TO HIM BE THE GLORY

THE GIFT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE JOURNEY D.J. WRIGHT, LICSW, ACSW

INTRODUCTION This is my story. The story of how I learned the gift of Jesus. I have debated long and hard about my capacity to write a coherent story about my spiritual journey. I wondered if it was worth telling, would it be of help to anyone and could I truly write in a non-clinical manner. I can only trust that if at least one person in the universe benefits from the information I have accomplished my task. In the grand scheme of the world I am but a flick of dust. Just an every day working person with the same life struggles as any. In no way am I perfect and I do have my shadow side. If asked I would call my self a Christian because that is what the world uses and people seem better able to understand the term. The problem with the term is the messy history of abuse that acompanys the name. As a knowledgable adult I have had a major battle to justify to myself why I should bother to give the religion any consideration except everything I tried or read brought me back to Jesus. I hate labels and in life I hate being boxed in, which in life is what labels do. But within the last several years I have relaxed with the label which came with a better understand in a very real experience with Jesus. I was raised in what my mother describes as a New England Methodist home. Thus, I have foundation. Yet with college I went my way. I came back to the foundation because the world is the wild wild west which my Methodist background did not prepare me to live in. As a psychotherapist I explored most of the therapies and worked with some of the most difficult populations out there. I found the middle class of the world are no different in their mental health issues than the poor. It was in my personal adjustment along with some very stressful clients

that I found myself lacking a personal peace. Therapy resolved much of the problem. When my therapist decided there was no reason for me to continue therapy I moved on only to find no peace when I sat down. It was this journey in search of peace that brought me back my Methodist foundation. I began going to a church with an excellent teaching pastor who encouraged self exploration and gave out reference materal. I loved the church. I loved the community work of the church, but as with all groups it had its challenges. So I made the decision to begin to visit and worship with other denominations. So thus begins the journey. It began with a hunger for a personal peace that I needed to survive and having tried all the interesting thing the mental health field offers I chose to seek out more spiritual offerings. It is this seeking that brought a very real encounter with the reality that the spiritual world is real and that it did impact me and others in the world. The book He Came To Set The Captives Free was my first encounter with mental health issues in a spiritual context. To much of what I read made real what I was experiencing with clients. It did not help that the auhor was a medical doctor. She wrote it like a case study. It was thru her book that I was introduced to the teaching ministry of Watchman Nee which introduced me to the spiritual side of the christian church. By spiritual I mean the church Jesus left on earth that is reflected in the Book of Act. Shocked and amazed it opened up a whole new world to explore. It is this exploration that has gone on for over 20 years and has brought the peace and power into my life that Jesus promised He would leave. This is the beginning of the gift. Man and women need to have an inner peace in order not to get lost in the wilds of the world. What follows is the how-to of the process of inner work I have done to grab hold of a nebulus concept i.e. Jesus . I had to grapple with the concept of God. I had a wonderful spiritual mentor who kept me anchored. In addition, I have had the pleasure of meeting and spending time with some of the most power spiritual Christians one could meet. Christians who live out their walk/spiritual displine with the peace and power Jesus promised. It

being in a class room where study built practice which brought experiences. Some of what I experienced is for another writing but I experienced the reality of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in too many tangable ways to be ignored. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the key to unlocking the experience and the spiritual maturation need to see the promises realized. The church of today seems to spend a lot of time on money, entertainment and raising mega churches, but I have learned to seek out the elders and spiritual churchs in smaller places. This is not to say the mega church do not have a place. Joyce Myers, Mack and Brenda Timberlake and Kenneth Copeland have been a great and effective source of help in many times of distress. But in my seeking I have found much that is closer at hand and that has afforded me the opportunity to get up close and personal that gives a different touch to the journey. The person who speaks power and blessings into your life and you walk out the door and what you need is right there or to find a church that has a healing anointing and you know when you leave what you seek had manifested. That is the church experience I went in search of and found. Now one might say it all of my doing and one can find anything they go looking for. I would say in many ways that is true. But truth for the church is not that nebulas and Jesus has a way of putting Himself in the picture that you know what is real and what is not. I belive some where in scripture God said His sheep know his voice. Well the jouney had to start some where and since I in many was an a overly educated clinical social worker who is going to ask a lot of questions then God had to meet me where I was at. Mentors, encounters and experiences and great books. What I intend to accomlish is to put the process of this still unfinished journey in a how-to manual form. I have spent time talking to young people who are grabing on to occult litature in the hopes that they can find quick fixes to their problems. I will say their problem arise because the adults in the world are not doing a great job of raising them with the unconditional love and attention they need and deserve to survive in the

world. Much of the litature they latch on to is how-to and formulas. Most of the ancient occult litature is in revised print and is accessible to anyone who wants it. One can purchase it in a book store and it downloadable from www-wild, wild west which is nothing but the world wide web. They know not what they are doing and can cause much mental harm to themselves. It was in my discussion with the youth that the Holy Spirit showed me I could use my journey and develop a how -to manual to depict a way to enter into an real experience with Jesus. All to many people have problems with Jesus because of the messy history of the christian church and have not a clue how to begin a serious search to find truth and understand. Whether one is involved with other religious displines or the occult it is still necessary to do the research and pray to intellectually and intitutively know what is real and effective and what is not. Many of the people I talk to will not enter a church and/or have had some serious negative encounters with christians. Thus, every day ways must developed to answer their questions and help them to experience the reality of Jesus. Jesus said he came to set the captives free and in Luke 10:17-20 He declared that he was giving us power over the enemy. This promise is repeated in Psalm 91. So after much pray the concept of a how- to manual evolved. It has been in the making for two years with a back and forth discussion with the Holy Spirit about why anyone would listen to me. I do believe Moses had that discussion some where in the bible. Well, I am here to tell you that the Holy Spirit won out. I trust readers know that Jesus said He would sent his followers the Holy Spirit who would teach us, that He is an anointing that is abiding in us (1John 2:27) and will teach you and the verses say a lot more. So this journey to write and publish this how- to manual begins. The title is appropritely called To Him Be The Glory inspired by scripture verse John 1:14. The subtitleThe Gift At The Beginning of the Journey reflects this golden nugget or gem of a revelation I have learn to far into the journey. I did tell God it would have been nice to know all this in a very real way the day the journey started and what it really

means. But the psychotherapist in me knows that the truth needs experience to be realized as a truth, then it can be brought as a reality to others. All too many people preach Christ and have not had the experience of Him in a real tangable way thus are unable cut thru the darkness people experience. If we can not cut thru the darkness we can not reach those most in need. Jesus's power is in the faith which bring in the experience thus the true revelation is realized. People say I am a strange Christian which is true. I use what I need to get people and especially the youth to think about spiritual development vs quick fixes. I talk about life styles and I talk about getting the knowledge you need to make an informed decision. This is especially needed when a young person is walking with an occult formula in their hand. When one wants to take something from a child something must replace it. I send them on a journey. Go seeking and after you have found then pray and make a decision. The manual is about helping people especially our youth to make an informed choic. The goal of the manual is to present information on how to establish a spiritual practice to enhance and empower a Christian lifestyle. The information will focus on the role of ritual, devotion, prayer, contemplation and meditation play in this endevor. It will include a book list at the end of each section. The occult population has television, www and books to which the youth are drawn. I have included in the list books inclusive of the five major religions that can be use to enhance understand of the spiritual themes addressed. I have found that with a well rounded reading list the Holy Spirt, who draw a person to Christ , has the manuvering room to challenge past knowledge and experiences a person presents. In addition, the sharing of web links and videos will be included along with a concluding biblography of the books in each chapter and some addition treasures. I preach Jesus and I trust that He has a plan for this work. I will write it as prayerfully as possible and hope the the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart will be pleasing in His sight. To him be the glory for ever and ever. In Jesus's name, Amen.

spiritual maturity.wordpress.com djwlicsw.tohimbetheglory@gmail.com copyright 2011 D. J. Wright, Licsw, ACSW