The Bottom Line

November 2017 In February 1986, I wrote a Bottom Line commentary entitled, “Have We Crossed the Line?” It dealt with the distinction between sin and evil and how God has presented His feelings on this subject in several ways. The issue I wrestled with three decades ago is even more relevant now. When 9/11 took…

October 2017 Regardless of how one feels about President Trump, he is unquestioningly the absolute master of creating controversy and controlling public dialogue. There are varying opinions about his goals, motives, and even social awareness of how and why he does this. I leave those speculations alone for now. What I will say is this……

September 2017 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” —Matthew 4:17 Jesus Christ died to usher in a new era of the Kingdom of God upon the earth. God has, from the beginning of creation, always been the Master or King over His creation.…

August 2017 As I have said before, in a fallen world, we have a challenging mishmash of social values, political policies, and national rhetoric to sort through. Scripturally, we have two major governments—the kingdom of man and the Kingdom of God—which coexist as “the wheat and the tares” described in Matthew 13:24-30. Within the kingdom…

July 2017 For some years I have talked about the coming political-economic reckoning I call, “The Great Reset.” As the culture continues to erode, we see widening cracks in our civil foundations slowly manifesting. While increasing numbers of people are sounding alarms, I see nothing of consequence reversing the situation. The reason for that is…

June 2017 Of David. A psalm. The LORD says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” -Psalm 110:1 Those who were with my grandfather, Thornton, when he passed some years ago told me a fascinating thing: At the moment of his death, he sat…

May 2017 This final commentary, for now, on the issues surrounding reformation may well be the most challenging. I believe that as chaos rolls out over the next decade, a powerful movement will form in response to that chaos and attempt to throw global society into a political-economic “reverse” unlike anything we have seen in…

April 2017 As noted in our last discussion on the causes and issues surrounding the phenomenon of reformation, a biblical worldview held and practiced by a significant number of citizens and applied to society produces both spiritual renewal and social reformation. Thus, the way we stimulate social conversation and simultaneously share the gospel should be…

March 2017 Special Edition Square One: Utopian Dogmatics As Satan’s “Heaven on Earth” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” —Matthew 16:23 This Scripture is far more fascinating than we have time…

Women’s Day Special Edition – March 8, 2017 Originally Published June 1991 Jesus Christ changed women’s lives infinitely more than the women’s lib movement, the “pill,” famous feminists like Molly Yard, and all the so-called “equal rights” legislation that has been or ever will be passed. Jesus never marched for equal rights, He simply died…

March 2017 A reformation is a robust enough social event to change the collective worldview of a nation and global culture. It not only alters structures, but transcends to change the way massive numbers of people view life itself and the social contexts created to express their very lives. Put another way, a genuine reformation…

February 2017 2017 is the 500th year since what is known in Western history as “The Great Reformation.” In 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Wittenberg door and figuratively lit a match to the conditions God had arranged to start world changes which have affected every nation today and led to the…

January 2017 God knows that “familiarity,” until we understand what that is, is a very damaging thing to most relationships. Being “familiar” with someone or something, in the negative sense, means to take it for granted. Negative familiarity makes us devalue people and things, wherein we lose what is special about them and then may…

December 2016 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. -Galatians 6:7 As 2016 comes to an end, our nation has been traumatized as we went through a debauched public dialogue of personal insults and personal misdeeds. As demoralizing as it was, it gave us…

Election Special Edition “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling…

November 2016 I am writing this article prior to the results of the current US presidential election. As critical as this current election is, as atypical as it has been in multiple ways, it is not the “election of elections.” That election is the next one; the 2020 election will definitively set the direction for…