I’m so stinkin’ excited about today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology because it’s going to be a banner year here at BPT and the banner over all 53 episodes of BPT in 2024 is: “The Year of Giving Yourself Away”! We’re going to delve deeply into what it means to live Christoformic lives – how to be shaped like Jesus in everything we do. We’re going to explore the theology of generosity. We’re going to get real and raw about what we need to loosen our grip on in order to be more merciful and less miserly when it comes to giving away our time and our own agendas and our forgiveness. How can we emulate Jesus’s proclamation in Mark’s Gospel account right before His compassionate, healing encounter with blind Bartimaeus when our Savior said, I didn’t come to be served, but to serve. To give my life away as a ransom for many. Scripture makes it clear that as Christ-followers we’re called to care for widows and orphans – the poor and the powerless – yet sometimes our own orphan spirits and scarcity mindsets rob us of the transformative blessings God promises to those who live open-handedly and open-heartedly. Which means we’re going to be really purposeful this year about pursuing a more intimate relationship with God through the revelation of His Word and Holy Spirit, which will lead to a lifestyle riddled with generosity. And we’ve got a surprise for you toward the end of ’24 because we’re going to take a great, big heart-expanding and belly-laugh-inducing BPT field trip to practice generosity with some precious image bearers who are in desperate need of some intentional care and kindness. Now besides grabbing a cup of coffee and your Bible as we begin this episode, we also need you to turn up the volume a tad because Alli and I recorded this New Year’s episode in the Dominican Republic and there’s a pretty rowdy gang of roosters and chickens in the background, welcome back to the porch, y’all.