Weekly Devotion July 13 2026

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission

Bible Study Verse: Ephesians 6:1-4 -- Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”[a] 4 Fathers,[b] do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (NIV©) 

Thoughts: I have this dog, a really big labrador retriever. He’s going on five years old this fall and lately I’ve noticed him going through what I call his teenage years. He’s a prankster and will often retrieve his ball only to throw it on the ground right in front of me rather than put it in my hand. Sometimes he’ll do these two or three times before handing me the ball (it’s actually kind of funny to see). But he also knows I won’t throw the ball again until he brings it to me and literally places it in my hand. My response? I hold my hand out until he puts the ball in it as he is supposed to. Sometimes I have to remind him verbally to give me the ball, but not in a harsh manner where it would discourage him from retrieving it properly. When he does there is always a few words of praise. 

Action Point: The Father not only wants us to love Him, but He also desires that we obey Him. Where do we learn what God expects of us? In the pages of the Bible. I like to read the Gospels where Jesus is doing a lot of the talking because His words are really important. So are Jesus’ examples. Jesus always obeyed the Father and always did what pleased Him. If we follow Jesus’ example, we, too, will behave in a manner that will please the Father. What pleases God you ask? As Jesus said, to love the Father with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. 

Sportsmen’s Tip of the Day: My experience is that a dog will respond far better to reward rather than punishment. Yes, occasionally punishment is appropriate, but be careful that you don’t punish harshly and break the dog’s spirit.