Scarlet Robe Creations

Isaiah 49:15-16 Can a woman forget her nursing child,   that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget,  yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. English Standard Version (ESV) © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Can you see His palm outstretched, fingers and flesh, as He has become like us? He cradles the essence of all we will become, an etching  that is to be you, another that will be me. He has made us a part of Himself. He has counted all our days and all our nights. How can He forget what is engraved on His palm, carved into the fibers? His wounds of His love scar Him. The names of His children fill each nail hole with their rebellion. My heart and words slander His blood. Even when you are cast aside, by those without compassion, He will not forget His child

They raised their fists in anger, forcing him out into the street.  How dare this one preach about the faith given to them by their forefathers.  How dare this one twist the word spoken by Moses.  How dare he utter the slanderous name of the crucified Nazarene.  They were tired of listening, tired of this man's words, tired of his foolishness. And still, this man Stephen, did not stop speaking. "The Most Holy God does not reside in houses built of stone, places constructed by men.  Heaven is His throne... and this soil you walk upon is His footstool." He called their hearts heathen, men who worshiped in the temple and offered unblemished animals for their sins.  He accused their ancestors of crimes against the prophets.  He referred to them as murderers. There were stones at their feet, dolomite and limestone, they considered them as they listened. He smiled like an angel looking up into the heavens, at the sun bathing the clear sky.  Did any clouds pass ov

Come aside and rest awhile in a place where the spirit dwells, where there is planted a refreshing seed of life. Come aside and rest awhile on pathways of serenity, built by hands that fold themselves in prayer. Come aside and rest awhile beneath a tree that feels all seasons. Here there are no barren bushes blown by dry winds, only voices of children loved by their God. Come away from your troubles, from the concrete walls of your world. Turn away from your loneliness and fear. Come aside and rest awhile in a place where the spirit dwells, where  gentle song is carried on a breeze. Come aside and rest awhile with a deep prayer of love, words without need of worldly acceptance. copyright 1992 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author

Touch and heal all that ails. Cleanse all that stains your soul. He has offered His pain, His blood and His life on this earth. You are white as snow because He bled. A woman comes from the crowd, reaching for the hem of His dusty garment. A man asks for His sight. A prostitute washes His feet in the house of Simon. A leper can reach out for others and the voiceless can speak of miraculous events unfolding. Touch with faith coursing through your heart. He will not deny those who reach with hands and voices. Hearts overflowing with belief, a grip that will not let go. A touch crushing sin and soothing us with grace. copyright 2017 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?   If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. Temple, cradling everything I am. Flesh, bone and muscle, I am made out of compassion to be compassion. You dwell in me wherever I wander, even when I take You into places defiling my spirit, injuring You, showing no respect for the love You have for me. I am more at risk of destroying my own temple, than of having an enemy slaughter me. I slowly walk my spirit into the mire of sin, finding momentary pleasure in the sensations. Temple, desecrated by my acts of rebellion. Help me Lord, to bring what I am, a body created by Your love, into realms of purity. Dwell in me Lord, fill me with the desire to honor the temple of my soul. Give me the strength to walk amid the light and forsake the darkness. copyright 2017 - Donald

Mark 9:9 As they came down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has risen from death.” Good News Translation (GNT) Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society So down the side of the mountain they come. Excitement, confusion, they are filled with an array of emotion, those who aren't divine. What did all of this mean? Elijah, Moses, the teacher's face bathed in radiant sunlight. They have heard him say to others, not His chosen, to keep silent about the miracles witnessed, but they have never considered themselves stymied by those words. And what of this rising from death? How can this occur? Why should it be allowed to happen? They are simple men who desire simple lives. Miracles have been set out before their eyes like a banquet filled with every treat ever desired. This man, this prophet, this God has shown them everything their hearts have longed to see. They have heard the voice

Psalm 91:1-2 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord , “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” English Standard Version (ESV) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. His wings are wrapped around me, embracing me within His shield. The dark shadows of night have no dangers that I need to fear for the Lord stands by my side. Thousands have fallen in the battles being waged and a thousands more will be defeated, but the one who trusts will rise up unharmed in their midst. The Lord will put His angels in charge of me, protect my soul from dangers along the road. I will be in His safe care as I travel through the lands where He has guided me. My refuge, my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Keep me in the safety of Your wings. copyright 2017 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.co

You are light where there is darkness. You are hope where there is despair. You are the word in the deepest silence. You are bread where there is hunger. You are water where there is thirst. You are healing where there is sickness. You are truth where there is doubt. You are love where there is emptiness. You are compassion where there is no mercy. And You are my God where there is no other. copyright 2017 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author

Genesis 9:13 I am putting my bow in the clouds. It will be the sign of my covenant with the world    Good News Translation (GNT) Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society His rainbow sets across the clouds. The storm has passed and good things shall follow. This is a covenant of smiles and not sorrow. He has washed the darkness away, night has been obliterated. You shall, the children of the Lord, walk in the light and breathe air, fresh. He will never draw water over you again. You have no need to drown in you sins, no need to shield yourselves from His face. His beautiful bow of color is spread out over the world. Once again He calls out to the sons of Adam, come in from the darkness and trust in His ways. copyright 2017 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author

Peace, to rest your eyes while the world moves onward. Peace, to find comfort for your head to lay. Peace, to find warmth when the day is cold. Peace, to find love where it is in abundance. Peace, to not know strife. Peace, soothed by the music of voices familiar. Peace, a lamb in the embrace of his Shepard. copyright 2017 - Donald P James Jr

Ezekiel 37:27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.   English Standard Version (ESV) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. God the Father - Cima da Conegliano, Dwell as You said, among Your people. Be our sustenance, the light that guides us, the air we breathe. Come to us, walk amid the valleys and mountains You created when we were less than dust. Dwell in our hearts, places kept tidy and neat, yet often littered with gossip and hatred. Caress our hearts of stone into flesh. Enter into our tents, allow us a meal to share and a cup to drink. Dwell in my home, elaborate or tiny. Remind me daily of Your presence as I praise You for mine. copyright 2017 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.   For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.   Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.   Therefore encourage one another with these words. English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Sometimes I look for the Lord's coming, seeing the world unfold around me. At other moments I want to watch those precious to me bask in all the good He offers. I am told we will not know

Home, do you remember the scent? Do you recall a moment of innocence when no knowledge of evil entered into your soul? Is the journey far from the point where you stand right now? Is it off on the horizon, between the trees, along the rails, or a dusty back road? Home, I sense it nearby when I open my heart to its embrace, when I follow right paths and forsake the wrong. I am the one wandering through pages of a life lived without fanfare. I am not a victor or a victim. I am inadequate in this world, not quite ready for the next. Home, I know the direction to take, each step brings me closer, a destination soothing my being. There is a place where I am worthy as I am. There is a place where joy is abundant. There is a place I will always call my home.  copyright 2017 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author

The Pharisees Demand a Sign (Mark 8:11-13) The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.   And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”   And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side. English Standard Version (ESV) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Sometimes I want to be shown, when I am as blind as the righteous who claim to know God within the laws of their doctrine. Make the wind change its course, turn the torrent to drizzle bathe my flesh in sunlight when the moon dominates the sky. Is this true of every generation? Prove to us, who You are so my doubts can disprove the theory. Feed the hungry with loaves and fish so I can claim You staged starvation. Heal the sick and lame before me so I can praise modern medicine. Give me Your word on paper so I

Sirach 15:15-18 If you want to, you can keep the Lord's commands. You can decide whether you will be loyal to him or not.   He has placed fire and water before you; reach out and take whichever you want.   You have a choice between life and death; you will get whichever you choose.   The Lord's wisdom and power are great and he sees everything.   Good News Translation (GNT) Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society Wisdom speaks where we sometimes choose not to go. He has placed before us a pool of cool fresh water, nourishment for the soul and a pit of fire, unending. We choose. The pit of flame mesmerizes us with passion. It promises us everything the world teaches as fulfillment. We lust for the fire, our souls bake with the heat of the flames. Choose the pit, or step into the pool. Cool, refreshing water, bathe my blemishes, cleanse away my stains and shame, refresh and rejuvenate. The water is life and the fire is death. We can no

Gather around my wooden table rest yourselves upon my floor those of you with initials carved who would enter through my door. All deniers and betrayers open your hearts share my bread it is offered from my flesh wheat of living and of dead. Gather around this wooden table Judas, Peter, James and John those of you who know my name hold tightly these unbroken bonds. On this vine I bleed for you again I will not taste its wine until I drink it next to you in a promised place a joyful time. Just sit with me at the end of this day before you deny before betray, my dying will save you though now you don't understand. copyright 1991 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author

  And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden,  in the east,  and there he put the man whom he had formed. Genesis 2:8 How lovely is Your garden. Do we ache for the unblemished beauty? There is not a single creation of man that can stand upright in Your presence. Your waterways of purification reflect trees of endless life. The carpet beneath my feet is never rough all summits of faith have been reached. I long to walk among the flowers and ferns, listening to Your instructions. I will no longer need to read Your thoughts. I will listen with a waiting ear. Eden, that I might walk where You intended me to tread, knowing I could not resist temptation. Eden, the garden You made as my dwelling, lost in my desire to disobey Your word. copyright 2017 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author

    A lyric written over twenty years ago,  in a moment when the peacefulness of complete surrender  caressed me. ~                        Purify the grain of your life Simplify the course of your waters. Be humble and stand without pride. Feel the grace that comes in surrender. Plant seeds nourished by our God. Harvest with joy the gift He offers. Make the rough -hewn barns of your soul a place of worship, not worldly stores. Sing your psalms to a small child's ear. Amplify the voice of holiness. Be gentle peace after the storm a bright light guiding through darkness. Be a prayer of life without end. A heart reflecting His sacred name. A straight path of hard clay and stone leading to an eternal embrace.  copyright 1996 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author

And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. Mark 6:56 (ESV) Jesus Heals the Blind and Lame on the Mountain - James Tissot Lord, that I might touch just the hem  of Your garment. I am sick. I am scarred by the world's expectations. I am crippled by the blemishes on my soul. Lord, we flock to You, expecting miracles without price. We do not know the cost of the blessing You place on our foreheads. Still we come, ailing in every possible way. I am possessed. I am a paralytic. I am covered with the stigma of leprosy. And You heal me whether I am capable of standing beneath Your cross or not. copyright 2017 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.   Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:7-8 (ESV) You are the same today, always the light of salvation. You nurture us in spirit as You did in flesh. You are the same today, speaking in places of worship, listening when prayers are uttered. You are the bread of life, the wine poured out for all. You wash the feet of those in need. You are the same today, touching those the world discards. You are present in every drop of grace poured out upon those who seek. You are the same today, word spoken in the knowledge of truth. A promise offered to those who came before us and those who will follow. You are the same today, always the light of my salvation. The one who gives strength when I struggle and guides me along the road to my home. copyright 2017 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazo