“Jude” is a Hebrew name and is an alternate of “Judah.” Sort of like Al or Albert, or Mike or Michael. The Greek form of the name is “Judas.” Two of the 12 of Jesus’ disciples were named Judas – Judas the Zealot, NOT to be confused with Judas Iscariot, who may or may not have been a Zealot. Naming of the Twelve Luke 6:12-16 Mark 3:13-19 Mt. 10:2-4 John doesn’t list them together, and names 9 of them. He does refer to the Twelve. One of the names is Judas the Zealot (sometimes called Simon the Zealot,) who is NOT the same person as Judas Iscariot. The Zealots were…

John wrote the book of Revelation while in exile on the Isle of Patmos. The letters to 7 churches occurs early in the book. Churches were not buildings; church building didn’t start until the early 200s AD, and John wrote around 90 AD. All of these churches took place in people’s homes or in public places, including the outer court of Jerusalem’s Temple (Acts 2:46) or in Rome, public places that were probably warehouses or apartments. Most of them were in people’s homes; usually the homes of the wealthy or well-to-do because they would have the room. This explains why James was so mad about rich people getting treated specially…

This is Part 1 of The Three Great Miracles of the Christian Life. Part 2 “Off to War: Spiritual Battle” is here. The Christian life is full of times and seasons that can feel very ordinary. We have a lot of time to practice the quality of perseverance, or as I prefer to call it, the utter slog. Don’t get me wrong. We absolutely grow in those times. But something else is true too, a big fat miracle: we are new creatures in Christ.  Just because the Christian life sometimes feels ordinary does not make it so. Christianity is the glittering banquet hall, the castle, the royal procession, the treasure! Why…