Oh Jerusalem

Your people cry out
They cry out for false guidance and repent half-heartedly
A - part of me is broken over them
I'm too pushy, too bold, too honest, too well faring
Too much of me, too much declaring
They sit in sadness as they wait for you
Too late to choose what's right
So I write
You have given them over
They wish on their clovers of luck
Stuck in idolatry, idolizing themselves
Their hell is on earth
Harvest is over, summer is gone
They sing songs of despair as they glean their own emptiness
I need help with this
Self-righteousness lurks
It hurts to see them searching
You're right here
Calling us your daughter even when we've emancipated ourselves
How long should I dwell in this twilight?
I keep waiting for the sun
Groping for the familiar
I know - you're still here
Help me Lord, for their peace is false
They repeatedly fall
They heatedly call for a savior
Save yourselves
Satan sells courage
You keep drawing refuse from your well of unforgiven sin
There is nothing there but waste
Wasted time, wasted effort, wasted life
And the world keeps telling you it's okay
Why pray when you can ask advice?
Who thinks twice when you're living for right now?
Right? Wow...
Unashamed, casting blame, more of the same, it's all a game that you've lost
And it cost you all you had left
Yet you consider me foolish
I don't do this for myself
Lord, I need your help
I need your wealth of wisdom
If the truth shall set us free
They why do they keep paying for bondage?
I've long since given thought to this
Would you truly rather die than live?
I - can't fathom it
Your people cry out in the silence of the night
And with their plight you allow them to perish

So, I've been reading Jeremiah and there is some DEEP stuff in this book. It's like I'm reading the headlining stories of our world today. The people of Jerusalem were boldly and overwhelmingly ignorant. It's kind of disturbing to consider how blasphemous they were in their sin and in the observence of their "faith"... much like people are today. I guess when you're in the midst of the "norm" though, it doesn't seem as blatant as it truly is. For me, nothing is more terrifying than the thought of God giving me over to my sin and allowing me to cause my own destruction. Looking back though, I can see how careless and destructive I was with my life. I said what I wanted, did what I wanted, lived the way I wanted...and destroyed relationships, destroyed character, destroyed my sense of self (if I ever had one). One thing I will say though, is that my fear of God kept me from proclaiming His name while I did it. Not that it kept Him from delivering my consequences, but I definitely don't think I was bold enough to live both lives. My mouth literally stands agape while I read these chapters. Like "Really?? You thought you were safe because you brought your idols INTO the house of God?" how does that even follow? So after I read Chapter 8, I was immediately inspired to write on it. I really can't imagine preferring death over correcting my life. And going to church, going to Bible study, volunteering, is not enough to save one if they don't allow the complete renewal of a sinful mind and spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:11 says "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God." Understanding of the Word and of the Law cannot be had until our mind and spirit are one with the Holy Spirit. We can read the Bible all day and gain book smarts/remember verses, but until experiental knowledge is gained through truly KNOWING who Christ is and allowing Him to enter one's life, it won't resonate and one will continue to live in hypocrisy. And I find it extremely difficult to relay that sometimes without sounding self-righteous - or being, for that matter. So much is to be learned from Jeremiah, so much.