Some Thoughts About The Lord's Prayer

 

For some, this may be what is most familiar.

But this is what Jesus said to his disciples, “Pray then like this:

 

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

The kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our debts,

As we also have forgiven our debtors,

And lead us not into temptation,

But Deliver us from evil.

 

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

(Matthew 6:9-15)

 

This is one of the most familiar passages in the Bible. Today, this prayer forms part of the liturgy in every service of some churches, while at the same time this same prayer is rarely or never recited in other churches.

 

Have we ever pondered these words Jesus said?

 

Our Father who art in heaven,

 

Jesus said Father rather than Adonai, as Paul explains, “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father! So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir.” (Galatians 4:6-7)

 

Hallowed be thy name.

 

And this is what Isaiah said about God’s name hallowed, “…I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:1-3)

 

Thy kingdom come, 

 

This is what David wrote about God’s kingdom “They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and tell of thy power, to make known to the sons of men thy mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of thy kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endures throughout all generations. (Psalm 145:11-13)

 

Speaking of himself, Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Lo, here it is!’ or “There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Luke 17:20-21)

 

“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)

 

Jesus said, “Then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory;” (Matthew 24:30)

 

To this day we are waiting for this Son of man to come with his kingdom.

 

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven,

 

This is what God said, “…for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.” (Isaiah 46:9-10)

 

Give us this day our daily bread,

 

“Then the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may prove them, whether or not they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” (Exodus 16:4-5)

 

Jesus said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John 6:51)

 

This what Jesus said and did, so that we might know, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; and taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and they were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.” (Matthew 14:16-21)

 

And God gave them that day their daily bread, and as He does for us.

 

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors,

 

Afterward, this is what Jesus said, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15)

 

This is what David wrote about being forgiven, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity. (Psalm 32:1-2)

 

One of those two men on their crosses beside Jesus was one of those blessed men to whom the Lord imputed no iniquity, when he heard Jesus say, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

 

How many persons since that day have heard these same words of forgiveness and assurance spoken to them by Jesus?

 

And lead us not into temptation,

 

“And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Lo there!’ or ‘Lo here!’ Do not go, do not follow them.” 

(Luke 17:23)

 

Jesus also warned, “Then if any one says to you, ‘Lo, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Lo, I have told you beforehand. So if they say to you, ‘Lo, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; if they say, ‘Lo, he is in the inner rooms,” do not believe it.” (Matthew 24:23-26)

 

Here Jesus has linked our human desires ‘to see for ourselves’ with the temptations of ignoring his warnings, ‘do not go,’ and, ‘do not believe it,’ and, ‘do not follow them.’

 

Today we live in a world that inundates us with temptations… and maybe more so in these days of the present age than ever before, because of our technologies we live with and gaze upon all the time.

 

But deliver us from evil.

 

Jesus said, “And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men’s love will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:10-12) Now we are living in these days and witnessing these things.

 

More than ever we are in need of deliverance from evil, because we are losing the ability to discern good from evil, right from wrong, truth from lies, and now with AI in its infancy, even the ability to discern reality from fiction.

 

This is what God has said about deliverance from evil, “The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from calamity, he enters into peace; they rest in their beds who walk in uprightness.” (Isaiah 57:1-2)

 

This is what the Psalmist said about deliverance, “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine.” 

(Psalm 33:18-19)

 

Those words Jesus spoke to his disciples that have become what we know as the, “The Lord’s Prayer” are not words ever to be taken lightly, or without understanding and forethought to be recited as rote. 

 

This what Jesus said prior, “And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." (Matthew 6:8)

And then Jesus said, "Pray then like this:

Our Father who are in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

The kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our debts,

As we also have forgiven our debtors,

And lead us not into temptation,

But Deliver us from evil.

 

Whenever speaking or praying these few words of Jesus, we must fear the holy God to whom these words are being addressed, and because of the true weightiness of what these words mean.

 

INJC

 

 

The Oddblock Station Agent

117 March 01 2026

Sounds Nice, But I Have A Problem With This

Yes, I have a problem with this nice-sounding, church-sent message that landed in my email, which I have copied and pasted further down. 

 

I’ve omitted the name of the writer, because I have no wish to harm this person’s belief and faith in Christ alone (if the belief is genuine) and if because the person lacks knowledge and understanding. 

 

We are all corrupted and imperfect, and God know this. And if we are of God, He will open our eyes and minds to understand the scriptures. 

Oct 23, 2025

 

The other morning while taking out the dogs, I spotted a red cardinal (my mom’s favourite bird) in one of the oak trees behind our fence. The leaves on the oak tree a combination of golden yellows, amber and splotches of green here and there. The combination of the bright red cardinal between the autumn leaves was so beautiful. 

 

This brings the bible verse Ecclesiastes 3:1 to mind. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” 

 

I would like to share this seasonal prayer by Tess Ward with you.

To Everything a Season

Blessed be you, Holder of the world in your hands.

You give to everything a season as we travel on our journeys.

Loving God, you have loved me through every season,

from the time of my birth, until my time to die.

Walk with me in my season this day, for you know there is

a time for wounding and a time to heal,

a time to mourn and a time to celebrate,

a time to be creative and a time to heal,

a time to surrender and a time to rebel,

a time to embrace and a time to be self-contained,

a time to speak and a time to keep silence,

a time to be there and a time to stay away,

a time to take charge and a time to let be,

a time to reach beyond and a time to consolidate,

a time to moderate and a time to be outrageous,

a time to be anxious and a time to be at peace,

a time to stay and a time to move on,

a time to care and a time to be cared for,

a time to generate and a time to lose,

a time to love and a time to let go.

Beloved One, my beginning and end,

For every season I have journeyed, gratitude.

and for those that are still to come, I trust.

Bless the time that I spend now in this turning world

Until I reach the place where there are no seasons but only peace.”

- The Celtic Wheel of the Year by Tess Ward 

 

Whatever season you find yourself in remember that God is always with you. May you feel His love not just in this season but every season.

 

On behalf of the pastoral team…

In Paul’s mission to Gentiles, he gave this clear warning, which has been handed down to us.

 

“See to it no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)

 

The familiar Bible passage of Ecclesiastes 3:1-9 that was at the outset mentioned in part, should not have been replaced by this nice-sounding but obvious counterfeit sound-alike that is not God’s word to us.

 

But there are other questions that also jumped to mind in light of that one verse of warning in Colossians…

 

What is empty deceit according to human tradition?

 

What is deceit according to elemental spirits of the universe?

 

I am troubled by the answers and thoughts that come to mind, but my thoughts about this particular troubling pair are not new to me…

 

Christmas and Santa Claus

 

Easter and the Easter Bunny

 

Neither one is true, because they are unbiblical lies we have embraced with pagan practices blended with biblical events to become our culture. These are empty deceits according to our human traditions. These are so ingrained into our culture we don’t even want to consider that we might be wrong having these things in our lives, and inside our homes.

 

Jesus said, “So for the sake of your tradition, you have made void the word of God.

(Matthew 15:6)

 

Of course Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees and scribes about them using their traditions to avoid their responsibilities to their parents. Nonetheless, there are many other ways that for the sake of our traditions, we make void the word of God.

 

So again I come back to our tradition of celebrating Christmas by welcoming into our homes Santa Claus, evergreen trees and lights, using the winter solstice and end of the calendar year period for this chosen but incorrect date. In doing this we make void the word of God and confound people with the parallel lies to cloud and mask the birth of Christ.

 

The Bible gives us the accounts of how and when Jesus was born and came into the world to fulfill the scriptures so that we know these things are true, but there is no biblical instruction whatsoever that tells us to have this birthday party every year, and at this particular time of year, or any other time of year.

 

Again for the sake of our tradition we welcome the Easter bunny and Easter eggs, change the name of what is the Passover and call it Easter. Some years we change the day of its occurrence so the first day of the week matches the sunrise date that aligns with the pagan Sun god, and by doing so, once more confound people with lies and heresies that have nothing to do with Passover.

 

This is what the Bible tells us to know and to do…

 

“Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” 

(Matthew 26:26-29)

And...

 

“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” For as often as you eat this bread, and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (I Corinthians 11:23-26)

 

This is of the Passover, and this is what God said, “The blood will be a sign for you, upon the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall fall upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance for ever.” (Exodus 12:13-14)

 

In the Bible we are instructed to proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Jesus said his blood is the blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. This is Passover, and we are instructed to eat the bread and drink the cup to proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Only up to here are we instructed to do this.

 

The Bible is clear in telling us about the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension into heaven so that we know these things and believe in them, but nowhere in the Bible are we instructed to add celebration of Christ’s resurrection to the Passover. Not in the Old Testament and not in the New Testament.

 

Next…

I am troubled by Celtic spiritualism having been slipped into our traditions and churches, because they sound nice and might even make us feel good. These druid teachings have no place being mixed with the word of God, yet these things have been done for centuries.

 

This next paragraph is an abstract from Amazon concerning the Tess Ward book:

 

The Celtic Wheel of the Year offers an original and inspiring selection of prayers for individual use. Divided into monthly sections, it incorporates Celtic Christian and Celtic Pagan traditions in a single pattern of prayer. Prayers combine the Christian seasons with the seasons of the Solstices and Equinoxes. But they also reach beyond both traditions, dancing together and finding a new way of worshipping; one that we can enjoy in private spirituality or as a partaker of established religion.

Those highlighted parts should be troubling to a true believer and follower of Christ.

And what exactly is behind that undefined private spirituality? 

The word spirituality does not appear in the Bible, and furthermore, there is no Hebrew word for spirituality.

 

To whom are these blended Christian and Pagan prayers addressed?

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob will not accept them.

Jesus said, ”And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them…” (Matthew 6:7-8)

 

And Jesus instructed, “Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” (Matthew 6:9) 

To whom is this nonspecific “finding a new way of worshipping” directed?

 

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob will not accept this mixed-seasons worship because truth is lacking. There is no new way of worshipping God.

 

Because Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24)

 

This is the Celtic Wheel. There are many variations of it but they all depict the same stuff.

Note that word Ostara on the right… that is the word from which Easter originates. The word Easter is not in the Bible, and therefore not from it.

 

Note also that word Yule on the top… it’s familiar and well associated with Christmas tradition. The word Yule is not in the Bible, and Yule has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus.

 

Alas, these things and others like them are what Paul warned the Colossians about, and today his words in the Bible warn us about.

Have we seen to it no one makes a prey of us by philosophy and empty deceit, according to our human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ?

 

This is what Moses warned about…

 

“And beware lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and worship them and serve them…” (Deuteronomy 4:19)

The Oddblock Station Agent

103 January 21 2026

It's My Right!

But is it?

 

As far as I know, the Bible does not grant us rights. 

 

I’ve read through the Bible, and I haven’t discovered anything that says or even implies, “It’s your right.” or tells me, “It’s my right.”

 

What the Bible does give us are choices, but to our detriment we like to interchange the meanings of choice and right… but these two words in fact, are not synonymous in meaning.

 

God has, in no uncertain terms or wording, defined for us right and wrong, good and evil, life and death… and these inescapable dichotomies are what bring us back to having a choice, and not rights. We are all given the freedom to choose, and this unconditional freedom might well seem to be the closest thing to having a God-given right… but this always comes back to us to having to make choices.

 

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

 

We don’t have to read very far into the Bible before confronting having to make a choice. The first verse in the Bible compels us to make a choice between believe or disbelieve.

Maybe it’s nice to want a Maybe key on a keyboard, but in the Bible, God’s vocabulary does not have the word maybe. Likewise in the Bible, Jesus’s vocabulary does not have the word maybe. Maybe is not a viable option to carry through life.

“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying,” You may eat freely of every tree in the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)

 

Today in Canada, our government and people are consumed with, “The right to die.” meaning medically assisted suicide. Of course assisting another in suicide is nothing more than another way to say committing murder.

 

But death is not a right, it is an unavoidable reminder of God’s truth about death and then judgement upon every single one of us for our sin, because from conception (not birth) we have all been sentenced to eventual and inescapable death. This is harsh, but this is true.

 

Choosing to end life by suicide, or whitewashing the words suicide and murder as MAID (Medical Assistance In Dying), is not a right… it is a choice. Anyone who chooses to end their life by suicide has been given free will of choice from God to do so… but would you want to pass from life to death by committing one final sin?

 

God said, “You shall not kill.” (Exodus 20:13)

 

And God did not exclude suicide.

 

“But it’s my body and I have the right to…”

 

No, it’s not my body… and no, yours is not your body either. We may think and believe our body is ours because our life and soul occupy it, but our body is not ours. The unavoidable absolute truth and proof is that we die and leave our body… and there is nothing anyone can do to avoid this eventual eviction. It is reality.

 

When we die, and believe me all of us living now shall die, we all leave our body behind. We have NO choice in this. Everything God has given us here in this life is temporary… but Jesus has promised us life in and through him if we choose to believe in him on his terms alone.

 

Everything in this world that has anything to do with evil and has been tainted by evil ends with destruction and then death, which means everything is already condemned.

 

Psalm 90 is the only Psalm that is accredited as, “A prayer of Moses to God.”

 

“For we are consumed by your anger, by your wrath we are overwhelmed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your countenance. For all our days pass away under your wrath, our years come to an end like a sigh.” (Psalm 90: 7-9)

 

Paul tells us this same message, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men, who by their (our) wickedness suppress the truth.” (Romans 1:18)

 

We are like this jailer confronting his hopeless situation and was about to kill himself, and trembling with fear, he asked Paul and Silas, “Men, what must I do to be saved?”

 

“And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 

(Acts 16:30-31)

 

“And they (Paul and Silas) spoke the word of the Lord to him (the jailer) and all that were in his household. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their wounds, and he was baptized at once, with all his family. Then he brought them up into his house, and set food before them; and he rejoiced with all his household that he had believed in God.” (Acts 16:32-34)

 

We shall also reach the end of our life like one or the other of those two men who were crucified beside Jesus... about to die and face divine judgement. Not one of us is different or an exception.

 

What two men?

 

Let’s take a look… “One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!“ But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)

 

What words will each one of us eventually hear from Jesus?

 

Moses, said to Israel, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life that you and your descendants may live.” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

 

Since the beginning, life has always been about making unavoidable and inescapable choices. 

 

Choosing not to make a choice is a choice, but in the end, this route of indecision through life is a fake one, and leads to inescapable destruction.

 

 

The Oddblock Station Agent

101 November 17 2025

Do You Not Fear God?

“…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13)

 

Today we do not hear much about our salvation in Christ being lived out and worked out in fear and trembling.

 

Do we no longer tremble before God as we ponder what we know about God?

 

Have we lost our fear of God?

That man on the cross asked the other man on the cross, (the one over on the other side of Jesus), “Do you not fear God?” (since you are under the same sentence of condemnation)

Both criminals were hours if not only minutes from death and then God’s judgement.

When that man said, “…since you are under the same sentence of condemnation.” He had recognized that he was under that same sentence of condemnation, but I no longer think that he was speaking about the Roman justice that had placed them on their crosses. 

 

This is what Paul wrote to tell us, “And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgement.” (Hebrews 9:27)

 

That criminal had realized the same sentence of condemnation was for his life of sin, and the condemnation they were about to receive from God. That man asked Jesus for mercy, and Jesus gave it to him.

 

How often do we think about our own pending judgement that shall follow after our own death?

 

Both cannot be avoided, and I am terrified knowing I shall face this judgement from God.

 

But we are not without hope, because Paul explains to us, “…Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly awaiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:28)

 

How many of us today are eagerly waiting for Christ to appear this second time to save us?

 

Many no longer believe that Christ shall return, but today we may well be living in the days Jesus spoke of, “…as it was in the days of Noah…”

 

Jesus himself said he shall return on a day that only the Father knows, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” 

(Matthew 24:36)

 

Today, do we regard our salvation in and through Christ (if we do indeed have a genuine salvation) as a great mercy given to us at great cost?

 

Or do we live (as many are being misled to believe) and regard our belief more like a one-time vaccination or an insurance policy… just in case?

 

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are holding to your faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize Christ is in you? Unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” 

(2^nd Corinthians 13:5)

Every day I struggle with this test.

 

The Oddblock Station Agent

110 January 13 2026

 

A Meditation

 “…For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

How do we know God exists?

"For what can be known about God is plain to us (them), because God has shown it to us (them). Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So we (they) are without excuse." (Romans 1:19-20)

What do you believe?

I believe and know God exists, because I see and live with the evidence of his creation that is all around me. I am without excuse.

 

The only reward that I ask of God is to be forgiven my lifetime of sins, and to hear those same words that Jesus on his cross said to that man on the cross beside him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

 

Hearing Jesus say these words to me is the only reward that my troubled heart asks of the Father, and pleads for, because I know I am unworthy and without merit.

 

What words do you hope to hear after your time comes?

The Oddblock Station Agent

109 January 13 2026