έκβάλλω, oίκος, Bapi. A few words from two languages I don't speak (Greek and Spanish) that have changed my life forever. έκβάλλω, or Ekballō, is translated from Greek to mean "To cast out" it is also the tentative name of a brand new movement in the name of Christ that will very soon be sweeping across central Indiana. Ekballō is the word used by Jesus in two key points of His ministry, one to drive out demons from the possessed, and two to send His disciples out into the world. Ekballō is a word with a violent connotation, it is likened to the physical violence experienced while vomiting, when Christ ekballō's a demon it is a pretty violent and traumatic experience. So when Christ ekballō's His disciples it is intended to be a violent proclamation of the Good News in projectile formation hitting anyone and everyone around.
oίκος, or oikos, translates to: "household; home" it is the fellowship of the Greek head of household with his family, friends, workers, and even slaves. This is the Greek word for the true meaning of Family. When I think of oikos I think of the prodigal son, the boy who told his dad "You're not good enough, I want my inheritance," squandered his wealth just to inevitably hit rock-bottom, come crawling back to his father, and beg for a job as a slave. The same boy whose father saw his son coming from down the road and ran to him, embraced him, and threw a party with all of the family and servants and friends.
Bapi is the mispronunciation of the word 'Papi' by the little girl of a pastor I had the pleasure if listening to at a conference this week (#velocoty14). Papi is 'Daddy' in many latino cultures. Daddy, or 'Abba' biblically, is the single most intimate word between child and father that I can think of. It is the one word that can make even the heardest of men melt on the inside and the one word we get the privlidge of using to refer to our Heavenly Father. 'Daddy' was a term I didn't get to use often growing up, it was a term seen by my siblings as immature, it was a term seen by my earthly father as "childish, man." it is a term that I, personally, cannot wait to hear uttered from the mouths of my children, it is a word that I will never tire of hearing from the mouths of my children, a word that I long to be able to use...a word that our Bapi in heaven loves to hear.
These three words are what keep me up on this night, these three words are words I will not soon forget, they are words that I hope to use as a part of my every day vocabulary for many moons to come. They are words with such bower (spelling intended) that all who hear them should be moved, even if slightly, by the love that is our God.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G1544
http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G1544
