...on a couple of books

I recently finished reading 'The Heavenly Man', the story of Brother Yun. He really is an amazing and awe inspiring man. He was imprisoned, severely beaten and mentally tormented by his captors on a number of occasions yet he still persevered with Christ. With the help of the Holy Spirit he also performed many miracles, including fasting (no food or water) for 100 days, medically impossible! The biggest challenge I got from this book was that I (and we) live in a sheltered Western world away from the real "lay your life down for Christ" lives of others. Yet, we still moan about how bad our day has been or how boring our lives are and how we're not enjoying life. It also challenged me about my witness to others. Go read it, it's really good.

So now I've moved on to 'What's So Amazing About Grace?' by Philip Yancey. I've not got very far through but already one thing he said stuck out at me very strongly. Here's the crux of it, he's telling a true story that happened to him:-
"A prostitute came to me in wretched straits, homeless, sick, unable to buy food for her two-year old. Through sobs and tears, she told me she had been renting out her daughter to men interested in kinky sex... At last I asked if she ever thought of going to church for help. I will never forget the look of pure naive shock that crossed her face. "Church!" she cried. "Why would I ever go there? I was already feeling terrible about myself. They'd just make me feel worse."
Wow, hits home doesn't it?