What is so great about the Tabernacle's furniture? What is God confessing in each of these pieces? He confesses Jesus' Incarnation, intercession and glory through each piece of furniture He puts into the Tabernacle. Our own sanctuaries were once customarily adorned in similar ways. They give our hearts, souls and minds avenues to worship all the great mysteries God has revealed in His Word through His Son, the Word incarnate, Jesus Christ.

But people who want to get rich keep toppling into temptation

St. Paul spends the end of his first epistle to Timothy talking about money. He encourages Timothy to teach his people not to develop a love of money. A love for the things of this world that leads into temptation. Those who want to get rich keep toppling into temptation. They are trapped by their desires to grab more and more so that they begin to believe that it's okay to do anything to get it. They will sell themselves, body and soul, for the sake of earning a few extra dollars. Throwing away much for the sake of a little.

Gordon Gekko proclaims in the movie Wall Street, "Greed is good." Greed makes everything seem right. As long as I get what I want and no one gets hurt, it doesn't really matter. Greed--the love of money--bears many children. Children that are even greater sins that cause a lot of pain and cause them to wander away from the faith. Wandering away from the faith, they plunge into their own destruction and ruin.

Don't take the plunge! Be content with what you have. Don't topple into greed's temptation. Greed is not good. Greed just brings more sorrow to your life. Contentment brings happiness. Amen.

Nothing to this world we bring;

Paul reminds Timothy of Job's words during his heartache (1:21): "I left my mother's womb naked, and I will return to God naked. The LORD has given, and the LORD has taken. May the name of the LORD be blessed."

Except those who believe in karma, everyone understands that we come into this world with nothing. No one has literally come out of their mother's womb with a silver spoon in their mouth. We all begin this life as helpless, little babies. As babies, we were most happy when our diaper was dry and our belly was full. When either one of those needs weren't met, we wailed our heads off until our parents figured out what was wrong. We were only content with that dry diaper and full belly.

In America, we have problems differentiating between wants and needs. We NEED food to eat and clothes to wear. We WANT designer label clothing and T-bone steaks. We're just as comfortable with homespun clothing and macaroni and cheese as we are with Abercrombie and Fitch® and lobster.

Are you consumed by wants or needs? Or are you content with the blessings God has given you? As you brought nothing into the world, you deserve nothing in this life. As you can take nothing with you, the accumulation of great wealth and picky tastes is "utterly pointless" as Solomon tells us (Ecclesiastes 1-2).

Are you making your life "utterly pointless"? Turn it around today and ask God to help you be content with what He has given you. Amen.

They think that godliness is a way to make a profit.

Many television preachers try to tell you that the Christian life of godliness is all about being profitable. Having the perfect job. The perfect family. Even the perfect teeth. To them, godliness is supposed to be profitable for you so that you will be more willing to share the good news of Jesus. But striving after this perfection drives people crazy. It continues to leave them uncertain of their standing before God because someone else always seems to have something more.

St. Paul encourages Timothy to teach contentment. To teach the people in Ephesus to be satisfied with what they have, whether much or little. Being content brings a great profit because we understand and accept that everything we have is a gift to us from our heavenly Father.

Many believe and accept that God will not give us more trouble and heartache than we can bear. Why is it that these same people cannot believe or accept that God will also not give us more possessions and good things than we can bear? Why do they believe that there is always something more, something greater, that they need? Be content with what you have. Everything you have is a gift from God. Praise God for it and use it as a blessing for yourself and all those around you. There is the great profit of godliness. Amen.

All who are under the yoke of slavery should regard their own masters

Slavery was common in the ancient Roman Empire. Typically it was entered into because of financial disaster. Christians were both slaves and masters. Christians who served and those who owned were to deal with each other in a truly Christian manner.

When a Christian was both slave and master, the mutual respect was doubled. The reputation of every Christian rests on how each Christian acts. If one Christian acts in an unchristian way, what does that say about the rest of us? Don't discredit the name of the Lord who died for you because you fail to be respectful. Amen.

Tournaments to crown the first ever PWA American Heavyweight and Tag Team champions!!

Great matches that would have made ANY promoter happy all through these tournaments.

Great feuds also begin through matches in these tournaments: Shane Douglas and Atsushi Onita; Sting and Eddie Gilbert; Mike Rapada and Sonjay Dutt?

The sins of some men are obvious,

Our reputation often precedes us wherever we go. We want those welcoming us to have AT LEAST a neutral view towards us. We'd prefer a positive, warm reception. Reputation is key to human interaction. Without at least a neutral reputation, life is unbearable.

That's the problem we have in this life. We don't like other people to have a better reputation than what we have. So we tend to tarnish their reputation so that ours looks better. But what does Jesus say about that type of behavior? "Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man unclean" (Matthew 15:19-20). Slander, tarnishing a person's reputation, is ranked up there with murder, theft and sexual immorality. Those are considered the BIG sins. But Jesus counts them all equal.

We're to work to keep our reputation intact. We're to work to help keep our neighbor's reputation intact. Our reputation often precedes us. It often also follows us. We try to run from the way things were somewhere else. Everything just catches up with us eventually. We cannot hide from our reputation. What's your reputation, Christian? Is it worthy of the Name? Amen.

Stop drinking only water,

There are Christians who have a problem with alcohol consumption. They have valid concerns. I also have valid concerns about it. Alcohol is a gift of God. It has been shown throughout history that it does have some medicinal value. However, like any gift of God, it can be abused and misused.

Should Christians abstain from wine completely? Absolutely not. Our Lord Jesus Christ took a cup of wine and blessed it as He instituted the Lord's Supper. It wasn't grape juice. It wasn't something in between. It was wine. Alcoholic wine.

As with all God's gifts, everything must be done in moderation. Nothing--whether considered good or bad--should be used to an unhealthy extreme. As Solomon tells us, "If you find honey, eat just enough--too much of it, and you will vomit. Seldom set foot in your neighbor's house--too much of you, and he will hate you" (Proverbs 25:16-17).

Nothing should be taken to extremes. God gave us everything we have been given. He appoints us as stewards over these gifts. Proper stewardship keeps us using all things in moderation. Amen.

I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels,

St. Paul takes what St. James has already written to remind Timothy about the dangers of showing favoritism. St. James writes "to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations" (1:1; 2:1-4):

St. James goes on to remind us that God didn't show favoritism in salvation. He didn't choose the richest people to be Christians. He chose the "poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised to those who loved Him" (2:5).

God has always chosen the underdog. The poorest of the poor. Look at the Christmas story. Jesus is born in a stable. Born to a backwoods carpenter and his wife. Not a king or nobleman. A lowly carpenter is our Savior. No favoritism in God. Only divine goodness and mercy shown to all mankind. Amen.

Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly,

The two-edged sword of God's Word is properly wielded when the pastor uses both blades. There is the defensive blade that deflects the devil's temptations and accusations. But there is also the offensive blade that cuts deeply into the sin-sick soul. No one likes to be rebuked for their sins. They definitely don't want it publicized. But that's the preacher's job.

Even through these Moments of Meditation, I publicly rebuke sins that should not be shrugged off as being "not so bad." There are many things that are "not so bad" that are damning to our souls. Just because something is "not so bad" doesn't mean that it's good. A gallon of water with a teaspoon of bleach is "not so bad" but the bleach is still not good for you to drink. It might not do anything destructive the first time. But if you keep drinking it like that, you'll eventually tear yourself up from the inside. "Not so bad" isn't always good.

What is good is that the black-and-whiteness of the Bible is kept intact. God doesn't deal in millions of shades of grey. He deals in black and white, right and wrong, life and death. Preachers condemn sin because God condemns sin. Preachers praise good works because God requires good works from His children. God's two-edged sword must be properly used. To rebuke those who have sinned. To show others not to follow that example. That's God's Word in action. Amen.