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I shall start with dictionary definitions.

ed·i·fy
tr.v. ed·i·fied, ed·i·fy·ing, ed·i·fies
To instruct especially so as to encourage intellectual, moral, or spiritual improvement.

ex·hort
v. ex·hort·ed, ex·hort·ing, ex·horts
v.tr.
To urge by strong, often stirring argument, admonition, advice, or appeal: exhorted the troops to hold the line.
v.intr.
To make urgent appeal.

en·cour·age
tr.v. en·cour·aged, en·cour·ag·ing, en·cour·ag·es
1. To inspire with hope, courage, or confidence; hearten.
2. To give support to; foster: policies designed to encourage private investment.
3. To stimulate; spur: burning the field to encourage new plant growth.

Aren’t they wonderful words? In the bible, one of the things we owe to our bretheren is also

ad·mon·ish
tr.v. ad·mon·ished, ad·mon·ish·ing, ad·mon·ish·es
1. To reprove gently but earnestly.
2. To counsel (another) against something to be avoided; caution.
3. To remind of something forgotten or disregarded, as an obligation or a responsibility.

Somehow along the way it became more like

re·buke Pronunciation (r-byk)
tr.v. re·buked, re·buk·ing, re·bukes
1. To criticize or reprove sharply; reprimand. See Synonyms at admonish.
2. To check or repress.
n.
A sharp reproof.

Which was reserved more often than not for people like the saducees, sorcerers and other people who were blatently, outrightly sinning in public and were unabashed. I still have to do quite abit of reading but preliminary searches through the bible for these words seem to indicate so.

This sort of changes my mind about how I should mentor people. Instead of slamming them, I think I should display love and encourage them to good works.

Lastly, we should be more concerned about our insides than outward actions. Instead of “Slamming people to good works”, we should settle the person’s heart and address issues such as obedience to basic commandments with love an patience knowing ony God can work in them. As we move closer and closer to God, these “grey issues” lose their greyness and become clear to them.

Colossians 2 (New American Standard Bible)

8See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

9For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

10and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;

11and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;

12having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

13When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,

14having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

15When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

16Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day–

17things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

18Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,

19and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.

20If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,

21″Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”

22(which all refer to things destined to perish with use)–in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?

23These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

Yep… Thats my mind for tonight. I must commit myself to much more reading than I am now.. as well as to prayer.

Tags: encouragment, exhortation, rebuke, Sharing, thoughts

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 20th, 2006 at 12:37 am and is filed under Personal Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.