God forgives easily, by just opening Him the door of your soul( Elder Ephraim of Arizona )

How easily God forgives ! 

This will happen by just opening Him the door of your soul . God does not expect any reward for what he gives people . Even though your sins are millions or billions , for God counts zero . What does a small amount of sand in the ocean worth . All the sins of the world is simply a virus in the ocean .

There is no sin that wins the mercy of God . Thus , the sins of man are zero . When the child returns to the bosom of the Lord , always ends in front of mercy .


Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Cry out the name of God; He is ready to help everyone who asks.

Cry out the name of God; He is ready to help everyone who asks. Do not forget the prayer; man’s entire being is sanctified by the prayer. It is the only thing which those who do not struggle to the point of shedding blood are unable to do. What is more beautiful than prayer! Whoever prays is enlightened and comes to know the will of God. And how does he know it? When he prays well, of course. And when does he pray well? When he sends his prayers to God with all the right ingredients. And what are the ingredients that make prayer savory? Humility, tears, self-reproach, simplicity, and especially obedience with love. Prayer sheds light, and this light shows the right path which God wills. The prayer should be said without flagging; by praying thus you will remain invulnerable on all sides. When you find yourselves in a state of passionate thoughts, resume the prayer eagerly and assiduously, and immediately you will find relief. Hold on to the Jesus prayer steadfastly.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Man has failed to recognize his own Father, the Most High God, Who brought him into being out of nothingness...

Man has failed to recognize his own Father, the Most High God, Who brought him into being out of nothingness. Oh! How harmful this failure to recognize Him has been! This is the cause of all human suffering, the first transgression of Adam and Eve. And their sin of disobedience and lack of repentance brought upon their children—upon us—all the evil results, and we harvest the thorns and thistles of various tribulations. “You shall surely die” (Gen. 2:17 ). Death is corruption of our former incorruption, with all of its attributes: illness, affliction, misery, pain. However, the good God did not overlook His own creation, but gave grace through the death of His Son on the Cross—“by grace you have been saved” (Eph. 2:5 ). Just as the evil one used the crafty serpent as a tool, in a like manner did our Lord Jesus Christ put on human nature to deceive the devil. O Lord Jesus Christ, the light of my darkened soul, the goal of my life, how great has our guilt become with the passing of time! One disobedience resulted in bringing God down to earth—and where did it lead Him? To be crucified at Golgotha! And the small taste of the forbidden fruit was paid by the awesome drama of the God-man. Oh, how much God loves man! So let us be confident in our repentance, my fellow sinners. :Though your sins are like scarlet, I shall make them as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, I shall make them as white as wool” (Is. 1:18 ). So, my child, let us cleave with love to such a merciful God. Amen.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Sincerely love one another not falsely and superficially, but with spiritual depth.

The Lord will condemn to eternal fire those who create temptations. Sincerely love one another not falsely and superficially, but with spiritual depth. Our Christ showed us so much love that His holy example should become a holy reason for us also to love one another similarly. If we do not show love through our deeds—not only in words—in vain do we labor in our struggle, for we are beating the air (cf. 1 Cor. 9:26 ) and are straying from the goal of our salvation. Let us not be deceived, thinking that we shall be saved while neglecting the basic virtue of love. If we are not characterized by the unadulterated love of Christ, in vain do we run, in which case all hope of salvation is lost.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona 

The goal of noetic prayer is to unite God with man, to bring Christ into man’s heart ...

The goal of noetic prayer is to unite God with man, to bring Christ into man’s heart, banishing the devil from there and destroying all the work that he has accomplished there through sin. For, as the beloved disciple says, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn. 3:8 ). Only the devil knows the inexpressible power of these seven words of the Jesus prayer, and this is why he wars and fights against the prayer with furious rage. Countless times the demons have confessed through the mouths of possessed people that they are burned by the action of the prayer.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Whoever loves God sacrifices everything, solely to please God.

Μy children, be brave in the fight. Our Christ is invisibly present, waiting to see your victory, in order to give you the unfading crown of eternal glory! 

Whoever loves God sacrifices everything, solely to please God. Spare nothing, for before the love of God, everything is rubbish. The demons are troubled when they see us preparing for battle; the angels, though, rush to drive away every obstacle preventing victory. 

So let us ally ourselves with the angels of God, so that we may bear witness that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8 ).

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

“Friendship with the world is enmity with God"..

May an angel of God, my child, follow you and show you the path of God and of your salvation. Amen; so be it. I pray that God gives you health of soul, for this is a special gift of sonship which is bestowed only upon those souls that have been completely devoted to the worship and love of God.
The world attracts the youth like a magnet; worldly things have great power over the newly enlightened soul that just started to find its bearings and see its purpose in life and the duty calling him. “Friendship with the world is enmity with God. Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” God has stored up pleasures for eternity, for both He and our soul are eternal. There is no comparison between the pleasures of the world and the pure pleasures of God.
The pleasures of the world are obtained with toil and expenses, and after their momentary enjoyment, they are followed by various consequences, so that they are incorrectly called pleasures. The pleasures of God, however, do not have such consequences, because spiritual pleasures down here on earth are the firstfruits of an eternal series of pleasures and delights in the kingdom of God. Whereas on the contrary, one who has been corrupted by the pleasures of the world is compelled to undergo eternal damnation along with the first instigator of corruption, the devil.
The time of our life, my child, has been given to us as a sum of money so that each of us may trade for his salvation, and depending on the trade we deal in, we shall become either rich or poor. If we take advantage of the “money” of time by trading to increase our spiritual wealth, then we shall truly be skilled traders, and we shall hear the blessed voice: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”
At the end of our life, an exact account will be demanded of each one of us: how and where we spent the money of time, and woe to us if we have squandered it in movie theaters, in entertainments, in debauchery, in futile dreams, in carnal pleasures. Then what defense will our tied tongue be able to utter, and how will we be able to lift up our eyes and see our Christ, when He enumerates the countless benefactions which His boundless love profusely poured upon us?
Now that we have time, now that the money of time has not yet been spent completely and we still have it at our disposal, let us reflect sensibly on the vagrant world which seeks to rob us. Let us push it away like a putrid dead dog, and with that money let us run to buy precious works which, when tried by fire, will become very bright—gifts worthy of our Holy God, fit to be used as a decoration in the holy Jerusalem of Heaven. We should not purchase chaff, that is, punishable works of darkness, for we shall go down with them into the eternal fire of damnation, where the multitude of people who embezzled God’s gifts will reap whatever they sowed! Sow good works with tears, and then in a time of visitation you will reap the sheaves of enjoying eternal life!
 
From Counsels from the Holy Mountain, by Elder Ephraim of Philotheou, Mount Athos,

Thank our good God in everything and do not let our enemy see you lose your patience ..

My child, be patient in everything, for the reward is great. Do not look at the weight of afflictions, but consider the payment: your light afflictions reserve eternal glory for you in the heavens that far outweigh them all. (cf. 2 Cor. 4:17 ). 

For this reason you should rejoice instead of grieving. Thank our good God in everything and do not let our enemy see you lose your patience, because then he will attack you even more in order to demolish the wall of patience completely.


Elder Ephraim Arizona

Let us not lose our courage; for invisibly present is Jesus ..

It is very consoling, my child, that each one of us will receive his reward based on how much he has labored for the love of Christ. It involves much labor to bear the burden of souls in the present era which is ruled by egotism and self will. 

Let us not lose our courage; for invisibly present is Jesus, Who will rebuke the stormy sea of trials and bring the calm of grace. Struggle upon the raging waves; call upon the only all-powerful God: 

“Lord, Lord, look down from heaven and behold my trials and perfect my soul to do Thy will, for Thou art my God.” (cf. Ps. 79:15-16 ).


Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Blessed is he who is wise in God ....

The Christian struggle is glorious, for the prize is not something ephemeral, but it is eternal glory up in heaven! 

Blessed is he who is wise in God, for no account will be demanded from him, and he will not find himself in a difficult position when God calls him to give an account for his time on earth. We waste time with no regret. 

When we leave this world, we shall realize the damage we have suffered by letting time escape from us. The days are passing with no reckoning. Realizing this saves us, even if it is only during the final days of our life.


Elder Ephraim of Arizona

The Christian struggle is glorious

The Christian struggle is glorious, for the prize is not something ephemeral, but it is eternal glory up in heaven! 

Blessed is he who is wise in GOD, for no account will be demanded of him, and he will not find himself in a difficult position when GOD calls him to give an account for his time on earth.

Elder Ephraim

The remembrance of GOD is an all-powerful weapon

The remembrance of GOD is an all-powerful weapon, a mighty suit of armor against satan and the various sins. When the mind ceases to remember GOD and meditate upon divine things, man is overcome by negligence, indolence, forgetfulness, and then by evil desires! If you see your mind rushing towards the world, know that your soul lacks divine consolation, which is why it turns to the world for consolation. 

When a person's soul is warm towards GOD, he is enlightened and feels compunction, and it is impossible for his mind to incline towards the world at the same time. The soul inclines towards the world when it is united, in a sense, with GOD.



Elder Ephraim

How fearsome it is to feel that God is inside and outside of you

How fearsome it is to feel that God is inside and outside of you, like the presence of a real spirit that looks you straight in the eyes and sees everything even down to your bone marrow, and observes you with the finest detail, without you realizing it! What a fearsome truth! And simultaneously, what faith and security it gives to the poor faithful to be escorted and protected by such a tremendous presence and guard!!!

Elder Ephraim of Arizona

http://agapienxristou.blogspot.ca/2014/06/how-fearsome-it-is-to-feel-that-god-is.html

God forgives easily

How easily does God forgives! This will happen by just opening to Him the door of your soul. God is not expecting any reward for what is giving to people. Even if your sins are millions or billions, for God counts zero. What does a small quantity of sand in the ocean worth? All the sins of the world is just a virus in the ocean.

There is no sin that wins the mercy of God. So the sins of the man are zero. When the child returns to the hug of the Lord, everything terminates in front of his mercy.


Elder Ephraim - Arizona

http://agapienxristou.blogspot.ca/2013/06/god-forgives-easily.html