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From the Pastor's Desk:
"The Real Test of Faith" 

October 09, 2025

A Note on Life’s True Metrics

Reference: KJV James 1:26-27

Dear Church Family,
 
As we prepare for the hustle and bustle of the upcoming holiday season, when nerves are frayed, tempers are short and we're preparing our gift lists, etc., I want you to consider a simple but profound theme as presented in the Epistle of James: What does genuine faith actually look like when it leaves the sanctuary?

In our modern lives, we often measure commitment (the sincerity and depth of a person’s religious or spiritual practice) by using external, observable metrics. These metrics may include attendance (the physical presence at services or events), effort (the visible work, volunteering, or religious labor), or even how well we can debate theology. James the Righteous offers a much more straightforward and challenging test.
  • “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.” (James 1:26, KJV)
James 1:26 tells us that true faith must control every aspect of our lives, especially our words. An inability to control one's tongue—through gossip, slander, boasting, or anger—is evidence that the heart has not truly been changed by God's Word, rendering our religious practice meaningless. 
  •  "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." (James 1:27, KJV) 
In biblical times, the "fatherless and widows" represented the most vulnerable and marginalized members of society. "To visit" means more than a quick stop; it implies caring for, providing for, and actively helping those in their distress. This shows that genuine faith is expressed through practical, unselfish love and service to those who cannot repay you.

And remaining “unspotted” means to avoid being compromised or polluted by worldly influences, and to maintain a life of purity and integrity.

This week, let's turn James’ wisdom into two clear, daily challenges:

The Two Daily Challenges

1. The Bridled Tongue (Our Inner Life Reflected Outward)

Before James mentions helping the needy, he focuses on restraint. The word for "bridleth" suggests the tight control a bit and reins apply to a powerful horse. In our digital age, this challenge is more crucial than ever:
  • The Practical Step: For the next 24 hours, commit to a "tongue fast." Before you speak a negative word about a person or a situation, troll someone online, or send a flaming text or email message, pause. That moment of control is where your faith proves its usefulness.
  • Engage in Self-Reflection: Is my conversation—in person, on the phone, or online—controlled, constructive, and kind? Am I quick to speak in frustration, gossip, or criticism.
2. The Reaching Hand (Our Outward Life Driven by Love)
 
James’ examples—the fatherless and widows—represent the most vulnerable and forgotten in society. "Visiting in their affliction" is not about sending a check; it's about active, relational presence in a difficult place.
  • The Practical Step: Look for one person this week who is struggling, and do one practical, quiet act of service for them that requires your time or effort, not just your money.
  • Engage in Self-Reflection: How am I actively engaging with the "affliction" of the world around me? It may not be orphans and widows today, but it is certainly the lonely, the sick, the homeless, the marginalized, or the family right next door going through an unexpected crisis.
Our Shared Purpose

True faith is not what we profess on Sunday, but how we conduct ourselves on Monday. A faith that changes how we talk, and compels us to act on behalf of those who can’t repay us, is a faith that is alive, undefiled, and genuinely acceptable to God the Father.

Let’s be a community committed to this pure and undefiled religion—a church known less for our self-proclaimed piety and more for the tangible love of Christ in our words and our deeds.

Blessings and peace,
Pastor Donald Bridgett