Walls and gates and Christmas, part II

We might think that the walls and gates being rebuilt by the people of Jerusalem are far from the meaning and celebration of Christmas.
But they're not!
In the third chapter of Nehemiah, we've (figuratively speaking) walked through the Sheep gate, which calls to mind our salvation, accepting the sacrifice of the Lamb of God for our sins.
Next we walked through the Fish gate, because we see that Jesus has called us to be "fishers of men," and to tell others about this great gift of mercy and love from God.

The next gate on our tour . . . The "Old" gate speaks of the old paths and the old truths of the Word of God and the family of faith. 

 This is what the Lord says:“Stand at the crossroads and look;    ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,    and you will find rest for your souls. (Jeremiah 6:16a)

In our world today, people are always latching onto the next "new thing." Years ago, Facebook was a new and intriguing platform on the internet. Twitter captured the minds and time of many. YouTube and Pinterest became the time-consumers of the day, and who knows what will be next? 
It's the same thing in philosophies and world-views . . . people "discover" new and different things that fire their imaginations and fuel their passions. It's the same today as when Paul was in the city of Athens:

 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) (Acts 17:21)

The "old" ways are passe. Boring. Quaint. Why bother?
Because those "old" ways are the basic truths of salvation, eternal life, and guidance for our everyday living. The old ways are the factual answers for our human minds' questions . . . who am I? Why am I here? People refuse to pay attention to the very real answers. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and God's purposes are still the same!

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (I Peter 2:9-10)

Great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord Almighty, 19 great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind; you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve. (Jeremiah 32:18b-19)

Even believers fall into the trap sometimes of allowing things and people in this world to take the top priority in our lives -- the priority that belongs to Jesus, our Savior.

Yet my people have forgotten me;    they burn incense to worthless idols,
which made them stumble in their ways,    in the ancient paths.
They made them walk in byways,    on roads not built up. (Jeremiah 18:15)

The next gate as we work our way around the city is the Valley gate. This gate reminds us of the humility of our Lord becoming Emmanuel. In Philippians, we read of how He made Himself a servant to all. He descended from the glories of heaven to the valley of human form -- and even death.

Who, being in very nature God,    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man,    he humbled himself    by becoming obedient to death—  even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-8)

His example encourages us to show humility in our own lives. We may not enjoy the valley sometimes, but often God will take us there in order to teach us and to bring blessing to our lives.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.(Ephesians 4:2)

At Christmas time, as we contemplate the birth of Christ in human form, we are struck with the awesome gift He gave us all. This should promote a feeling of humility in us, so that we can receive His blessings as we serve Him and others. 

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you (Romans 12:3)

More gates tomorrow!