Make sure you follow the right Jesus!

Contrary to mainstream belief i would say, Jesus was actually a pretty tough guy to say the least. I believe when most people imagine Jesus they picture him as the gentle smooth skinned life coach with a baby lamb on his shoulders perhaps. I find it interesting that this perception of him could last these many years in spite of how available the word of God is today. In our society these days i believe that all kinds of preaching and teaching is accepted by the masses.......but i seriously doubt if Jesus were here in the flesh in 2021 preaching his famous messages of self denial and self control he would be accepted and praised as he is by so many today. As i read the gospels i cant help but to cringe a bit as i read the words of Jesus at times. In Matthew 5:30 when Christ says" And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." or in Luke 9:23 where he says "Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me" these verses and several others force me to take heed to the words of the Jesus of the bible and not from Pop culture because there is obviously a big difference between the two. Our Lord was full of mercy and grace and he was the very definition of love! but he also was the definition of truth and justice and he was literally the word made flesh as John chapter one says so beautifully. loyalty and devotion to the father first and foremost compelled the son to keep it a buck with his followers and all who heard him. Love not hate despite what our culture believes pushed Christ to warn us of the dangers of forsaking God for the sake of the world and its fleeting pleasures. Today i beg you to self examine, and look within yourself.....ask this question, is what i believe about the Lord Jesus based out of the facts found in his word, or what society around me has given me?