Fr. John Whiteford continues his exploration of the Psalms of Ascent with Psalm 123.

Fr. John Whiteford continues his exploration of the Psalms of Ascent with Psalm 124.

Fr. John Whiteford talks about the name of Jesus in context of Matthew's genealogy (Matthew 1:1-25).

Fr. John Whiteford tells of the life of St. Nectarius.

Fr. John Whiteford continues his journey through the Psalms of Ascent with Psalm 126.

Fr. John Whiteford preaches on Zacchaeus.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon from July 7, 2024.

What can we do with the anxiety that creeps in on us? Angela finds sorting anxiety like sorting laundry on this episode of The Wilderness Journal.

Trust is a foundational building block of any relartionship. Without it there simply is no way to have anything more than some superficial connection. But trust requires risk. And we humans avoid risk most of the time. Jesus challenges us to risk trusting Him.

When faced with a life-changing forgiveness of a huge debt, this man in our Gospel Lesson revealed his own wicked heart by not showing that same forgiveness and mercy to his fellow servant. It did not end well for that wicked servant. And it won't end well for we who refuse to forgive from the heart!

We hear it all the time - God loves you - but our modern world has so lost the depth and beauty of God's love, we are in danger of emptying this profound truth of its powerful meaning. Today we look at a familiar passage of scripture with new eyes, with God's eyes, and what we discover is life changing!

Jesus uses seemingly harsh language when a father brings an epileptic son to the Lord for healing. But it's only because it's only this kind of language that can break past the selfishness of our own hearts to teach us how to have faith the size of a mustard seed!

There wasn't a Jew within the sound of Jesus' voice when He said if any man would be my disciple, he must take up his cross... You see, there's only one use for a cross, and that's for an execution. The Christian message invites us not only to follow Christ but to die to everything that isn't like Christ in our lives. That's what it means to "bear your cross!"

When Jesus shares the parable of the man who invited his friends to a banquet and they all made excuses as to why they couldn't come, the Lord put's these words in the man's mouth: "None of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet." When God invites you to be at His Banquet, will you make an excuse?

The distance between what I know and what I do causes such frustration in my life, and the confusion of seeing the world, the nation, the community, the family I love suffer due to the weaknesses of all of us causes even more frustration. But, in the end, this frustration flows from my own broken life!

Jesus Gives us the 5 fold Ministry of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers to help us get used to the Eternal Light of His presence so we will enjoy being with Him!

I would argue that when it comes to making money online, the most important skill you need is not in being able to find untapped niches, knowing how to do A/B testing, creating attractive websites or even having a great ability to write. Instead, the most sought after skill in my eyes is being able […]

The post 6,595 Words on a Traffic Generation Tactic You’re Not Using (But Should Be) appeared first on ViperChill.

Copyblogger has long been one of the most authoritative blogs on copywriting and content marketing. While they used to reveal their most popular blog posts in their sidebar (sorted by most comments) it seems that is no longer the case. But what if it was? What if you could analyse any blog and see which […]

The post 13 Advanced Link Building Strategies You (Probably) Haven’t Used appeared first on ViperChill.

Michael describes an Orthodox understanding of why we should care for the environment, and what the story of Cain and Abel teaches us about this important issue.

Being spiritual and having no religious affiliation is a rapidly increasing segment of society. We hear people say they’re spiritual but religious all the time, but what does it really mean? How do people understand “spiritual” and “religious” when they describe themselves this way? Join Michael as he thoroughly explores this topic and shares personal examples and insights to help us understand this growing movement.

St. Porphyrios wrote, “Whoever wants to become a Christian must first become a poet.” Most of us are not poets so does this preclude us from being true Christians? Join Michael as he explores God’s poetic and artistic nature and how to understand and connect to Him through the divine language of symbol, beauty, and our own personal artistry even while living in a culture dominated by utilitarianism and reductionism.

Join Michael as he examines trauma and traumatic episodes from his life, and explores how to use them to develop a deeper trust in God.

Join Michael in a discussion of some of the spiritual pitfalls we can fall into during Great Lent if we are not careful and attentive to its true purpose

Join Michael in a discussion of God’s goodness versus our own goodness, and why the prevalent cultural belief of many that all you have to be is a good person is results in so many unintended consequences.

Fr. Seraphim speaks about losing hope and temptation and how it is not a sin until we act upon it. He goes into detail about our salvation and the difference between falling into sin and being tempted.

This is not about religious regimentation, nor about brainwashing ourselves into believe doctrines that are foreign to our nature, nor about abandoning our will to become the puppets of a master, nor about denying oneself and losing one's identity. Being a Christian is about following the God of Love onto our own cross, mirroring His Cross, so we may discover who-we-are-in-Love and what this world looks like when saved by Love.

Fr. Seraphim Aldea helps answer the question "Will we ever reach the holiness of the Saints?".

Why do we forget all the beautiful things God teaches us in our life? How come we cannot hold on and remember all the advice God speaks to our hearts, either in prayer or through the people and circumstances of our lives?

A lot of people around us suffer from the physiological pressures of this pandemic. Some were suffering before it all started, others have only now found themselves facing this struggle. The point is that there are SO MANY among us who suffer quietly and unknown by anyone. We MUST open our eyes to see them. St Silouan tells us that a loving, prayerful heart naturally feels the pain of the world and willingly crucifies itself in prayer for the world. We must close the judgemental eyes of our minds and open the loving eyes of our hearts, so we may perceive the silent pain in our brothers and sisters. Once we see it, we must do what Christ teaches us to do: lift their cross on our shoulders and carry it for them. At least for an hour. At least for a day. It may not be much, but it will allow them a respite from the lonely hell of a mind in pain.

My will or God's will? The will of the world and that of our families have become components of our own will. To discern and follow the will of God, we must free ourselves from the dominion of these three: the will of the world, the will of our immediate circle of family and friends, and our personal will. The best teacher for this is the wonderful St John of the Ladder (of Sinai).

Why is God so interested in what we do in the bedroom? Why is the Church so keen that we should learn to control our bodies and their passions? Why can't we just focus on the spiritual side of life and live as spiritual beings?

We often gather our forces to fight our spiritual enemies at the wrong 'gate' of our being. Most frequently, evil enters our life through the gates of our mind and heart, not that of the body. We need to pay attention and learn the behaviour of the evil one, so we may guard well the fortress of our being. Once we learn to decode his behaviour, we can finally begin to plan a strategy to fight back.

Why can't we just focus on the spiritual side of life and live as spiritual beings? Why is the Church so keen that we should learn to control our bodies and their passions? Does God even care what we do with our bodies?

The devil wants us to forget him. His ultimate success would be to make us believe that he is not even real, that he is just the product of our imagination. Once that happens, the flood-gates of sin are wide open in us and our salvation is in great danger.

The story of a miracle: how God healed me and then poured a mountain of grace over us was recorded by Fr Seraphim (Aldea) at Mull Monastery (The Orthodox Monastery of All Celtic Saints), on the Isle of Mull.

How to Fight Evil from our Hearts in a World of Lies and Confusion (w/ Fr. Seraphim Aldea)

Jesus Christ: The Only Path to Salvation (w/ Fr. Seraphim Aldea)

Reading versus Lived Experience of Jesus Christ (w/ Fr. Seraphim Aldea)

As a freelance writer, you’re going to run into a lot of clients that are petrified by the idea of plagiarized or stolen content. That fear is not without reason. Search engines are capable of sniffing out plagiarism or duplicate content and they penalize the blogs and websites that engage in it. That fear of […]

The post Why You Shouldn’t Use a Plagiarism Checker as a Freelance Writer appeared first on Leaving Work Behind.

You can run into the most amazing and interesting blog on the web, only to find out it’s a chore to navigate. When it comes to websites, good content alone doesn’t make for success – the entire experience needs to be enjoyable. Think about your blog as a library. It needs to be inviting, easy […]

The post How to Design a User-Friendly WordPress Blog appeared first on Leaving Work Behind.

These days, anyone can start a blog or create a simple website in a matter of hours. However, getting that website to work and look just the way you want it to takes a lot more time. Most people don’t realize that and end up giving up long before the work is done. If you don’t have […]

The post How to Create a Blog or a Freelance Writer’s Portfolio Using Propel Site appeared first on Leaving Work Behind.

What is the proper relationship in Orthodox marriage? Can such a thing as rape ever occur?

Fr. Steven Ritter says with wars and rumors of wars hovering over society, this is a question we should reflect on.