Your Bark
1/5/14
It has been said that we humans can learn things from the
ways of dogs and while I do not completely agree with this philosophy there are
some aspects of dog’s behavior and territorial activities that we can learn
about. There is a reason that a dog is
called man’s best friend in the context of mankind and not just the male side
of our species. There are many sayings
and catch phrases that one can use to describe humanity by referring to the
canine breeds, but what about the loyalty and the protection that a dog serves
to its household or master. On the other
hand there are a few concepts and “laws” of the canine species that we should
take up in order to ensure the vitality of the Church continues. While some of these aspects may not be
conventional they do serve a purpose to potential invaders who could bring
havoc into the Church if allowed. So,
tune up your barking voices and let us begin the appropriate sounds to the
world in defense of the Church.
As some of you know we have two Dachshunds that are
considered a vital part in our family, and while I have written more about our
Dachshund named Gizelle, Heidi is going to begin the article with her example
of barking. Even though Heidi is younger
than Gizelle, she claims the alpha female role of the two simply because of the
handicapped condition that Gizelle harbors.
For the most part Gizelle accepts this order and follows along
accordingly and of course Heidi recognizes this advantage and in return does
all she can to make sure that Gizelle does not get any type of alpha coup ideas
in her head. They are friendly to each
other and even protect each other when they feel it is necessary.
Dachshunds are notoriously famous for being called wiener
dogs, weenie dogs, hot gods, etc, etc with most of these names being funny to
hear. The internet has come up with some
great pictures to reinforce these names as well; all made in jest of course for
I would never harm my two girls for anything in the world. Until we obtained Gizelle no one in our
family knew what Dachshunds true purpose was for and given their size and
height one would not suspect that they were originally bred to hunt
badgers. However, when one has the
opportunity to hear their bark and the ferocious sounds that protrude from
their mouths it is easier to understand why they were used in this
capacity. If a dachshund surprises a
person or animal and then lets them have it with their bark, it will jar the
intended target quite noticeably.
Dachshunds are not very large dogs and when one looks at
their short legs and long backs they can bring a smile or smirk to one’s face
and mind. But it is their bark that penetrates
a certain decibel level that human ears have a hard time in handling and if
heard to long enough bring about an ear pain that will not go away until the
barking subsides. Dachshunds by breed
are very territorial and will continue to present their case to the owners of
that territory with a warning sound until the person owning the territory calms
the animal down. The effectiveness of
this barking noise is one that lets everyone around know that there is a puppy
dog that knows what is going on and those approaching people or animals better
beware.
I have found that Heidi will bark at almost any uncertain
movement that she believes is not on the up and up. There are many times that she sits on top of
the couch and as she looks out the bay window will even bark at the squirrels
playing across the street. Sometimes it
seems like she will just bark to hear her head rattle, remember that phrase
being used when you were a kid? I
understand that phrase now.J For us to
keep Heidi quiet we actually have to pick her up and reassure her that whoever
or whatever is outside is supposed to be there and knows what they are
doing. It takes a bit but she will eventually calm
down and then ready for the next potential intrusion to occur, but by then the
entire neighborhood knows that Heidi is on guard and is watching everything
that they do; hence, the entire process begins all over again.
Barking is a dog’s way of letting the people and the
environment around them know that they are there and that those objects which
the dog has deemed as potential invaders know that they are being watched. It is a common knowledge that when an
unfamiliar presence is detected a dog will begin to bark and could even start
to bark when the human has not actually heard any disturbing sounds yet. The ear of a dog is so much more sensitive
than the human’s ear and can hear sounds, voices and noises from a far greater
distance than we can ever imagine. This
aspect of their abilities can come in handy in a number of ways; in fact, many
lives have been saved due to a barking dog.
The movies of Hollywood have portrayed this phenomenon about dogs and more
importantly we in reality, as individuals, also have witnessed this act from
dogs as well, so why is it difficult for us to understand that there are people
and other forces out around us that wish us harm?
I guess the more pertinent and relevant question to this
process would be, why have we allowed ourselves to not recognize or hear the
dangers that surround us? I have brought
to my reader’s attention that we are in a war against the spirit of the world
and everything that encompasses this realm.
Yet we as the Church have repeatedly ignored the presence of this spirit
and have actually welcomed its presence onto our inner property. There is nothing wrong with recognizing the
evils of the world and understanding their causes and their pain, but there is definitely
something wrong when we allow this presence within our doors and then sit back
and do not address the truth and deal with its presence. This would be like having a huge and
ferocious dog solely used for protection and as soon as we can take it to the
vet and have all of its teeth pulled for no good reason. Anyone afraid of a toothless dog that all he
/ she can do is “gum things to death?”
No, you have pity on it and then walk over and pet the animal, which forces
the dog to accept its environment, no matter how it feels about the person.
Reverting back to Heidi for a moment, barking and showing
her teeth a bit is her way of letting us know and whoever or whatever is around
that she is watching them and that she knows you are there. It does not matter if she has never seen the
person or animal before or if the subject has just left the room, she is going
to let them know that she is aware of your presence. Heidi would never attack anyone or harm them
in any way, she is not that way but she will let the people outside know and everyone
in the house knows when she believes that something is not right in the
neighborhood. It has been said that dogs
are great for warding off predators and a barking dog is one of the best ways
to keep the house secure, since it grabs the attention of the ears
quickly. And this is where we come to
the spiritual aspect of things for this article.
How do people get inside of a church? The obvious answer is a door and this is not
an inaccurate answer. It is the truth
that people get into the church through doors and it is of the utmost
importance that churches have the philosophy of an open door policy for those
who are in need of God within their lives.
It is the sole purpose and function of the Church to welcome people into
the church as an example of the love that Jesus has for humans. But I am sad to say that we have stopped
there with this example at this point and have not continued the total mission
of what Jesus established the Church to accomplish. The goal of a church or a denomination has
been to have and to record as many members as it can to prove its stability to
the world; strength in numbers if you wish.
How sad and wrong this concept is and it is no wonder that the Church is
in the shape that she is in today. In
other words, having a huge toothless dog is useless and good for nothing but as
a door prize and a talking point to the people that come into your house.
The Church is supposed to be separated from the world and
have nothing to do with the policies that it promotes. The world is not of God and the forces that
the world allows to control it stand totally against the Kingdom of God. This is where the bark of the Church should
take over and alarm the inhabitants, the Church, of the forces that are trying
to gain access to the heart of the Church.
If the bark of the Church is loud and steady the attention will be drawn
out in the open and the perpetrators will be noticed and deciphered as false
witnesses to others. There are
rightfully those who wish to end their struggles with the world and come to
Christ and these people are the ones that heed the calling of God. On the other hand, there are those who have
no desire to turn their lives over to God and have the intentions of spreading
discontent within the Church.
The Church should have the keen eye to recognize this
spiritual and Kingdom aspect and should “bark” accordingly. Yet we have allowed these types of spirits
within our church walls in order to boost the numerical value of the
congregation and in doing so we have placed a muzzle over our spiritual mouths
in the name of worldly figures. The
world understands that the Church has a history of actually biting people
instead of barking at the appropriate times.
The world also understands that the Church is filled with humans in
which given this historical side of the Church will accept worldly spirits within
its walls in order to “keep the peace” within the community. How wrong and blasphemous this philosophy is
and with this acceptance the Church has now become as the old song states, “how
much is that doggie in the window?”
The Church no longer needs the muzzle that we have
voluntarily placed around its mouth for we have been in the window for so long
that we have become docile and weak that we do not even care who comes in and
out of our neighborhoods. The world will
enter the Church and actually pet us on the head and say “nice doggie” to us as
they pass by. Where is the fear of God
on both sides of this equation? The
world is attracted to the Church because of its divisiveness and its cunning
abilities to put on a front to the public.
The worldly spirit understands this because it is the exact same front that
it portrays to the world. It believes in
this divisional status and it thrives on this type of sectional creativity for
that spirit understands that as long as division reigns at any level it has the
authority to control the spiritual movements and life of that entity. The worldly spirit also knows that as long as
this divisive and nocturnal nature resides within the true mission of the
entity cannot be fulfilled to its utmost; as it does with the Church.
The Church’s bark is not to be ferocious to the person
but to the enemy that controls the person.
The Church becomes ineffective in its mission when it loses this vision
and in reality should shut their doors because all that they are doing is
providing a lie to the people that desire true help. Also, while in this condition the Church succumbs
to the worldly spirit and allows it to run rampant through its veins spewing a
divisive hate for God and everything that His Word says is true. It masks the truth in such a manner that
glorifies the world’s decisions about humanity and accepts all manner of
beliefs without any corrective or repenting steps to be taken. This action by the Church is an abomination
to God Word and to His authority, and each time we allow this setting occur, we
are spiritually and physically thumbing our noses to God and saying to Him that
our ways and means are better for us than His.
The toothless dog understands that there is a potential
for danger as soon as certain people are allowed into the house however, the
dog also understands that in its present condition it is no match for that
person nor can it defend the house in the capacity that as it should. The dog usually then goes and sits into the
corner or some isolated safe spot where it can view the activities with a heavy
and depleted heart, fully knowing that at some point the times will change and
there will be nothing that it can do when the owners cry out for help. There is some comfort in this condition of
the dog, at least when the invaders are showing their true selves, they will
actually look at the dog and smile at it and tell it that it is “a good boy”
not even caring what sex the dog is in the first place. This is not a vital Church nor does it
demonstrate any true life within the Church, all it displays is a weak object
that should take its place in its society and not be heard from until
petted. It also displays the true
identity of a religion versus a true relationship on the spiritual level both
on an individual level and the Church level.
My suggestion to the Church is this, when the world comes
at you with pliers wanting to pull your spiritual teeth that you show them your
teeth and let them know that you understand what they are trying to do. The Church should never hurt anyone but
should always attack the person handling the marionette. Accept the people into the Church that want
to seek help, repentance and spiritual guidance for it is these people that
Jesus walked and talked with on a daily basis.
See when you push back the darkness and allow the true light to shine,
the darkness will leave and if the Bible addresses that this sin should be
removed from the people then why is the Church accepting them and not removing
the darkness from their lives? Everyone
knows that the devil himself sits in many church services gathering
information, so why wouldn’t the followers of his realm do the same, especially
if their ways of existence is being readily accepted without recourse. This type of action will continue and will
eventually become worse as long as the Church allows it to continue. It is time for the Church to recognize its
errors and throw out the world’s spirit that she has allowed to take comfort
within. I am NOT saying to throw out the
people who are there for true repentance; I am saying to throw out the worldly
spirits that have been allowed to access our vision and means of our mission to
a dying world.
This standing up against the spirit of the world will be
rejected by some, this is a given but it shall also create a revival amongst
the Church and cause her light to shine once again. There can be no denying that the principles
of the Church have gone a bit wayward and spiritual cleaning needs to be done
but what a way to complete this task if you have people who wish to clean
themselves at the same time. This is the
meaning of true restoration when everyone agrees to return to the ways of God
and to follow His examples concerning life.
When this occurs the Church will be restored to what she was designed
for and will once again begin the process of working towards becoming the bride
of Christ, in her true beauty instead of her outward appearance to the world.
Show your spiritual teeth when you bark and I guarantee
that the worldly spirit will recognize you almost immediately. The Church is toothless and lacks the
discipline to stand up to the world and this is a death sentence to the Church,
so much so that in truth the Church becomes a church in stature and
systematically reduces herself to the corner in which she is told to sit. No way did Jesus intend for His Church nor
his bride to behave so why don’t we get this concept and understand that we the
Church are in a state of sin? Repent and
then allow God to restore, He has promised this to us and it is so easy to
begin. Hey, I think I can see some teeth
appearing. J
DLB
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