Today, more than ever, good friends are needed. One of my favorite people in the world is my friend John Waters. He is one of the most incredible people I've ever met, and I appreciate him dearly. John is the Lead Pastor at Elevating Life Church in Fort Morgan, Colorado, where I'm the Senior Pastor. My friendship with John guides us to the Wonderfully Weird Command: Keep My Commands. A command, if applied, will develop the character trait of "Diligence" and destroy "Slothfulness."

There are many reasons I appreciate John and love him. He is intelligent, thoughtful, and caring, to mention a few of his outstanding traits. However, one of his most endearing qualities is his love of sloths. Yes! The adorable animal – the sloth. And I get it because they are cool, like John. It's a bit ironic, though, since it's the opposite of the lousy character trait of "Slothfulness," a habit John expresses little of and avoids at all costs. Like Jesus, one of John's most remarkable traits is diligence.

Diligence is the opposite of slothfulness or laziness. For the Christian, this means to strive, first and foremost, to diligently learn the teachings of Christ to build a Christ-like character. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15)." If you love Jesus, you can't be slothful with his essential teachings, principles that rebuild "Good" character in you to meet the demands of reality.

What is the most effective way to keep Christ's commands? There is no easy way; the best way is to keep them before you and memorize them. You do so to get them into your heart, where they become second nature to who you are. We see this in John 15:7, where Jesus said, "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you." A reality both the Apostle John and my good friend John understand. If you want good character, you must be diligent with the Good Shepherd's teachings that I call the Wonderfully Weird Commands of Christ.

Without a doubt, John Waters is a good friend. However, as good of a friend, as he is, Jesus is a better friend. So great, I call him my best friend through diligently learning His teachings and applying them to life. A life where I get to be friends with people like John who together Jesus says, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you (John 15:15, NIV)." So, with this devotion, I say "Thank You!" to both friends, John and Jesus, for being great examples of good character in my life, temporarily and permanently.  

With great appreciation, 

Pastor Drake