PART II: The Words & The Prayers
of The Life of The Cross,  © 2008 (2nd ed. 2020), by Cathy Scott

Scroll down to the  bottom of each chapter of the devotional
to read the prayer that accompanies the Scripture.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched-–-this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. ²The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. ³We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴We write this to make our joy complete. (1 John 1:1-4)

¹But now, this is what the Lord says-–-he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. (Isaiah 43:1)

³…I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing-kindness. ⁴I will build you up again, and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt… (Jeremiah 31:3-4a)

³‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ (Jeremiah 33:3)

¹⁰He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10)

²²“So you will be my people, and I will be your God.” (Jeremiah 30:22)

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)

⁸But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

¹²Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

¹²Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father. ¹³And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:12-14)

¹⁵“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-–-fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” (John 15:16)

²⁷ …“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Luke 10:27)

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -–- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8)

¹⁷Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. (Romans 10:17)

¹⁷For in the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)

²²This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God, ²⁴and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. (Romans 3: 22-26)

² …He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. ³He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. ⁵But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:2b-6)

⁸ …“but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord your Redeemer. (Isaiah 54:8b)

¹⁰Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10)

⁸ …he will never leave you nor forsake you… (Deuteronomy 31:8)

²⁷ …“Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27b)

¹⁶“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever-–-¹⁷the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17)

⁵And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:5)

^8”But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

¹¹And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit, who lives in you. (Romans 8:11)

¹⁹Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own. (1 Corinthians 6:19)

²⁷Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (1Corinthians 12:27)

⁴There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called; ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)

²⁶As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (James 2:26)

²Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-–-with great patience and careful instruction. (2 Timothy 4:2)

¹⁶[Jesus] said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (Mark 16:15-18)

⁷“As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matthew 10:7-8)

¹⁰Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

²⁶ …With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

⁷For we live by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

¹⁷ …And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ May have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. ¹⁸ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:17b-21)

¹Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Psalm 118:1)

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross,
so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;
“by his wounds you have been healed.’
(1 Peter 2:24)

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PRAYER OF RELATIONSHIP

Father God, how honored and grateful I am to know that You—the LORD God Almighty—are my God and my Father. You made me in Your likeness. You alone, God, made the heavens and earth. You are the Creator of all.  In Your sovereignty, Father. You could have designed the universe in any way that You so chose to design it, and You did. In Your perfect wisdom, Father, You chose to make me just as I am:  fully dependent upon You always for all good things. You made me to be Your child eternally; one who never stops relying on Your perfect knowledge and understanding. You, God, are the good and loving perfect Father. The vastness of Your grace alone, given to me in Your Son, Christ Jesus, reveals to the world just how good and loving of a God and Father You are. Your perfection overwhelms me. So good and loving are You, Father, that You brought me Home to You before I was ever firstborn as lost. You saved me. You delivered me. You healed me and restored me. You gave me Your peace and joy that are beyond understanding. You made me to love when I didn’t know what love is. And You, God, what did You ask of me? To freely give to all others as You have always freely given to me.

[From The Life of The Cross, 2008, Cathy Scott]

[Ch. 2 – The Victory]

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Part II: The Words & The Prayers
The Life of The Cross,  © 2008, Cathy Scott

The LORD looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. (Psalm 14:2)

³Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth. (Hosea 6:3)

⁶Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. ⁷Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. (Isaiah 55:6-7)

¹⁴Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the Lord. (Joel 1:14)

³The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ ⁴Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD. (Obadiah 1:3-4)

¹²“Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. (Joel 2:12-13)

²⁵The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; (Lamentations 3:25)

¹⁴Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. (Amos 5:14)

²⁷Do not withhold good from those to whom it is deserved, when it is in your power to act. (Proverbs 3:27)

²⁶“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:26-27)

⁹Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. (Proverbs 3:9-10)

¹⁰“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” (Malachi 3:10)

¹³Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, (Proverbs 3:13)

¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her will be blessed. (Proverbs 3:18)

¹¹The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. (Proverbs 9:10-11)

²⁵For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. (1 Corinthians 1:25)

⁷Do not be wise in your own eye, fear the LORD and shun evil. (Proverbs 3:7)

⁸He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

¹⁵But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15)

⁵Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? (Psalm 113:5)

¹⁷This is what the LORD says – your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:  “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” (Isaiah 48:17)

¹⁹I am the LORD your God; follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God. (Ezekiel 20: 19-20)

²Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing evil. (Isaiah 56:2)

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

⁸“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

²³And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD. (Ezekiel 38:23)

⁶God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7)

¹At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people –everyone whose name is found written in the book – will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:1-3)

¹⁶The LORD their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. (Zechariah 9:16)

⁶But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, wait for your God always. (Hosea 12:6)

¹³Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray.  Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (James 5:13-16)

²⁰My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body. (Proverbs 4:20-22)

¹⁶All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

⁶“Alas, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” ⁷But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. ⁸Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 1:6-8)

¹⁰For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (Romans 10:10)

²¹“As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the LORD. (Isaiah 59:21)

¹⁷The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you, in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

¹⁰Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand. (Daniel 12:10)

¹⁸Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. (Romans 9:18)

⁴¹The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:41-42)

³³Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. ³⁴For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. ³⁵The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. ³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them. (John 3:33-36)

¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Galatians 3:13-14)

⁴⁶He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46-47)

¹⁷He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (2 Peter 1:17)

²⁰“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.” (Luke 9:20)

⁶Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

⁵I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

²⁰Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ (John 15:20)

²³Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? ²⁶Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. (Luke 9:23-26)

⁷But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. ⁸They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

¹⁹Repent then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you –even Jesus. ²¹Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. (Acts 3:19-21)

⁸But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. ¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. (2 Peter 3:8-10)

¹³But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:13)

¹Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? (Psalm 2:1)

⁴The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. ⁵He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, ⁶“I have installed my King on Zion, my holy mountain.” ⁷I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your Father. ⁸Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. ⁹You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” ¹⁰Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. ¹¹Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. ¹²Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:4-12)

²⁷As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit––just as it has taught you, remain in him. (1 John 2:27)

²³May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

²⁷“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:56-57)

²⁷“I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27)

¹⁵“As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show them my wonders.” (Micah 7:15)

⁵“Look at the nations and watch—-and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” (Habakkuk 1:5)

¹¹The LORD will be awesome to them when he destroys all the gods of the earth. Distant nations will bow down to him, all of them in their own lands. (Zephaniah 2:11)

¹⁴For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14)

³²And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.  (Joel 2:32)

¹¹“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹²Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³You will seek me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

²⁰“At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,” says the LORD.  (Zephaniah 3:20)

²⁹Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Psalm 118:29)

The promise is for you and your children
and for all whom are far off—
for all whom the Lord our God will call.
(Acts 2:39)

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 PRAYER OF PROMISE

Father, Your promises stand before me, fulfilled in Your Son, Jesus Christ. You showed the mightiness of Your power by overcoming sin and death, through His resurrection. By His life, God, are You made known to all who seek You. By His hand will the fulfillment of Your Word in this world come to be. Those of us who have been made righteous by His blood will again live to worship and glorify You for eternity. We wait in hope with anticipation for that glorious day, the day of Jesus’ return. Until then, we live as Your emissaries in a fallen world, as You strengthen us daily. You fulfill all of our needs, as we live according to Your will and Your purposeful plan for our lives. Your plan is perfect, Father, as You are perfect. We live to glorify and honor You in all things. We live in faith, knowing that Your Kingdom is victorious and that You have prepared a place in it for each of us, who are covered by the blood of your Son. Your mercies are without limit, and Your goodness puts us to shame. It is by grace alone that we receive your forgiveness and blessings in this world and the next. We rest assured in your Holy Word, and we live triumphant in the peace and joy that Christ purchased for us.

[The Epilogue – The Glory]

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