By Tom Shanklin

What is your Google search? Are you looking for answers to the mysteries of the universe? Are you plumbing the depths of human knowledge to find the reality of who you are, where you came from, and where you are going?

Or maybe it’s about things that are much more pressing to your mind, like how am I going to pay the rent, what can I do about my marriage,  or how can I help my child who is in on drugs and in trouble with the law? We are all searching, in one way or another. We are looking for something to fill our deepest need…or just to get us through the day.

The internet has provided its solution. It’s called a search engine. When my wife Susan or I need an answer to a gardening question, a health concern, or just need to understand something we have heard on the evening news, we turn to Google, type in a few keywords and immediately, there is the answer, (or more accurately, answers). If fact, more often than not there are conflicting answers to the questions we have. So we have to search through the opinions, the reviews, and the contrary reports to determine “whose report am I going to believe?”

Once Jesus asked His disciples  a question, “Who do men say that I the Son of man am?”

After a quick “Google search,” they responded, “Some say thou art John the Baptist, some, Elias, and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.”

Then Jesus asked them the most relevant question, “But whom say ye that I am?”

This is the question that matters most. “Who do you say that Jesus is?” Is He a prophet, a teacher, a miracle worker? Is he the founder of a great world religion? Is He an impostor, a fake? Just who is this Jesus?

Peter was the outspoken disciple, sometimes too outspoken. But in this instance, he blurted out a radical and life-empowering answer, “Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God.”

Jesus was delighted! “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven,” he said.

You see, Peter had an answer, but it did not come from a Google search. It came from heaven. It came by a supernatural unveiling of spiritual truth from the Father. Millions of others have likewise received this revelation from heaven—like Saul, who later was known as the Apostle Paul, who experienced a vision of Jesus while He was on His way to Damascas to persecute Christians. His life was miraculously changed and he began to serve Christ instead of oppose Him.

When someone finds the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, they have not just found “an answer,” they have found “the answer.” We can have eternal life because God’s sent Him to the earth to die for our sins on the cross and rose from the dead. Through Him we find what our heart has been looking for all along, a union with our Creator. Jesus holds the key to eternal life and to every need of our life. He is our wisdom for daily life, our security, our strength, our health, and much more.  Jesus is miraculous, supernatural, empowering, and life giving. He will set you on a right path, set your free from addictions, give you peace in your heart, a bounce in your step, and a confidence about where you will spend eternity. Jesus is the answer!

Jesus gives us a meaningful purpose for living, a powerful destiny, which is to let the world know that God has sent His Son to die for them, that He loves them, and gives them eternal life. He calls us to take up our cross and follow Him, to let go of our selfish desires, to stop following the impulses of our flesh, to find a cause greater than ourselves, to find Jesus as Lord, and to live for Him. When you lose your life, he says, you will gain it. When you give your life so that others can know Jesus, you will find the true joy of the Christian life.

Finding Jesus is not the end of your journey. It’s really just the beginning. It opens the door to a whole new universe. Finding Jesus will take your “Google search” to a whole new level, because once you receive Him, you have the mind of Christ and you know all things. In other words, you can access the database of heaven to find answers to problems that no man can touch. You can escape earth’s atmosphere, explore galaxies and enjoy the wonders of the greatest personality in the universe, Almighty God.

If you’ve never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, pray this prayer from your heart:

Father God, I come to you in Jesus name. I choose to turn from sin and to receive Jesus your Son as my Lord and Savior. I believe He died for me and rose again. Thank you for accepting me into your family and giving me a purpose and a destiny, in Jesus name.

I want to invite you to join Susan and me in this search. Our ministry is here to connect with you in your search. Wherever you are in your journey, we want to be a part, to be a help, to be an encouragement. We want to pray with you and to be a part of your life. You may live on the other side of the world, in another country and another culture, but we are united with you in the search and in the cause of Christ.