
13:1 A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. 2 From the fruit of his mouth a man eats what is good, but the desire of the treacherous is for violence. 3 Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. 4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. 5 The righteous hates falsehood, but the wicked brings shame and disgrace. 6 Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, but sin overthrows the wicked. 7 One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth. 8 The ransom of a man's life is his wealth, but a poor man hears no threat. 9 The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked will be put out. 10 By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom. 11 Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. 12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. 13 Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded. 14 The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. 15 Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin. 16 In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly. 17 A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing. 18 Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honored. 19 A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools. 20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. 21 Disaster pursues sinners, but the righteous are rewarded with good. 22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous. 23 The fallow ground of the poor would yield much food, but it is swept away through injustice. 24 Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. 25 The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, but the belly of the wicked suffers want.
(Proverbs 13 )
Jim was once a pirate/lawyer. Then his life fell apart and God put it back together again. Now he leads Celebrate Recovery at Fellowship. (Cool place. Cool people.) He and his rock star wife, Leigh, live in Little Rock with their cat, Mr. P. Most interesting thing on Jim’s iPod: a collection of Russian and Greek Orthodox Church chants. Funny thing is, Jim doesn’t understand Russian or Greek.
Solomon says that “Disaster pursues sinners, but the righteous are rewarded with good.” (Prov. 13:21) I read that verse and can be really tempted into black and white thinking: Every bad thing that happens to me is because I have sinned and God is mad at me. Or, if a blessing comes my way, then it must be because I’ve earned it. Right? Wrong.
The reality is we live in a fallen world and death and disease are a part of it. But the consequences of living in a fallen world are not the same as the consequences for my personal sin choices. Sometimes bad things happen to people through no fault of their own, which gives God an opportunity to shower us with his grace. John 9:1-4 teaches us this.
But often, bad consequences are in fact attributable to my sinful choices. If I choose to get drunk and drive in my car, then I will get arrested. The consequence flows from the sinful behavior. One of our CR slogans is “If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep getting what you have been getting.” The key to growing is to be able to connect up the bad consequences in my life with my poor sin choices. If I can do that, then I can honestly ask myself, “Is this behavior worth it.” If the price is too high, then I may be willing to change. If I find that I am willing to pay the price, then I will find that the price may go up…with new consequences. Bottom line: the price for sin is always too high.
Lord, examine me and test me. Show me those parts of me that are not conformed into the image of you son. Have mercy on me, a sinner.
Grace & Peace Fellowship.


rito my brother rito…. I am excited about what you are doing within CR and I want to become an asset to what GOD is stirring within those walls. I hope that the cloak of grace sustains you and the shadow of his wing protect you. I am so glad that prov. 13-22 has become a reality for my life and I live in expectancy….. that I live a boutiful life with UNMERITED FAVOR… you are a humble guy Jim… G.B.U