I’m finally launching something I’ve wanted to for a long time—the Hobo Soul Podcast. I’ve wanted to do this because I truly believe from the core of my soul that following Jesus, knowing Him as Savior, and living according to His Word is the MOST important thing you can do for a good life now and a joyful forever.
I’ve wanted to share that reality and many of the things I’ve learned in my many years of walking with Him, especially to those younger than I am, who are incredibly important to me personally (you know who you are). Telling them to read my books or watch on YouTube my 30-minute Bible-teaching lessons, I didn’t imagine would be their first choice. I wanted to sit them down and talk at them; but that wasn’t very realistic either.
And so I decided on a podcast. I love doing podcasts, and for years I had the idea for the name of what I wanted to call this one—the Hobo Soul Podcast. My dearly loved nephew Jesse came up with this name years ago and gave me his permission to use it.
Following is the intro podcast, then a sample one from a series I’m doing during Lent, and after that, the transcripts of both. For the Lent ones especially, listen past the intro–I get much more upbeat as I get into them. The podcasts don’t have to be listened to in any order, they are stand-alone encouragements.
You can listen regularly at this link, on my Youtube.com/Bible805 channel, and most all other podcast channels, including iTunes, Spotify, and many others. Just go to your favorite and enter “Hobo Soul Podcast” by Yvon Prehn.
Introduction to the Hobo Soul Podcast
When my nephew Jesse came up with the term Hobo Soul, I was immediately reminded of this Bible verse and how it describes some of those who have gone before us in the Christian faith, as “strangers and pilgrims.”
These all [Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah] died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Hebrews 11:13, KJ
The Message translates them as “transients.”
The Apostle Peter has a similiar description of us in mind when he says, “I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.” I Peter 2:11.
And even back in the Old Testament in 1 Chron. 29:15 it says, “We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us.”
Strangers and pilgrims, transients, visitors on this earth—Hobo Souls, that’s who we are, we who follow Jesus.
That’s why we so often don’t feel at home.
We’re making our way through a world often contrary to how we think it should be.
We want to belong and often feel out of place.
We want to love and we don’t know how to connect or who to connect to.
We face decisions and don’t know which way to take.
Directions are needed.
Here’s how I got the idea to use my nephew’s label for this podcast and how I hope it can help.
When the hobos traveled the U.S. during the Great Depression, for direction they had messages from the experience of those who’d gone before. The hobos that had recently gone that way would scratch on the foundations of homes and fence posts various symbols that had universal meanings. Some of them said:
“Fresh water; safe campsite” “Work available” “Catch train here”
We have records of dozens of these sign messages, all created to help hobos safely travel and survive.
Two of them inspired this podcast.
The first is “Good road to follow”
The good road I’ll share is the one mapped out in the Bible. There are lots of roadmaps offered to navigate our world today, but only one that I’ve found to be ultimately reliable and true and that’s God’s Word, the Bible.
This isn’t the podcast to go into all the reasons why the Bible is true and reliable and if you want reasons, why, history of it and why you can trust it, taught to you in blogs and books and lessons, you can go to my www.Bible805.com ministry website for the content, but for now, just know that each Hobo Soul podcast will open with a Bible verse that will inspire and the content that follows. And the content itself will be based on Bible truth I’ve gained from years of study and walking with Jesus, which leads to…
The second sign is “Kind lady lives here”
I was told my grandma had that mark on the foundation of her home in rural Nebraska during the Depression. Though she was very poor, her husband institutionalized for over 30 years, and she raised four children alone, she always shared what she had. Her love for people and faith in Jesus not only fed hobos during the Depression but were the primary inspirations for my life.
I love and follow Jesus; I want to live like Him and represent Him well, in large part, because that is how I saw her live.
I’m a few steps ahead in the journey of life than those of you I created this podcast for, (you know who you are). In addition to my love and prayers, I want to share with you and all the other Hobo Souls who might listen, the insights, lessons, and challenges that I’ve learned following Jesus and obeying His Word because doing that, after trying all sorts of other trails and side-roads, is truly the good road to follow.
Join me, your fellow hobo soul, stranger and pilgrim, each weekday, as we travel this road together.
Lenten Podcast,
Lenten Devotion #2 Redefining Holiness: Beyond Judgment to Joy
During this Lenten season, we are looking at the quotes and challenges from my Devotional book and journal, In dying, we are reborn, that you can download for free on www.Bible805.com. I’ll read you the daily quote and challenge from the book and then share my comments on them.
Today’s Quote
But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:15-16
You cannot study the Bible diligently and earnestly without being struck by an obvious fact—the whole matter of personal holiness is highly important to God.
A.W. Tozer
Our Challenge based on this is:
To be holy means to be set apart.
Today that might mean some very different attitudes and actions than the people around you. Consider the ways your life might be different if you considered yourself set apart for God’s service.
My comments
I want to totally change your idea of what it means to be holy in the next few minutes of this podcast—and I think the result will be a much more Biblical idea of what it really means and not the false one most of us have.
What’s the view most of us have of what it means to be holy?
It’s a rather intimidating word –scary, dark, and off-putting. We know it is one of the characteristics of God but one we associate with his judging us, looking down on us because we aren’t as holy as He is and one, we don’t like as much as the characteristics of his love and mercy.
And then we are supposed to be holy? When we think of that, the derogatory term comes to mind when you accuse someone of being “holier than thou.” I don’t like people like that. I don’t want to be that.
But is this what holiness is really about?
This idea of holiness has always bothered me, not just because it is unpleasant, but because something didn’t seem to ring true about it. So, as I do when things like this bother me, I pray, I research, I look at what the Bible really has to say, I pray and listen, and I am so excited to share with you what I found!
A disclaimer first, this is not a comprehensive, exhaustive treatment of holiness, but more of an exploration of a part of it, a part we may have overlooked both in how we view God and how we ought to reflect His holiness to our world.
First, let’s review the definition of holy. In both the Old and New Testaments, the word holy is defined in similar ways, as separate, sacred, without sin, and set apart. We understand the sacred and without sin part, but what about the part of the definition of “set apart?”
We see this in the Old Testament as God refers to his people in this way–
Lev. 20:26 And ye shall be holy unto me: for I, the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.
The term holy is used constantly in describing the Tabernacle—all the pieces of furniture are described as holy, the structure itself, the most Holy place.
Now think about this—in what ways were the people and where they worshipped set apart? In what ways were they holy?
Were they miserable slaves, serving a god of fear and darkness who demanded children as sacrifices? NO! They were a freed people, totally cared for, food arrived each day without them having to work for it, and they had a day off from work every 7 days. They were on their way to a land of incredible blessings. Their holiness, their being set apart made them a blessed people.
What about the holiness of the Tabernacle? Was it a dark and dreary place reflecting a God of anger and retribution?
NO! It was atonement that was made for the forgiveness of sins! It was a place of incredible beauty—multi-colored hangings interwoven with gold thread. All the furnishings of solid gold. The priest adorned with jewels.
And how did the people to respond to this holiness?
Psalm 33:21 For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His holy name.
Psalm 97:12 Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones, and give thanks to His holy name.
Mary, the mother of Jesus responds in a similar way when she says in Luke 1:49
“For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.”
When we look at the tangible outworking of God’s holiness we see incredible beauty, freedom, rejoicing, and thankfulness. This is true holiness but there is more I learned as I studied that is even more exciting!
Obviously, a primary expression of the holiness of God is in the person of the Holy Spirit, I mean He is the “Holy” Spirit—not the grouchy spirit, not the avenging spirit, not the mean spirit.
To understand his Holy description—one of the best clarifications of what He is like I think is in the fruits of the Spirit. A tree can only bear fruit of what’s inside the tree—we see an apple and we know it came from an apple tree.
Let’s look at the fruits of the Spirit to see what the Spirit is like, what are the characteristics of His Holiness and here’s what it says….
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
I love how the Message Translation puts it—”But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people.”
Based on what the Bible says……
Did you ever consider that being holy, being filled with the Spirit might mean to be a really joyful person? A fun, kind, patient person.
Jesus who was filled with the Spirit was like that–
Jesus loved parties, he was always attending them. The parties ruined his reputation, he got in all sorts of trouble for them, the people who hosted them and what they’d do that didn’t seem to upset him at all—a woman pouring perfume all over his feet and wiping it with her hair comes to mind and not only did he not rebuke her he told gave her an eternal commendation.
On His last night with his disciples, he could have held major teaching session, but he had a dinner party—the last supper wasn’t intended as a setup for future chapel paintings, but a final celebration with those he loved. When he rose from the dead and could have berated the disciples (which he had to go looking for by the way) for abandoning him and talked about the horrors of the cross and laying a major guilt trip on them but he didn’t, he surprises them with breakfast at the beach.
I think that is the kind of holy, the kind of set apart different sort of person Jesus wants us to be. A person…
set apart by your generosity when others are stingy.
set apart by your love when others are mean.
set apart by your encouragement when others are sad.
set apart by your peace when others are in a panic
And set apart for your joy and fun and celebration of life—throwing parties, giving gifts, showing love when it isn’t expected.
I started the podcast with the challenge, that you “Consider the ways your life might be different if you considered yourself set apart for God’s service.
Be set apart in these ways—be different, surprising, and joyful and in your ability to love in all situations and all sorts of people—this is the kind of holiness that I pray we all put into practice this Lenten season.