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Nicholas Robertson living his purpose

Published:Wednesday | October 19, 2016 | 12:00 AMShanique Samuels

Nicholas Robertson has been down death's road and back. But now he says being a Christian gives him hope for eternal life as the God he serves took him from a life of sin into the kingdom to fulfill his purpose.

At the age of 15, a police officer told him if he lived to see 18 years old it would be a miracle. "Well it is a miracle, I am 28 years old," he said.

Nicholas recalled that at one point in his life he wanted nothing to do with church.

"It started in 1998 when I questioned my Sunday school teacher about God's existence and where He came from. Rather than providing me with an answer, she rebuked me and dared me never to question God. I left church that day swearing I will never go to church again and neither will I ever believe in God."

"I was known to be rude and disrespectful and I was aspiring to be like the thugs in the street. Years later, I was brought back to God when a good friend of mine surrendered his life to God. Knowing his lifestyle, I was determined to experience whatever changed his life, so I followed him to church and having listened to the word of God, I decided also to surrender my life to God," he told Family and Religion.

After getting saved, Nicholas had challenges he had to deal with if he were to continue in Christendom: he was very aggressive and loved to fight.

The following Sunday after he got saved, he decided not to attend church and went to play cricket nearby, and he got into a fight.

"The guy started to pick on me. Temper got the better of me and we got into a fight and he tried to stab me with a pair of scissors. I managed to grab the scissors and I could hear the devil saying 'stab him' but there was this still voice saying 'don't do it'. I threw away the scissors and started walking home."

 

COVERED IN BLOOD

 

He told Family and Religion that the next thing he remembered was waking up covered in blood. "The guy walked up behind me and hit me with a stone. I was taken to the hospital where I vividly remember the doctor telling my mother that I was going to die. The same day my pastor came to visit me at the hospital. Lying there in the bed unable to move or feel my hands or feet, I wanted to die."

Nicholas said the pastor asked him three times if he believed God can heal him. "I answered 'yes' the first time just because he was my pastor. However when he asked the second time, I was little annoyed and wondered why was he bothering me. Then he asked a third time, and I literally heard God saying 'why are you lying here if you are healed?' I lifted up my hands independently for the first time and just started to remove everything that was attached to my body. I was so sure about the encounter that I said God if I die I die, but I felt life for the first time in my feet. My body felt renewed. I ran out of the ward rejoicing because I knew I had an encounter with God. I was discharged from the hospital the next day."

He is currently a member of the Port Maria United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, but visits various congregations as he seeks to fulfil his call to Kingdom Ministry. He is also member of the Warriors for Christ Ministry.

"I am encouraging young people to serve God. I am living my purpose successfully as a young Christian. You can serve God in whatever capacity you find yourself. I am member of the Jamaica Defence Force Third Battalion Jamaica Regiment and also a teacher at the St Hugh's High School for Girls. The demands for both organisations are great but I am guided by Philippians 4:13: 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me'."

familyandreligion@gleanerjm.com