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Like God

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Jan Brueghel de Oude and Peter Paul Rubens - The Garden of Eden and the Fall of Man You will be like God, an equal in understanding. The fruit is good, pleasing in color and texture. You will be like God, knowing all that is, knowing all that will be. Why do you think you were made to be less. You will be like God, no more than a bite, and all the creatures will treat you as they do their creator. You will be like God, overflowing with pride, for you have done the forbidden, tasted it's pleasure and cast yourself from the garden. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Woman of Sorrows

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Woman of sorrows, mother of purity, who has seen nails and wood meant to tear down life, attempt to crush God's covenant, an unknowing folly, the murder of her son.  Sorrowful woman, standing in tearful witness to the scars inflicted by the pompous serpents of this world, upon the one she bore in her womb, the child awaited, and nurtured in infancy. Mother Mary, a sacred heart broken. In fulfilment of prophecies, you are His mother, and He who dies for the world's sin on a Roman cross, is your son. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

With His Mercy (Do Not Walk Alone)

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Do not walk alone, along the road, the road of heaviness, the road that drags you down, leaving deep scars. Do not walk alone, down crumbled byways where the sun bakes flesh, pieces of granite lie underfoot, and your cross cuts into your shoulder. Do not walk alone, a lost sheep afraid of wolves, the blemishes on your soul. Hear the call of mercy and follow the voice. Do not walk alone despite having strayed. There is a shepherd, one divine shepherd, who guides the way with His mercy. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Forgive Us Our Debts

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Unforgiving Servant - Domenico Fetti A wicked servant, coming before the Lord on his knees, begging for a debt he can never pay to be wiped clean. A trespass the dearly beloved son has paid in full. A wicked servant, much like many of us, pleading for mercy from a wrath we deserve, fearing the justice of a penance we can never pay. A wicked servant, demanding the iniquity of his debtor be paid to the last ounce, when forgiveness has been bestowed upon him. The wickedness of mankind, even when his creator has been merciful. Forgive us, Lord, our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

The Beckoning

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Come to me, His voice is but a whisper softly, mingling with the noise of life. Come to me, a spoken promise to heal the wounds inflicted on each soul by this life. Come to me, step from darkness to light, toward He who illuminates the way  with love. Jesus Walking on Water - James Tissot Come to me, Lord of my salvation, help me pick up my cross and not reject it. Help me to carry my iniquity into the river of purification. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Our Father

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The Lord's Prayer - James Tissot Our Father… Speak to Him with intimacy. Speak to Him prayerfully, just as Jesus instructed his disciples. Our Father… Words that draw the soul toward its home, and the sinner to forgiveness. Our Father… An offering to make holy everything that is of Him, who our souls seek. Our Father, Our loving Father… …pray these words, and know you have been in communion with He who created you. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Is Your Cross...

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Christ Carrying the Cross - El Greco Is your cross heavy, does it strain your muscles to their limit? Does your cross come with a cane, or a chair with wheels? Is your cross an ailment of the body, or a crisis of the soul? Is your cross big, or are there many little ones? Is your cross an addiction, one which must be battled daily? Is your cross sadness or loss, or maybe depression? Is your cross an emptiness, a hollow void, seeking to be filled? Good shepherd, you have beckoned us to come to you, to step out of the shadows of life. Help us to carry the slivers of our struggles, knowing you are beside us always, carrying the world's salvation. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Nomads

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James Tissot - The Caravan of Abraham A nomadic people,  wandering desert and plain, forbidden from the garden. The descendants of one man, kin of one who submitted and ate the fruit of knowledge. A nomadic people, knowing good from evil and pleasure from sadness. One man given a promise that the stars will be his, when generations have grown weary. A nomadic people, fathers of those to come, those who will wander as they do. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Right With God

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Right with God, are we, when it matters most? The penitent thief asked for mercy in his final hour, humbly without pride. Will the opportunity be offered to us? Right with God. We know when we're not. We know when we've turned away, choosing to hear the world's obtrusive noise. Let Jesus in, past all the barriers not wearing his name. Let His light shine through, prejudices of more than race, with His mercy, unfathomable. Right with God, in His merciful gaze, dancing like children, forgiven. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Holy Words

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What is there about his words? Is it simply the phrases spoken, or is it perhaps, the voice as well. He speaks as if these words are his, as if he is the one who wrote them on the scroll.                       ~ Do demons recognize holy words, when spoken by a sacred voice? The authority of the eternal one is present. Listen and you will hear. In his speaking everything has been fulfilled. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

The New Pastor

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She watched the snow coming down from the window before her.   The blanket over her lap kept her legs warm.   With both hands she gripped the wheels of her chair and spun away from the wintery scene on the lawn. With a skill gained in the past two years she quickly rolled across the room and into the hall.   She heard her mother’s voice in the dining room, talking with the new pastor at her church.   She listened, confined to her chair, for her mother to indulge the reverend with her daughter’s pitiful plight. She lifted the blanket and looked at her lap.   Her legs had lost much of their muscle tone.   Even through the heavy fabric of her jeans it was noticeable. “My daughter, Karen, skied competitively in college.” She heard her mother say.   Always centered on the glory years.   Now, two years later, she was a paraplegic. “She was amazing on the slopes.” Her mother continued bragging in the dining room. “Her coaches said she should cons...

Silent Years

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Silent years, from Malachi's final word to Matthew's first. Centuries of voiceless prophets, abandoned by covenants. Silent years with God's breath barely moving leaves. Alone with shadows, untouched by light. Silent years, has the word of flesh lost its meaning? Has the promise in the garden been forsaked? Silent years, disbelief takes root, the righteous condemn. Have these years really been silent, or have we stopped listening? copyright 2025 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Dwelling Place (Psalm 84)

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Your dwelling place, where the soul yearns to be, where the soul longs to find its home. Your place of refuge, where silence embraces my prayer, where my praise is never put to rest. Your place of comfort, where the sparrow finds her home and the swallow makes her nest. Your dwelling place, the abode your children seek, the kingdom promised by your son. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Beatitudes

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Blessed are we who drop our nets into the barren sea. Blessed are we who sit in a field listening to a sermon about love. Blessed are we who dine on barley loaves and fish. Blessed are we who are cured of our scars and sores. Blessed are we who have had our iniquities forgiven. Blessed are we who have seen a blind man wash mud from his eyes. Blessed are  we who cling to the edge of your frayed robe. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Dancing for an Idol

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Moses Breaks the Tablets of the Law - Dore's English Bible Broken tablets, shattered upon the ground, chiseled stone, touched by the finger of 'I Am'. They dance, singing songs for an idol, a metal bull, the likeness of an animal, the spirit of Baal. O my people, you've been freed from Pharaoh's bonds, fed in the desert, and offered a covenant. But you dance for what is shaped by your hands, when the LORD has molded you from the palm of His own. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Panim (Presence to Presence)

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Panim (Hebrew) , presence to presence, face to face, in the temple, in the tent of the Lord. A place of meeting, speaking with intimacy, a spirit reaching for its creator for the lover of the soul. One thing should we ask, one thing should we seek, to dwell in His house, His holy temple, all the days of our life. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Shepherd Me

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Shepherd me, Jesus. You are the shepherd of goodness. You seek out the sinner, trapped among the briars, and have mercy. You seek the soul that wanders. Your staff points the way to fresh water  and abundant grass. You carry the lost on your shoulders when we struggle to find footing. Shepherd me, my savior. Show me the path that leads to you. Show me the gate, the narrow one, you desire me to pass through. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Meditation on Deuteronomy (Duet 4:32-34)

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The Way to Emmaus - Robert Zond Has any god ever come down to walk beside you, in garments like your own, stepping on hard clay and rocks along the shore? Has any god ever embraced a child, touched a leper, and forgiven a sinner judged to be less by hypocrites? Has any god ever broken bread with friends and enemies, prayed with them and sung songs glorifying his father? Has any god allowed his flesh to be beaten, his side to be pierced, his arms to be stretch for you, the created? Has any god ever walked from a tomb, discarding his shroud of death and the darkness of a borrowed cave? Has any god ever loved you like our one true God? copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Do Not Despair

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Do not despair, when the darkest void settles in. Do not hold tight to the shadows of doubt. You are beloved, regardless of any stain on your soul. His love purifies the darkness. The long night will end, for He is the flame on the wick. Do not despair, in the moment of mercy's outpouring. Do not cling to regret. Do not feel undeserving, no matter the worldly penance expected. One tear, one murmur of the lips, Is all it takes to say "Yes, Lord." I want to be with you. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

The Law

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Jesus Cleansing a Leper - Monreale Cathedral Mosaic The law says, they are unclean. The dreaded skin disease. If you touch them your purity is defiled. The untouchable call out, over the dried grass and hard clay. One hears. One who wants to lay a hand on theirs. The law says, the unclean blemish those without stain, but He who would touch turns the law upside down. He who is clean loves, even those who are shunned, those made wretched by the law. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com