“And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.”
Mark 3:1-6 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/mrk.3.1-6.KJV
How to Start Making Decisions that Honor God
Think back to a decision you made that you now regret. We’ve all done things that weigh us down and make us wonder, “Why do I seem to do what I know is wrong?”
The apostle Paul knew what this felt like…
“I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.”
Romans 7:19 NLT
The apostle Paul described this as a struggle between our old and our new natures.
Our old nature is marked by a desire to do whatever seems pleasing to us in the moment, regardless of the consequences. And while this might feel freeing at times, it ultimately leads to conflict, chaos, and destruction.
Before Jesus’ resurrection, the Hebrew people kept this old nature in check by closely following the laws God gave to Moses. These laws were meant to help people draw near to God. But they didn’t fix human nature—they revealed humanity’s brokenness.
The law separated from God by revealing how far people naturally ...