Superhero

Honor: to value, to respect. Highly esteem, to treat as precious, weighty or valuable.

League of Justice

(DC Comics)

Many of us are familiar with the days of sitting in front of the TV and watching our favorite superhero or going to the local five and dime store to pick up the latest edition of our favorite comic book. I know for me at the age of eight I couldn't wait until 4 o'clock arrived so I could watch Batman & Robin.

Superheroes were cool. Superheroes, in the best sense of the word, were American.

The first superhero got its start in Cleveland, Ohio. And no it wasn't Lebron James. He was created by two Jewish men, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, in 1932. The character was inspired part by the times of the Great Depression and by the fact that Siegel's father, who was an immigrant, was killed at the hands of a robber at his father's clothing store on New York's Lower East Side in 1932. 

The superhero that was created was Superman. 

Superman 

 (ill. by Damian Madray)

Many scholars note that the early story-lines shed light on the creator's left-leaning perspective when it came to social issues. Superman took on the role of social activist, fighting crooked businessmen, politicians and criminals. Roger Sabin, a comic scholar, has lamented many times that the creators creation was a reflection of "the liberal idealism of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal." 

 

Superman's debut in June of 1938 in Action Comics.

(Cover art by Joe Shuster) 

 

In days long ago superheroes were figures that received our respect and gained our honor. In our new sermon series at Cypress Pastor Ken began to canvass the topic of forgotten virtues. This week he started with the in lost virtue of honor and shared with us that respect is earned, but honor is given. Respect is earned by consistently displaying behavior that is admired by those around us. Behavior traits and admiral qualities such as integrity, honesty and a superior code of ethics all speak to ones character and it is our character that will ultimately gain the respect of others.

Spiderman

 (ill. by Damian Madray) 

As I mentioned earlier respect is earned, but honor is given.

Superheroes by the very nature of their name receive both respect and honor. The term hero was coined in 1387 and was derived from the Greek word heros. The term literally meant to "defend" and "protect".  The 1387 term was believed by many scholars to be related to and to have found its origin from the goddess of Hera, the guardian of marriage.

It's hard to imagine that the term hero is derived from a goddess that assumed the task of protecting and defending marriage. 

Wow! That is a piece for another day.

I think we would all agree that the Hera the goddess has been MIA for some time now.

Batman

 (ill. by Damian Madray)

So with the small history lesson behind us concerning superheroes and goddesses the question that needs to be asked is, "Who do we honor?"

...besides superheroes.

Spiderman & the Hulk 

(ill. by Damian Madray)

Below are some of the sermon points that Pastor Ken outlined this morning concerning the people that deserve our honor.


PARENTS deserve our honor.

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you."

-Exodus 20:12

Parents deserve our respect. Period. I'm not talking to our children, but I'm talking to us adults. Too many us have too many grievances, argument and resentments when comes to our parents. Parents are human, they mistakes, they say the wrong things and at times they can mistakenly not have our best interest in mind. And yes there are parents that have committed unimaginable acts towards their children, and in those cases it is hard to forgive and respect them let alone honor them as our parents, but in some way, somehow, we have to begin to honor our parents daily. If your parents hurt you beyond belief then we must honor the institution of parenthood and ask God to bless us with forgiveness and respect for our parents in our heart. I must say that I have been blessed beyond any want or wish with my parents. My parents are simply the best. I'm honored to be called their son.

Those in AUTHORITY deserve our honor.

¹ Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ² Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³ For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. ⁴ For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. ⁶This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. ⁷ Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

-Romans 13:1-7

That is pretty straight forward. We all have a boss, figure out who they are and honor them. Their honor is not predicated on their commonsense, their intelligence or what they can do to further your career. Resolve today in your heart to stop the ridicule and begin the honor, if you can't do that then find a new job and new boss. 

Addison... aka the Green Hornet

...or something like that. Trust me when I say this is one of my "bosses".

PASTORS and CHURCH LEADERS deserve our honor.

"The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching." 

-1 Timothy 5:17

Please don't throw out the baby with the bath water. There are far more men and women in leadership roles in God's kingdom that honor the Lord than do not. Find a church that believes the word of God and the leaders make it their daily calling to follow the guidance of the Lord and get behind them. They deserve our support, they deserve our honor.

Honor ONE ANOTHER over self.

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves."

-Romans 12: 9-10

To honor another takes humility on the part the person doing the honoring. If you constantly entertain the sad notion that your needs, wants and desires trump everyone else you will never be able to honor another human being. The key of humility will always unlock the door of honor. There is no way around this simple truth.

Our SPOUSE deserves our honor... if you have one.

 ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰ for we are members of his body. ³¹ “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” ³² This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³ However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. 

-Ephesians 5:25-33

Show me a man that loves his wife in that way and I will show you a valiant man, I will show you a man of honor. I have failed twice at being a valiant man and an honorable man... I will not fail a third time. The only thing that was important to me in the past was me. The sad thing was I didn't even realize it. I do now. It is said when a person knows better he will do better. I know better and I will do better. Abraham Lincoln also said, "When I do bad I feel bad and when I do good I feel good." I couldn't agree more.

"With great power comes great responsibility."
-Spiderman
(ill. by Damian Madray)

GOD deserves our honor.

"You who fear the LORD, praise him!
   All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
   Revere him, all you descendants of Israel"

-Psalm 22:23

The word honor is borrowed from the Latin word honos. Honor is defined as the evaluation of a person's social status as judged by that individual's community. This is so true because one glance at Mark 6:1-6 we see that Jesus was anything but honored when he returned to Nazareth, his community. 

The beginning of Mark 6 states:

 ¹ Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. ² When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? ³ Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.⁴ Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” ⁵ He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. ⁶ He was amazed at their lack of faith.

God deserves and expects our honor. When we do not honor him he is actually shocked. God wants to do so much good for us, in us and through us. All he is doing is waiting for us to honor him. Psalm 84:11 exclaims; "For the Lord God is our light and protector. He gives us grace and glory. No good thing will the Lord withhold from those who do what is right."

God is the original superhero. He was sent here, in the form of a man, to protect us and save us.

Captain America

(Shockya.com)

God deserves our honor through our actions not our words. Isaiah 29:13 states: "And so the Lord says, These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. And their worship of me amounts to nothing more than human laws leaned to rote. Because of this, I will do wonders among these hypocrites. I will show that human wisdom is foolish and even the most brilliant people lack understanding." 

Finally, I was originally going to entitle this piece "Decisions of the Heart" because honor is a decision of the heart that expresses itself in action, daily action. I thought by using the term superhero it would create curiosity amongst men and they might read the piece because at the end of the day men identify with, and gravitate towards, heroes. We have them on the football field, baseball diamond and basketball courts and if we're lucky we had them in our home while we were growing up. I know I did. And deep down we would all love to be a hero to someone... especially to our wife and kids. I know I do. Heroes are important and even today we have a hero in our home... his name is Tim Tebow.

My wife loves this kid as if he were her own.

#15 is her superhero... I have to agree he is pretty special.

We as a family respect him and have a great amount of admiration for him because of the way he conducts himself every day. He will fail someday, because he is human, and all the world will be there to pounce on him, but the greatest compliment I can give that man is that I hope all my boys turnout like him and that my daughter marries a man just like him. 

He is a better man than I will ever be or hope to be. 

In the end, we decide who we honor then we act upon it. You have heard me say many times that life is about the decisions we make and the relationships we cultivate.

What decisions are you making when it comes to honor?

More specifically, "Who, or what, are you honoring?"

In Greek to treat one without honor is to treat one as common or ordinary.

The real question is "Who are you treating as common, who are you treating as ordinary?"

Only you know the answer.

sbb  6.3.2011

2247

Holding out for a Hero  .  Bonnie Tyler

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Pastor Ken's Notes

Are You Happy? (re-post 4.14.10)

Choice: an act or instance of choosing;  selection: Her choice of a computer was made after months of research. His parents were not happy with his choice of friends.

Below is a piece I wrote last year about happiness. Specifically asking the question "Are you happy?"  

I hope you enjoy. (sbb . 50)

"Are You Happy?"

4.14.2010

Happy: delighted, pleased, or glad, as over a particular thing: to be happy to see a person.

Now before anyone starts to think what I was thinking when I picked (I'm sorry, picked is such a poor choice of words. Two things come to mind: nose and butt). OK, where was I...Ah yes, chose, chose was the word I was looking for. When I chose today's title my intentions were not to come off as Oprah or Dr. Phil. My goal is not to bloviate about true happiness and how one attains it. Heck, I don't even know what color socks I'm going to wear tomorrow (actually a rarely where socks...I'm such the risk taker) let alone try to "pitch" someone on happiness. With all of that being said, I do believe that I have a better picture of what true happiness looks like at 45 than I did at 25, but do we really know if we are truly happy?

Are you happy?

Hows life workin' for ya?
(ill. by Kevin Richter)

The reason I ask is last week I saw a neighborhood acquaintance standing in her driveway, with her Steelers sweatshirt on no less, as I passed by in my car. Upon recognizing her I slammed on the brakes, put it in reverse, and yelled out the window: "Steelers going to have any players NOT in jail next year?" To say I despise the Pittsburgh Steelers is a drastic understatement. There is no more obnoxious fan on this earth than a Steeler fan. Her reply was straight Hannibal Lecter. No emotion, no expression...just a steely glare and these four words: "we will be fine".

 Seriously, I was waiting for her to call me "Clarice".

...take note of the "bars" Steeler fans.

"We" she says...the last time I checked there weren't any 5'4" blonds on the team rooster. The only thing that drives me more insane than a fan using the term "we" is the 40 year old "guy" that wears his favorite teams jersey with some players name on the back. Grow up. 

Wow, yesterday I offended soccer nation, today its Steeler fan and 40 year old jersey wearing guy.

Anyhoo, as I drove off much happier than I am right now (Steeler fan immediately puts me in a bad mood) my 4 year old son, Addison, ask me; "Daddy, why are you so happy"? I thought for a moment and replied; "It's more fun to be happy". Not very profound, but very much the truth. 

 

  Addison Reid Bailey

Abraham Lincoln once stated; "most people are about as happy as they make up there minds to be". I agree. Every day the choice is ours. We always don't get to pick choose our circumstances, but our attitude is 100% our choice.

Again, not very profound, but very much the truth. Thanks Addison for reminding me that the choice to be happy is mine and that people really do pay attention to our attitude...especially little people.

What choice are you going to make?

sbb  14.4.10
505 
( Happy . Surface) 

The Black Brady Bunch

Really: in reality; actually: to see things as they really are.

The Family... 2006

I really don't know if you would refer to my family as the Black Brady Bunch or not. Maybe the Beige Brady Bunch would be more appropriate... or the more politically correct term might be the Biracial Brady Bunch -My 20 year old son, Logan, refers to himself as "Half-fro American". I really don't know why I'm trying to push the Brady Bunch angle in this piece... I mean really, we are not identical to the original step family from the 70's. Yes we have six kids, but they were all mine and when we got married there was just five children with only one being my wife's child - I was, and still am, the father.. lol - .

The one child that is my wife's (and mine) is Ryan and today is his birthday. He is six years old.

Ryan

So what's up with the Brady Bunch references and the obsession with race?

Nothing really.

  

Just really dealing with random thoughts and trying to understand why the word "really" is such a part of my writing repertoire of words. Like Stephen King said; "the road to hell is paved with adverbs." He makes a really good point. 

I tend to use the word "very" quite often too. Mark Twain suggested the writer, when writing, "should substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very"; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should." 

Man do I love Mark Twain.

So what does this all have to do with black, beige, biracial and the Brady Bunch?

Absolutely nothing.

The reason why I entitled this piece "The Black Brady Bunch" is because if you watch the youtube clip below you will see, and hear, what the theme song would have sounded like if the Brady Bunch were black.

Please watch it right now... it is "really" good... quite entertaining actually.

Go ahead and watch.

See I told you. 

That was the bomb. Sorry, "the bomb" was, and still is, an African-American term that was popularized in the late 80's and early 90's that depicted something that had tremendous worth or being of significant value. The white suburban kids later substituted the word "sick" for the term "the bomb".

I'm cool with that I guess.

Ryan at 1 1/2 years old...

But really, today we are very happy in the Bailey household because we are celebrating another birthday... and yes we celebrate one almost every month in our family. The only two children that celebrate their birthdays in the same month are Addison (Nov.8) and Reese (Nov. 29). Bryce is a few day later on the 2nd of December.

When reflecting on Ryan's life I realize how thankful I am that he is here. When I first found out that Ryan's mother (she is the love of my life and my wife now) was pregnant I didn't take it well.

I still remember that hot July day in 2004 when Rhonda called me and said that she needed to talk to me.

"I'm pregnant" she said.

I was devastated.

I didn't want any more children and I had no intention of getting married; besides I was in a relationship, albeit a volatile one, for over five years.

I told her if she decided to have the child to never contact me ever again.

I know what you are thinking... it is extremely difficult to even type these words now.

After the decision was to make the best decision and go on with the pregnancy I didn't talk to Ryan's mom for almost 5 months.

Then one day after seeing the movie "Million Dollar Baby" I broke down in my car; sobbing uncontrollably for what seemed like hours.

Million Dollar Baby

I had to call Rhonda. 

So I did.

I told her that I was sorry I was so cruel to her and ask if she could find it in heart to forgive me.

She said, "Yes, I forgive you".

We talked for a really long time and I told her I wanted to be a part of Ryan's life and I will do my best to set a good example for him as a man.

She said, "I'm relieved by your decision and I think you will make a great dad to our son."

With those words I couldn't speak... I could only cry as she told me everything would be alright.

Ryan William Bailey... Day 1

She's telling me that everything will be alright.

She is six months pregnant, single and no insurance, depending fully on only her parents for everything and she's telling me that everything would be alright.

No anger, no pointing fingers, no lectures; just compassion.

Please hear me when I say that she never attacked me publicly or privately, she never threatened me with visitation or child support issues nor did she challenge my extremely poor way of thinking or behaving. 

She quietly went her way and when the time came for her to speak to me again she simply forgave me.

There were no questions, no "what were you thinking?"; just a humble heart and gentle spirit that was "willing" to forgive another human being.

At that very point I realized how special my future wife truly was.

A really sweet person... I love her to death!

She was wonderful then and she is wonderful now. 

See three months after Ryan was born I found out from my ex-girlfriend that she was pregnant also and that she was due in November. 

I was devastated, void of any peace or reason; I even became suicidal.

Again, after sharing the news with Rhonda she told me that everything was going to work out.

Man was she right.

The bleachers at Wrigley field... 2006

On November 8, 2005 Addison Reid Bailey came into the world.

So there I was with my "Polish Twins" (you should see the confusion when I fill out birth dates for any, and all, insurance information) and thinking what next.

I know, I know... snip, snip should come next.

Addison Reid Bailey... 2006

Anyway, the following year in May Rhonda and I started to spend significant, and quality, time with one another and we fell in love.

We decided to date in the summer of 2006 and later that year we got married in a wonderful ceremony at her parents beautiful home in old Worthington.

I love this picture of Ronnie & her step-dad.

The rest is history.

There is so much more I could say about the situation, but I will end with the fundamental truth that God is good all the time and all the time God is good. He saved my life by giving Ronnie the strength to go it alone, if she had to, concerning Ryan.

He saved my life by giving me Ryan & Addison. These two boys single handily changed my perspective about me and my life. I will never be able to thank them enough or thank their mothers enough by making the decision to have these two beautiful boys.

I will always say that there is a much better way to build a family, but there is no better way to love a family, as a man, than giving your heart to Christ and letting him transform you into a man your family can be proud of.

He also saved my life with giving me Rhonda as my wife.

She truly is a blessing in my life.

I know this piece was all over the place and if you feel a bit confused don't worry, that is actually a good thing because if you're not confused then you weren't paying close enough attention.

All I really wanted to say is that Jamie Foxx is insanely talented (you didn't watch the youtube clip did ya), happy birthday to Ryan and that I love his mother Ronnie very much.

I also wanted to thank God for dieing on the cross for my sins, saving me from myself and showing me that there is a better way to live.

Because...

I really, really love my life.

I really never thought it could be this good.

Summer of 2010

sbb  3.3.2011

1313

Giving You the Best I Got  .  Anita Baker 

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Daily Steps (Eyes on the Prize)

Prize: anything striven for, worth striving for, or much valued.

A couple a weeks ago I was approached by a staff member at Cypress Wesleyan Church to write a daily devotional for our "Daily Steps" series. The Daily Steps is an email devotional that is received by 700 plus emails every morning. Below is the piece that I wrote. I hope you enjoy.

Eyes on the Prize

Key Verse: Hebrews 12:1-3

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Central Truth:

Whatever we focus and feed upon will either fuel our fears or fuel our faith.

In the book entitled "Eyes on the Prize" Juan Williams shares with the reader the trials and tribulations of the Civil Rights Movement. The book is a tremendous literary accomplishment that reminds us of the many struggles African-Americans endured during a sad piece of our countries history. 

Eyes On The Prize... Juan Williams

The book also is a great resource of inspiration when we see what a group of people can achieve when they are focused upon the task at hand and their eyes are “fixed” upon a goal. When I reflect upon the laser like focus that the civil rights participants displayed during the 60’s I gain a stronger understanding of what Hebrews 12:2 is referring to when it pleads with the reader to engage in “fixing our eyes on Jesus”.

The Latin word for "fix" is aphorao. 

Aphorao (af-o-ra'mah) literally means "to look away from all else unto a certain object."

What we fix our eyes upon is vital to the direction our lives take. As believers what we focus and feed upon fuels our faith.

And as non-believers what we focus and feed upon will fuel our fears. 

The choice is ours. 

Today make the choice to fix your eyes on the prize; fix your eyes on God.

He will not disappoint you. 

Please watch the youtube video...

sbb 2.3.11

409

Keep Breathing . Kerrie Roberts

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Bio

About: of; concerning; in regard to: instructions about the work.

Earlier last week I was asked by my church to write a piece for our daily devotional that goes out to 750 emails every morning. They also wanted a bio and a picture. Below is the bio without the picture.

My name is Shawn Bailey and I’m a very blessed man that has a wonderful wife and “six” beautiful children (5 boys and 1 girl) that I love very much. My children range from my 20 year old son Logan who is a sophomore at the University of Cincinnati to my 15 month old daughter Reese who will never date, marry or leave my side as long as “we” journey through this life together. As you can see, based on the last sentence, I’m in desperate need of therapy and your prayers when it comes to my “only” daughter Reese. In between I have a 19 year old son named Austin, who is a freshman at Denison University, a 15 year old son named Bryce who is a freshman in high school and I have my own version of “Phineas and Ferb” in my 6 year old Ryan and my 5 year old son Addison.

Like I said, I’m a blessed and busy man.

I have also been blessed to have a great professional career over the past 25 years being employed at Marion Labs, Johnson & Johnson, FOX TV and currently at International Paper.

I have my parents, Wittenberg University, and most of all, God to thank for providing me with such a wonderful professional career.

There is more I could tell you about me, but why. I'm tired and most of it is insignificant, irrelevant, and boring...besides 243 words are enough.

I will just end by saying that I find myself, for therapeutic reasons, writing about everything from "Chelsea Lately" to "John 3:16" (www.mybabyroc.com), and acknowledging the simple and awesome truth that my personal relationship with Jesus Christ has changed my life. I believe what Jeremiah 29 11-14 states; "that I have a future & a hope"...I really do believe it.

OK, I’m really done now… 313 words are definitely enough.

sbb  1.3.11

364 

Fragile . Sting

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