Like a Thief in the Night

The characters in the first few chapters of Judges are straight out of a haunted house. Eglon the fat king of Moab with a knife in his belly. Sisera, the commander with a tent stake in his head. Since I've read this book before, I know we have the srong hippie (Samson with his long hair) is coming up in a few chapters.

As Mr. Dooley recited 1 Peter to us last night, I heard the words "Be clear minded and self controlled so you can pray" echo in my head. I guess the implication is that if I'm not clear minded (thinking too much about work, the European leg of U2's Vertigo tour, other worries of the world) or self controlled (watch those eyes, do I really need a THIRD fudge brownie??) then I'm probably not able to pray even if I want to.

Jesus said he was coming back like a thief in the night... probably a bit like Ehud came to fudge brownie loving Eglon King of Moab or Jael came to "running from the worries of the world" Sisera.

So connecting the Old and New Testament dots here, I'm appreciating the wisdom of Peter's words a little more than usual today. Judges instead of espn.com for breakfast, an apple instead of a cookie for lunch.