When Jesus shows up at your door, what do you do? Do you kick into high gear, making sure everything is perfect? Or do you drop everything just to be with Him?

Hi everyone! I'm Paul Fowler, the Lake Forest Campus Pastor, and I'm excited to kick off this week's "Holy Habits" devotionals. We're diving into two essential—and seemingly opposite—practices: Sabbath and Service. And to help us understand the tension between them, we're going straight to a familiar story in Luke 10: the visit of Jesus to the home of Mary and Martha.

In this devotion, we explore:

• The classic tension between "doing" and "being"—between structure and free time, between serving and resting.
• Why Jesus gently corrects Martha, not because her service was bad, but because Mary had chosen "what is better."
• The crucial distinction: Mary wasn't praised because sitting is better than serving. She was praised because she sat at the feet of Jesus when He was right there, speaking to her.
• A simple framework for the week ahead: When is it time to sit in God's presence? And when is it time to serve in God's presence? Both are good. Both are necessary.

Whether you're a natural "Martha" who loves to get things done, or a natural "Mary" who cherishes quiet moments, this devotion will help you ask the right question: What is the Holy Spirit guiding me to embrace more fully in my walk with God right now?

Take a moment today to pray and ask God: Where do You want me to embrace rest? And where do You want me to embrace service?

Don't forget to like and subscribe so you don't miss the rest of this week's devotionals on Sabbath and Service!

What is the actual goal of spiritual disciplines? Is it to check boxes, read our Bibles more, and pray longer prayers? Or is it something—and Someone—entirely different?

Welcome back to our "Holy Habits" devotional series. In this video, Pastor Mike offers a crucial reminder: spiritual practices are not an end in themselves. The goal is not to become a "really disciplined Christian." The goal is to become the kind of person who naturally does what Jesus would do—bearing the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, and self-control.

In this devotion, we explore:

• How the children in C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia are transformed by their time with Aslan.
• Edmund's journey from selfishness and resentment to humility and courage—changed not by trying harder, but by meeting grace.
• Lucy's quiet, steady faith that allows her to be a truth-teller and persevere in goodness, even when others waver.
• The crucial insight that our growth is not just for our own benefit—it prepares us to be sent back into a broken world to serve at a deeper level.

In a world aching for people marked by peace instead of anxiety, and generosity instead of self-protection, the invitation is the same for us as it was for the Pevensie children: time with Jesus changes everything.

What might happen if you simply spent more time with Him?

Don't forget to like and subscribe so you don't miss the next devotion in our Holy Habits series!

How does spiritual transformation actually happen? Is it one dramatic moment, or is it something else entirely?

Welcome back to our "Holy Habits" devotional series. In this video, Pastor Mike continues our exploration of the spiritual practices that position us for God to do His transforming work. And to illustrate this, he turns to one of literature's most unlikely heroes: Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings.

In this devotion, we discover:

• The difference between behavior modification (trying harder) and true spiritual transformation (being changed by God).
• How Samwise, a simple gardener with no ambition for glory, becomes a person of noble character—not through one heroic act, but through thousands of small, faithful choices.
• The powerful moment when Sam realizes he can't carry Frodo's burden, but he can carry Frodo himself.
• A reminder from C.S. Lewis that every choice we make "turns the central part of you into a little different thing than it was before."

Transformation isn't about dramatic, overnight change. It's about the quiet accumulation of small steps in the right direction—choosing faithfulness, loyalty, and love, one decision at a time. This is what spiritual habits are for: they train us to make those small, right choices so that, over time, God shapes us into who He created us to be.

What small choice can you make today that will steer you toward God?

Don't forget to like and subscribe so you don't miss the next devotion in our Holy Habits series!

In a world of chronic noise and endless distractions, how do we actually create space to hear from God?

Welcome back to our "Holy Habits" devotional series! This week, we're diving into the twin practices of silence and solitude. In this video, Pastor Mike shares powerful insights from his own recent retreat and from Scripture about why being still is essential for spiritual growth.

In this devotion, we explore:

• The famous exchange between John Ortberg and Dallas Willard: When asked what we must do to grow, Willard's response was simply, "Ruthlessly eliminate hurry." His follow-up? "There is nothing else."
• Why silence isn't just the absence of noise, but a tactic for positioning ourselves to face God, face ourselves, and let the "RPMs of our soul" settle.
• The example of Jesus, who regularly withdrew from the crowds to be with the Father—if the Son of God needed this, how much more do we?
• A powerful metaphor from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, where Eustace tries to remove his own dragon scales and fails, until Aslan does it for him. This is the heart of spiritual disciplines: we position ourselves so that God can do the work that only He can do.

If you've ever felt too busy, too distracted, or too exhausted to connect with God, this devotion offers a simple, practical invitation to start—perhaps by going to bed a little earlier so you can spend just five minutes in silence tomorrow morning.

Join us as we learn to slow down and listen.

Don't forget to like and subscribe so you don't miss the next devotion in our Holy Habits series!

What if spiritual growth isn't about trying harder, but about positioning ourselves for God to do what only He can do?

Welcome to our new "Holy Habits" devotional series! Over the next several weeks, our Christ Church pastors will be exploring the spiritual practices and disciplines that help us partner with the Holy Spirit in the process of becoming more like Christ.

In this first devotion, we're joined by [Pastor's Name], who is fresh off a 48-hour silent retreat. He sets the foundation for the entire series by answering a crucial question: If we are saved by grace alone, why are spiritual practices so important?

In this video, you'll learn:

• The difference between our justification (saved by grace) and our sanctification (growing in grace).
• Why we can't simply "decide" to be better, but we can cultivate the soil of our hearts.
• How spiritual habits like prayer, silence, Sabbath, and community serve as a "counter-formation" to the hurry and distraction of our culture.
• A powerful analogy from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings about how small steps of obedience and faithfulness accumulate over time to reshape our character.

Whether you long for a deeper connection with the Lord or are simply curious about how to integrate ancient practices into modern life, this introduction will reframe how you think about your daily walk with God.

Don't forget to like and subscribe so you don't miss the next devotion in our Holy Habits series!

In this "Revelation" devotional, Senior Pastor Mike Woodruff explores the central and recurring call of the book: What does it mean to "overcome"?

The word "overcome" appears repeatedly in Christ's letters to the seven churches (Revelation 2-3), each time linked to a profound promise. Pastor Mike explains that in the New Testament, this victory is radically redefined. It’s not about achieving political dominance, military conquest, or seizing power. Instead, Jesus reveals that true overcoming looks like faithful endurance, sacrificial love, and unwavering loyalty to Him—even when it is costly.

This message centers on the shocking image from Revelation 5: the conquering "Lion of Judah" is revealed as a slain Lamb. Victory comes not through force, but through absorbing evil without becoming evil. Overcoming, therefore, is the call to live by the pattern of the cross: to remain steadfast in witness, resist the allure of false empires, and find our triumph in the faithfulness of Christ.

Join us for a transformative look at the Christian's call to be an overcomer in the way of the Lamb.

Don't Miss the Rest of the Series:
Watch the full "Revelation" Devotional series here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDrtLuCNhew7-vYFAjG0kGaDHsWMdEtot

Connect with Us:
Visit our website: https://christchurchil.org
More Revelation Series Resources: https://christchurchil.org/revelation

In this "Revelation" devotional, Senior Pastor Mike Woodruff examines a curious and easily overlooked detail from Revelation 21:1: in the vision of the new creation, "the sea was no more."

For those who love the ocean, this might initially sound like a loss. But Pastor Mike explains that in the biblical imagination—especially for the Jewish people—the sea was rarely neutral. It was a symbol of chaos, danger, separation, and the untamed forces of evil and trouble. From the formless deep in Genesis to the pounding waves in the Psalms, the sea represented everything that opposes God's order and peace.

When John writes from the isolation of Patmos, separated from his churches by water, this promise carries profound hope: in the new heaven and new earth, all barriers, chaos, and fear will be utterly gone. This isn't a geographical statement about missing beaches, but a theological promise of ultimate restoration where every threat is removed and God's people dwell in perfect security and peace.

Don't Miss the Rest of the Series:
Watch the full "Revelation" Devotional series here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDrtLuCNhew7-vYFAjG0kGaDHsWMdEtot

Connect with Us:
Visit our website: https://christchurchil.org
More Revelation Series Resources: https://christchurchil.org/revelation

In this "Revelation" devotional, Senior Pastor Mike Woodruff addresses one of the most famous and often misunderstood symbols in the Bible: the meaning of the number 666 from Revelation 13:18.

Pastor Mike cuts through the superstition and speculation that often surrounds this number, exploring its likely significance to the original audience. While some theories connect it to a coded reference like Emperor Nero, he emphasizes the powerful symbolism of numbers in biblical literature. The number seven represents completeness and perfection, so six—being one short—signifies incompleteness and imperfection. The triple repetition (666) intensifies this meaning, pointing to something that is utterly and profoundly fallen, a counterfeit of God's perfect reign.

More than a cryptic code to be cracked, this mark serves as a sobering contrast to the seal God places on His people. The core warning of Revelation is not about avoiding a specific numeric sequence, but about spiritual allegiance: whom will we worship? This message calls us to be marked by Christ through faithfulness, prayer, and community, so we can stand alert against deception and remain steadfast in worshiping the one true God.

Don't Miss the Rest of the Series:
Watch the full "Revelation" Devotional series here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDrtLuCNhew7-vYFAjG0kGaDHsWMdEtot

Connect with Us:
Visit our website: https://christchurchil.org
More Revelation Series Resources: https://christchurchil.org/revelation