Following Christ

Have you ever thought to yourself, why don't I feel the presence of the Lord the way I use to? At sometimes we may be in His presence for hours,and what a joy it is to feel the Lord's hand, and His Holy caress! But do we
or should I say are we experiencing the Lord with us daily? That Grand old Apostle John says's it this way, "That which was from the beginning,which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-Life, the Logos. John 1:1, In the beginning was the word and the word was with GOD and the Word was GOD. The same was in the beginning with GOD. At first John and the rest of the Apostles encountered Christ in the flesh, that which we have seen, the eye gate, that which we have heard, the ear gate,and have touched with our hands, the sense of touch, the feeling gate. Then when the Lord Jesus had been crucified, and resurrected on the third day,they all received him except of course, Judas.
John also says's that they proclaim the eternal life which was and always will be with the Father, but will literally be with us, not only eternally in us but physically with us!!! Glory!!! Jesus Christ is the eternal, indestructible life. Praise the Lord! This life is what the Apostles lived, moved, and breathed in daily, and out of this life that they experienced, they proclaimed Him. The Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Life Eternal. Now look at this the Apostle's experienced the trinitarian fellowship with the Father,Son,and the Holy Spirit. 1st John 3:24b, "And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us."Remember this was penned by the one who used to lay in the Lord's bosom.
Also notice that they had continual Joy, which is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, and the source of steadfast strength and the spiritual ability to suffer,endure pressure for a long time. (That's why the King James calls it long suffering),the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us-that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete." ESV. Notice the intimate language the Apostle uses, that which his experience with the Lord. He goes into eternity past, before the world was created,concerning the Word of it long suffering. So what's the difference with the Apostles,beside their calling, placement and function in the body. Let me mention,that no saint, can ever be what the original eleven and 12 with the addition of Matthias, were called to be, they are the foundational Apostles in the body ,which becomes the New Jerusalem. They will always be set as such. But, in the past, present and future, there are and will be apostles sent by the Holy Spirit. Paul and Barnabas were and I could list at least 10 more found in the New Testament. Not only did the Apostles have this continued experience of fellowship, the early church had it too. Read the book of Acts and note the life style of the early church saints. Have you noticed that after you encountered Christ many of us, accept for a few don't always have that joy and that original intimate relationship or fellowship that we did when we first met Jesus. Come on let's be real. The secret is found in the words of our Lord Jesus, when he says's in Matthew
7:13,14 " Enter in by the narrow gate(the King James calls it the Straight gate.) for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.!!! Remember Jesus also said " Not everyone who says to me, Lord,Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven,but the one ho does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 7:21 ESV..To be continued..Following Christ.