A change of heart brings changed lives

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We all have a biological heart which constantly pumps blood and oxygen
around our bodies to keep us alive.
We also have another ‘heart’ that is at the centre of our being. This nonbiological
heart is sometimes referred to as our spiritual heart and influences the
person we are and is responsible for the way we feel towards others and towards ourselves.
Our spiritual heart can hold a range of emotions such as love, concern, sympathy, sadness and our need to belong, but can also harbour negative and sinful attitudes like bitterness, anger, hate and unforgiveness. Such negative attitudes often put us at enmity with others.
The Bible tells us that God knows the content of our spiritual heart, whether we have space and time for God and others, or whether we deny everything about God and give no consideration to our creator.
Jesus tells us that our natural hearts are alienated towards God and because of this, God has promised to give a new heart and a new spirit to everyone who calls on Him in repentance and belief in His Son Jesus.
With a God given new heart (that only God can give), our lives will see a change
that we didn’t think was possible as we begin to show greater kindness and
compassion towards others.
We should all take a few minutes to examine the contents of our spiritual heart
and if we find no space in our lives for God, it may be time to consider a change
of direction and a brand new start.
Geoff Duncombe
The Gateway Church, King’s Lynn

Baptism

Baptism
We had a great Sunday meeting this week – we baptised four new Christians from four different nations in a birthing pool! In Jesus’ day it would have been in the river Jordan – but we figured the Ouse would be a bit cold and mucky, so we settled for an inflatable pool. In our church fellowship we baptise by full immersion, because that’s what the word means.
The word baptise is purely a religious word in English but in the ancient Greek it is an earthy normal word that means to dip or immerse with a sense of a change of identity occurring. There’s an ancient recipe for pickling onions that involves onions being baptised in vinegar!
Going down under water in baptism is powerfully symbolic of the massive change that happens when someone becomes a Christian. It’s a burial service for the old you – 1 Corinthians tells us that if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come. That’s what it means to be born again. Being born again is a second chance at life with a clean slate and the power of the Spirit for a better life. We can have that chance because Jesus died for our sins and rose again defeating the power of sin and death in the lives of believers.
The water was cold on Sunday, but the joy of new life was evident on their faces. Do you need a second chance at life?

Andy Moyle
The Gateway Church