THREE MUST HAVE GATES

Put these three gates on the “Must Have Gates” on a list” for yourself, your household, and those in your orbit of friends and extended family. Yes, definitely share them with others! Don’t keep what I am about to share to yourself! Three Gates…

Gate #1: I know you are not an agricultural person, so I won’t use the verse in Nehemiah that refer to the Sheep Gate where animal sacrifices were brought to the Lord for the atonement of sins. But you need the gate it symbolizes, found in John 10:6-7 most definitely. Those verses read as follows in the NLT Version of the bible, “Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.”  It’s up to you, but I would take this gate, my friend. Why? Because Jesus is our atonement and by accepting Him as your Savior and Lord, you can have peace with God. If you are already saved, you still need to go through this gate and accept Jesus’ teachings, principles, His commandment to love, and His commission to make disciples.

Gate #2: In rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, Nehemiah had individuals working on the Refuse Gate. Here is what it says in The Book of Nehemiah 3:14 NASB), “Malchijah the son of Rechab, the official of the district of Beth-haccherem repaired the Refuse Gate. He built it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars.” The Refuse Gate, also called the Dung Gate, was where all the garbage, the filth, the dung, and the dirty stuff was carried out. That was in Nehemiah’s time. Every believer, at any time, is included in the verse that says, “All sin and fall short of the glory of God.” In other words, even though we are in the right position, in Christ, we make are not perfect, but are making perfect progress, and there will be times where we will have failings. When we have failings, we need to use our Refuse Gate and get rid of all the ungodly thoughts and behaviors. I think that is a daily thing to go. Yes, say to the Lord every day, “Forgive me this day of my trespasses!” Do this believing what the Bible says in 1 John 1:9 (NASB), “ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” And after you have done that, do your best to keep the Refuse out of your life! Staying in prayer, staying in the word, and staying committed to living a God-conscious and Christ centered life! These things will help you do just as I have suggested.

Gate #3: Let’s revisit Nehemiah one more time so we can identify the third “Must Have Gate”. In Nehemiah 3:29 there is reference to the East Gate, also known as the Golden Gate. It reads like this in the NASB, “After them Zadok the son of Immer carried out repairs in front of his house. And after him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, carried out repairs.” This is the same gate, situated across from the Mount of Olives, that Ezekiel prophesied that the Lord Jesus, our Messiah would use on Palm Sunday. This is a “Must Have Gate” because it causes us to praise God in sincerity for not only entering the city to be a sacrifice, paying the price for our sins, but also because one day He will return again! If you are saved, you should type me a one words response to me, “Hallelujah!”  Be blessed!

Committed to the climb,

Mark L. King