Maybe you’ve heard someone say “Well, if you really knew me, you might not like me…” or maybe you’ve even said that to yourself. There can be much fear in being truly known—will I still be loved, despite my mistakes, despite my desperate thoughts, despite that I might not ever be enough on my own? The resounding answer to that question from God’s perspective is yes. God promises to love us with an everlasting love, and is continually drawing us to Himself with loving kindness, as we’re told in the scripture (Jeremiah 31:3). Our guests this week hit lows in their lives they didn’t know if they’d recover from, and just when they lost hope, they turned to God only to find that He was there, loving them despite their mistakes, fear, and pain. We’re speaking with television personality Rosie Rivera, the CEO of Jenni Rivera enterprises, and firefighter turned evangelist Jason Sautel. 

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:

Jesus Calling Podcast

Jesus Calling

Jeremiah 31:3

Jesus Calling  for First Responders editions

ChristianBook.com

Past interview: The Next Door organization

Upcoming interview: Cece Jones-Davis

Rosie Rivera

Jenni Rivera enterprises

Rosierivera.com

God Is Your Defender

Jason Sautel

The Rescuer

California Conservation Corps

California Department of Forestry

https://jasonsautel.wordpress.com/

Interview Quotes:

“I really, really loathed myself and I thought everyone else would, too, if they really, really knew me and that somehow transferred into God.” - Rosie Rivera 

“I told God I was a mess. I was still hung over. I still smelled like alcohol and everything. And I was just at the front of the altar crying my eyes out, letting Jesus know everything that He already knew, that I didn't want to live anymore without Him, and that day I just realized what the cross was, like, it just hit me in such a beautiful way that He had died for me. He already knew everything, and that He loved me. And it can still fill me with love.” - Rosie Rivera

“Power comes with His word. I can trust that no matter what is going on with the world, as long as I am holding His hand, I am safe and I am on the right path. It reminds me that in the highs and the lows, He is the same.” Rosie Rivera

“No matter what goodness of this world I'd try to throw into it, it would not seal it up and it would actually make things worse. So being a firefighter that was called to help other people but had no idea how to rescue himself, it was really challenging, especially at that point in my life.” - Jason Sautel

“At the end of the day, all that is on that fire truck and under all that gear and behind that badge is a human being who just wants to help other people.” - Jason Sautel

“I started recognizing Grace, even though I didn't realize what it was at the time, in the form of people being nice to me when I didn't deserve it.” - Jason Sautel

“I'm just praying for people that draw closer to God and I'm praying for people to put their faith in Jesus. And for those who have, I'm praying that they will reflect on what their faith truly means, because I have learned over the many years of responding to the bad stuff of this world, I can't fix anything, nor can time. Time alone heals nothing. Time with Jesus heals ever