"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." -- Ephesians 5:25-27

"...Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them" 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.....
"As for you, my flock, this is what the sovereign LORD says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats. Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? Must my flock feed on what you have trampled down and drink what you have muddied with your feet?" -- Ezekiel 34:1-3,17b-19

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul." -- Psalm 23:1,2

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." -- Proverbs 4:23

"Backwash Apostasies"

Come drink the muddied water,
Graze on pastures trampled down,
Follow shepherds to high places
Where I'm told new truth's been found.

The wolves are all in hiding,
Hunkered down...Their nets are set.
The oozy-goo of their "new" teaching,
Is a lure,... but they're all wet.

Modern man has now discovered,
That the Word's not really pure.
We're told still waters once reported,
Are polluted...not a cure.

The Living Water that was touted,
Is now declared a stagnant pool...
A bio-hazard murky wetland,
Dredged up in seminary school.

Now we follow these new shepherds,
Who would like to fill our cup,
With a topsy-turvy gospel...
Dirty Water..."Bottom's up!"

Ancient wisdom of our fathers,
Is now all but washed away,
By post-modern tides of nonsense,
That would flood the Truth away.

Theologians spouting theories,
And their vain philosophies...
Wading knee-deep through the shallows
Of Backwash Apostasies.

They're blind fishermen all casting,
Their torn nets into the mud.
The Living Water has escaped them,
As they deny the Savior's Blood.

So set your Anchor deep, Sir...
Stem the tide and do not flee.
It's just the latest cesspool teaching...
Contaminated heresy.

* * * * * * *

Lord, help us see this current fashion,
This nasty flow...For Heaven's sake!
Pull us from these muddy waters,
And from our own eternal wake.

Polluted waves of dark deception,
Are today's accepted "norm",
Drowning would be newborn swimmers....
Lord Jesus, calm the storm.

Lead Your lambs, Lord, to Your wellspring,
Quench the thirsty...Draw us near!...
Let us drink the Living Water,
Of Your Word: pure...crystal clear.

* * * * * * *

"We are living through the incredible situation of teachers in the church not attacking the errors of the world but attacking the truths of the faith, and attacking the very idea of attacking the errors of the world---as if the only error were the belief that there are errors, and as if the only idea to be refuted were the idea that some ideas are to be refuted." -- Peter Kreeft

"...the apostasy of Christian ministers and priests preaching this false gospel is a scandal of the age and inexcusable because it takes no great theological subtlety to know better..." -- John Senior

"Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is covered by five colonnades. Here a great many disable people used to lie--the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, 'Do you want to get well?'
" 'Sir,' the invalid replied, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.'
Then Jesus said to him, 'Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.' At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked." -- John 5:1-9

"For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." -- Revelation 7:17

Permission to post this material on Circuit Rider's Range has been granted by:

Tom Graffagnino
Hamilton, Georgia
You may respond to Tom at TGRAFFGA@aol.com
His written and art works may be viewed at his web site at
Without Excuse Creations