February 26 - March 2
II Corinthians 4-9
Devotional Background

Who wrote the book?

Paul wrote 2 Corinthians at a vulnerable time in his life. He had learned that the church at Corinth was struggling, and he sought to take action to preserve the unity of that local body of believers. The letter is riddled with personal comments as Paul revealed details about the persecution he had suffered for the sake of Christ as well as about a mysterious thorn in the flesh that kept him reliant on God.

Where are we?

After sending Timothy off from Ephesus to deliver the letter of 1 Corinthians, Paul, in his concern for the church, made a quick visit of his own to Corinth. Afterward, Paul returned to his work in Ephesus, where he wrote a sorrowful letter to the Corinthians that has not been preserved (see 2 Corinthians 2:1–11; 7:8). Paul then departed for Macedonia. Once there, he received a good report from Titus regarding the Corinthians (7:13), which led Paul to write a fourth letter to them, titled “2 Corinthians” in the Bible. (See 1 Corinthians page to read about Paul’s first two letters to the Corinthians.) The apostle composed this letter near the end of AD 56, possibly in the city of Philippi.

https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-pauline-epistles/second-corinthians

 

Weekly Schedule

Day 1 (February 26)
2Corinthians 4:1-18
Key Verse: 2Corinthians 4:7-11

Day 2 (February 27)
2Corinthians 5:1-21
Key Verse: 2Corinthians 5:1-2

Day 3 (February 28)
2Corinthians 6:1-18
Key Verse: 2Corinthians 6:16-17

Day 4 (February 29)
2Corinthians 7:1-16
Key Verse: 2Corinthians7:9-10

Day 5 (March 1)
2Corinthians 8:1-24
Key Verse: 2Corinthians 8:9

Day 6 (March 2)
2Corinthians 9:1-15
Key Verse: 2Corinthians 9:6

Memory Verse
2 Corinthians 9:6
“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly
shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”

 

March 4- 9
II Corinthians 10 - John 1
Devotional Background

Why is Second Corinthians so important?

This letter offers a great deal of personal insight into Paul’s life that is not present in any other New Testament book. However, in chapters 8 and 9, his letter also clearly reveals God’s plan for His
people to give to others. Paul first focused on the generous example of the Macedonian
churches, largely Gentile, who gave to their
Jewish Christian brothers and sisters in
Jerusalem. Then he exhorted the Corinthian
believers to make donations of their own to the work in Jerusalem. Several realities about
Christian giving become clear in these two
chapters: Christians give generously according to, and at times beyond, their financial abilities; Christians give their money across racial and
national lines; Christians who make
commitments to give should follow through with those promises; and Christians should give
cheerfully, rather than under compulsion.

https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-pauline-epistles/second-corinthians

 

Weekly Schedule

Day 1 (March 4)
2Corinthians 10:1-18
Key Verse: 2Corinthians 10:17-18

Day 2 (March 5)
2Corinthians 11:1-15
Key Verse: 2Corinthians 11:13-15

Day 3 (March 6)
2Corinthians 11:16-33
Key Verse: 2Corinthians 11:29-30

Day 4 (March 7)
2Corinthians 12:1-21
Key Verse: 2Corinthians 12:9

Day 5 (March 8)
2Corinthians 13:1-14
Key Verse: 2Corinthians 13:5

Day 6 (March 9)
John 1:1-28
Key Verse: John 1:1-3

Memory Verse
2 Corinthians 12:9 "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest
upon me.”

 

March 11-16
John 1-4
Devotional Background

What's the big idea?

The church at Corinth had recently been
struggling with divisions and quarrels. But for a majority of the believers, the problem had been solved by the time Paul wrote 2 Corinthians. Many had repented of their sinful ways and had come back into unity with one another and with theleadership of Paul.

However, Paul still felt the need to articulate a
defense of his apostleship and his message. Some in the church had apparently taken his meekness among them to be a sign of moral weakness or lack of authority (2 Corinthians 10:1–2). These
accusations led Paul to defend himself by arguing that he was on the same level of importance as the other apostles, that he had deep knowledge of the Christian faith, that he had suffered profound physical punishment in the name of Christ, and that he had received
visions and revelations from God (11:1–12:13). 

https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-pauline-epistles/second-corinthians

 

 

Weekly Schedule

Day 1 (March 11)
John 1:29-51
Key Verse: John 1:42

Day 2 (March 12)
John 2:1-25
Key Verse: John 2:19

Day 3 (March 13)
John 3:1-21
Key Verse: John 3:17

Day 4 (March 14)
John 3:22-36
Key Verse: John 3:30

Day 5 (March 15)
John 4:1-26
Key Verse: John 4:14

Day 6 (March 16)
John 4:27-54
Key Verse: John 4:34

Memory Verse
John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

 

  
March 18-23
John 5-7
Devotional Background

How do I apply this?

Just as Paul wrote to the Corinthians in the wake of their repentance from divisions and quarrels, the
message for today is clear: living in unity requires us to humbly forgive one another and to follow our
leaders. Second Corinthians reminds us that even as Christians, we hurt each other and need to forgive those who wrong us (2 Corinthians 2:7). That Paul was willing to exhort the Corinthian believers to forgive those who had fallen away and repented, even as he defended his own apostleship against a vocal
opposition, illustrates the apostle’s commitment to this way of life among God’s people.

In what ways do you struggle to forgive others and/or to follow your godly leaders? An overinflated sense of ourselves often leads us to strike out on our own or hold on to our frustration and anger regarding the choices of others. However, just as Paul reminded us of Jesus’s ministry of reconciliation (5:17–19), we must seek to reconcile relationships in which disunity reigns. Look out for the pitfall of disunity with leaders and other believers in your own life while striving to live among all people in humility.

https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-pauline-epistles/second-corinthians

 

Weekly Schedule

Day 1 (March 18)
John 5:1-30
Key Verse: John 5:14

Day 2 (March 19)
John 5:31-47
Key Verse: John 5:39

Day 3 (March 20)
John 6:1-21
Key Verse: John 6:14-15

Day 4 (March 21)
John 6:22-40
Key Verse: John 6:35-37

Day 5 (March 22)
John 6:41-71
Key Verse: John 6:51

Day 6 (March 23)
John 7:1-31
Key Verse: John 7:17-18

Memory Verse

John 6:26
“Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the
miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.”

 

March 25-30
John 7-10
Devotional Background

Who wrote the book?

Not surprisingly, the gospel of John never provides the name of its author. Such identifications were not made in any of the other three biblical gospels either. However, two significant factors point to the identification of John as the author. First, the book itself identifies the author as the
disciple whom Jesus loved. This description likely pointed to John for three reasons: the author had to be one of the twelve disciples because he was an eyewitness to the events in the gospel (John 21:24); he was probably one of the inner circle of three disciples (James, John, and Peter) because he was among the first Mary told of the
resurrection (20:1–10); and this disciple is distinguished from Peter in the book, while James died too soon after the resurrection to be the author.

The second significant evidence for John’s authorship is the unanimous testimony of early Christians, among them the second-century Christian Irenaeus, who declared that John was the disciple who laid his head on Jesus—the
disciple “whom Jesus loved” (13:23)—and the author of the gospel.

https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-gospels/john

 

 

Weekly Schedule

Day 1 (March 25)
John 7:32-53
Key Verse: John 7:37-38

Day 2 (March 26)
John 8:1-30
Key Verse: John 8:12

Day 3 (March 27)
John 8:31-54
Key Verse: John 8:32

Day 4 (March 28)
John 9:1-22
Key Verse: John 9:5

Day 5 (March 29)
John 9:23-41
Key Verse: John 9:39

Day 6 (March 30)
John 10:1-21
Key Verse: John 10:17-18

Memory Verse

 John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”