{"id":9589,"date":"2015-11-26T13:43:37","date_gmt":"2015-11-26T18:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/?p=9589"},"modified":"2015-11-26T13:43:37","modified_gmt":"2015-11-26T18:43:37","slug":"book-review-seeds-of-turmoil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/?p=9589","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Seeds of Turmoil"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Seeds-Turmoil-Biblical-Inevitable-Crisis\/dp\/0785298436\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9590\" alt=\"0785298436.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/0785298436.jpg.jpg\" width=\"398\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/0785298436.jpg.jpg 398w, https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/0785298436.jpg-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/0785298436.jpg-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 398px) 100vw, 398px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;The Christian perspective on the Middle East is filled with hope. \u00a0It\u2019s \u00a0hope that comes from the trustworthiness of God\u2019s Word. \u00a0It\u2019s a hope that reminds us God is in control and that one day the jewel of the Middle East, Jerusalem, will truly be the center of all the world where Christ will reign on earth as He now reigns in heaven. &#8220;<\/em> Bryant Wright, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Seeds-Turmoil-Biblical-Inevitable-Crisis\/dp\/0785298436\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Seeds of Turmoil<\/em><\/a> (2011)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A few weeks ago, my dear friend Harriette and I were discussing the Middle East and the Holy Land. \u00a0She goes to Johnson Ferry Baptist Church which planted <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cedarcrestchurch.com\" target=\"_blank\">Cedarcrest Church<\/a> where our family attends. \u00a0She and I were discussing world history, politics, current events, and the Christian&#8217;s role in sharing the gospel with Muslims and others that God might place in our path. \u00a0My friend casually mentioned that she and her husband had picked up <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bryantwright\" target=\"_blank\">Bryant Wright&#8217;s<\/a> book <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Seeds-Turmoil-Biblical-Inevitable-Crisis\/dp\/0785298436\" target=\"_blank\">Seeds of Turmoil<\/a> recently at church. \u00a0Bryant is the senior pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church. \u00a0I had not heard of the book, but have always enjoyed Bryant&#8217;s preaching when he speaks at our church where his son, George Wright, is our senior pastor.<\/p>\n<p>Bryant has a deep love for the Holy Land and it comes through clearly as he shows pictures and discusses the current state of the Middle East as an extension of the book of Genesis and the story of Abraham. \u00a0As I write this review on Thanksgiving Day, I noticed through Bryant&#8217;s tweets that he is currently in Israel, a land that he deeply loves.<\/p>\n<p>I knew I&#8217;d enjoy this book and I sure did! \u00a0Even though I&#8217;m normally a very fast reader, this book took me several days to read as I was reading it alongside Genesis to watch the story of Abraham unfold. \u00a0I&#8217;d recommend this book to anyone that would like to learn more about the real issues that are taking place in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam in the Middle East. \u00a0What we are seeing now is only the beginning of a path that will ultimately lead to Jesus returning to His throne in Jerusalem where peace will once and for all come to the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>I highlighted a ton of things while reading and have posted those notes below&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The only way to understand the inevitable crisis in the Middle East is to go all the way back to Abraham, the father of three very influential faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.<br \/>\nAbraham is honored and even revered by many as a man of great faith. \u00a0Yet as faithful as he was, Abraham was guilty of a huge mistake in not trusting God at a key moment in his life. \u00a0At the time, it seemed like no big deal. \u00a0Yet we see the consequences of Abraham\u2019s sin almost daily in the Middle East. \u00a0That\u2019s what this book is about.<br \/>\nAbraham is where the seeds of turmoil began.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t think that Christ began with his birth in Bethlehem. \u00a0He always is, was, and will be.<\/li>\n<li>Had Abraham waited on God, trusted God, and obeyed the will of God, there would not have been an Ishmael or the deep-rooted turmoil we see in the Middle East today. \u00a0It all goes back to a \u00a0single decision by one man.<\/li>\n<li>See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to them and their descendants after them. \u00a0Deuteronomy 1:8<\/li>\n<li>Sometimes we simply have to trust that God\u2019s Word is true even when it is difficult to understand.<\/li>\n<li>God keeps His word. \u00a0His promises are true. \u00a0It happened with Abraham and Sarah and it would happen with Hagar and Ishmael. \u00a0Sometimes His timing is not the timing we would choose. \u00a0We tend to become impatient and cynical and lose faith. \u00a0But God\u2019s timing is always perfect\u2014He is always on time for His appointed time.<\/li>\n<li>For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. \u00a0But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. \u00a0Genesis 4:22-23<\/li>\n<li>God said to him, \u201cYour name is Jacob; You shall no longer be called Jacob, But Israel shall be your name.\u201d \u00a0Thus He called him Israel. \u00a0Genesis 35:10<\/li>\n<li>Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. \u00a0Galatians 6:7<\/li>\n<li>God sometimes take us through what theologians call \u201cthe dark night of soul\u201d so that when we see how sinful we are and see that God still loves us and offers us His forgiveness, in Christ we are forever changed.<\/li>\n<li>What happened to Nebuchadnezzar is reminder of what can happen to anyone puffed up with pride. \u00a0God will humble us and remind us that He is God and we are not.<\/li>\n<li>Thus says the Lord, \u2018Israel is My son, My firstborn, so I said to you, \u201cLet My son go that he may serve me\u201d\u201d Exodus 4:22-23<\/li>\n<li>There is a huge difference that Jews and Christians have over the Law. \u00a0Jews see the Law as guidelines to holy and righteous living\u2014a way of earning God\u2019s favor. \u00a0Christians see it as making us aware of how impossible it is to obey God in our own strength and thus convicting us of our need for a Savior who forgives us and transforms our hearts from within \u00a0Then through the leading of the Holy Spirit and teaching of the Word, we have an inner desire to obey God\u2019s law.<\/li>\n<li>God promised Abraham that He would build a great nation or people group from Ishmael. \u00a0What He did not explain to Abraham was all the long-term turmoil that would result from God\u2019s being merciful to Abraham despite his not waiting on God for a son.<\/li>\n<li>All this might seem like a crash course in world history, but to the biblical Jew and Christian, it is a reminder that God is orchestrating the events of history. \u00a0It seems that a man\u2019s political games and military victories determine the decisions, but God is in charge.<\/li>\n<li>The Christian Response:<\/li>\n<li>Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem<\/li>\n<li>Love Christ, and follow His teaching \u201cIf possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.\u201d \u00a0Romans 12:18<\/li>\n<li>Pray for Christ\u2019s return\n<ul>\n<li>The tension and hostility in the Middle East will continue between Jews and Arabs, between Jews and Muslims, between Israel and Muslim nations, between Muslims and Muslims until Jesus comes again to reign from his throne in Jerusalem over all the earth. \u00a0then and only then will there be true peace with perfect justice in the Middle East and in all the world.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>The Christian perspective on the Middle East is filled with hope. \u00a0It\u2019s \u00a0hope that comes from the trustworthiness of God\u2019s Word. \u00a0It\u2019s a hope that reminds us God is in control and that one day the jewel of the Middle East, Jerusalem, will truly be the center of all the world where Christ will reign on earth as He now reigns in heaven.<\/li>\n<li>Everyone who receives His grace begins a transformation that changes a heart of bitterness and revenge into a heart of grace that forgives those who killed their brothers and loves those who are their enemies. \u00a0For those who do this in the Middle East, the conflict ends\u2014one life at a time. \u00a0The seeds of turmoil are transformed into the seeds of love, forgiveness, and peace. \u00a0Yet because most will not, the cycle of hatred and violence will never end until the Prince of Peace invades history in person once again.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &#8220;The Christian perspective on the Middle East is filled with hope. \u00a0It\u2019s \u00a0hope that comes from the trustworthiness of God\u2019s Word. \u00a0It\u2019s a hope that reminds us God is in control and that one day the jewel of the Middle East, Jerusalem, will truly be the center of all the world where Christ will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,14,22,25,28,17,26,34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-study","category-book-review","category-cedarcrest-church","category-education","category-integrity","category-leadership","category-travel","category-truth"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9589\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}