A few months ago I put out a request for suggestions for topics to address in this blog.  Here is one of the suggestions that came in.  I pray it brings blessings to you!

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It wasn’t really a part of either my wife’s or my upbringing in the Midwest, but while out in the Pacific Northwest we learned to enjoy Asian cuisine.  We’ve brought that appreciation back to the Midwest, and make a point to stop in now-and-then at a (relatively) nearby Chinese buffet.  

Any readers who share a similar appreciation for this type of food know that one of the bonuses of such a meal is having “fortune cookies” delivered to your table along with your bill.  It’s always mandatory to break your cookie open and discover the interesting message delivered to you regarding your personal life.

Perhaps surprising to American consumers, fortune cookies aren’t typically found in Japan or China.  They seem to be a distinctly American tradition which has now transitioned to some other countries … but generally not Asia.

There is great debate on the actual inventor of the cookie as we know it.  The concept apparently originated in Japan, but the cookie took a different form … both in ingredients and presentation of the messages.  The originals were called “fortune crackers” and had the message tucked into the fold on the outside.

It seems Japanese immigrants brought the fortune crackers to California in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  There is great debate on exactly where and who originated the fortune cookie as we know it, with immigrant-based companies in both San Francisco and Las Angelas claiming the honor. 

Ironically however, it was during World War 2 that the cookies began to gain popularity.  In the sad chapter of American history of mandated Japanese internment, Chinese American entrepreneurs jumped at the opportunity to capture the fortune cookie market. 

And capture it they did!  Today “fortune cookies remain a massive business.  New York-based Wonton Food, the largest fortune-cookie producer, manufactures more than 4 million of them daily, with an estimated 3 billion cookies produced annually” (www.history.com). 

This might also be a good time and place to share with you the proper fortune cookie etiquette. When your table is served cookies, it is said that one should always pick the one that is furthest away.  After reading the fortune inside, never tell anyone what it says and never rip it.  (Supposedly, either action voids the “prophesy.”)  Rather, to lock that fortune in … burn it!

I doubt too many people take fortune cookies predictions or advice too seriously.  Most seem to regard the messages in the cookies as an enjoyable but temporary diversion.  However, the temptation is always there to somehow, someway gain special, seemingly unknowable insights into one’s life.

I was initially glad to read an online article on fortune cookies which stated that the likelihood of the “fortunes” in the cookies coming true was rather dubious.  But I was immediately deflated with the advice that followed which suggested that horoscopes or professional fortune tellers might be more reliable sources to discern one’s future.

The Lord speaks strongly in his Word about seeking hidden knowledge – that is, information about one’s present or future that God has not revealed to us – from nefarious sources.  He also shows us where we are to look for wisdom – God and His Word!  (Deut. 18:14-15, Is. 8:19-20).

There are things that the Lord does not reveal to us; things we are simply not meant to know.  However, there is a Bible-full of truths that God does want us to know and to treasure.  God’s “fortune messages” are much more comforting, encouraging and important than anything to be found in a cookie!

Here are a few “fortunes” promised by God that mean a great deal to me:

“I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).

“God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”  (Romans 8:32).

Then there is Jesus, the Son’s, promise: “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:26-27).

And yet another promise from our Savior: “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

The almighty Lord also assures us that “… in all things God works for the good of those who love him …” (Romans 8:28).

Jesus said, “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2-3).

There are so many, many more!  But here’s perhaps the most encompassing and comforting promise of all from our God: “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Looking for future good fortune as we begin a new year?   Opening God’s Bible will always be a far better source of advice, assurance and truth than opening any hollow vanilla-flavored cookie!

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Here’s a few fun fortune-cookie messages regarding fortune cookies:

Help! I am being held prisoner in a fortune cookie factory.

It’s about time I got out of that cookie.

A foolish man listens to his heart. A wise man listens to cookies.

Some men dream of fortunes, others dream of cookies.

Person who eat fortune cookie get lousy dessert.

You will live long enough to open many fortune cookies.

The fortune you seek is in another cookie.

Here are a few interesting fortune-cookie suggestions for life:

Atheism no fun. No holidays.

Do not mistake temptation for opportunity.

Your reality check about to bounce.

A conclusion is simply the place where you got tired of thinking.

He who throws mud loses ground.

Probability of being seen directly proportional to stupidity of act.

Easiest way to find lost object is buy replacement.

When marriage outlawed, only outlaws have in-laws.

Smart husband buys wife fine china. Then she not trust him to wash it.

He who laughs at himself never runs out of things to laugh at.

If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving not for you.

The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

He who dies with most toys, still dies.