Where has respect for God gone?

Terror. Horror. Fright. Respect. Fear of Jesus, of God. Where has the time gone, the time in the past when we were scared of God? Because of a corrupt culture and watered-down faith, we have come to view Jesus as a stereotype, a dainty figure with a broad smile and sparkling eyes, halo twinkling above his neatly-combed hair; the Bible is seen as the Big Book of God’s Rules; the church is seen as a building with a gong, tainted-glass windows, red satin pews and burning incense, of prayers and chorusing monks bathed in boredom. What have we done? Jesus is not a stereotype, he is the Son of God, with powers and knowledge and grace beyond all our wildest imaginations; the Bible is the Word of God, filled with unforgiving truth and beaming promises made by our Creator, promises that will not be broken; the church should be intimidating and yet loving, open to the outside, taking in anyone who wants to join, the body of Christ. We should fear Jesus, the Word, and the church itself! Where has such fear gone? Our passion is a lukewarm belief when it should be a horrifying, zealous inferno! We should fear God not out of grim fright, but in awe of his power. We should fear the Bible not because it is condemning, but because its pages hold the truths to our complete salvation! We should fear the church because it is filled with God and his presence; we should fear God for just being GOD! Oftentimes God works in strange ways, and fear will be our close neighbor. But fear only God, not the world, for God created the world. God’s plan for your life might be terrifying, but have faith and trust, for fear of God is the only fear that matters! Fear God—fear his power, his might, his knowingness, his control—and leap into the dangers of this world, attacking it head-on with the ferocious valor that Christianity must explode with once again! Fear God, respect God--love God!