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Several years ago, my friend Blake was on tour with Rascal Flatts. He was in charge of all the tour’s social media stuff.  Blake called me the day he was in town and said, “Hey man! You want to come down to the show? I’ll have tickets ready for you.”

I was like: YES!  So Jamie and I went down to the concert expecting to pick up tickets at the Will Call desk.  So when I got there, I called Blake and said “We are here. Where do I go?”

He said, “’Come over by where the buses are, around back.”

In my mind, I started to freak out, “By the buses!?”  We went around by the buses, and there was tightened security and police. It was insane. I walked up to the gate, and an armed security guy said “Hey, you can’t get in here. This is a restricted area.”

Then, all of the sudden, Blake comes around the corner with two VIP passes on lanyards.  He shouts out four of the best words I’d heard since we got to the venue, “They are with me.”

The security guard looked at me and said “you can pass.”

SCORE! I hugged Blake (I’m a big huger). So we are now walking around in the back where all of the bands are. I’m just in awe of what is happening to me.  Blake said, “Hey man, I have to work on some stuff. You can go to the meet-and-greet line and just hang, and we’ll catch up later.” So Jamie and I go and stand in line with the rest of the meet-and-greet people. We are talking and having a great time.  I keep thinking to myself, “This can’t be real.”

Then, all of the sudden, this guy appears out of nowhere and says to me and Jamie, “Hey you all are not supposed to be here.”

I was like “What?”  He said, “Come with me.”

So we follow this guy around the corner (thinking we are getting kicked out.) He takes us around the corner through a set of doors to another room where we are greeted and welcomed into a room full of food, beverages, and music.

They said. “This is where you wait. This is our VIP room.”

“SHUT UP! Are you serious!?” This night just went from amazing to off-the-chain EPIC!  So we are eating amazing food, drinking good beverages, and then, all of the sudden, they called us up and said, “It’s your time to meet the guys.” So we walked in and got to meet and talk with the guys from Rascal Flatts – really nice guys.  So now, we are ushered out of the room and got to sit right next to the stage and watch the show – amazing show. I called Blake, and he said, “Go down to the front of the stage.”

I walked down again and security greets me and says “You can’t be down here.  You need to leave.”

Then all of the sudden I hear Blake, “They are with me.” The security guard says “Oh, cool, come on over the barrier guys.”

I hugged Blake again, and we walked around back stage again, and he said “You want to go hang out on one of the buses with me?”

Jamie and I both yelped out “YES!” So we hung out on the bus and talked for a bit.  The evening was winding down. We hugged Blake and thanked him for an awesome experience.  Jamie and I drove home on cloud nine that night. I got to thinking about this experience.  I got all of that, not because of what I had done, but rather because of who I knew! I had a friend on the inside!  So because of that, I had all access!  This is just like how our relationship with Jesus is! Look at this verse:

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom. 5:1-2).

I LOVE THIS VERSE!

We gain access to Heaven, grace, mercy and Jesus Christ not because of what we’ve done, but rather because of who we know, and really more importantly, who knows us!  Because of this amazing fact we REJOICE in the HOPE of the Glory of God! Knowing Jesus is the best thing you’ll ever experience!

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9).