jamais os atingir\u00e3o (Apocalipse 21:4) e, o melhor de tudo, isso ser\u00e1 ETERNO, n\u00e3o algo transit\u00f3rio como as alegrias e gl\u00f3rias da vida terrena.Assim, sendo, que nosso cora\u00e7\u00e3o esteja nas coisas do alto, aquelas que Cristo nos conquistou com sua morte e ressurrei\u00e7\u00e3o.Tudo o que temos e eventualmente tivermos ficar\u00e1 para tr\u00e1s quando partirmos deste mundo: Porque ingressamos neste mundo sem absolutamente nada,e ao partirmos daqui, nada podemos levar. (1\u00aa Tim\u00f3teo 6:7 – KJA) Aquilo que AINDA n\u00e3o podemos ver, no entanto, n\u00e3o s\u00f3 \u00e9 algo acima de nossa compreens\u00e3o, como \u00e9 infinito, algo a ser desfrutado por toda a eternidade. Nos La\u00e7os do Calv\u00e1rio T\u00cdTULO ORIGINAL: ATENTANDO NAS COISAS QUE N\u00c3O SE VEEM Tudo parece indicar 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<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":17194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[464],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17180","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\/06\/seinginvisible-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\/06\/seinginvisible.jpg",1920,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/seinginvisible-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/seinginvisible-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/seinginvisible-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/seinginvisible-1024x576.jpg",800,450,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/seinginvisible-1536x864.jpg",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/seinginvisible.jpg",1920,1080,false],"trp-custom-language-flag":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/seinginvisible.jpg",18,10,false],"mailpoet_newsletter_max":["https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/seinginvisible.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":"Bruce Willis, um dos maiores atores de Hollywood, teve de encerrar sua carreira por causa de um problema chamado dem\u00eancia frontotemporal, que perturba a lucidez e compromete a mem\u00f3ria.Phil Collins, um dos grandes nomes da hist\u00f3ria da m\u00fasica, igualmente teve sua carreira interronmpida por s\u00e9rios problemas de coluna, que dificultam sua mobilidade e o impedem…","acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17180","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=17180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piorevangelho.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}