The last area I want to cover is respect and awe.  A healthy fear of God.  Why would God entrust something so guarded to a people who have no respect or reverence of Him.  We live in an age where irreverence is not only acceptable, but embraced-even encouraged.  I fear it’s to the point where people don’t know they’re being disrespectful or irreverent.  Even our kids are encouraged to treat adults as equals.  I see in many instances where this has carried into the church and in our relationship with God.  We focus on the relationship aspect of God, His love, the Father/child relationship, and intimacy with God so much, sometimes I wonder if we forget that God is God and worthy of our full respect, awe, and fear.  King of kings and Lord of lords, all powerful, almighty, His rule is final.  How would we act in the presence of earthly royalty or those of celebrity status?  How would our actions and attitudes compare?  God says in Malachi 1:6(a) A son honors his father, and a servant his master.  If I am a father, where is the honor due me?  If I am a master, where is the respect due me? 

      God does love us and He wants us to come before Him boldly with confidence (Hebrews 4:16 and 10:19) but we should still have healthy fear and respect for His Presence.  When we have people come into our churches and don’t show this, its alright.  God wants them to come.  But as children grow they learn what’s acceptable and not acceptable.  So it is with God’s house.  Let us not take for granted how awesome He is, whether in our lives or in our churches.  God is God and worthy of respect.  All those heroes of faith we read of in Scripture, all showed tremendous awe, reverence, and fear in attitude and actions.  I don’t know about you; but I doubt if I will be as close to God as our spiritual forefathers, but if Abraham had it, if all the prophets showed it, if Moses lived it-maybe we should also, and stop thinking that we are above having such attitudes before the One Who formed us.