February 13
Scripture: Rom 3:23-24
Source author: Kelli Regan
February 13
The Most Unlikely Place For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. —Romans 3:23–24
I stood and took a deep breath. Terrified to speak in public and the only woman in a room full of men, I obviously didn’t belong. My stomach clenched as I scanned the expectant faces. I gripped the podium for support. How in the world did I get here? But this place was special and the worship time was powerful. I wanted to be brave. The Spirit emboldened me to lead the prayer. Was I in church? A Bible study? No. I was in a maximumsecurity men’s prison. How this suburban-dwelling, college-educated mom got there is one story. Why I choose to return frequently is another. In the prison, I see God’s love in action. I meet men who love Jesus, whose lives are being transformed by the Holy Spirit. And their vibrant faith inspires my own. As I worship shoulder to shoulder with thieves, abusers, and murderers, God’s gift of grace becomes startlingly clear—Jesus died for all of us, and His blood covers our sins the same.
In unlikely places, God frees our hearts to love our neighbors, His children. Inmates, addicts, outcasts. All of them. — Kelli Regan —