Rosie Rivera - Upon This Rock: Building a Firm Foundation That Cannot Be Shaken

Upon This Rock

Building a Firm Foundation that Cannot Be Shaken

ROSIE RIVERA

Copyright 2014 Rosie Rivera.

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Some Scripture were taken from the New King James Version Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Some Scripture quotations were taken from the Amplified Bible copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Used by permission. www.lockman.org.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-4942-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-4941-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014915093

WestBow Press rev. date: 9/26/2014

Contents

Acknowledgments

All praise and glory be to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has given me the knowledge and wisdom I have today through the study of His Word. I can truly say that without Him I am nothing, without Him I have nothing, and without Him I can do nothing. He definitely is my rock and my salvation, in whom I put my trust, and the light and love of my life.

I want to thank my husband, Robert, for his patience during the writing of this book and his encouragement along the way. When Id grow weary, hed keep me focused and he never failed in strength. He is the other love of my life.

I also acknowledge the ministers who helped me grow in the Word; they may never know how much I appreciate them and how much help they were to me, but God knows their labor of love; may He reward them greatly.

Upon This Rock is inspired by my own personal experience in my quest for knowing the almighty God of the universe.

My journey began in 1979 in a small country church. I have no idea what the message was about. I only remember finding myself responding to the invitation at the end of the service. I can still hear the invitation song being sung: Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home. How could I refuse such an invitation? I was looking for some place to belong. Although that song carried me to the altar, it couldnt carry me much further. I soon found myself needing something more but didnt know exactly what it was or how to obtain it.

My search for God was on. I had experienced a love and tenderness I hadnt known before, but after a few weeks, I wondered where that feeling went. I felt alone and abandoned by my newfound love. Surely He must be a God who hides Himself.

Is this where many Christians find themselves after accepting Jesus into their lives? Is this the reason so many Christians fall by the wayside? The questions began: What do I do now? Where do I go from here? Where can I find the answers to my questions? I have a Bible, but I dont understand it. Who can help me understand what Im reading?

I had been given a Bible, so I thought, If I want to know God, I should be able to find Him in the Bible, right? Wrong. It brought confusion, discouragement, and disappointment. I couldnt understand any of it. It all seemed foreign to me. I knew about God and Jesus, but thats about as far as it went. I didnt know that being a Christian meant a change in lifestyle and an ongoing process of renewing my mind. I asked, where and how does this change begin? Am I going to change automatically or is something going to be required of me? What do I have to do to be pleasing to God?

When you embark on a journey to a destination where youve never been before, the trip is much easier when you have a tour guide. Its much easier to have one who leads the way, one who has gone before you, one who has blazed a trail through the difficulties and challenges you will surely encounter on your journey. I learned some things in church, but it didnt fill the emptiness I felt in my heart. I didnt know where to turn or whom to ask for help. One day while clicking through the channels on TV, I came across a preacher teaching the Word. As I listened, I became more and more interested in what he was saying. I had never heard that kind of preaching. It was through hearing this teacher and others talk about this wonderful Savior of ours that my desire to know Him became my quest in life.

I like the way the apostle Paul said it. Paul had such a desire to know God that it became his determined purpose.

[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power overflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]. (Philippians 3:10 AB)

My quest for God took me down many uncharted paths. One day I would be on the mountaintop rejoicing in my newfound revelation of God and His Word, and the next I would find myself in the valley facing challenges I had never faced before, wondering where God was now that I needed Him.

As I wandered through the valley of uncertainty feeling alone, I noticed that I was beginning to grow in knowledge, understanding, and patience. I found that fruit grows in the valley, not on the mountaintop. One does not have to seek for God when He can clearly be seen. Its during those times when God seems to hide Himself and seems so far away that we begin to seek Him more, and as we seek Him in prayer and the Word, we begin to grow in knowledge and understanding.

I experienced those silent years when God is silent, and I wanted so much to hear Him speak to me, to lead me, to let me know He hadnt left me, that I was not alone. Thats when I learned to walk by faith and to trust God even though I couldnt feel His presence. He promised in His Word never to leave me or forsake me.

Tests and trials are a part of life; they cannot be avoided. If we could learn early on in our walk with God that tests and trials come only to make us grow stronger, we wouldnt be so quick to stumble and fall every time we find ourselves under pressure. We can use the tests and trials of life as stepping-stones that can take us to the next level or they can become stumbling blocks that hinder our growth and our walk with God. Its a choice we have to make. It took me a while to learn to take the tests and trials I encountered and use them to my advantage. I learned to use them to help me grow in wisdom and understanding. Tests and trials can be compared to detours that take a person off the path of righteousness; as we veer off the path it becomes harder to get back on track. We have an enemy who is always trying to cause failure in our lives and will always take advantage of us when we are weak. He will tell us how rotten we are, how we failed God, and how God is disappointed with us, and make us feel unworthy of Gods love. That is why it is so important to read the Word and know our enemy and how he operates so that we can recognize the strategies and lies of the Devil.