Excerpt from Lively Hope
There always were some of God’s people who loved Him and the people carried the seed of hope in their hearts. Some of His people remembered God’s promises and longed for the Someone to come and defeat the snake.
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Finally, when the time was right, God sent the Someone. It was His own Son, Jesus. God chose a young lady named Mary who remembered His promises and carried hope for the Someone in her heart. In fact, she carried hope so well, God said she could carry His Son. After years and years awaiting the promise, the time came. Jesus, the promised Someone, was born into the world. God came to live with His people. He came to be one of us.
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Throughout the long years of waiting, God made many promises about the Someone who was coming. Promises of where He would be born, promises of what He would do on earth, and promises of how this Someone would change everything. Jesus fulfilled each one. He was born in Bethlehem just as God had promised. He brought good news to the poor. He proclaimed freedom to the captives. He gave sight to the blind. He also came to fulfill the ancient promise – He came to defeat the snake.
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And so, at the center of the story, we find the most important part. This is the part of the story to which hope has pointed since the Garden. It’s the part of the story that changed everything that came after it. The first Advent of Jesus Christ leads us to the cross.
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