|
Listen to this devotional: |
Listen while you read: "The Lord's Prayer"1 (Lyrics) |
Genesis 1:12 – And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (NKJV)
One morning, I opened the jars of spices — cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger — to make gingerbread. Inhaling carefully, I closed my eyes as I tried to visualize God's purpose for His creation of spice-bearing plants and trees throughout the world. As the wonderful fragrances of the open jars diffused throughout the kitchen, I imagined camels silhouetted against the sky, trudging along the spice trade routes of antiquity to faraway and exotic places. That God created the vegetation to produce these flavourful and aromatic spices for our enjoyment and use shows that fragrance and taste are an important component to life. In His infinite wisdom, He knew that elements of cuisine from all nations could draw people together and be a binding agent to honour Him.
Now inspired to make gingerbread kid cookies for my family — especially the great-grandchildren — I got busy. Bringing order to the ingredients, I eventually pulled cookie sheets of molasses-brown boys and girls out of the oven. While I decorated each cookie, I prayed for the recipient. I knew that I was sending the gingerbread kids on a special mission — but they didn't know it. Filled with yummy flavours and aromas, with the overarching love of Christ going before them, these gingerbread cookies were a product of God's love, sent from me, to others.
My daughter-in-law was the first to call me for the recipe. She wanted to make more to share with her neighbourhood that was being overwhelmed by the Omicron variant. The great-grands wanted their moms to make some for their friends. Like the familiar ripple effect, God's love, spice, and everything nice, was being spread out to others. Any gift that we bring, motivated by our love for Him, provides an opportunity to share the good news of the gospel with others.
The spicy gingerbread kids were sent as a gift of love, but only Christ has the potential to unite the planet, because He offers a greater love and salvation to everyone. As Christians, we share His fragrance of love and sacrifice to others. Spices are a means to explode Christ's aroma of victory over sin and death throughout the world. Can you think of a spiced product that you might share in the name of Jesus? The offer of a spice gift may be one way to begin a conversation about creation. When we get creative, we will find innumerable ways that we can share God's love with others.
Prayer: Dear Father, we thank You for Your creation of spices. From the kindnesses that You show us, may we give something made from the spice cupboard of Your creation. May all gifts be given to Your honour and glory. Amen.
Forward this devotional Share this devotional on Facebook Like PresbyCan on Facebook
Although PresbyCan doesn't have a mobile app, you can still have a PresbyCan icon on your mobile phone home screen. 
Monday, December 2, 2024 – In the Middle East — Pray for those who are on equipping teams, to be flexible, persevering and always growing closer to God. Pray as they learn Biblical Arabic which is almost like learning a new language from regular Arabic. Pray that they become more and more able to deal with the Scripture in the Arabic language.
health: "November 28, 2024: Please pray that my blood pressure goes down and my macular degeneration does..." 
Makes me hungry, Karen. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the encouraging words, Karen. Very true.
Thank, Karen. This is a new and blessed way to look at spices!
Thanks Karen, you show how, from our simple enjoyment of cooking, we can share kindness with others. Blessings.
Oh Karen, Thank you so much, for this “fragrant“ devotional. It brought a sigh of relief to my heart, yearning for the aroma of God’s love to fill my heart with His warmth and mercy.
Let us enjoy ALL of his creation and creatures,
(Québec, Canada)
Hello Karen.
What a lovely devotion today! We never thought of thanking God for spices before but what a good idea, for life would indeed be blah without them. We could almost smell and taste your cookies and of course, you made a good application too.
Dear Karen,
This is a very inspiring devotional about the spices that God has given His world. I have never thought of it this way when I make gingerbread cookies and pass them along to friends. I just think of them tasting really good.
Great thought – “In His infinite wisdom, He knew that elements of cuisine from all nations could draw people together and be a binding agent to honour Him.”
Definitely in my lifetime, my world has become more multicultural with new spices from many different countries are introduced as the people from different parts of the world enter my journey. I never thought about God providing those spices. Eye opener for me.
I love this idea of maybe being able to start the conversation with a “spice” gift either sweet or savory in the honour and glory of God. Thank you. Blessings.
Hi Karen,
My mother made the best gingerbread cookies and gingerbread men- how I wish that I had her recipe.
I really enjoyed your devotional this morning.
I have no sense of smell and I think if I did, I would be a lot larger than I am now because I do a lot of cooking and baking and if I could smell, I would eat more.
I feel like one of the gifts God has given me recently is the ability to be able to minister to people through hospitality. I would love to have your recipe for gingerbread and do the same thing with a verse in the baggie.
The spices spoke to me. I know our house must really smell good, but I can’t smell a thing.
Anyway God bless you today and I hope your prayers for all your ginger people are answered!
Thanks.
I’d love the recipe! Great devotional of God’s awesome creation!!
Yummm. Beginning with my Mother-in-Law in Ontario, Our family also has the tradition of gingerbread cookies. She made small, crispy, gingerbread boys. Since I had two girls, I made both girls and boys as well as other shapes such as cardinals, blue jays, stars, doves, bells, Christmas trees, and angels. I make the thin crispy cookies for my husband and thicker, soft, chewy cookies to please her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We enjoy the gingerbread and use it instead of sugar cookies for Valentine’s Day and Easter. The cookies are enjoyed at non-holiday times, too. My Mother-in-law passed away years ago, but her gingerbread cookie legacy continues.
Thank you for your devotional regarding God’s blessing of creation of the spices. I will incorporate that along with the shapes and their significance.
(BC, Canada)
Yes, Karen, yes! Christ Jesus is way more special than any yummy batch of cookies! Thanks for sharing your cookies and this encouraging devotional!
Blessings.