Dan Bolin's Blog, page 21

Strategic Abundance

Nº 186 weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - February 22, 2022

Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of. - Charles Spurgeon

Two troubling dreams perplexed Pharoah. Seven healthy cows were gobbled up by seven scrawny cows. Seven plump heads of grain were consumed by seven emaciated ones. God revealed the meaning to Joseph who in turn delivered the message to Pharoah.

Seven years of abundance turned into seven years of scarcity. Feasting pivoted to famine.

Joseph was promoted to Vice-Pharoah and tasked to save the nation from the impending shortage of food. His strategy was simple: save during the good years to survive the lean ones. “Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.” (Genesis 41:49)

Saving for tough times involves more than storing extra food in a closet. Nutrition is only one of the things we can lack.

We all face dry spells, broken relationships, health concerns, financial setbacks, or unreasonable work demands. What we store away in the seasons of grace will sustain us during times of scarcity. Count your blessings, build community, study the Bible, establish disciplines, and memorialize God’s gracious gifts. During seasons of grace, store away the abundance that will sustain you during the dry seasons of life.

Dan BolinPresidentRefueling in Flight Ministries, Inc

The KEY to Success

Nº 185 weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - February 15, 2022

To become Christ-like is the only thing in the whole world worth caring for, the thing before which every ambition of man is folly and all lower achievement vain. Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion - it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ. - Henry Drummond

I lost a key. Somehow it worked itself loose from my keyring and disappeared. We found a master key and took it to the local hardware store to get a replacement made.

The worker attached my master key to the left side of a machine and fastened a blank key to the right side of the contraption. Using a tool, she traced the pattern of the existing key; her movements were mirrored by a grinder to her right. As she followed the original design, the blank key to her right was transformed into an exact replica of the original.

A useful duplicate requires a perfect master key. Fortunately, we have a flawless example to replicate. There is a Master Key, and His name is Jesus!

Matthew recorded a very personal account: “...he (Jesus) saw a man called Matthew sitting at a tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.’” (Matthew 9:9) As Matthew followed Jesus’ example, his imperfections gradually wore away.

In personal holiness, in loving, caring, gracious relationships, and in sacrificial outreach to those around Him, Jesus provided the example Matthew needed. And He exemplified the perfect model we all need to become more and more like the Master Key. Dan BolinPresidentRefueling in Flight Ministries, Inc

With Malice Toward None

Nº 184 weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - February 8, 2022

Though we cannot think alike may we not love alike? - John Wesley

This week we commemorate the 213th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, seen by many as the United States’ greatest president. I’ve been reading Ronald C. White Jr.’s biography A. Lincoln which details the amazing life of the 16th leader of our country.

One theme recurring throughout Lincoln’s life was his ability to hold strong opinions and win debates yet remain objective and conciliatory. He attacked ideas much more than people. White quotes Lincoln as saying, “If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend.” (p. 96)

Believing the right things is critical; we must never compromise the truth of God’s Word. Lincoln held his beliefs about slavery with strength and passion. But while reading Lincoln’s words I wondered, has the Church in America lost ground because of a poor message – or poor messengers? Are we more concerned with winning arguments or loving people?

Jesus – long before Lincoln – provided the simple yet powerful observation: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) Like Lincoln, we must commit deeply to the things that matter. God’s Word and people are eternal. They are both worthy of our love and affection.

Dan BolinPresidentRefueling in Flight Ministries, Inc

Pick up the Spare

Nº 183 weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - February 1, 2022

I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be. But still, I am not what I used to be. And by the grace of God, I am what I am. - John Newton

I’m not much of a bowler, but occasionally I roll a ball toward 10 pins, hoping to knock them down. Rarely do I upset the whole arrangement with my first try. Mostly I knock a few over and leave a few taunting me. At times, my ball finishes its route in the gutter accomplishing nothing!

Fortunately, I get a second chance. I’m given another try to flatten the ones still standing. The second try never attains perfection, but it gets me to a better place. Much of life is about picking up the spare. It’s about the second chance God provides despite our failings, disappointments, and mistakes. Jesus met a woman who had committed a serious sin and been caught in the act of adultery. Jesus protects her from the crowd seeking to make this error her last. He ends His encounter telling her, “Neither do I condemn you, go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:11b) Her misdirected life had careened into the gutter. Jesus showed her love, gave her a second chance, and moved her on a better life course. Strive for perfection but enjoy the second chances God provides. And go and sin no more.

Dan BolinPresidentRefueling in Flight Ministries, Inc

Where are You Looking?

Nº 182 weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - January 25, 2022

Two men look out through the same bars. One sees mud; the other sees stars. Rev. Frederick Langbridge

There is an abundance of negativity in today’s world. Political tension, military threats, economic turmoil, environmental concerns, racial divides, pandemic fears, violent crime, and natural disasters dominate the headlines. Everywhere we turn we are met with what the singers on the TV show Hee Haw once proclaimed as gloom, despair, and agony on me!

David faced an unknown threat, challenge, or danger. He began his prayer for help, “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.” (Psalm 16:1) He faced a real crisis, yet he looked toward the One who could provide a refuge from whatever assailed him. His peril was significant, but his Protector was supreme.

Perspective matters. The object of our focus makes all the difference. If we lock our attention on problems, we will easily become distressed and discouraged. However, if we redirect our thoughts to the One who provides hope, comfort, and peace, the world becomes an adventure and not a crisis.

A few verses later David writes, “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed I have a beautiful inheritance.” (Psalm 16:6) Remember God’s blessing and look at the benefits He provides. Focus on the Source of hope, not the crisis de jour.

Dan BolinPresidentRefueling in Flight Ministries, Inc

Drift Danger

Nº 181 weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - January 18, 2022

One of the most striking evidences of sinful human nature lies in the universal propensity for downward drift. In other words, it takes thought, resolve, energy, and effort to bring about reform. In the grace of God, sometimes human beings display such virtues. But where such virtues are absent, the drift is invariably toward compromise, comfort, indiscipline, sliding disobedience and decay that advances, sometimes at a crawl and sometimes at a gallop, across generations. People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, and obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. - D.A. Carson

I was minding my own business, cruising through a freeway construction zone, when I realized I had entered an exit lane. To one side, beyond the concrete barricades, I could see the freeway. Fortunately, I was heading in almost the right direction. Unfortunately, my pathway gradually swung farther and farther off course, moving me away from my intended destination. We rarely make a willful choice to go in the wrong direction. Usually, we just drift into an incorrect lane of bitterness, greed, lust, or entitlement and in the end find that we have coasted way off course. Saul started out as a great king, but his pride, fear, and ambition led him off God’s pathway. He drifted onto a course that guided him away from God’s design for his life of national leadership. His self-assessment near the end of his reign is tragic: “Then Saul said, “I have sinned . . . Surely I have acted like a fool and have erred greatly.” (I Samuel 26: 21) The simple yet profound strategy to avoid drifting off course is to stay in the correct lane, and there is only one. Follow Jesus – the way, the truth, and the life.

Dan BolinPresidentRefueling in Flight Ministries, Inc

In the Ups and Downs

IN THE UPS AND DOWNS Nº 180 weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - January 11, 2022

Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light. - Helen Keller

Two of the Bible’s toughest commands are inseparably linked: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15) Rejoicing is hard when the promotion goes to a co-worker, your neighbor parks her shiny new car next to your old clunker, a friend catches the biggest fish, or when everyone raves about your co-host’s dessert and no one mentions yours. Likewise, when we hear of a friend’s pain, we have the tendency to avoid engagement. We rationalize, they probably don’t want to hear from me. Or I’ll give them a little time, room to grieve. Or I have enough trauma of my own to deal with. However, the command is clear; we are told to stay engaged in people’s lives during the good times and the bad. Relationships matter. Don’t minimize the joys that fall to friends, and don’t shy away from others’ trauma In 2022, invest in relationships during the humdrum of everyday life. The friendships you build in the day-to-day will be the platform from which you can show God’s love and speak God’s truth during the highest highs and lowest lows. Multiply the celebrations of others and support them during times of deep despair.

Dan BolinPresidentRefueling in Flight Ministries, Inc

New Beginnings

Nº 179 weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - January 4, 2022

Of all persons the Christian should be best prepared for whatever the New Year brings. He has dealt with life at its source. In Christ he has disposed of a thousand enemies that other men must face alone and unprepared. He can face his tomorrow cheerful and unafraid because yesterday he turned his feet into the ways of peace and today he lives in God. The man who has made God his dwelling place will always have a safe habitation.A. W. Tozer

January’s name comes from the mythical Roman god Janus. He had no known temples built in his honor, but gates in numerous cities bore his name. He was thought to be the protector of time and transitions and the one who watched over passages of life. He is usually portrayed as having two faces - one looking back and the other looking ahead.

The hurts of the past and the hopes for the future collide in the present.

The Apostle Paul understood the significance of the past, present, and future. He told young Timothy, “...forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13b-14)

Yesterday is in the past. Forget what is behind – your sin, pain, hurt, victories, honors, and accolades.

Tomorrow is secure. Strain toward what is ahead. The hope of eternity with Christ Jesus who comforts and inspires us.

Today is for decision. Press on. Choices become real in the now.

Enjoy 2022. Today is all we have. Learn from the past. Hope for the future. But press on each day to love and serve God and others.

Dan BolinPresidentRefueling in Flight Ministries, Inc

Extending Christmas

Nº 178 weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - December 28, 2021

The immense step from the Babe at Bethlehem to the living, reigning triumphant Lord Jesus, returning to earth for His own people - that is the glorious truth proclaimed throughout Scripture. As the bells ring out the joys of Christmas, may we also be alert for the final trumpet that will announce His return, when we shall always be with Him. - Alan Redpath

Joseph and Mary took baby Jesus to the Temple to present him to the Lord. As they entered the Temple court a devout and righteous man named Simeon approached them. God had assured Simeon that he would not die until seeing the Messiah. And God’s Spirit had prompted him to visit the Temple that very day. When they met, Simeon took Jesus in his arms and prayed, “,Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32) Onlookers might have assumed a grandfather was adoring his grandson or an old man was blessing a new baby. They missed the grand moment. Simeon’s prayer states that God’s salvation had been prepared in the sight of all people. But apparently, Simeon was the only one looking for the Savior. As the Christmas tree comes down, decorations stored, and celebrations subside, extend the season. Keep looking for Jesus – remember, He is ,“our salvation . . . a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

Dan BolinPresidentRefueling in Flight Ministries, Inc

Joy and Pain

JOY AND PAIN Nº 177 weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - December 21, 2021

Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that He gave His only Son. The only requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life. - Corrie Ten Boom

John 3:16 captures the essence of Christmas – and so much more. “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) Parents know the joy and pain of sending their children off to the first day of school, the first week of summer camp, or their first year of college. Joy and sorrow intermingle as their children face new opportunities and potential perils. I cannot help but think that God the Father felt similar emotions as his Son stepped from eternity into time and became the God-Man. The Father’s exhilaration, joy, and love were tempered by the reality that in a mere 33 years, a merciless execution awaited His Son. The joy of Christmas can never be separated from the agony of Good Friday or the victory of Easter. Christ’s entry into the world is cause for celebration; the angels cheered! But Christmas should also prompt us to reflect on God the Father’s love. This Christmas take time to reflect on both the joy and pain of the simple message, “for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.”

Dan BolinPresidentRefueling in Flight Ministries, Inc