Morning Meditation: "And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness He called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning - the first day." - Genesis 1:3-5

From the very opening pages of our Marriage Covenant the glorious Witnesses are present making preparations for the marriage of the ages to take place. God the Creator, together with our Bridegroom, the Word, with the Spirit hovering over the waters, looking for a place to rest His tender, holy feet, began construction on the site for the Wedding of the Lamb. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was formless and empty, and darkness which was over the surface of the deep" (v. 1, 2). The universe was awakened and called to order to begin the process of forming, separating and filling with the words of the Creator, "Let there be light."  At His command, God's invisible holy nature was evidenced in the natural realm of His Creation with an obedient humble reply, and there was light.   

The light which illuminated the Creator's physical universe would, from now on, remain a visible representative of His own good, true and holy nature. "This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). The first word of Creation personified the spiritual nature of the One from whom it was spoken; therefore, God gave the light a name associated with Himself - He called the light "day." The dawning light of each new day is a sign and a symbol of the security of the holy covenant that has been entrusted to our care.  

"This is the day the Lord has made;  

let us rejoice and be glad in it."

(Psalm 118:24)

This morning, as we begin our holy journey together, let us turn our focus from the busy demands of our day and meditate instead on the One who created the "day." This day is a gift from our Creator to us, and it has His name and nature stamped all over it for the purpose of revealing Himself to us so we would know Him; so that we would love Him; so that we would wed our hearts to Him. He has appointed every day as a new day, and a new opportunity, to draw us closer to Himself. Today, as we consider all the things that fill our day, may we be mindful of all the ways our Creator has filled the "day" to show us the provision He has made for us in His covenant of love. These first two weeks of our journey we will spend our prayer time in praise to our Creator for the extravagant ways He has shown us His goodness, holiness, and love as we offer Him a sacrifice of praise for all His benevolent blessings

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,

for His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;

therefore I will wait for Him."

(Lamentations 3:21-24)

[Resist the "temptation" to combine your daily devotional journey and prayer time into one sitting. Take time to meditate on the truth of His Word this morning, and then purpose to meet back at His table this afternoon for our next spiritual meal.]

Afternoon Devotion "But everything exposed by the light becomes visible. For it is light that makes everything visible. That is why it is said: 'Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." - Ephesians 5:14

Our Creator woke up His Creation with a brilliant blast of holy light and made all things visible. "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible" (Hebrews 11:3). The holy nature of His light permeated everything in its path. Nothing could hide in the presence of His light. Everything was exposed and laid bare under its holy glare, and darkness stood in stark contrast to His radiant light. "And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness."

From the very beginning holy God began His separating work in creation. To be holy, is to be set apart from sin, and separated to God. We are called to be holy, because He is holy (Leviticus 11:44,45). "For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight" (Ephesians 1:4). God prepared the ground for us to walk in all the ways of holiness from the moment His holy invisible nature was made manifest in the light of creation. We are to have nothing to do with darkness; rather we are to "live as children of the light" (Ephesians 5:8); whose light we have been called to and set apart to until that day our Bridegroom comes to take us home.

This afternoon let us praise our Creator for waking us up from our spiritual slumber with the light of His salvation. Let us praise Him for the light of His Holy Word which He has provided us to illuminate our path and which continually draws us to the light of His presence (Psalm 119:105).  And let us dedicate these 40 Holy Days, as sacred days, to live in all the way of godliness and holiness, as we become faithful stewards of the light we have been given - for a time!

"Whom among the gods is like You, O LORD?

Who is like You - majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

Sing to the LORD, you saints of His; praise His holy name.

Light is shed upon the righteous

and joy on the upright in heart.

Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous,

and praise His holy name."

(Exodus 15:11; 1 Chronicles 16:10; Psalm 30:4; 97:11-12)