The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

This may be the single most important post I have published.

I learned long ago that if it's in the news, it's wrong.

Not that it's all wrong - although that's possible - but I assume that something, somewhere in the story is inaccurate. And we have no way of knowing which part.

A few years ago, our friend Andy Steiger of Apologetics Canada began to talk about our "Zombie Culture." It can be summed up as the tendency to de-humanize those who do not fit within our experience. (Andy Steiger - Zombie Culture Pt.

And it's raising its ugly head once again.

Here's how it works.

Paul now says that it wasn't just the Lord's grace that was poured out on him abundantly - it was also "the faith." Some translations have the definite article - "the faith," while others refer to "faith" in general, and some to the faithfulness of Jesus. I don't think there's any advantage to focusing on "the faith" vs. "faith," but it's worthwhile to look at the fact that it is the faith that Christ Jesus has that Paul has in mind.

What does the faith of Jesus look like?

To mix a couple of cultural references, it's as if Oprah is shouting out to everyone in the studio, "You get a birthday! And you get a birthday! And you get a birthday!" And when she gets to me, the Soup Nazi jumps in and says, "No birthday for you!"

Oh, how the world has changed in a hundred years.

The Great War was fought with no one on the home front really knowing what was going on. With an ocean between, letters from Europe would take weeks to reach loved ones in Canada.

By World War II, news came via radio reports and newsreels at the movies.

During the war in Vietnam, reporters on the ground were able to send live reports and video so people were watching Walter Cronkite to see the day's news.

The Gulf War brought live video via satellite from the front lines, including incoming scud missiles. By the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, email was in common use.

And today, people in Ukraine are live-streaming from their smart phones, showing up close the advance of the Russian army. Face-time, Facebook, Tik Tok and Instagram have brought this war to the palm of our hands. It truly has become personal.

As I continue this focus on an abundance of grace, I remember attending a Promise Keeper's event at the Seattle King Dome (back in the day), and hearing a speaker talk about the anointing of David. I wish I could find out who it was that said it, and what his reference was, but he talked about anointing from the waist to the knees.

You can still buy an Easy button from Staples. Unfortunately, they don't work.

Oh, I know - some things in life are easy, like ordering from Amazon. If they don't have it, you probably don't need it, but if you want it, all you have to do is hit the "Order Now" button and before you go to bed tonight, it will be on its way, and probably delivered tomorrow. But we both know that's the exception in life.

The last time that "Easy" existed was before Eve accepted the fruit from the serpent in the Garden of Eden. It's been all down-hill since then.

As we're working our way through 1 Timothy chapter 1, in verse 13, Paul now talks about three things that the Lord "poured out on me abundantly." In fact, I have so much to say about "abundance" that it's going to take two posts!

How can I not think of Psalm 23:5-6 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Today is John Maxwell's 75th birthday.

I first John in Welland, Ontario, in 1989 where he was leading his four-day Max Leadership Clinic. It was a seminar that changed my understanding of leadership, and my life, forever.