Jim Graff

As a pastor, I’ve stood at bedsides when someone has taken their final breath and stepped into eternity. It’s always a holy moment—a sacred tension between grief and awe. In those final seconds, words matter. People say what counts. That’s why each year as we approach Good Friday, I like to focus on the last […]

I read a heartwarming story recently about a father and his four-year-old son. They lived in the northeast, and one winter, got hit with a two-foot snowstorm. The father’s parents lived within walking distance, so he decided to walk down to check on them after the storm. When he told his wife his plans, the […]

As a pastor, one of the things I’m most passionate about people understanding is that Christianity is not just a philosophy—it’s a call into a personal relationship with God. The problem is that many people answer that call simply to secure eternity in heaven, without fully realizing what it means for their life on earth. […]

When I was 22 years old, I was graduating college and preparing to begin my life in ministry. Unfortunately, there was much more anxiety than expectancy in my heart, likely because the ministry path was still unfamiliar to me. Had God called me to coaching or law, I would have felt more prepared! As I’ve […]

Once on a mission trip, I walked through a city of a million people all living in cardboard boxes—they called it Cardboard City. I remember much about that city, but the main thing I remember was the stench. It was absolutely horrid.Surprisingly, what could have easily been the worst place I’d ever visited soon became the […]

Shortly after graduating college, a friend and I were invited to hold an evangelistic rally in Kampala, Uganda. When we arrived, we discovered they expected us to pay for everything—the platform, PA system, and advertising. The problem is—we only had $250 for five weeks!  After praying, we decided to invest $200 on a stage and marketing […]

A famous NFL coach used to tell his team, “Everyone wants to live on Easy Street, but the path to Easy Street goes through the sewer.” I love that—because it’s life, and it’s true! Few people in Scripture understood this reality better than Job. We find one of the most beautiful moments in his story […]

Matt Emmons was considered the greatest rifleman in the United States about twenty years ago. He won gold medals in the Olympics and was at the top of his game when in 2004, something happened that would overshadow all his achievements. He was competing in Greece and was favored to win. He was far ahead […]

Last summer, I was at the beach with my grandkids when I heard a man exclaim to his wife, “Honey! Someone stole our stuff!” I chuckled to myself and thought, “He must not be from around here.” Why? Because he wasn’t aware of the drift—the pull of the water slowly but surely taking him away […]

One week in college, I remember feeling especially burdened. I was trying to discern what God wanted me to give my life to post-college, all while keeping bills paid and assignments done.             At our Wednesday night church service that week, my pastor approached me.             “How are you doing, Jim?” He asked.             “Pretty good under the […]