The Chair

 For two decades I had a black office chair that survived moves from Lufkin, TX all the way to Seminole, TX and eventually in my little home office nook here in Weatherford. I sat in that chair to write prayers, sermons, blogs, and books. It served me well for these past twenty years. 

I loaded that chair and took it with me when I frequented the prayer cabin. I was seated in that chair when God inspired me to write the book 40 Days To Shake The City. We used that devotion book to prepare for the Shake The City Revival in Seminole that lasted 23 consecutive nights resulting in over three dozen people getting saved and baptized. 

I sat in that chair to write literally thousands of blogs since 2004. It served me well. 

I noticed over the past couple of years that the hydraulic left mechanism was compromised. It wouldn't stay in the highest position. Recently I tried to readjust it when it bottomed out. I could not get it to lift again. It felt like sitting in a kid chair at a grown-up table. I knew the time had finally come to replace it. 

I sat in multiple chairs at the store looking for the one that would serve as my captain chair for moments like this. I settled on a brown bonded leather one that we got a really good deal on thanks to Brenda's retail genius. We got the chair way below retail price. I wheeled it in the door yesterday afternoon. Due to a busy preaching schedule, I did not sit in it until this morning. 

Around 4:30 a.m. I perched myself in it, wheeled up to this home desk, fired up the computer and wrote my first blog from it about an ink pen. Now I am firing off a second one about this chair. If this chair lasts two decades like the last one, and if God graciously allows me to live that long and still be productive, I would be 77. What can God do in me and through me sitting in this chair over that span? 

My imagination begins to run wild. It is not about the chair. It is about the God encounters that await while seated in this chair. Private moments in the secret place. Fresh revelation from the Lord of Hosts. Inspiration upon inspiration to write in hopes to glorify God and help people around the world. 

This chair is more than a chair. It's command central for a ministry that has the capability to reach around the world. From this chair, seated before this computer God enables me to fulfill the Great Commission. [Matt 28:19-20]. I might not be able to travel around the world physically, but I can travel there in these writings. In the past few days, people have visited this site from Hong Kong, China, Switzerland and several other countries. Through the internet God is able to take His message around the world while still seated in this chair. That is an amazing thought. 

From this chair God can send out gospel messages that reach people I will never meet. Maybe someone will be Heaven because of something they read written from this chair, and they asked Jesus to save them. That is an overwhelming thought. From this chair, God can expand His ministry far beyond my lifetime. You see, this is more than just a chair. It is a captain's chair to jet me around the world to help people far beyond the sanctuary at Spring Creek. I can only imagine what God can do from this chair. 

Hundreds and possibly thousands of hours will be spent in this chair, praying, studying, researching, and writing. The thing that most excites me is the profound God encounters that await seated right here. The thrill of those moments defies my ability to describe. Holy moments. God ordained moments. Seasons that will be too profound to share. Other of those moments will spark my imagination into a world of wondrous words expressing ideas I could never come up with on my own. Those thoughts will lead to adventures that excite me all starting right here in this chair. 

This was more than just a purchase of some office furniture. This chair is a door into God's glorious unknown. The mystery and majesty of another world. From this chair perch God will give me a front row seat to behold His miraculous might, His creatively crafted plans, and His power permeating through heart and mind. Many of these moments will be indescribable. Some will be too profound for the printed page. Others will be preached and written. 

This morning from this chair God has inspired two blogs. May thousands more flow and follow from the throne of God into my heart and mind written and sent around the world to help countless others on their journey. May God get the glory for all of it from this brown bonded leather chair.