"On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh."
— Matthew 2:11 (NIV)
Long before the candle industry discovered them, frankincense, myrrh, and cedar were among the most sacred substances in the ancient world. They were currencies of devotion, tools of worship, and symbols of covenant — each one carrying a theological weight that went far beyond its fragrance.
Understanding why these scents appear so prominently in scripture does not just make for interesting Bible study. It changes the way they smell.
Frankincense: The Scent of Intercession
Frankincense — known in Hebrew as lebonah, meaning "whiteness" or "purity" — is a resin harvested from the Boswellia tree, native to the Arabian Peninsula and northeastern Africa. To obtain it, the bark of the tree is deliberately wounded; the resin that bleeds out and hardens is then collected and dried.
It appears more than twenty times in the Old Testament, most often in the context of the Tabernacle and Temple worship. Exodus 30:34 records God's specific instructions for the sacred incense blend, of which frankincense was a central component. In the Temple, it burned continually on the altar of incense — a perpetual symbol of the prayers of Israel rising before God.
In the New Testament, frankincense is one of the three gifts brought by the Magi to the infant Jesus. Most theologians interpret this gift as a symbol of Christ's priestly role — the one who intercedes between humanity and God. When you smell frankincense, you are inhaling the scent of prayer itself.
Myrrh: The Scent of Sacrifice
Myrrh is also a resin, harvested from the Commiphora tree in similar fashion to frankincense. It appears throughout scripture in contexts of burial, anointing, and sacrifice.
In Genesis 43, myrrh is among the gifts Jacob sends to Egypt as a gesture of honor. In Psalm 45, the king's garments are scented with myrrh and aloe. In John 19:39, Nicodemus brings a mixture of myrrh and aloes to prepare the body of Jesus for burial.
The third Magi gift, myrrh, is most often interpreted as a symbol of Christ's suffering and death — a prophetic fragrance carried to the cradle that pointed already toward the cross. It is the scent of sacrifice willingly given, of love that costs something.
Cedar: The Scent of the Eternal
The cedars of Lebanon are mentioned over seventy times in the Old Testament — invoked as symbols of strength, permanence, and the majesty of God's creation. When Solomon built the Temple, he used cedar from Lebanon for the walls, the beams, and the inner sanctuary. The house of God, literally, smelled like cedar.
"The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon" (Psalm 92:12). Cedar is the scent of what endures. Of deep roots and long life.
The Other Scents in Our Biblical Collection
Our Biblical Collection extends beyond these three anchoring fragrances, each candle rooted in a specific passage of scripture and chosen for what it carries theologically.
Living Waters — Drawn from John 7:38, "Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." This fragrance opens with clean aquatic notes and soft white florals, evoking the clarity and movement of a living stream. It is the scent of renewal, of the Spirit moving freely.
House of Prayer — Rooted in Isaiah 56:7, "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." Warm, grounding, and deeply reverent, this fragrance was crafted to fill a room the way a sanctuary fills with stillness before the service begins. Notes of warm wood, soft amber, and gentle incense make it the most-gifted candle in our collection.
Mount of Olives — Inspired by the garden where Jesus prayed the night before the cross (Matthew 26:36–39), this fragrance carries the earthy, green depth of ancient olive groves. Herbaceous and grounding, it is the scent of surrender — of saying yes to God in a dark and quiet garden.
Sacred Cedar — Beyond its Temple associations, this fragrance carries the deep, resinous permanence of old-growth cedar. Warm and unhurried, it is the olfactory equivalent of deep roots — ideal for a study, a prayer corner, or any space where you want to feel anchored.
Why We Built a Collection Around These Scents
When we began developing the Biblical Collection, we did not start with a fragrance wheel. We started with the question: which scents actually appear in the pages of scripture, and what do they mean there? The result is a collection where every candle is anchored in a specific passage — not as a marketing concept, but as an act of theological attention.
Explore the full Biblical Collection and the specific scripture verses that anchor each fragrance at truefaithnaturals.com.
Scent is the most ancient language of worship. The next time you light a candle that smells of frankincense or cedar, you are participating in something older than Christianity itself — and more alive than it may appear.
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How We Give Back: Our Commitment to Veterans and Children in Need
When we hand-pour a candle in Fort Myers, Florida, we are not only making something that we hope will bring warmth and peace into your home. We are — in a very small and very literal sense — funding something larger than ourselves.
From the beginning, True Faith Naturals has been built around a commitment: a portion of every purchase supports two groups of people who have given and suffered in ways most of us can barely imagine — veterans of our military, and children in need.
Why Veterans — Semper Fi & America's Fund
Semper Fi & America's Fund exists to care for our nation's critically wounded, ill, and injured service members, veterans, and military families. Supporting all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, they provide one-on-one case management, connection, and lifetime support — walking alongside service members from the moment of injury through recovery, transition, and beyond.
Their work spans three core areas: direct financial assistance and vital programming for injured service members and their families during hospitalization and recovery; education support and career assistance to help veterans reconnect with their communities; and long-term adaptive sports and wellness programs that restore dignity and purpose. They hold an A+ rating from CharityWatch.
We chose to partner with Semper Fi & America's Fund because we believe that the men and women who have sacrificed their bodies in service to this nation deserve more than gratitude. They deserve care. Today. Tomorrow. Together.
Why Children — Mission of Hope
Mission of Hope is a faith-based organization, founded in 1998 by Brad and Vanessa Johnson, that exists to bring life transformation to every man, woman, and child in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Their vision is holistic and Christ-centered: partnering with local churches to transform lives through community engagement, education, and food security.
The need is immense. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Over 400,000 children in Haiti are without parents. One in four children is currently out of school. Mission of Hope operates schools, feeding programs, medical clinics, and church advancement initiatives — and they steward resources with excellence, ensuring that over 90% of every gift goes directly to ministry in the field.
In 2025 alone, their programs served 11,000 students, distributed 24.6 million meals, provided medical care to nearly 8,000 individuals, and saw 787 individuals profess faith in Jesus Christ. We are proud to be a small part of that work.
What This Means for You
When you purchase a True Faith Naturals candle, you are not just buying something beautiful for your home. You are participating in a chain of giving that starts with your front door and ends somewhere that needed it — beside a recovering veteran in a hospital room, or in a classroom in Haiti where a child is learning to read.
We do not say this to manipulate a purchase. We say it because we believe that the things we bring into our homes carry the weight of how they were made and who they served. A candle made with clean hands and a generous heart burns differently.
Every True Faith Naturals candle supports this mission — from our Biblical Collection to our seasonal lines. Shop the full collection at truefaithnaturals.com.
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Have questions about our giving program? We would love to hear from you. Join our community for updates on our impact and new collection releases.