Dr. Albert Schweitzer accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. He was a medical missionary who spent most of his life in central western Africa. Not only was he accomplished in the medical field, but in the fields of theology and music as well. It was said that he received the award because of the great reverence for life that he...
I don’t know how your life is, but there have been times in my own life that I struggled with the same area time after time after time. It can be frustrating when we know God can help us change for good, but it’s just not happening. When that happens, I’ve found it usually comes down to one thing: until we...
My grandfather was a farmer, so I picked up on quite a bit about farming, especially for a guy who is not really one to work with his hands… unless it involves throwing a baseball or swinging a bat, of course. During the summers I spent at my grandfather’s house, I learned a few things about seeds that have not only...
Every day, people do things with the hope that it’ll change their life like a new diet plan, a new exercise regimen, a new family devotional, buying a ticket at the lottery, and the list goes on. Most of the time, these things don’t do as much for us as we were banking on. But I have found something that will....
Today, I’m an avid coffee drinker. But as a kid, I hated it because I had heard it stunted your growth. With a mom and dad both under 5’6”, I wasn’t about to hurt my chances! I drank my first cup at 44 years old, when I battled Hepatitis C and had to endure a difficult 12-month interferon treatment. My wife...
We always re-think our choices on the other side of consequences; it’s just human nature. Maybe we lose our temper with our spouse, and then, when we’re cold on the couch that night, we regret our decision. Maybe we’re required to take a risk in order to see our dreams come to pass, but instead we let fear paralyze us and...
Get the Recipe Right by Jim Graff Growing up, I had a huge extended family. My mom and dad had eight siblings each, which meant a lot of cousins for me! Every year, from Christmas Eve to New Years’ Day, we would visit every single house. That meant that you could gain 25 lbs. over the holidays if you wanted! One year, one...
How to Get Your Prayers Answered by Pastor Jim Graff I’ve been a pastor for 30+ years, so over time, I have heard quite a few definitions of prayer. Out of all of them, there are two that have really hit home with me. The first one comes from a Bible dictionary that I like. It says that prayer is man’s utter...
Preparing Your Church for Immeasurable Impact by Pastor Jim Graff One aspect I love about the ministry is how impossible it is to calculate our eternal worth. In Luke chapter 6, Jesus talks about our call to give to others and describes our return as being good measure and running over. None of us will ever know fully what our efforts have...
Authentic Praise Honors God and Builds Churches Too! by Pastor Jim Graff As a young pastor in training, I heard my father-in-law, the late John Osteen tell an interesting story. He described a worship service that one of the church businessmen brought his attorney friend to. The businessman was concerned that the worship might be a little too exuberant for this dignified attorney. ...