Itinerant

worthy, strong, and powerful; these are the literal definitions of the name given to this would be saint upon his birth. Yet just as time seems to do, you wouldn’t associate these words with him any longer. When you say the word “Valentine”, you are more likely to conjure up images of chocolate truffles, pink hearts, and swan boats.

Yes, Valentine's day is once again upon us. Couples and friends alike will flood the supermarkets and Hallmark gift stores to find that perfect item to give to their special someone. Meanwhile, all those within the ranks of single-dom are left reminded that they are without a romantic partner: whether that be by circumstance or by choice.

Valentine's day might be a hit for retailers but the man-or-men as we will come to learn, who inspired this holiday was far less concerned with fancy candy and candlelight dinners. These men were fighting for their lives and for the lives of those who they tended over. The heart may have become the symbol for Valentine's day to remind us of our love for one another but the true reminder in this Valentine's day imagery is what that heart is for. Because in 269 AD amid Christian martyrdom in Rome, blood-red was indeed the color that tainted February 14th as is spilled from the body of Saint Valentine, a man whose name still hangs like a banner over this now holiday.

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Thank you for listening to this episode of Itinerant. If you enjoy the show, take a moment to subscribe, rate, and share it on with a friend. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and your recommendation is much appreciated. You can find out more about me and the show at itinerantpodcast.com.

I co-host another podcast called The Reckless Pursuit. The Reckless Pursuit is a show dedicated to providing a safe place for Christians to ask unsafe questions. If you need a community of people where you can talk about your questions safely, we might just be your tribe. No matter your current church status or even religious views, all questions are welcome to help us grow and lay down our spiritual baggage. So if you feel like a spiritual Nomad we invite you to stop and rest. The journey is long but the beauty lies within it. Visit us there at https://therecklesspursuit.com.

And until next time, keep searching, you never know what mysteries lie ahead.

In the early days of humanity, just seven generations out of Adam there lived a man who stood out from the crowd. He was the father of The oldest man according to the Bible to have ever lived and great grandfather to Noah. And though he is only briefly mentioned in Genesis, his name has had more influence on Christianity than arguably any of the other patriarchs to ever walk the earth. It is speculated that he might have even been the one to reveal God’s Devine law to Moses on Mount Sinai. Oh, and he is one of only two people that the Bible claims never died a natural death.

Though our canonized text only mentions him four times, Enoch the Patriarch has made a lasting impression on our world, more so than many of us even begin to know. Though he was said to be taken to heaven, he wasn’t just taken by God to never be heard from again. No, he was taken to have divinity itself revealed. And lucky for us, he supposedly wrote it all down!

The book of Enoch isn’t considered canon in most churches but the patriarch’s words echo throughout our “official” bible’s pages like TNT in the Grand Canyon. From Jude to Jesus, the book of Enoch has been referenced seemingly more often than not and has been taken quite seriously up until its disappearance during the canonization process 1,800 years or so ago.

Luckily for us, the book of Enoch found its way back to the surface and into the hands of curious minds to be pondered over once more. So let’s take a look behind its dusty cover to see what secrets our ancient interstellar traveler trudged up as he was lifted from the earth and tossed through the heavens. And while I know that might sound a bit outlandish, you might be more than a bit surprised at just how familiar this story feels once we start unpacking some of what this mystery contains.

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Thank you for listening to this episode of Itinerant. If you enjoy the show, take a moment to subscribe, rate, and share it on with a friend. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and your recommendation is much appreciated. You can find out more about me and the show at itinerantpodcast.com.

I co-host another podcast called The Reckless Pursuit. The Reckless Pursuit is a show dedicated to providing a safe place for Christians to ask unsafe questions. If you need a community of people where you can talk about your questions safely, we might just be your tribe. No matter your current church status or even religious views, all questions are welcome to help us grow and lay down our spiritual baggage. So if you feel like a spiritual Nomad we invite you to stop and rest. The journey is long but the beauty lies within it. Visit us there at https://therecklesspursuit.com.

And until next time, keep searching, you never know what mysteries lie ahead.

In the beginning, God said let there be. Within a fraction of a moment, mass filled the void and in an infinite expansion, our universe began to grow and take shape. Within the mess of tangled atoms, a perfect environment began to form; the exact distance from a star to produce adequate warmth, and with just the right amount of oxygen, hydrogen, and water. As it began to take shape, from the dirt living beings were fashioned. Beasts, birds, fish, and people all began to crawl up from the earth.

The Genesis narrative shows us a beautiful allegory of how mankind came to be. It eloquently depicts scientific theories disguised as history and poetically, it falls in line with many of our modern insights into creation. But aside from all of that, it does one more thing exceedingly well: it shows mankind just how easy it is to set us off course. And if there is any merit to the story then we have been struggling to make our way back to what we were created for since the first humans ever walked the surface of this big blue marble.

Sin, the product of human disobedience against God, was introduced the moment Adam and Eve decided they wanted to know more. God was holding out on them and just like the best gossipers and scholars among us even to this day, knowledge took precedence over relationship. As we know, knowledge is power but with power comes great responsibility and the responsibility we took on that fateful day was the responsibility to govern ourselves.

They say ignorance is bliss, but if knowing is half the battle then with the words of the serpent humanity drew its sword for the very first time. Because sometimes, the more you know, the more you feel the need to fight for what you’ve learned - even if what we believe isn’t the whole truth after all. A half-truth is a whole lie, but is it lying if we don’t know what we don’t know?

So here is your warning: Today we are delving into a story that’s as much true as it is false, has much evil as it has good, and is as redemptive as it is damning. This is a tale of half-truths, whole lies, and requires a lot of reading between the lines. It has been molded through the years by kings, bishops, popes, pastors, and reformers time and time again. It’s been misunderstood, mistranslated, and has been taken as far out of context as one could take such a simple, yet an intricate piece of scripture. Why? Because we are still subject to the same desire that seduced the minds of the first fruits of creation that day in the garden: we still have that same desire to not be left out in the dark, that same desire for enlightenment, that same desire to know.

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Thank you for listening to this episode of Itinerant. If you enjoy the show, take a moment to subscribe, rate, and share it on with a friend. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and your recommendation is much appreciated. You can find out more about me and the show at itinerantpodcast.com.

I co-host another podcast called The Reckless Pursuit. The Reckless Pursuit is a show dedicated to providing a safe place for Christians to ask unsafe questions. If you need a community of people where you can talk about your questions safely, we might just be your tribe. No matter your current church status or even religious views, all questions are welcome to help us grow and lay down our spiritual baggage. So if you feel like a spiritual Nomad we invite you to stop and rest. The journey is long but the beauty lies within it. Visit us there at https://therecklesspursuit.com.

And until next time, keep searching, you never know what mysteries lie ahead.

Punching heretics in the face, swinging an ax at the demonically possessed and saving babies from being boiled alive. Ah yes, doesn’t that just get you in the Christmas spirit? While these things seem like something out of a strange fairy tale, they were mostly all too real in the days of the early church. And while Christmas, demon banishing axes, and angry religious folk don’t seem to have much to do with that silent, holy night, you might be surprised at just how connected they actually are. These are just a few of the many accounts attributed to Saint Nicholas of Myra.

Everyone knows of Santa Claus. The red suit, jolly laugh, big belly, and bag of presents are seasonal icons ushering in peace on earth, or at least that’s how the story goes. But long before Santa’s reindeer soared across the midnight sky, there was a wealthy, young man destined to leave such a lasting impression on Christian history that we would still at least in some way be talking about him to this day.

So If you are ready, let me take you down the streets of Christmas past to see who Santa Claus was before the white beard and red cheeks. So toss on your favorite PJs, cozy up together next to a nice fire, Grab yourself some hot cocoa, close your eyes and allow the Yuletide spirit to take you back to where it all began, some 1700 years ago.

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Thank you for listening to this episode of Itinerant. If you enjoy the show, take a moment to subscribe, rate, and share it on with a friend. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and your recommendation is much appreciated. You can find out more about me and the show at itinerantpodcast.com.

I co-host another podcast called The Reckless Pursuit. The Reckless Pursuit is a show dedicated to providing a safe place for Christians to ask unsafe questions. If you need a community of people where you can talk about your questions safely, we might just be your tribe. No matter your current church status or even religious views, all questions are welcome to help us grow and lay down our spiritual baggage. So if you feel like a spiritual Nomad we invite you to stop and rest. The journey is long but the beauty lies within it. Visit us there at https://therecklesspursuit.com.

And until next time, keep searching, you never know what mysteries lie ahead.

“If the stars would align then it will be so.” Whether we have realized it or not, many of us have most likely heard and quite possibly used this adage at some point in our lives. Needing to get a new car? Hunting for a soul mate? Or maybe just trying to figure out where to grab dinner? From simple decisions to life-changing events, we if even passingly chalk up our fate to the stars.

But for some, especially in a more ancient time, the aligning of the stars meant more than a phrase tossed around as an excuse for our indecisiveness. To some, it was the answer to the deepest questions life could conjure up. Where heaven met earth, there in the dark void could be seen glimmers of the mysteries that both history and the future held. And on one fateful night, the sky revealed more than one could ever imagine for those who took the time to look.

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Thank you for listening to this episode of Itinerant. If you enjoy the show, take a moment to subscribe, rate, and share it on with a friend. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and your recommendation is much appreciated. You can find out more about me and the show at itinerantpodcast.com.

I co-host another podcast called The Reckless Pursuit. The Reckless Pursuit is a show dedicated to providing a safe place for Christians to ask unsafe questions. If you need a community of people where you can talk about your questions safely, we might just be your tribe. No matter your current church status or even religious views, all questions are welcome to help us grow and lay down our spiritual baggage. So if you feel like a spiritual Nomad we invite you to stop and rest. The journey is long but the beauty lies within it. Visit us there at https://therecklesspursuit.com.

And until next time, keep searching, you never know what mysteries lie ahead.

He couldn’t believe what he saw. As he looked into the night sky he could make out a storm building in the north. Within this storm, he saw the likeness of metallic lighting and fire that burned in its core. But that’s not even touching the surface of what makes the visions shown to Ezekiel so impressive. No, that trophy would go to the living creatures with wings that stretched one to another as they hovered adjacent to their own large wheel that touched down upon the earth. Each one described as a “wheel within a wheel”.

If you listened to our last episode, or if you enjoy reading the stranger corners of the Bible, you would already be aquatinted with this story. It is by and large one of the more puzzling accounts we find ourselves attempting to decipher as we progress through the scripture. But more than that, it offers us a glimpse into a world that had a deeper respect for the sky that covers us overhead. After all, Ezekiel had been spending quite a bit of time in Chaldea: a land ruled by the stars and who followed their patterns quite closely.

Throughout the Bible, we have accounts of God-fearing men and women looking into the night’s sky and having visions of prophetic instances God revealed to His people. And while I do not doubt for one minute that God was tugging at Ezekiel’s heartstrings to stir up His nation, I like to look just a bit deeper. You see, we always address the why but hardly ever look at the how. And in my mind, God did not throw Ezekiel into some holy trance and show him his latest angelic creation, no I believe God speaks a bit more subtle than that. What I think Ezekiel was witnessing was something a bit more cosmic; something that was written in the stars. --

Thank you for listening to this episode of Itinerant. If you enjoy the show, take a moment to subscribe, rate, and share it on with a friend. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and your recommendation is much appreciated. You can find out more about me and the show at itinerantpodcast.com.

I co-host another podcast called The Reckless Pursuit. The Reckless Pursuit is a show dedicated to providing a safe place for Christians to ask unsafe questions. If you need a community of people where you can talk about your questions safely, we might just be your tribe. No matter your current church status or even religious views, all questions are welcome to help us grow and lay down our spiritual baggage. So if you feel like a spiritual Nomad we invite you to stop and rest. The journey is long but the beauty lies within it. Visit us there at https://therecklesspursuit.com.

And until next time, keep searching, you never know what mysteries lie ahead.

There is something to be said about the night sky. Every dot of light is yet another sun with its own plethora of planets swinging in harmonic chaos as they drift in orbit. We are but a spec in the ever-expanding vastness that came to be when those first words were muttered from the mouth of God. Let there Be, and there was. And there are few heavenly events that capture our wonder more than a shooting star. To see a ball of light flash across the heavens is like witnessing a visitor from another world.

But what if there was more to that star than meets the eye? What if we looked up and instead of a quick glimpse at a rock burning up in our atmosphere, we witnessed something a bit less, identifiable? Now, what if you lived in a time where mapping the heavens was still your primary calendar and compass? These objects might just seem a bit more out of place than before. And if you witnessed something like that, I’m sure you would document it, right? I mean, you can’t just keep something like that to yourself. Lucky for us, that’s just what many of our beloved bible characters did.

Let’s face it. We love a good UFO story. From Roswell to Area 51, the idea of other-worldly visitors captivates that nagging feeling we have suppressed since we first began looking up. The idea that maybe, just maybe, we aren’t actually alone out here.

And Biblical history is loaded down with flying saucers, cigar-shaped hovercrafts, and beaming rays that would leave your friendly, neighborhood dairy cow shaking in their hooves. So let’s take a flight back through history and see what we can discover. Life is vast and oh so mysterious so why not take a look at things from a new perspective? We might be amazed to learn we aren’t as alone as we often believe when we gaze up at the stars.

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Thank you for listening to this episode of Itinerant. If you enjoy the show, take a moment to subscribe, rate, and share it on with a friend. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and your recommendation is much appreciated. You can find out more about me and the show at itinerantpodcast.com.

I co-host another podcast called The Reckless Pursuit. The Reckless Pursuit is a show dedicated to providing a safe place for Christians to ask unsafe questions. If you need a community of people where you can talk about your questions safely, we might just be your tribe. No matter your current church status or even religious views, all questions are welcome to help us grow and lay down our spiritual baggage. So if you feel like a spiritual Nomad we invite you to stop and rest. The journey is long but the beauty lies within it. Visit us there at https://therecklesspursuit.com.

And until next time, keep searching, you never know what mysteries lie ahead.

The Addams family, a popular comic-turned-television comedy, hit the airways across the United States on September 18, 1964 . This show, along with a few others introduced common households to the very real concept of death; Exposing us to a family who is all but a bit too familiar with the concept. With names like Morticia, cousin IT, and Uncle Fester, the dark grimace of tragedy became humorous and helped take the sting away from the looming idea of dying, all the while providing a beautiful undertone of a life worth living to the fullest and not giving in to the societal stigmas life tries to place on us.

But this special, Halloween bonus episode isn’t about dark humor or old television shows though the Addams family does have a bit in common with where we are going. You see, The Addams family had a helper that could have been cast straight from the book of Daniel. He was a “hand-servant” if you will and his name was Thing T. THING. Thing was a dismembered hand that roamed about and performed services for the family; which ironically, is exactly what showed up to the party one fateful night in King Belshazzar’s courts in Daniel, chapter five.

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Thank you for listening to this episode of Itinerant. If you enjoy the show, take a moment to subscribe, rate, and share it on with a friend. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and your recommendation is much appreciated. You can find out more about me and the show at itinerantpodcast.com.

I co-host another podcast called The Reckless Pursuit. The Reckless Pursuit is a show dedicated to providing a safe place for Christians to ask unsafe questions. If you need a community of people where you can talk about your questions safely, we might just be your tribe. No matter your current church status or even religious views, all questions are welcome to help us grow and lay down our spiritual baggage. So if you feel like a spiritual Nomad we invite you to stop and rest. The journey is long but the beauty lies within it. Visit us there at https://therecklesspursuit.com.

And until next time, keep searching, you never know what mysteries lie ahead.

I want to paint an image for you. I’d like to describe something to you and allow you the freedom to see whatever it is that comes to your mind. Are you ready? Okay, Picture this:

There is a large beast whose teeth are surrounded by terror and whose spine is covered in rows of shields joined one to another. Its skin is impervious and cannot be removed. If it sneezes it brings forth light and its eyes glow like the dawn. Out of its mouth pours flames and its nostrils bellow smoke like a boiling pot or burning bush. Its breath alone can kindle coals.

It has unmeasurable strength and the toughest of skin. Iron is like straw in its mouth and no sword or arrow can penetrate its flesh to reach its stone-cold heart. When he rises up he strikes fear into the hearts of all who encounter him and he sees everything that is high.

If you are anything like me, you might be picturing King Arthur and his knights fighting back a large, winged reptile right about now. You can probably envision its fiery breath spewing out from between its razor-sharp teeth as it brings terror to those who face it. And you’d be pretty much spot on. But the description I just gave wouldn’t be found in a rehashing of the Arthurian tale, well, at least not in the way I worded it. Because those adjectives I used to describe the aforementioned beast came straight out of the Old Testament, Job to be exact. It was describing a beast known as Leviathan, and it is just but one of the many accounts that the Bible goes on to share about giant monsters that have left horror in their wake. And of course, we know these creatures by a better name, a name the Bible actually goes on to use as well. We know these creatures as dragons.

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Thank you for listening to this episode of Itinerant. If you enjoy the show, take a moment to subscribe, rate, and share it on with a friend. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and your recommendation is much appreciated. You can find out more about me and the show at itinerantpodcast.com.

I co-host another podcast called The Reckless Pursuit. The Reckless Pursuit is a show dedicated to providing a safe place for Christians to ask unsafe questions. If you need a community of people where you can talk about your questions safely, we might just be your tribe. No matter your current church status or even religious views, all questions are welcome to help us grow and lay down our spiritual baggage. So if you feel like a spiritual Nomad we invite you to stop and rest. The journey is long but the beauty lies within it. Visit us there at https://therecklesspursuit.com.

And until next time, keep searching, you never know what mysteries lie ahead.

During the reign of Saul, there was a war that was about to take place. The Philistines were gathering an army to fight against Israel. Saul gathered all of his people together to face the army that approached their land but when he saw their numbers, a fear began to grow within him. Saul called out to the Lord to intervene, to give him a sign through his dreams but nothing came. So Saul resorted to the Urim and Thummim, those white and black stones we talked about in a previous episode. But God still did not provide the answer he sought. He then he called on the prophets to assemble in his courts to decree the outcome of the war at hand but every prophet drew a blank.

Saul only had one option left. There was a woman who had contact with the great prophet, Samuel. Saul knew Samuel had favor with God and that he would be able to provide the answers he so desperately needed. So he adorned a disguise and made the journey to a small Canaanite village in the valley of Jezreel.

He sought out the woman and when he found her, he begged her to get in touch with Samuel on his behalf to provide him some answers. So the woman went and woke Samuel and brought him before Saul. Samuel asked Saul, “Why have you disturbed me?”. Saul fell on his face and proclaimed the troubling news about the Philistine army sitting at their doorstep and the war to come. Then Samuel delivered some not so great news. “Has the Lord not turned away from you and became your enemy?” Samuel asked. “Today the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David.” Samuel continued, “The Lord will give Israel into the hands of the Philistines and tomorrow you and your sons shall join me.”

Saul fell face first into the ground paralyzed with fear. Not only was his nation about to be torn from his grasp, but he was told he was about to join Samuel in his resting place. Which may not sound too frightening until you realize who this woman Saul came to see was. She was known as the Witch of Endor, a conjurer of spirits. A medium if you will. Which is why she was the only one who could access Samuel, because he was dead.

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Thank you for listening to this episode of Itinerant. If you enjoy the show, take a moment to subscribe, rate, and share it on with a friend. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and your recommendation is much appreciated. You can find out more about me and the show at itinerantpodcast.com.

I co-host another podcast called The Reckless Pursuit. The Reckless Pursuit is a show dedicated to providing a safe place for Christians to ask unsafe questions. If you need a community of people where you can talk about your questions safely, we might just be your tribe. No matter your current church status or even religious views, all questions are welcome to help us grow and lay down our spiritual baggage. So if you feel like a spiritual Nomad we invite you to stop and rest. The journey is long but the beauty lies within it. Visit us there at https://therecklesspursuit.com.

And until next time, keep searching, you never know what mysteries lie ahead.