Who Wrote It? Rebecca Jordan Heys on Advent Hope

Have you ever finished reading your daily Today devotion and wondered what inspired the author’s thoughts and reflections? If so, our “Who Wrote It” feature is just for you. Listen to this podcast interview and follow along with the transcript below to learn more about this month’s author and what she hopes you might take away from this series.

 > Introducing Rebecca Jordan Heys on "Advent Hope"

Josh DeGroot – Welcome to todaydevotional.com’s Who Wrote It, where we get to know our Today authors better, and understand the inspiration behind their writing. The Christmas season is upon us, and so comes the season of hope. Rebecca Jordan Heys writes all about her hope in her December Today devotional, and she is on the line now to talk about it. Rebecca, thanks for joining us.

Rebecca Heys – Thank you, Josh.

Josh DeGroot - Hope is a good thing…maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. Yes, that is a quote from The Shawshank Redemption – what I think is the greatest movie of all time. But it is also true of our Christian lives; and we need hope, as you say, because the world is not yet what God wants it to be. But what made you write about hope for this holiday season?

Rebecca Heys – I like the quote about hope, and I agree that The Shawshank Redemption is a great movie…

Josh DeGroot – Absolutely.

Rebecca Heys – I chose to write about hope for this season of Advent, for the weeks leading up to Christmas. In this season, the church looks ahead to our celebration of the birth of Jesus on Christmas, and the church also looks ahead to Jesus’ promised return. So we are living now in the in-between time. As you said, the time when the world is not yet as God intends it to be. Well, in all seasons of life really, but this season is one that calls especially for the virtue of hope. We can live with hope because of what God has promised. The Bible has a lot to say about hope, and I wanted to explore that for these December devotions.

Josh DeGroot – In our world today, which is are arguably more divided than ever befire,  hope, and hope that comes from God and a relationship with Jesus Christ, is that perhaps the only hope that will trump the fear that some…actually most, walk with every single day?

Rebecca Heys – Yes; our world is changing so rapidly, and we are left with a lot of uncertainty. The timing of this interview, and then the devotions, is interesting to me, because here in the United States as we record this conversation we don’t yet know how our presidential election will turn out; but when readers of Today read the December devotion, we will know the results. But whether it is before the election or after the election, one thing remains true, which is that no matter who is the president of the United States, Jesus is the King of the universe. Jesus is on the throne, and that is our only true source of hope, today, after the election, and until Jesus comes again.

Josh DeGroot – Very well said. Obviously, it was intentional to use the word hope—or at least some form of the word—in every single devotion for this month. What is your hope this holiday season for our Today audience, and what do you hope that we, the body of believers, will do differently this season?

Rebecca Heys - My hope for readers is that they will look to Jesus because he is the world’s hope. When you read these devotions and the scripture text that they are based on, my hope is that you will place your hope in Jesus. You can trust that no matter who you are, no matter what your circumstances, he will be true to his promise to love you and to save you.

Josh DeGroot – A great reminder for the holiday season; and she gives us great writing of hope for December’s Today devotional. Rebecca, thanks so much for coming on.

Rebecca Heys – Thank you, Josh.

Josh DeGroot – Let’s hope together; and refresh, refocus, renew at todaydevotional.com.