Refraining from Anger
Thursday’s Verse:
From Psalm 37:8 ESV
“Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.”
Have you ever used a grammar check to fix up what you’ve written? Well, I have - for a long time. Grammarly has been my checker of choice for many years. It finds my dangling participles, those places where I should use a semicolon instead of a comma, and sometimes restructures my sentences so they make more sense. Much more recently, they’ve added an Artificial Intelligence checker to look over what you’ve written so that you can correct AI writing usage.
Well, that’s interesting, especially since I write all my own devotionals—some are more theologically structured (like yesterday’s), while others are more personal (like today’s). However, the AI checker in Grammarly contends, more often recently, that many of my sentences have “AI influences” and encourages me to rewrite them. What? This is nuts. Grammarly has pushed me to check other AI writing detectors; some have reached the same conclusion, but many others have not identified my sentences as AI-generated.
Thus, I scream. My blood pressure goes up. And if I had hair, I’d be pulling it out.
Frustration is something all of us deal with regularly. Whether it is an AI writing checker or the neighbor down the street who rides a loud motorcycle in the early hours of the day, each of us deals with frustration that takes our eyes off Jesus. As we discussed over the past two weeks in church, the important aspect of our Christian lives is to hold fast to our Savior, through good times and bad. But it also means that when we face stressful situations, our hearts cannot be turned away from God. Instead, our Lord calls on us to hold fast to Him.
Whether it is an AI grammar checker that tries to show you’ve used ChatGPT to write something or that pesky neighbor down the street, let each of us hold fast to our Lord and refrain from anger.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Almighty Father, be with me when I am frustrated and fall into temptation to be angry. Help me by Your Spirit to guide me and keep me on the pathway that leads to You. In Jesus‘ name, I pray. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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