Just in case you don’t know, let me help you out.
Stephen was stoned to death.
Peter was crucified in Rome,
said to have been upside down.
Andrew was said to have been crucified.
James, the son of Zebedee, was executed by the sword by Herod Agrippa I.
Philip was said to have been martyred in Hierapolis.
Bartholomew was said to have been killed after being tortured.
Matthew was said to have been martyred.
Thomas was said to have been killed by spears in India.
James, the son of Alphaeus, was l said to have been killed for his faith.
Jude was said to have been martyred while preaching.
Simon the Zealot was said to have been martyred.
Matthias, who replaced Judas, was traditionally said to have been martyred.
Did you know what they all died for?
Jesus.
They died for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And our God is not deaf, nor is He indifferent to the cries of His people.
“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry.” Psalm 34:15
Stephen was being stoned, and what did he see?
“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Acts 7:56
God heard Stephen.
But God did not stop the stones.
Why?
Because Christianity never promised us that following Christ means we will never suffer or die.
Jesus Himself said:
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” John 15
And:
“They will put some of you to death. Everyone will hate you because of me. Luke 21:16–17
So when you ask, “If their God can hear them, why doesn’t He save them?”
He does hear them.
But sometimes His answer is not physical deliverance.
Sometimes He gives them the grace to endure.
Sometimes He delivers them from death.
And sometimes He delivers them through death.
Stephen didn’t lose.
Peter didn’t lose.
James didn’t lose.
Because the Christian’s ultimate victory isn’t that we never die.
It is that death cannot have the final word.
Jesus said:
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” John 11:25
And Scripture says:
“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants.” Psalm 116:15
The question isn’t whether God hears the cries of His people.
He does.
The question is whether we believe God is still God when His answer isn’t the answer we expected.
And Christianity says yes.
Because even when the believer loses his life, he has not lost Christ.
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21
And at the end of it all:
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.” Revelation 21:4
That’s the hope of the Gospel.
This Madjo boy is so good that Aston Villa took FIFA to court and won the case this month, just to get him to play for them. The case is complex and not complex at the same time😅
They signed him in January from Metz but could not register him even for their youth teams due to some FIFA rules. Then, they took FIFA to court.
Firstly, he was born in London, but his parents moved to Luxembourg when he was very young, I think 2 years old. He's a UK citizen though.
In Luxembourg, he played for their u15s, u16s and even for the Luxembourg National team as he is a citizen there also.
He is currently 17 years old and considered as a minor. According to FIFA's RSTP, international transfer is prohibited for players under 18. There are some exceptions though.
If he is moving within EU countries, its not really international transfer per se, and that's why he was able to move from Racing Union in Luxembourg, to Metz in France. The two countries are under EU.
The problem is that, UK are no longer under EU, hence, it is considered "International Transfer", and he is not 18 yet, he's a minor.
Aston Villa's lawyers pulled out another card, and said he is a British Citizen😂. FIFA rejected it, then Villa took FIFA to court and beat them.
In fact, Brian Madjo left the Luxembourg National team to represent England u17s from last year. He's not tied to Luxembourg because the 3 games he played for them are friendlies, and that does not count.
Anyways, Villa won the case and he can now play. The boy is very strong, think of Lukaku's kind of strength😅
We're all waiting for him to shine this season. Mark the name, BRIAN MADJO.
HOOD BOY DREAMS E.P 2 💿 : 6 years ago i dropped Hood Boy Dreams E.P , a story from a place of hunger and hope , the hunger never left, The dream only got bigger. Now it’s time to relive the journey. E.P COMINGGGGG SOONNNNNN 🪽 🪽