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
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