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

Shout for joy to God, all the earth! (Psalm 66:1)

⁴Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; ⁵make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, ⁶with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn – shout for joy before the LORD, the King. (Psalm 98:4-6)

¹Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. ²Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. (Psalm 100:1-2)

⁴May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth. (Psalm 67:4)

¹³Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. (Isaiah 49:13)

³But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God, may they be happy and joyful. (Psalm 68:3)

¹¹Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. ¹²Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name. (Psalm 97:11-12)

⁹May your priests be clothed with your righteousness; may your faithful people sing for joy.’” (Psalm 132:9)

³Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp. ⁴For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. ⁵Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. (Psalm 149:3-5)

²³My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you – I whom you have delivered. (Psalm 71:23)

¹³Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. (Jeremiah 31:13)

²Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” ³The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. (Psalm 126:2-3)

⁷The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy and with my song I praise him. (Psalm 28:7)

⁴For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. 5How great are your works, LORD, how profound your thoughts. (Psalm 92:4-5)

¹⁶When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, LORD God Almighty. (Jeremiah 15:16)

¹¹¹Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end. (Psalm 119:111-112)

²Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. ³With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. ⁴In that day you will say: “Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. ⁵Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.” (Isaiah 12:2-5)

¹Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. (Psalm 98:1-2)

¹⁹Once more the humble will rejoice in the LORD; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 29:19)

⁵Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. (Psalm 126:5-6)

¹Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. ²Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.’(Psalm 95:1-2)

¹¹Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it, ¹²Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. (Psalm 96:11-12)

¹²You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12)

¹The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, ^2bit will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy… (Isaiah 35:1-2b)

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

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.
 I bring you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.”
(Luke 2:10)

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PRAYER OF JOY

The joy of salvation is upon me, Lord. I live by the joyful beating of my heart to the rhythm of Your love. The wonder of Your Creation fills my heart and emerges from my mouth in songs of praise. Your song of life sings to my spirit, and I delight being in Your presence. My legs dance in celebration, as You strengthen me, and then kneel, humbled by Your overwhelming love. In everlasting joy, I worship You forever.

[Ch. 8 – The Thanks]

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

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. (Romans 12:11)

⁵Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Corinthians 5:5)

⁴But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)

¹³And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession––to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

¹⁵The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:15-16)

²This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God:  Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. ⁴You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:2-4)

³Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. ⁴There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. (1 Corinthians 12:3-4)

⁷Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. (1 Corinthians 12:7-11)

¹²Just as a body, though one has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

⁴For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5)

¹⁵“If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶And 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. ¹⁸I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:15-18)

¹⁸And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

⁹However, as it is written:  “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” —the things God has prepared for those who love him” —- ¹⁰these are the things God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹²What we have received is not the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. ¹⁴The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:9-14)

¹⁷But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:17)

¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17)

¹⁶So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (Galatians 5:16-18)

¹⁵The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, ¹⁶for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:15-16)

¹⁵So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. (1 Corinthians 14:15)

²⁰For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. (1 Corinthians 4:20)

³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:30-32)

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-25)

²⁴The one who keeps God’s commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us:  We know it by the Spirit he gave us. (1 John 3:24)

¹⁷I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, ¹⁹and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength ²⁰he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:17-21)

⁴As you come to him, the Living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5)

²⁶But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ²⁷Peace 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 14:26-27)

²⁰But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. (Jude 20-21)

²⁶In the same way, the Spirit helps us in  our weaknesses. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

¹Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

²²⁹Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Psalm 118:29)

God is spirit,
and his worshipers must worship
in spirit and in truth.
(John 4:24)

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PRAYER OF SPIRIT

Father, You assure me with the Presence of the Holy Spirit in me that I am Yours forever. With You, I can do all things through Christ my Savior by the power of the Holy Spirit. When I didn’t know how to call to You, You called to me. When I strayed from Your side, You sent Your only Begotten Son to bring me back to You. And when I became Yours forever, You sent me the Helper that You knew I would need to live the life of victory that You have promised that I could have in this world. By the same awesome power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, I am being transformed by the ongoing presence of Holy Spirit into a greater likeness of Jesus Christ. Through Him, Truth is revealed to me. Through Him, Your will for my life is made possible. Father, You have left nothing to chance. You are perfect, Father, and Your gift of Holy Spirit is also perfect. Teach me to heed Holy Spirit in always, enhancing the growth of Your Kingdom in me.

[Ch. 7 – The Joy]

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