Scarlet Robe Creations

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

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, 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

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

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

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 (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, 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

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, 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

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

Heaven and earth collide, one step upon the mountains, the other among the clouds. The kingdom has come. It dwells in your heart. It dwells with those who offer a home. Heaven and earth collide. A tree is adorned with sacrifice. Son of the most high, offered for iniquities of this day and the next. God's only son begotten. To save creation from itself. Heaven and earth collide. A tomb filled with glory. Those in fear find hope, an everlasting song of praise sung in the devastation, peace be with you, as Heaven and earth collide. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

The poem below was inspired by this painting. May God bless you with His mercies and answer your prayers Young Woman Praying in Church - Jules Breton She prays, speaking words which come from her heart. Her words are simple. There is no elegance, just worship. She prays. Her words are a whisper. Her sonnet, sweet and without pride, heard only by He who bends His ear. She prays, and Jesus listens. Her words have a melody, sung by her soul, cherished by the Lord. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Your will, Lord. We pray the words, but do our hearts hear? Your will, Lord. The surrender of self in all humility. Your will, Lord. Belief without doubt, a childlike trust. Your will, Lord. Be it done as You desire. Mold me in the palm of Your hand. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Have mercy on the sinner, Lord. Embrace the broken soul with Your love. Have mercy on the multitude that cries out. I stand in their midst. Have mercy on the sinner, Lord. The lost sheep who wandered from Your gaze. Have mercy on the one who struggles to return. I am struggling with the briars. Have mercy on the sinner, Lord. The one who doesn't know You during the trial. Have mercy on the ones who deny daily. I walk the road of denial. Have mercy on the sinner, Lord. Even the one who betrays Your blood. Help us to see the depths of Your forgiveness. Even when we are wrought with guilt. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Lord, help me to see You with clarity. Help me to surrender my soul to Your potter's wheel and allow Your sacred hands to mold it to Your will. Lord, teach me to be humble, to leave the sin of my pride in the past. Help me to rely on Your graces and deeply know how much I need You. Lord, help me to be merciful. For how can You, in all Your goodness be merciful to me if I have no compassion for others. Lord, help me to be holy. Keep me focused on Your goodness. Keep me always aware of Your great love and seek not the world's glory. Lord, strengthen the flow of my love. Help me to see the stranger's worthiness, a soul created in Your image, a heart in need of love. Lord, help me to kneel before You. Give me ears to hear Your whispers. Give me the wisdom to understand, and the willingness to pick up my cross and follow. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

The net was recently mended.  The work had been tiresome, but so was the effort put forth every night when they took the boats out onto the sea.  The net sunk beneath the surface.  The men hoped the night would be prosperous. Some prayed for God's hand in their endeavor. Some simply hoped. They gathered the prey without rupturing the fiber.  The thickly muscled arms of the men drew the net from the depths.  The catch was worthy of praise.  God had answered the prayers of those who had faith, and those who did not. "Separate what is no good, from that which will sell at market," one of the burly men shouted. And thus it was done, as the one had instructed. "This is how it will be," the teacher said. "In the days of the end.  The good will be placed to one side.  The evil to the other, and that which is of no value will be burnt in the fires." He studied them, those who gathered for stories, parables, told by one promised.  Those who listened w...

He gives good things to those who love Him. Good things, not riches and wealth, not fine garments and jewels, not prestige and the adoration of the world. Good things, such as peace when a storm rages, grace that governs the heart, mercy that forgives completely and grandchildren who hold hands along a trail. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

Go!  I am sending you out like lambs among wolves Luke 10:3 Christ Sending Out the Seventy-Two, Two by Two - James Tissot Go out, divided in pairs, a staff,  sandals, and a single tunic. Go out to those who need to hear. Go out, two by two. Stay in a home welcoming you, shake the dust from your feet of those towns that offer no hospitality. Go out, to those who yearn for the promise to be fulfilled. Tell them what must be told. That God made flesh walks in their midst. copyright 2026 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author https://www.goodreads.com

"I am striving to see the world through a lens, unblemished by the world’s thumb print, or the haze of my prejudice." "What do you mean," David Powell asked his friend.  He and Cooper Downs were in their early twenties, a year out of college and teaching at the same middle school in town.  David taught Science, Cooper taught English. "Life is filtered by the causes of this world.  It makes an attempt to blind us to what follows.  These classrooms are an example.  Most young people are lost and not even seeking to be found." "Still not following you." David was accustomed to his friend’s rambling philosophical thoughts.  Cooper was the most introverted person he knew, although Cooper would not agree.  Cooper Downs claimed to be an extrovert of the spirit, whatever that meant. "So, today," Cooper responded, "if you pick up a newspaper, do not look beyond the top of the fold.  There is nothing in that print worth building your life up...