The Apostle Paul had a struggle - his “thorn in the flesh” - that God refused to take away (2 Cor 12:7-9). Although this was hard for Paul at the time, in due course he was able to recognise God’s purposes. Paul’s ongoing weaknesses and struggles made it clearer to others that Christ was working through him.

Is becoming 'straight' a godly goal? For the Christian, exchanging one set of sexual temptations for another set is not really progress towards living a life that gives glory to God. Rather, God calls every Christian to behave within the sexual boundaries set out in the Bible. And God does not promise to take away our struggles.

Jesus came to give us life in all its fullness (John 10:10). So, obeying his will on sex and relationships should not lead to a miserable life. When it comes to our views on sex and celibacy, are we being influenced by God’s Word, or by the prevailing view of our culture?

This book is aimed at helping same-sex attracted believers to hold on to a biblical, orthodox view of sexuality, and to walk that narrow way. The style of the book is easy, informal and conversational. It blends together relevant autobiography, popular culture references, good biblical exposition, accessible theological reflection, and wise, practical, pastoral counsel.

Although I'm not from a Christian background, I did grow up in a loving family. I listened intently to Gospel messages when I was 10 years old and started going to the church youth group, where I experienced God's love and started to grow in faith. My first memories of attraction and sexual feelings as a child were towards guys.

When asked to write this article I was forced to the realisation that I am a 30-year-old male choosing celibacy. That is probably relatively unusual. The teacher in me couldn’t resist loosely dividing this into three areas: what does it mean to be celibate, what can help us achieve that goal and why bother?