Watchmen of Truth Ministries

Eisegesis (Reading Into the Text)
The Process: You approach the Bible with a conclusion already fixed in your mind.
You look for specific verses, pull them out of context, and stack them together to prove your pre-existing view.

The Mindset: "How can I make the Bible support what my group already teaches?"

The Result: It locks you inside an artificial box.
It forces the text to act as a mirror for your own biases, cultural anxieties, or denominational traditions.
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Exegesis (Drawing Out of the Text)
The Process: You approach the Bible as a humble student.
You examine the original language, the historical setting, the author's intent, and the surrounding paragraphs to discover what the text originally meant.

The Mindset: "What is the author actually trying to communicate to the original audience?

"The Result: It breaks you out of the box.
It allows the Holy Spirit to challenge your assumptions, shatter human traditions, and untangle you from fear-based systems.

Over 25 years ago, I was at my wit's end.
I was spinning my wheels, going absolutely nowhere, and trapped in a vicious cycle.
Years prior, I had made five ignorant mistakes that each was a snowball of the other that continuously affected my life.

No matter what I did, those mistakes kept haunting me. The minute I’d get out for one thing, I’d get picked up for another.
I was trapped in the system.
I couldn’t make money fast enough to pay the fines and avoid the next warrant.

When you’re young, running on empty, and the system has you cornered, you start to believe the world doesn’t care about you—so you stop caring, too.
You’ll do anything just to stay out, but in most cases, that desperate running lands you right back in.

You get so tired of running.
You just want to numb the pain or fill the void of emptiness with anything just to cope with the crushing weight bearing down on you, just to escape from reality if only for a moment.

People on the outside will say, "Just get your act together," "Just buckle down," or "Just say no." But they don't understand.
The truth is, we are all just one mistake away from ruining our entire lives and once you do, it’s so hard to get back where you once belonged.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." — Psalm 34:18

I had just been in Indiana doing a 2-year sentence and got let off after a year. I came home, only to get picked up for another mistake I’d already done 90 days for a year prior.
Locked up again, the fines and time just kept piling up.

When you get out, the warrants are waiting.
I messed up, failed my probation, and got picked up yet again. There I was, sitting in a cell, waiting to go to the state penitentiary for a 2-to-15-year bit. It felt like the absolute end of the road.

In that cell, I prayed a prayer I had already prayed so many times before: "Please Lord, Help Me!"
Don’t get me wrong—He had helped me so many times throughout my life. But I was stubborn and hard-headed (like most of us are, if we are willing to admit it).

I had promised and promised Him that I would change. And slowly, a change was happening inside me. But back then, I didn’t know my own worth, I didn’t know the things I was capable of doing.

But He did.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." — Jeremiah 29:11

God knew the things I was destined to do, even when I had no clue. He saw the potential I had, even when everyone else doubted it.
He never gave up on me, even when many people had completely written me off.

That is the amazing, relentless love Jesus has for us. He walks with us through the mud and even though we don’t always get it right, we have a Savior who always did—and thank goodness
He’s got our back!

Some people go to a university to get a degree. Some go to the School of Hard Knocks.
Some of us study at both and take a little longer to get where we’re going!

But God makes sure that every single ounce of that pain is made useful for the mission He has us on today.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." — Romans 8:28

Today, I am so glad for the life I’ve lived and the experiences I’ve been through.

Because of that cell, because of that cycle, because of the road traveled along the way, I can now sit at tables that many people wouldn't. I can be part of conversations that others can't. It allowed me to see exactly where people are coming from without judgment.

God is so great, so powerful, and I am profoundly thankful for His saving grace.

If you are struggling today, if you feel left behind, forgotten, or caught in a cycle you can't seem to break—don't give up. If you are going through it right now, do not worry. He’s got you. Turn to Him. He knows your worth, even when you can't see it.

We live in an age where almost everyone carries a literal supercomputer in their pocket, yet actual critical thinking feels harder to find than ever. Many will look at a post, video, or meme and let their immediate emotions, anger, and biases dictate what they believe without doing a single second of actual research and then share it as truth(Proverbs 18:2).

Even stranger, when faced with clear evidence that they are wrong, many won't change their minds. Instead, they will scour the dark corners of the internet until they find one obscure "expert" or a random, unverified test from halfway across the world to validate their belief.

Some will proudly say for example that they "deny the science," but will then turn around and wholeheartedly believe a random fake post from a chiropractor or dentist claiming to be a medical Dr. on the internet who literally tells everyone to ingest ni****ne and ground-up apricot seeds (which literally turns into cyanide🤦‍♂️), treating his word like the holy grail just because it tells them what is in opposition to what or who they don’t agree with(2 Timothy 4:3-4).

This doesn't stop at health. It applies to race, cultures, immigration, taxes, disasters, religion, politics, conspiracy, the shape of the earth and whatever else the machine spits out. If a story attacks or is against the "opposition," people instantly believe it without checking(Proverbs 14:15 ). They want it to be true. They need the other side, someone else or idea to be the enemy. Many would rather believe their tribe or group is right, and remain divided just to stay or be accepted by their chosen group.

If a piece of information aligns with someone's "tribe" or political group(doesn’t matter which side-both are ran by the machine), it doesn't matter if it is an obvious off the wall lie they will die on that hill defending it. Because to see something from a different perspective or to admit that we are all pretty much the same, and that we all want or need the same basic things, would ruin the illusion. Psychology explains exactly why this happens.

Motivated Reasoning/Confirmation Bias: Our brains naturally seek out information that proves us right while completely ignoring facts that prove us wrong. Many look for justification to keep hating the things they already dislike.

Out-Group Derogation/Comfort of Division: Treating the other side as an evil caricature makes people feel superior and safe inside their own circle. Staying angry at an enemy is mentally easier than doing the hard work of finding common human ground.

Tribal Identity/Identity Protection: For the human brain, belonging to a group feels safer than being accurate. People prioritize fitting into their social circle over accepting objective reality. Admitting the "other side" has a valid point feels like a betrayal to the tribe. Loyalty replaces logic.

The Illusion of Knowledge/Backfire Effect: Finding that one fringe source allows people to feel like they have outsmarted the system, giving them a false sense of certainty. When a core belief is challenged by facts, it triggers an emotional defense mechanism. People double down and dig their heels in deeper to protect their ego and worldview.

Cognitive Dissonance: This is the painful mental stress people feel when facts completely clash with what they want to believe. To stop this discomfort, the brain forces a choice, either admit you were wrong, or attack the truth. Most choose to attack the truth and make up wild excuses just to keep their worldview intact(Proverbs 18:17).

The problem is that human psychology often prefers the comfort of a lie over the discomfort of being wrong. We don't have an information shortage; we have an empathy and accountability shortage—and no smartphone can fix that until we choose to open our eyes. At the end of the day, a smart phone is useless if we choose to remain comfortably, willfully blind just to fit in.

Don’t get caught in the hype, let the one who can give you sight take away the blindness and lead you in the truth that sets you truly free.

Every few weeks, there seems to be another controversy demanding the attention of Christians.

Politics.
Wars.
Dr. Fauci.
COVID.
Vaccines.
Government conspiracies.
Old scandals.
New scandals.
Arguments over what happened five years ago.
Arguments over what someone supposedly said yesterday.

And then, somehow, Pastors find it to be a necessary or important topic to bring to the pulpit(instead of the gospel)and Christians end up fighting Christians over all of it.

One side repeats its talking points.
The other side repeats theirs.
Everyone has their favorite catchphrases, favorite commentators, favorite accusations, and favorite villains.

And because our side says it is defending truth, righteousness, freedom, Christianity, or morality, we convince ourselves that we must therefore be on the right side.

But here is the uncomfortable question:

Where is Jesus in all of this?

Not the Jesus our political tribe has created.

Not the Jesus we use to validate our opinions.

Not the Jesus we put on our side of an argument.

The actual Jesus.

Because being right about an argument and being right with God are not necessarily the same thing.

The Bible tells us that even the demons believe—and tremble. (James 2:19)

So simply believing that Christ exists isn’t the measure of discipleship.

Following Him is.

Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

He said His followers would be recognized by their love for one another. (John 13:35)

Paul warned about “enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, and envy.” (Galatians 5:20–21)

And Scripture repeatedly warns us about people who create divisions, sow discord, slander others, and turn believers against one another.

That should make us stop and examine ourselves.

Because division is not a harmless distraction.

The very idea behind diabolos carries the sense of a slanderer or one who throws things apart. Scripture presents accusation, deception, division, and conflict as serious spiritual dangers.

And whether the controversy of the moment involves politics, COVID, war, government, elections, or some theological disagreement, the question remains:

What is this controversy producing in us?

Is it producing love?

Humility?

Self-control?

Patience?

Compassion?

A deeper knowledge of Christ?

A greater desire to serve?

Or is it producing anger, suspicion, arrogance, fear, contempt, and hatred toward people who disagree with us?

Because if our obsession with being right is making us less like Jesus, we have to ask whether we have actually gained anything.

The enemy doesn’t have to make Christians stop believing in Christ if he can make them stop acting like Christ.

He doesn’t necessarily need to convince us to abandon Christianity.

He can simply keep us distracted.

Keep us angry.

Keep us fighting.

Keep us watching.

Keep us scrolling.

Keep us reacting.

Keep us convinced that the most important thing happening in the world is whatever controversy appeared on our feed this morning.

Meanwhile, people around us are hurting.

People are searching for hope.

Families are falling apart.

People are battling addiction, loneliness, fear, grief, poverty, and despair.

There are people who desperately need to see what the gospel actually looks like.

And we are busy arguing about which political tribe is more Christian.

That is a problem.

And then there is the “us vs. them” illusion.

Scripture tells us that our struggle is not ultimately against flesh and blood. (Ephesians 6:12)

Yet Christians can become remarkably good at identifying other human beings as the enemy.

Democrats.

Republicans.

Liberals.

Conservatives.

Progressives.

Traditionalists.

Anti-vaxxers.

Pro-vaxxers.

This denomination.

That denomination.

This pastor.

That pastor.

This group.

That group.

Before long, we aren’t simply disagreeing with people.

We are despising them.

We are assigning motives to them.

We are questioning their intelligence.

We are questioning their Christianity.

We are sharing things designed to humiliate them.

And then we somehow convince ourselves that because we attached a Bible verse to the post, it became Christian.

It didn’t.

Christianity isn’t simply having biblical information.

The devil knows biblical information.

Christianity isn’t simply believing certain doctrines.

The demons believe.

Christianity isn’t simply identifying the correct political position.

Christianity is becoming a disciple of Jesus.

And discipleship changes the way we speak.

The way we think.

The way we disagree.

The way we treat our enemies.

The way we respond when we are insulted.

The way we handle information.

The way we treat people who are wrong.

The way we treat people who think differently.

The way we use our influence.

The way we spend our time.

And ultimately, the way we love.

So who is actually winning?

Maybe that’s the question we should be asking.

Because we can win an argument and lose our witness.

We can expose someone else’s hypocrisy while becoming hypocritical ourselves.

We can correctly identify deception while becoming consumed with suspicion.

We can defend truth while speaking without love.

We can spend hours exposing the darkness while neglecting to be the light.

We can be so determined to prove that they are wrong that we forget we were called to represent Christ.

And perhaps the most dangerous thing of all is that we can become so convinced that we are defending Christianity that we never stop to ask whether our behavior actually resembles Christ or are we witnessing for the enemy.

Jesus didn’t call us to become better political combatants.

He called us to become disciples.

He didn’t tell us to build our identity around a political tribe or repeat their talking points or catch phrases.

He told us to seek first the kingdom of God.

He didn’t tell us to spend our lives accusing one another and causing divisions.

He told us to love our enemies.

He didn’t tell us that the world would know we belong to Him because we always had the correct opinion.

He said the world would recognize His disciples by their love.

So before we share the next controversy…

Before we repeat the next accusation…

Before we jump into the next political fight…

Before we declare that our side is the Christian side…

Stop.

Ask yourself:

Does this bring me closer to Christ?

Does this help me love my neighbor?

Does this reflect the character of Jesus?

Am I seeking truth—or simply defending my tribe?

Am I following Christ—or am I using Christ to defend what I already believe?

Because there is a massive difference between believing in Jesus and following Jesus.

And perhaps the church doesn’t need another tribe.

Perhaps it needs more disciples.