Another Soldier's Coming Home

This song has been running through my head all day today.....

Strike up the Band!
Assemble the Choir!
Another Soldier's Coming Home!


I am very, very blessed with, in the words of singer Steve Green, a heritage of faithfulness. I was blessed to have been raised in a home with parents who didn't just claim to be christians, and didn't just take us to church because they were 'supposed to". I was blessed with parents who very much LIVED their faith in front of us.

One of my grandfathers is no longer with us. He passed away 27 years ago. He didn't come to know the Lord until 5 years before he died, but when he did get saved, oh my goodness, you never saw such a change in a person!!! My other grandfather and both my grandmothers are still with us, and they are all christians.

Because my father is a preacher, and because I attended a christian schoolt that at one time was very well known, I was exposed to MANY wonderful preachers. Preachers like Jack Hyles, and John R Rice, and many others.

Two of my "heroes of the faith" were Dr Lester Roloff and Dr. Lee Roberson. Dr Roloff was special in many ways, and I was always blessed by hearing him speak. He went home to be with Jesus many years ago, by way of a plane crash.

This morning, Dr Lee Roberson went home to be with Jesus. I had the privelege of attending a very large church in Chattanooga, TN when Dr Roberson was the pastor there. He baptized me. Instead of 'brushing me off" because I was only 6 years old, he took the time to talk to me, to make sure that I understood what it meant to accept Christ as my Saviour, and what being baptized symbolized, and then he baptized me, in front of about 2,000 people!! :)

The church he pastored also operated a christian school. My children are homeschooled, but when I was a child, my parents had never heard of homeschoooling and did not even realized there was such a thing. So, they made many sacrifices so that my sisters and I could attend Christian schools. In the sign language class I took, one of the first signs I learned was our "special sign" for Dr Roberson's name.

For many years, my parents operated a shelter for homeless women~some single, some with children. The shelter was near Dr Roberson's church. He did not hesitate to say yes when my father went to him and asked him if the folks that stayed in the shelter would be welcome at the church. Furthermore, Dr Roberson added the shelter to the list of missions that his church supported monetarily on a regular basis, and he awarded christian school scholarships to some of the children who were residents at the shelter.

I was priveleged to not only hear about or read about Dr Roberson. For a few years, I got to see him on an almost daily basis, and I know that he LIVED his faith. I also know that he left behind a legacy of faith that is very evident in the lives of his children and grandchildren (some of whom I went to school with).

I was priveleged to hear Dr Roberson's last sermon at Highland Park Baptist Church, appropriately titled "Finish Your Race Well".

I believe that at 4:45 this morning, the heavenly order went out~Strike up the band! Assemble the choir! Another soldier's coming home!

I have no doubt that this soldier of the cross finished his race well. I pray that some day the same will be said of me.
Blessings,
Vicki