Presence

“You show me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.” (Psalm 16). Lord, help me to live in Your presence today.

Freedom

Lord, too often I think I am the one in control of my life.
Help me to see that I am powerless over so much.
I ask for the grace to be able to hand over my life to You
and experience the joy of that freedom.

Consciousness

Lord, You are present in all things
and when I take time to simply sit and be with You,
my mind rests
and I feel Your peace.

The Word of God

¹They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. ²And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. ³He lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain, ⁴for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces, and no one had the strength to subdue him. ⁵Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. ⁶When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him, ⁷and he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” ⁸For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” ¹⁰He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region. ¹¹Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding, ¹²and the unclean spirits begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.” ¹³So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, stampeded down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea.

¹⁴The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. ¹⁵They came to Jesus and saw the man possessed by demons sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion, and they became frightened. ¹⁶Those who had seen what had happened to the man possessed by demons and to the swine reported it. ¹⁷Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. ¹⁸As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. ¹⁹But Jesus refused and said to him, “Go home to your own people, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and what mercy he has shown you.” ²⁰And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.

Inspiration

There is a great contrast between the demoniac howling among the tombs and gashing himself with stones and the demoniac clothed and sitting quietly by the side of Jesus. The presence of Jesus brings healing into even the most agonising situation in which we may find ourselves. With this picture of the demoniac sitting with Jesus before us let us speak now, to the Lord.

The people of the area asked Jesus to leave. Some people may see the cost of discipleship as too high and decide to go and live a different way. As G. K. Chesterton wrote, ‘Christianity has not failed. It has been found to be difficult and not tried.’ Are we willing to pay the price?

Conversation

I begin to talk to Jesus about the piece of scripture I have just read.
What part of it strikes a chord in me?
Perhaps the words of a friend, or some story I have heard recently, or some experience,
will slowly rise to the surface of my consciousness.
If so, does this memory throw light on what the scripture passage may be trying to say to me?

Conclusion

I thank God for His gift of love
as I go forth with joy and hope
to serve His people.

Amen