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Day 71, or March the 12th. Homemade Religion.

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Our thought today is rooted in Judges chapter

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17, verse 5. Now this man Micah had a shrine,

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and he made an ephod and some household gods,

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and installed one of his sons as his priest.

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First the big picture surrounding this verse.

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The final chapters of the book of Judges are

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not specifically about judges at all. It tells

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us a lot about a man called Micah who was not

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a judge and who lived in the middle of Israel.

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As he lived and worshipped in the days when the

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judges ruled, there was no temple for national

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sacrifice and worship. The temple, of course,

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was built after the period of judges, when kings

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ruled the land. And now, our action step for

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today. Micah, in the book of Judges, would have

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slotted into 21st century life very easily indeed.

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He knew what he believed, he built his own religion,

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and worshipped at home. I would guess there are

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millions of Micahs in the world today who stumble

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through life with homemade religion. I'm sure

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you know folk who drift from church to church

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looking for one that suits them exactly and doesn't

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have any of the hassles we all get if we are

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members of an active fellowship. Sometimes when

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you discuss spirituality with a friend, the response

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can be very predictable. Well, this is how I

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see it. Based on what? Based on what I think

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is right. Even professing unbelievers will say

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things like, I'm sure he or she will be in heaven

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looking down on me today. These may be comforting

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thoughts, but they are based on wishful thinking

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alone. The least puff of wind will knock them

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over, because they are foundationless. For a

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belief system to work, it has to be based on

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a firm foundation, into which faith can be woven.

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Nebulous faith cannot stand alone. Be sure that

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your faith is based on sure and steadfast biblical

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principles, and it will enrich you daily. When

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trials come, as they inevitably will, you'll

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have more than human support. You will have the

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inspired written word of God to rely on.