"The Dancing Dogs"

  What are we hearing during an assembly? The Lord? When those who lead our hearts in prayer, what are we saying in our heart? Do we just sit idly while someone utters words and we hear nothing? Nothing for which we can say 'Amen'? When we sing of our faith and trust, what are we confessing to the Lord? Are they just notes to a tune or words that have meaning that we hear and express? When we hear preaching, what are we hearing? Are we hearing a history lesson that does not challenge my faith? A lesson with little to no conviction? Does our preaching/teaching bring the Lord right before us to confront us with our lives to change? To develop our faith? Do we just sit there without our heart engaged because we are shown over and over the same weak elements that we have always preached/taught? The Supper is passed and we just pick up a piece of bread and drink the cup because...well, that's what we do? There is no realization of what is happening to us? Questions, questions and more questions keep arising about our worship assembly and we need to assess our hearts.

  Whatever is going on in your heart when you assemble to worship as Christ's body, those who lead us need to pay the price of prayerful and serious reflection about why they do what they do. Those who lead need to bring God to His people to feed them in their hearts. Those who hear need to assess themselves that they are hungry for the Lord and have their hearts engaged in reaching out to Him without any distractions.

  The following event was told that it actually happened in South America as told by a minister who worked there. As he was sitting in his vehicle waiting for the return of some friends a poor lady came over asking him to come see her dancing dogs. She was hurting for money and it was the only way to gain. The minister declined but she was persistent and he finally gave in. He walked with her to her little, almost falling down shack where he found several dogs that were nothing but skin and bone. She had a piece of bread in her hand and the dogs came pleading for that one little morsel. She held the bread just above them, out of their reach and the result, they became her dancing dogs!

  And what do we find in our assemblies? Do we see a dancing congregation that is on the verge of dying because there is little food or hearts are insensitive?