50 Shades of Grace

BY: Deana Bell, Director
So often in life, we are asking for grace. Grace for unmet expectations. Grace for our failures. And grace for those things in life that we never knew were a problem until someone pointed them out.
 
Less often, are we willing to pour out the grace to others that we naturally expect to receive ourselves.
 
James 4:6 says, "And He gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'"
 
John 1:16 goes on to say, "From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another."
 
These verses say two important things:
  1. We receive grace when we humble ourselves.
  2. We have already received an abundance of grace by what Jesus did for us on the cross.
 
Why, then, is it so hard for us to give out/give back what has already been given to us?
 
Think of it like this…you have been given the gift of grace by your Heavenly Father. However, instead of opening up this gift and keeping it for yourself, you are asked to give it away. What you don't know is that if you give it away, you will keep receiving the gift of grace until you stop giving it away. Once you stop giving it away, you stop receiving another gift of grace.
 
When you are asked to give away the very first gift of grace that your Father gives you, it might be challenging, and you might want to hold on to it. That very first act of faith is the most important. You must trust your Father implicitly that what He is asking you to do is the right thing. You must look beyond your humanness and your selfishness and trust that He knows best.
 
As soon as you give the gift of grace away, you immediately and without delay, receive another gift of grace. This time, it's not as hard to give it away. You now know because you trusted God, that you would get another.
 
In an effort for us all to gift away our gift of grace, I have put together a list of fifty ways to offer grace. Fifty shades of what giving away grace may look like in your life. Ponder each word and think of how you could give this away to someone in your life.
 
  1. Admiration
  2. Balance
  3. Beautification
  4. Blessing
  5. Celebration
  6. Charity
  7. Compassion
  8. Concentration
  9. Consideration
  10. Cultivation
  11. Decency
  12. Dedication
  13. Dignity
  14. Discussion
  15. Ease
  16. Elevation
  17. Embellishment
  18. Enhancement
  19. Enrichment
  20. Favor
  21. Finesse
  22. Forgiveness
  23. Generosity
  24. Glorification
  25. Goodness
  26. Honor
  27. Improvement
  28. Leniency
  29. Love
  30. Loveliness
  31. Magnification
  32. Mercy
  33. Pardon
  34. Petition
  35. Pleasantness
  36. Pliancy
  37. Poise
  38. Praise
  39. Prayer
  40. Provision
  41. Refinement
  42. Respect
  43. Responsiveness
  44. Support
  45. Tact
  46. Tenderness
  47. Thanks
  48. Thanksgiving
  49. Thought
  50. Tolerance
DEANA BELL:
Deana is currently one of the Directors of Covenant Keepers, International. She graduated from the Dove School of Leadership through Chesapeake Bible College and received her Pastor's license in 2019. Previously she and her husband, Koji, served as the Mid-West Regional Directors of Covenant Keepers and as small group leaders in that area. She has a degree in Secondary Education as well as experience in counseling from a biblical standpoint. For the last 20 years, she has also served her family as a stay-at-home mom and homeschool teacher. Deana's marriage has been restored since 2013.
 
She is passionate about having a relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. She has seen many miracles in her life as well as in the lives of the people around her. At her core, she is an encourager and disciple of Christ, spending most of her days ministering to people and digging into the Word. She also speaks at conferences, loves to write, and teach the Word of God. She and her family currently live and attend church in the Charlotte, NC area.
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