Quote from Forum Archives on October 17, 2005, 8:17 am

Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

The transition to a new website has begun. It will take several months to
make this transition and during this time the old website will remain at the
current url www.theburningbush.org and the new website will be at the url
www.theburningbush.net. Both websites will remain active until the
transition is complete and new devotionals will be posted at the new and old
websites. All of the devotionals written during 2005 are available at the
new site. One of the new features is the ability to post your prayer
requests and praise reports automatically to the site.

The new website url is www.theburningbush.net

Join the Burning Bush Prayer Group! Send and receive prayer requests and be
a part of a great ministry. More than 400 wonderful people make up this
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Please sign the GuestMap at The Burning Bush website. You can plant your
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page at www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush Devotional

1,871 New Subscribers since November 2004

10.17.05

Grow

.that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about
with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning
craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may GROW
up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ. - Ephesians 4:14-15.

Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all
evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you
may GROW thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. - 1
Peter 2:1-3.

You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also
fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the
wicked; but GROW in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. - 2 Peter 3:17-19.

The "Llizarov Procedure" is still very popular in China and the numbers
having the procedure done are increasing. The Llizarov Procedure consists of
breaking of the bones of the leg and then placing adjustable leg braces on
them to pull the bones apart. The braces are adjusted manually three or four
times a day. The purpose of the painful procedure is to grow taller and
people endure the painful process hoping that they will reap benefits by
being taller. A 5-foot-tall woman going through the procedure once said,
"I'll have a better job, a better boyfriend, and eventually a better
husband. It's a long-term investment." She hoped to eventually be four
inches taller although I have not heard whether or not she reached her goal.

It is almost incomprehensible what some people are willing to do to grow a
little taller! Physical growth may provide some benefits for some people;
however, there is another kind of growth from which we will always reap
benefits. That other kind of growth is spiritual growth. In order to grow
spiritually we must have a desire to do so and we must continually work at
the process by taking advantage of all of the resources of God. Spiritual
growth is not an easy process but it can happen in your life just as it has
for countless others through the ages.

We cannot grow spiritually if we do not take advantage of the resources that
God has given to us at great cost (Romans 8:32). We must daily have an input
of God's Word (Matthew 4:4) or we will not grow. We must continuously be in
an attitude of prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18) or we will not grow. We must
faithfully be a part of a local body of believers (Hebrews 10:24-25) or we
will not grow.

To grow spiritually we must take advantage of the resources that God has
given to us at great cost and we must also put into practice the teachings
of Jesus or we will not grow. We should love God with all our hearts mind
and soul and our neighbors as ourselves. We should do unto others, as we
would have them do unto us. We should serve others just as Jesus did and we
should be obedient to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). We should
strive to be obedient always to everything our Lord would have us to do
using Him as our example, following in His steps.

Growing spiritually is not an easy process but it is the process that every
Christian is called to go through. We will not complete the process on this
earth as long as we are clothed in human flesh. However, some great,
wonderful, glorious day when we meet our Lord face-to-face the process will
be completed and we will be like Him.

Copyright © 2005. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has
been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the
Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.

The Crossmap Christian Search and Portal is a wonderful resource. I would
like to encourage you to visit this great site at ww.crossmap.com. Crossmap
has added the Burning Bush Devotionals to their site. You may visit
Crossmap's sister website, the online version of the Christian Post at
www.christianpost.com.

If you have a Christian website you are invited to add the link to my free
links at the Burning Bush website. The Bravenet free links is near the
bottom of the front page www.theburningbush.org.

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may
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There is now a webpage available at associate.com where the devotionals are
archived associate.com/groups/burningbushdevo. There is a complete
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