1 John 2:19

God’s heart is to fill heaven and to reach out once more to those rejecting Him to choose Him; to choose life; to choose Jesus. In Plan 8 of Revelation, the enemy has to use people whose hearts are set against God to carry out his work. We know they will never succeed – but they will try. Jesus has already guaranteed us victory – even if for a short time there must be suffering.

1 John is one of three letters written by John the Beloved, the same author as the Gospel of John and Revelation. Written as a response to false teaching in the church, John reminds his readers that just as God is both love and light, true believers are to show love and light to the world.

John, the last living apostle, wrote a Gospel, and it seems some people were distorting it. John writes to believers, bringing clarity and commentary on what he wrote. He shows them what it looks like to be people of light and life instead of people of death and darkness. This plan in the series takes us through 1 John and how to live in the face of distorted Christianity.

Life is messy, unpredictable, painful, sloppy, emotional, slippery, and oftentimes unbearable, with hard places we could never have fathomed when we started this journey. But God is not surprised by our slipups and screwups. Each day we are given the opportunity to live with meaning and significance as we acknowledge our struggles and then surrender them to Jesus.