08/14/11 My comments about… and excerpts from Daryl Kraft's, “A Different Place” . by Merwin

The first two chapters of Daryl’s book consist primarily of God’s precious testimony of what went in to the making of Daryl.

The read is an indispensable foundation for the rest of his work and is a source of reference for nearly every chapter that follows. I believe all readers will identify immediately with what is found there, but it is too large to be included here.

I hope that I am not doing you, Daryl, or Jesus a disservice by providing a mini synopsis of it for the sake of brevity.

In the first chapter Daryl shows us his beginnings with the truth of God’s grace, and how it delivered him from the bondage of legalism.

It is a rich display of the poignant tenderness that God used through the graceful passing of Daryl’s dear cousin, and the contrasts of Daryl’s own beliefs and torments under the heavy yoke of the performance mandate.

The second chapter illustrates the transitions, some immediate, and some not so immediate, from his previous understandings of what an angry God expects from those children he saved, to a loving Father who is gentle in his corrections.

Daryl displays for us the merciful kindness and care he received in the deliverance he received by our Comforter, our Prince of Peace.

It is from the remaining pages that I will draw excerpts and from them make comments, beginning with page 36. It is in this first excerpt that I have selected, that Daryl shows the all too common bondage that most children of God suffer under…

" Many hold differing beliefs about salvation.

There are lots of concepts out there about what salvation is and how it is obtained. For some, an intimate notion of a personal salvation is a quaint concept of little relevance; while for others, it is a life-changing event of par with the miracles of scripture. Why is this so? How can this thing referred to as “salvation” be a dusty intellectual abstraction to one person and a rdical life-altering event to another?

Let’s take a moment to consider the the panoramic spectrum of Christianity’s denominational beliefs. Some choose a humanistic approach and do good deeds. Others rely on formulaic prayers. Still others view salvation from an institutional framework such as belonging to a particular church, while many more live under the fearful burden of conditional salvation – that is , to be sure you have no unconfessed sin in your life when you die.

As for my background, I was raised my entire life in one of the evangelical churches. The meaning of salvation was ingrained ito me from childhood. Of course, there was much jargon bantered about, such as: “death on the Cross,” “forgiveness of sins,” and “it’s a free gift, but you have to be willing to accept it.” All of it meant one thing to me: Salvation was the “ticket” that would get me into heaven when I die. And as a young person growing up, the use of that so-called ticket felt like a long way away!

As I grew into adulthood, I increasingly suffered the nagging worry over whether my so-called ticket would actually work in the turnstile when I got there. Th the journey between salvation and heaven, I was taught to live a sanctified life, raise obedient children, witness to all who would listen, and show evidence of salvation is scores of different ways. How well I tithed, attended services during the week, served on committees, avoided immoral thoughts, and won souls to Christ were all monitored, like an internal scoreboard, as evidence of the “fruit of the Spirit” in my life.

The pendulum would swing back and forth, but when the internal scorecard looked skimpy on the side of my efforts for God, the worry would grow urgent that perhaps I had lost my salvation, or was never truly save in the first place. I began to question whether I had been “willing enough” when I prayed my salvation prayer or whether I did so correctly. Salvation may have been the so-called “ticket” to get to heaven eventually, but in my daily experience, it was more like a grueling roller coaster ride."

This book provides so much liberating truth that I am surprised that Daryl was able to display it in one average sized book. It is a very peaceful, easy read, that utilizes the Word of God to set his children free.

In the following installment I will take up where we left off, and ultimately I hope to get through his entire book.

I will also be putting these in my blog at Hubpages so they will be archived there for future reference.