1 Chronicles 28:9

And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

One of my favorite aspects of the Masters tournament is seeing many of the past winners returning to the course. Amazingly, many of the older guys are still able to put up at least one respectable score. Fred Couples, no matter the condition of his back, is capable of posting a sub 140 total for the first 2 rounds guaranteeing him a spot on the weekend. The older guys know all the contours of the putting greens and fairways in ways the caddie cheat sheets cannot imagine. Much knowledge and wisdom can be gleaned from the generations before us. David knew his time was drawing nigh. Even though he made mistakes, he was faithful to God and learned from each failure. David’s advice to his son Solomon is insightful. His first advice was to know God. It is only then we are able to serve with a perfected heart and a willing mind. When we have a relationship with Christ, our heart is perfected. We have to remember that only the heart and spirit is perfected when we accept Christ – our mind and bodily flesh is not. They are still susceptible to fleshly desires and gain. The heart directs us, but we must have a willing mind to put it forth into action. In the verses that follow, David gives Solomon very specific instructions as to how to build the sanctuary. My prayer is to not only heed the advice of my elders, but also leave behind specific instructions for the generations to come. We know where the dangers of life hide. We realize the importance of faithfulness to Christ in having dedicated prayer life and a desire for regular worship at a local place of worship. Pass on this advice in both word and by the way we live our life. “Always preach Jesus, sometimes in word!”