The Devotional - A Look at the Book #749

by Jesse Abel

Psalm 19:9b – No one likes the daily judgments of living life since many are unjustly provoked. Yet when applied by the Hand of God through the administration of man; these are faithful expressions of God’s Love. Proverbs 13:14

Good Morning

I grew up in Louisville, Kentucky and like so many of us I have pleasant and unpleasant memories of those days. These are some of the pleasant memories. The smell of fresh baked bread from a national bakery nearby and the oil and coal odors that seemed to hang around the train tracks also nearby.

About a week ago, one of our grandchildren was over to help out with some chores, as she entered the basement through the outside door I heard her express; ummm! I said, “What’s up”? “She responded; I love the smell of the basement” and I said, “yes” basements have unique smells” and she responded, “no not all of them, I have always liked the smell of your basement, it reminds me of you and grammie”.

Isn’t God wonderful, what I mean is what if God had not given us a nose, how would we ever know the depth of our capacity to love one another? Odor and the nose go together like the warmth of a glove on a cold hand. What I mean is that when your mind acknowledges the memories of the past, most of them are pleasant, especially those that are associated with smell.

Have you ever considered why the aromas of the past work so well in our daily life?
“Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination (intension) of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I destroy every living thing as I have done. While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.” Genesis 8:20-22

Since the flood of Noah’s day, God has preserved the aromas of the world around us to remind us of His faithfulness to all generations. God reminds us daily of His love and presence with us and one of those reminders is through the gate of the nose. Don’t break the nose of your youngsters with the selfish ambitions or intensions of an evil heart (which you have) but be willing to sacrifice what you have; that the aroma you leave behind is one that your children and grandchildren are willing to follow. Do not be a hater of God as the world is promoting today, the effects of which are evident, even to the third and fourth generation. Idolatry has an aroma. Exodus 20:4-6