Presence

When I come into Your presence, O Lord,
I know I am in the presence of my Creator.
You created me out of love.
You even know the number of hairs on my head.
Your presence, O Lord, is the greatest gift of all.

Freedom

Lord, guide me always
to do Your holy will,
knowing that Your strength
will carry me through.

Consciousness

Conscious of Your presence, Lord,
I look over my recent past.
Let me be honest with myself about how I’ve been
And what I’ve done,
because I know You love truth in the heart
and accept me just as I am.

The Word of God

²⁸When he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes, two men possessed by demons came out of the tombs and met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. ²⁹Suddenly they shouted, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” ³⁰Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. ³¹The demons begged him, “If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” ³²And he said to them, “Go!” So they came out and entered the swine, and suddenly, the whole herd stampeded down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the water. ³³The swineherds ran off, and, going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the men possessed by demons. ³⁴Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their region.

Inspiration

There’s something strange about today’s scene-setting. The two unfortunate demoniacs come out of the tomb area and meet Jesus, but we might wonder why they didn’t stay where they were, at least until the Master had passed, thus avoiding the confrontation. The longer we stay with the scene, however, we begin to realise that we sometimes engage in the same behaviour ourselves. Help us, Lord, to have a bit more wisdom. 

Conversation

Lord, You have engraved my name
on the palm of Your hand.
Even if others forget me,
You never will.

Conclusion

I thank God for these few moments we have spent alone together and for any insights I may have been given concerning the text.

Amen