Happy new year? No, happy new world!

Word from the Center
Written By Dr. Gregory Seltz

Welcome to “Word from The Center” MONDAY, a devotional word from the Center of our faith, Jesus Christ, with reflections on His Word. I’m Gregory Seltz. Today’s verse is John 18:36, where Jesus says,   

My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.

Happy “Christ the King” Sunday! On this past Sunday many Christian Churches around the world celebrated the reign of Jesus Christ. The last Sunday of the liturgical church year commemorates His rule every year no matter what is happening at the moment. It reminds us that all things are moving ahead toward the final day when Christ will come again and judge the living and the dead. This Sunday Christians who follow a liturgical calendar then enter into a new church year. In so doing, they join all believers in celebrating the fact that Christ’s Kingdom is present now in this world. His Kingdom is here in the midst of worldly kingdoms that are passing away, but it is a radically different Kingdom, one of undeserved forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life as a gift of God’s grace. It’s a comfort to know that God is always at work to preserve the world so that He might offer entrance into His eternal Kingdom by grace through faith in Christ alone. Happy New (Church) Year! Yes, but, even more so, we yearn for a happy new world in Christ, both now and forever.

During this time of waiting, one of the hardest things to deal with is the apparent delay in Jesus’ return. What we know by faith, we don’t yet see with our eyes. There is still the reality of sin and pain in this world. Often Christians are tempted to believe that Jesus came into this world merely to make this sinful world “just a little better.” We are tempted to think that Jesus only wishes to give us a bit of grace so that we can change things ourselves or at least be empowered to endure them. Now it is true that trying to lead a moral and ethical life, and to serve our fellow human beings in Jesus’ Name can make this world better. But the Bible teaches that Jesus came to give so much more!

So, there’s real tension in being Christ’s people today. There’s the tension of living in the world as it is, and, at the same time, living under His gracious reign already now because of what Christ has done on the cross for us all.  It’s the reality of HIS Kingdom IN this world, FOR this world, but not OF this world. Jesus inaugurated that Kingdom His way, through the cross, so that all might receive it by grace, through faith, in Him alone.

Revelation 21 gives us a glimpse of His Kingdom in all its future glory. St. John writes,

[1] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had

passed away…. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling

place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

He alone “makes all things new!” And the day is coming when what we know is true by faith, will be true by sight as well. But, in the meantime, God calls us to receive Christ’s Kingdom by grace through faith. He calls us to share this Kingdom not by force (the way of this world), but by service (the way of His Kingdom). Jesus clearly differentiates His Kingdom from all others. He teaches us to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21). But Scripture also teaches that Caesar’s authority is given by God for God’s purposes, and not Caesar’s own (see Romans 13:1). Caesar’s authority, Pilate’s authority, and even the authority of our own politicians is real and intended by God to be beneficial, but it isn’t able to save. Instead, it is entrusted to them in order to preserve order in this sinful world so that the message of the Gospel, the message of the coming “new heavens and the new earth,” can be proclaimed for all to hear, calling all “out of darkness into (Christ’s) marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

May we never forget which Kingdom lasts forever. Yes, God now works through His Two Kingdoms. In one He aims to work through earthly authorities to bless and preserve; in the other, He saves, both for now and forever, in and through Jesus Christ. You can be a part of both His preserving and saving work for others. You’ll be glad that you did! Every “Happy New Year” lasts only for the year. But “Happy New World” will last forever!

PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, amidst all the distractions of this world, please keep my heart and mind on Your Kingdom, the Kingdom that lasts. AMEN.

See Also
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13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.

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21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” 23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

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The new report released this week by the Department of Justice’s Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias is a wake-up call. The task force, led by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, has produced one of the most, if not the most, substantive works of this administration. The report, entitled “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias within the Federal Government,” lays bare what is at the heart of the Left’s disdain for religious freedom: it is a clash of “worldviews” over abortion, gender ideology, and sexual orientation.

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37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

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10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

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28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

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July 2026 Prayer Partner Thursday
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JESUS – THE KINGPIN OF ENDURING LIFE!
JESUS – THE KINGPIN OF ENDURING LIFE!

Today’s verses are Matthew 10:34-39, where Jesus says,

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

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Marriage Provides Children with Balance

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We might say that the Obergefell mindset put surrogacy into hyperdrive. Gay married men tend to be financially well off, among the highest earners, at least as an overall average. But then they want children. The problem, at least as they might see it, remains that a child comes only from the union of one man and one woman. So, surrogacy is the answer. The questions then become, “Where do you get the eggs to go with the sperm? And whose womb will bear the child?”

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BULLETIN BLURBS JULY 2026
BULLETIN BLURBS JULY 2026

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WHY LIFE MATTERS!

Today’s verses are Matthew 10:28-33, where Jesus says,

28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

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Päivi Räsänen and the Trials of Christ
Päivi Räsänen and the Trials of Christ

What Päivi Räsänen . . . has gone through is more than almost all of us could endure, and she has done it with faithfulness and good cheer. Her crime? Speaking the truth about God's good creation, male and female. And she has spoken because she loves our heavenly Father and knows Jesus, the Bridegroom, as her Lord.

 

The trials have been farcical. Judges have shown themselves injudicious, and the press has egged them on. On what charges? If this doesn't stick, try something else. Everything she has said is dissected, misrepresented. Of what is she guilty? That matters not nearly as much as the fact that she must be found guilty, because she says things that are true, things that the secular elites would rather not hear. She has challenged their dogma. So it has always been. Say that Jesus is an insurrectionist, if we can make the charge stick. Say that Jesus is an enemy of Caesar, even if it ends up meaning that those who are said to be the leaders of Israel cry out, “We have no king but Caesar.”

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Dr. Gregory Seltz
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