We may do well to remind ourselves that Sodom was not chiefly and only destroyed because of Sodomy, in fact God gives even more sobering reasons as to why He destroyed Sodom.
Ezekiel 16:49 —50: Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
God destroyed Sodom because . . . they were proud.
God destroyed Sodom because . . . they led a self-indulgent life.
God destroyed Sodom because . . . they were very idle.
God destroyed Sodom because . . . they ignored the poor and needy.
Selah, and let us take the plank out of our own eye . . .
RECENT RESPONSE:
"I wanted to tell you that your story is a story that is amazing. It just shows how great God is and what miracles he can do today and how he can change people. What I really like about the book is that when you turned to Christ the first time all was good and happy, but then because of the wrong people it changed and because of wrong decisions your whole life changed again. But still God is faithful and he gives 2nd chances if you take them. It also shows that it is a daily fight but if you want to live for him he is faithful. Thank you so much for sharing your story. It is truly amazing"
Indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ is merciful, gracious and ever-loving. He is indeed the God of many, many chances to surrender to Him. 'If you hear His voice, harden not your hearts!'
Regarding smoking D.L. Moody said, " The Bible tells you to carry on: 'He which is filthy, let him be filthy still'!"
We were in Wales last weekend and I was most encouraged to hear from a lady who had been backslidden, suicidal and had suffered insomnia for years, that God touched her when she read "Julie's Story" and He freed her from anxiety. She slept through the night for the first time in years. She said when she was awoken by a friend (in itself a wonder that she had to be awoken) and she had such a sense that she had slept safely in the arms of Jesus. Praise God!
Please pray for the boxes which have gone in to UK PRISONS and if anyone knows of any other Prison Ministries or opportunities to have this book sent in to prisons, please let us know. We are looking for churches to buy boxes for prisons in the USA now.
In the meantime, here are a few reponses from just last week from a few readers from various parts of the world. . .
WOW impressive, couldn't leave it down. You did a great job narrating this story. . . great testimony to the delivering power of Christ. (Northern Ireland)
It just makes me think how Jesus saves to the uttermost! Thank God she is now free! (USA)
I was really blessed and encouraged — what a wonderful testimony of God's grace. It was a joy to read and I loved the way you wrote it with Julie's voice coming through — I could hear her on every page! You really did a wonderful job of recounting the story so clearly and yet making it sound as if it was just Julie chatting to the reader. (Ireland)
It was extremely well written and the story was very powerful. I thoroughly enjoyed it. . . I will be passing it on to friends who would never have read the likes. I look forward to reading your next one, to see if it will further melt my heart! (Northern Ireland)
It is absolutely fantastic and I believe truly that everyone should read it. It is extremely well written and a joy to read. A can't-put-it-down book! It is both beneficial to the unsaved and saved. Unsaved, because it is a wonderful testimony of a life imprisoned-bound by sin, and set free by the Wonderful Love of God! It shoul be read by any person dabbling or coming from that particular lifestyle or background. It is also beneficial to Christians. It encouraged me so much to pursue and take up Evangelism and door to door ministry again. A huge lesson in being too late! Someone was faithful enough to knock on Julie's door. So must we be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and obey God's prompting and leading. I will certailnly recommend this book to Saved & Unsaved! It is a great Evangelism tool." (Reader in Wales)
Off the Press! Available from Amazon & good Christian bookshops from mid-October. One reader from Scotland writes: "it was SMASHING, SAD, FUNNY, & certainly a WONDERFUL TESTIMONY TO GOD'S GRACE. . . "
This book is not the story of Pygmalion (a play written nearly 100 years ago in1912, by George Bernard-Shaw, later made in to the popular film and stage show My Fair Lady). In it Professor Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney Flower girl to pass for a duchess by teaching her to assume the "veneer of gentility." Professor Higgins is a professor of phonetics and believes that in order for the rough flower girl to pass as a duchess, the first, most important aspect to train in poor Eliza is her speech. (Remember the rhymes “The Rain in Spain stays mainly on the plains. . . in Hertford Hereford and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly happen. . ?”) I say veneer of gentility with emphasis because I want you to note that that is exactly the opposite of what Julie’s Story is. Julie does not have a veneer of a changed life or a veneer of Christianity! She has not learnt to be someone she is not but she has learnt to die daily that Christ might live. The Lord Jesus Christ has turned her life around 180 degrees!