Dan Bolin's Blog, page 15

Remember Not to Forget

Nº 236

weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - February 7, 2023

Remembering and keeping one’s focus on God’s unchangeable character and His eternal faithfulness becomes one of our greatest resources for courage and the faithfulness we need to go on even when things seem their blackest. - J. Hampton Keathley

I may be the exception, but I always liked it when my dad pulled the car off the road to read another historical marker. I learned all sorts of interesting facts and felt a connection with the people and stories memorialized there.

We easily forget. So, these informative reminders are strategically placed to help us remember significant people and events from days of old.

God wants us to remember the important moments where He demonstrated His power, protection, and love. But we easily forget.

The children of Israel were commanded to erect a pile of rocks on the banks of the Jordan River to remind them of God’s power, protection, and love. And He wants us to establish memorials that direct our thoughts to Him, remembering who He is and what He has done.

David was forgetful. But on a good day he wrote, “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” (Psalm 103:2)

Start each day thanking God for what he did for you the day before. Periodically, take time to reflect on answered prayers. Establish your own spiritual “historical markers” and forget not God’s power, protection, and love.

Dan Bolin

Author & President

Refueling in Flight Ministries, Inc.

99 Reasons to Obey

Nº 235

weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - January 31, 2023

Abide in Me, says Jesus. Cling to Me. Stick fast to Me. Live the life of close and intimate communion with Me. Get nearer to Me. Roll every burden on Me. Cast your whole weight on Me. Never let go your hold on Me for a moment. Be, as it were, rooted and planted in Me. Do this and I will never fail you. I will ever abide in you. - J.C. Ryle

Jesus told a story about a shepherd who was responsible for 100 sheep. One wandered off. The shepherd left the 99 and searched for the lost sheep until he rescued it from its wayward, vulnerable, and disoriented situation.

The primary emphasis of the parable is God’s love for the lost and His willingness to seek and save them. However, the story does make me wonder about the shepherd and the 99. While the shepherd wandered the hillsides and valleys looking for the one errant sheep, the others were unattended and vulnerable.

When we wander away from God and abandon God’s people, we put ourselves in danger, but we also make things difficult for our leaders and disruptive for the people around us. Both the shepherd, whose work increases, and the rest of the flock, whose care is interrupted, pay the price every time a sheep wanders in the wrong direction.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you...Obey them so their work will be a joy and not a burden.” (Hebrews 13:17)

Make it easy on yourself, your spiritual leaders, and those around you; stay close to the Good Shepherd.

Dan Bolin

Author & President

Refueling in Flight Ministries, Inc.

Pothole Progress

Nº 234

weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - January 24, 2023

God uses suffering to purge sin from our lives, strengthen our commitment to Him, force us to depend on grace, bind us together with other believers, produce discernment, foster sensitivity, discipline our minds, spend our time wisely, stretch our hope, cause us to know Christ better, make us long for truth, lead us to repentance of sin, teach us to give thanks in time of sorrow, increase faith, and strengthen character. - Joni Eareckson Tada

As a boy I loved to fish with my dad and grandfather. We would often drive into the mountains turn off the blacktop and onto gravel. The washboard gravel would eventually give way to the potholes and bumps of a dirt road. “You have to drive the rough roads to catch big fish,” my grandfather would say. And he was right.

Anyone can fish beside a superhighway and hope for the best. But if you wanted to catch big fish – and lots of them – you must endure the obstacles of the rough road.

Life is like that. Bumps and struggles are generally the price we pay to obtain things of true value.

James tells us, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials if various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4)

When you encounter the potholes of life, it may be that God is leading you toward a wonderful destination. The rough ride may be the only way to get you to the place where you will catch the big fish God has in store for you!

Dan Bolin

Author & President

Refueling in Flight Ministries, Inc.

The Beautiful Game

Nº 233

weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - January 17, 2023

If a man does not exercise his arm he develops no biceps muscle; and if a man does not exercise his soul, he acquires no muscle in his soul, no strength of character, no vigor of moral fiber, nor beauty of Spiritual growth. - Henry Drummond

On December 29, 2022, soccer superstar Pelé passed away. Many remember him as the greatest soccer player to ever thrill a crowd. His speed, skill, grace, and creativity made him a living legend. In 1999, the International Olympic Committee named him the Athlete of the Century!

Growing up in poverty near Sao Palo, Brazil, Pelé could not afford a soccer ball, so at times, he would practice with a grapefruit or sack filled with socks and rags. Using his God-given talents, working tirelessly, and practicing his craft, he quickly ascended the upper echelons of the soccer world. At 17, he became the youngest player to participate in a World Cup final and the youngest to score a goal.

One of Pelé's many quotable sayings is, “Everything is practice.” His elegant, fluid, powerful style emerged as he worked hard and developed his amazing gift.

Paul told young Timothy, “Do not neglect the gift you have . . . Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep close watch on yourself and on the teaching.” (I Timothy 4:14-16a)



The character of our lives and the content of our beliefs and teaching both require ongoing practice, practice, practice.

Dan Bolin

Author & President

Refueling in Flight Ministries, Inc.

Approval Rating

Nº 232

weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - January 10, 2023

It is better to have God’s approval, than the world’s applause: there is a time shortly coming when a smile from God’s face will be infinitely better than all the applause of men: how sweet will that word be, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” - Thomas Brooks

We live in a world of opinion polls. Researchers gather data and analyze whether a politician’s or celebrity’s public approval rating is moving up or down. Anyone who wants to stay in office or remain popular is sensitive to the direction of their poll numbers. Decisions are often made based upon the anticipated impact on their approval ratings!

On matters of methodology, Paul was sensitive to ‘opinion polls,’ and adapted his approach as necessary to find common ground, build relationships, and start redemptive conversations. “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel.” (I Corinthians 9:22-23a)

But when it came to issues of morality and message, Paul threw caution to the wind and had no regard for the fleeting opinions of the people around him. He lived for an audience of One. He told the church at Thessalonica, “We are not trying to please men, but God, who tests our hearts.” (I Thessalonians 2:4b)

Oddly, the more we care about the approval of the world, the more we jeopardize hearing the ultimate assessment: “well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21)

Dan Bolin

Author & President

Refueling in Flight Ministries, Inc.

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More Like Barzillai in 2023

Nº 231

weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - January 3, 2023

Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb. - Winston Churchill

The older I get the more I admire Barzillai. He was a loyal friend to King David and when Absalom rebelled and David fled from Jerusalem, Barzillai came to his aide. David was stunned and vulnerable. The tide of public opinion favored Absalom yet 80-year-old Barzillai and some devoted friends risked their lives to provide food and supplies for David and his beleaguered soldiers.

Upon David’s victorious return to Jerusalem, he offered Barzillai a place in the palace where he could live out his days in comfort. Barzillai declined. “Why should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?” (2 Samuel 19:35b) But he did ask a favor of David: “Here is your servant Kimham, let him cross over with my lord the king.” (2 Samuel 19:37b) Kimham was probably Barzillai’s son or beloved servant.

I want to be like Barzillai because:

He was a loyal friend. He was generous. He stayed active throughout his life. He stood on God’s side despite the contrary opinions of his day. He was altruistic. He did not want to be a burden on others. He cared for the next generation.

My resolution for 2023 is to be more and more like Barzillai.

Dan Bolin

Author & President

Refueling in Flight Ministries, Inc.

Beyond the Manger

Nº 230

weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - December 27, 2022

All the Christmas presents in the world are worth nothing without the presence of Christ. - David Jeremiah

The world is moving on from Christmas. Special church services have concluded, presents are opened, food is eaten, and decorations are heading back into the closet. Some cultures extend the celebration; they wisely allow the Christmas joy to linger. But eventually, the festivities come to an end.

So, what’s next? What should we do in response to the wonder of Christmas?

In the early 1900s, John Wesley Work, Jr. and his son, Dr. John Works III collected and codified many African American spirituals. They broadened the awareness of songs like This Little Light of Mine, Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho, and the Christmas carol, Go Tell It on the Mountain. The chorus provides the simple yet critical instructions on what we should do following Christmas.

Go tell it on the mountain

Over the hills and everywhere

Go tell it on the mountain

Our Jesus Christ is born

The news is too good to box up and store away until next December. Like the shepherds of old who, “...when they had seen him, they spread the word...” (Luke 2:17a), share the wonder of Christmas on the mountains, hills and everywhere you go. Everything has changed for good. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, is born.

Dan Bolin

Author & President

Refueling in Flight Ministries, Inc

Teaching / Writing / Connecting are the three core areas of service Refueling in Flight Ministries provides. At the hub is the weekly devotional Refueling in Flight! Each week, for the past 230 weeks, Refueling In Flight has provided “Encouragement for the Soul” through 200-word, biblically based, insights. To maintain this encouraging devotional, we need your financial help. Any gift is greatly appreciated as we move toward our year-end goal of $45,000.

Watch Go Tell it on the Mountain with for KING & COUNTRY

Full Lyrics:

Go Tell it on the Mountain

by John W. Work, II

Refrain:Go tell it on the mountain,over the hills, and ev'rywhere;go, tell it on the mountainthat Jesus Christ is born.

While shepherds kept their watchingo’er silent flocks by night,behold, throughout the heavensthere shone a holy light. [Refrain]

The shepherds feared and trembledwhen lo, above the earthrang out the angel chorusthat hailed our Savior’s birth. [Refrain]

Down in a lowly mangerthe humble Christ was born,and God sent us salvationthat blessed Christmas morn. [Refrain]

Never Gold Enough

Nº 229

weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - December 20, 2022

Reginald Heber was only 42 when he died in 1826. He is primarily remembered for composing the majestic hymn, Holy, Holy, Holy. But often overlooked is his moving and insightful Christmas carol, Brightest and Best.

His third stanza paints a vivid picture of the Magi’s gifts to baby Jesus. In the following verse he reflects.

Vainly we offer each ample oblation,

Vainly with gifts would his favor secure;

Richer by far is the heart’s adoration,

Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.

Giving God money, service, or obedience is commendable, but ineffective in winning His approval. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh are never enough to curry God’s favor.

The heart of Christmas is not what we give to others or to God; rather the essence is what He has given us. Jesus explained the Christmas story to Nicodemus in simple, profound and familiar terms, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)



Gift-giving is a significant part Christmas, not because of the Wise Men’s model or to curry God’s favor, but because of God the Father’s magnanimous gift of His only Son.

Dan Bolin

Author & President

Refueling in Flight Ministries, Inc.

Listen to Brightest & Best with Keith and Kristyn Getty

Brightest and Best

by Reginald Heber

Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,dawn on our darkness and lend us your aid.Star of the east, the horizon adorning,guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.Cold on his cradle the dewdrops are shining;low lies his head with the beasts of the stall.Angels adore him in slumber reclining,maker and monarch and Savior of all.Shall we yield him in costly devotionrarest of fragrances, tribute divine,gems of the mountain and pearls of the ocean,myrrh from the forest and gold from the mine?Vainly we offer each ample oblation,vainly with gifts would his favor secure.Richer by far is the heart's adoration,dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,dawn on our darkness and lend us your aid.Star of the east, the horizon adorning,guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.

I Heard the Bells

Nº 228

weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - December 13, 2022

For many, painful memories suffocate Christmas joy. Loss, abandonment, or worries dominate what should be a time of celebration and delight.

Christmas 1863 found American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in grief-stricken depression. Two years earlier, his wife and mother of their five surviving children died in a tragic fire. His oldest son, severely wounded in the American Civil War, lay at home, fighting for his life.

In the depths of despair, Longfellow heard church bells and began to do what he did best: he started writing. The resulting poem later became the Christmas carol, I Heard the Bells.

One stanza rarely sung goes:

And in despair I bowed my head:

“There is no peace on earth,” I said;

“For hate is strong,

and mocks the song

Of peace on earth good will to men!”

Mercifully, the poem continues:

Then peels the bells more loud and deep:

“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good will to men.”

This Christmas, hear the bells, loud and deep, God is not dead, nor doth he sleep.

Like Jeremiah who, at the midpoint of Lamentations’ five chapters of despair, heard the bells and wrote, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

,Dan Bolin

Author & President

Refueling in Flight Ministries, Inc.

Listen to I Heard the Bells (with Casting Crowns)

Original Lyrics by Henry W. Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas dayTheir old familiar carols play,And wild and sweet the words repeatOf peace of earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,The belfries of all ChristendomHad rolled along th'unbroken songOf peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:"There is no peace on earth," I said,"For hate is strong, and mocks the songOf peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,With peace on earth, good will to men."

Till, ringing, singing on its way,The world revolved from night to dayA voice, a chime, a chant sublime,Of peace on earth, good will to men.

What Child is This?

Nº 227

weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - December 6, 2022

Deity is not to be explained but to be adored; and the Sonship of Christ is to be accepted as a truth of revelation, to be apprehended by faith, though it cannot be comprehended by the understanding. - Charles Spurgeon

The Englishman Willian Chatterton Dix suffered serious physical and mental challenges while working in Glasgow, Scotland. During a deep depression he began reading his Bible. In 1865, he encountered Matthew’s record of the Christmas story and penned the famous carol, What Child Is This?

What Child is this? Who is this baby who hinges the measurement of time from B.C. to A.D. and is forever memorialized in creche tableaus, surrounded by lowly shepherds and regal wisemen?

Joseph had the same question 2,000 years ago. Stunned by Mary’s announcement and considering his options, an angel calmed Joseph’s anxious heart and instructed him. “You shall give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21b) Matthew added Isaiah’s prophetic words from Isaiah 7:14,”...they will call him Immanuel—which means, “God with us.’” (Matthew 1:23b)

What Child is this? He is God’s Son who came to Earth to be with us, die in our place, save us from the penalty of our sin, and offer abundant life with Him forever.

The ultimate question of Christmas – and of the ages – remains, What Child Is This? Each of us must answer that question. And our answer makes all the difference.

Dan Bolin

Author & President

Refueling in Flight Ministries, Inc.

Expenses for Refueling In Flight Ministries will be about $45.000 in 2023. The major expenses are related to travel for teaching events. Dan’s travel plans for 2023 include training youth pastors in Italy and teaching one-week intensive courses in Christian camping at seminaries in India, and Myanmar. One-time gifts or monthly support are deeply appreciated.

Listen to What Child is This by Chris Tomlin

What Child is This

by William Chatterton Dix

Verse 1

What Child is this, who laid to restOn Mary’s lap is sleeping?Whom angels greet with anthems sweetWhile shepherds watch are keeping?

RefrainThis, this is Christ the King,Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;Haste, Haste, to bring him laud,The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Verse 2

Why lies He in such mean estate,Where ox and ass are feeding?Good Christian, fear; for sinners hereThe silent Word is pleading. Refrain

Verse 3

So bring Him incense, gold and myrrhCome peasant, King to own Him;The King of Kings salvation bringsLet loving hearts enthrone him. Refrain