I am not going to be surprised anymore. I am not going to allow people to surprise me. It is becoming clear that many people do not want to hear what Jesus had to say about how we should live life. For many people, Jesus has become nothing more than a tolerant, loving, forgiving person whose main purpose is to bolster their self esteem, to help them feel good about their lives and get physical blessing from this world. People just want their ears tickled it seems. People just want to hear about this watered down Jesus so they can keep living in and glorifying their sinful life. Why is it that people are so open to this nonjudgmental, tolerant, loving, caring, and open to anything Jesus? Why is it people can be so moved by all that stuff.? But when you begin to tell and preach the truth, you are told that you are judgmental and harsh. Why don’t more people want to hear from the Jesus that taught things like unless a man is born again He will not inherit the kingdom of heaven? Or that there is such a thing as sin and that we need to mourn, repent and turn from that sin. Or that He and He alone is the only way to Heaven. Or that there is the reality of a real place called Heaven and a reality of a real placed called Hell and that people who refuse to accept Jesus and turn from their sinful ways will choose to go to Hell. The problem is no one wants to face their sin. The problem is no one wants to call sin, sin. We want to call it free choice, tolerance, character flaws, mistakes, laziness, having fun, being stupid, whatever. I look into my life and into my heart and I realize that I fall so short of the glory of God. I have come a long way from that life I lived of sinful drunkenness, fifth and hostility toward God that was leading me to hell. I will not sugar coat this- that life was leading me to hell. I will also not sugar coat the fact that if all I did was say some words about how I believe in Jesus Christ yet still saw nothing wrong with drunkenness it would be impossible for me to be saved. The reality is far too many people don’t see that there is anything wrong with the way they are living and it is leading them to eternal doom. Far too many people do not believe that their sin hurts God and that he is not cool with it. So I have come far in my life but the reality is I still have far to go. I struggle with the sin of pride, I struggle with the sin of anger, to name a few and I will tell you these sins grieve my soul. What about you, do you recognize the sin in your life that grieves God. My challenge to you this Christmas season is to look at your life and see if Jesus is really the precious gift to you that God intended Him to be. The goal of Jesus coming to earth was not so that we would live well. What I mean is that Jesus did not come mainly to be useful to us. The goal of Jesus coming to this Earth was so that we could die well. Jesus came mainly so that HE would be glorified and magnified in and through us. Jesus said in Matthew “^Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13,14. Which gate will you enter?