Chapter – 49: Three Checkpoints 2026
The bible says, as Believers, you will be tested.
1 Peter 1:7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Chapter 49 is the test, a gauntlet if you will, that I envision in my head during all new adventures and challenges. The path we all must take, a walk so to speak to learn the talents God has given each one of us and what to do with them, and what not to do with them.
Colossians 3:17 (NIV) states: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Chapter 49 serves as a guide for Christian fiduciary duty, encouraging believers to align every action with Jesus in spite of the spirit of sin and selfishness. A process, a learning time, a preparation for the what is to come.
Three checkpoints that teach about talents given and the challenge of sin stealing the opportunity that comes with God’s given talent. The three checkpoints, it must be pointed out, are for Believers only. These are mile markers. A journey in the desert, a path to walk with Jesus, each checkpoint far away from the next and on that journey from one checkpoint to the next a great learning occurs, one that teaches exactly how to use the gifts God has given and how easily the devil can steal them from all of us.
Three checkpoints, one gauntlet in total, that must be gone through at each juncture, each adventure, I’m outlining the first time I walked through it, there will be many times hopefully.
Psalm 11:5 The Lord tests the righteous,
but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
Checkpoint One. Oh boy, this one is the Hail Mary pass. “I’m in so much trouble, God help me and I’ll do anything, I promise, I’ll even read the bible, go to church, repent every hour, anything, just get me out of this mess.” Even a non-believer can get in on Checkpoint #1. But, over time, a faker, won’t make it. So, here is the prayer of C1.
Psalm 69:13-18 But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the water flood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.
Hear me, O Lord..
We all know that prayer. That is Checkpoint One. Believers or non-believers. Like the saying goes, “there are no atheists in trench warfare.” All people say, “I believe in God” at checkpoint #1. There are those who walk away, you didn’t walk away. All of us said, “I’m in trouble, I believe, help me.”
And here it begins. Walking the path of Checkpoint #1. Learning about your balance sheet, book-keeping and accounting. Managing cash flow, negotiations, quality control and most importantly the bible and the Lord in your life. A path. Imagine the desert, walking towards checkpoint #2 with God, after accepting responsibility at Checkpoint #1. God gives information, and new people to help. The path of checkpoint one is one of acceptance and obedience and we happily accept as trouble fades. Well, it’s about to shake up a bit. It’s a long walk from checkpoint one to checkpoint 2. A lot is learned, and hopefully remembered, because it’s critical information at checkpoint 2. I’ve often said, I believe checkpoint 2 is owned and operated by the devil himself. You see, upon arriving at C2, it is an oasis. Bills are in order, life is much better, the bad stuff for the most part has passed and now, it would seem, life is fruitful, calm and much more in order. And then there comes more direction. How to stay in order becomes the next level of information. Now that you know the gifts God has given, it’s best now to practice these gifts and learn to use them proficiently, profitably and in a Godly manner. But guess what? At C2, you don’t feel like doing that. As the matter of fact, you feel pretty good and not in the mood to take anymore direction. “Why God and I got it from here. I’m not in the mood. I’m good. Me and God got an understanding,” is said by many. The devil, in fact, blinds the eyes to the fact that one is still in the desert and when C2, this oasis, in the middle of said desert dries up, you are in the desert, alone, with the devil laughing. Stuck, the path has left you behind by your own hand, your own decision, you have failed the test, and now here you stay. Get it? God still loves you, you can still go to heaven, but the adventure is over. In this case, the company is gone. C2 is a real big test.
Matthew 25:29, Matthew 13:12, and Luke 19:26, which state: “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away”.
Do you understand that scripture? I hope you never experience it. Scary stuff. How many people get stuck at C2? Many. It’s a small fraternity that walks this gauntlet and survives, a remnant as the bible says. The Bible describes the remnant as a faithful, often small minority of God’s people who remain true to Him despite widespread apostasy, judgment, or cultural pressure. They are characterized as “called, chosen, and faithful” survivors who rely on grace, maintain integrity, and are promised restoration, ultimately keeping God’s commandments and the faith of Jesus.
It is important to survive, to walk on forward in Christ, through the challenge, through the pain, temptation, sin, selfishness, arrogance. To learn the true responsibility of the gifts given to you and me by God, for His purpose, not yours or mine.
1 Peter 4:10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
Okay, let’s say you make it through C2, and back on the desert road we go, and a long road it is to Checkpoint Three. Here the Lord will teach and you learn all about People, Places and Things given and how to apply your talents to take care of these gifts, how to specifically use them as a ministry tool. How to actually become proficient at serving the Lord and being aware of evil, and those things that would interrupt the path being traveled by you and others, important to share what God is doing in your life for them. All of this on the desert road from C2 to Checkpoint three.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
A boat load of information, walking the road of C2 to C3. Reading the bible, garnering power and authority from God’s word, learning to use the Holy Spirit and your director in all matters, learning to repair those days when I stumble and to accept God’s help in recovering. Learning about repentance, and all these things I’ve incorrectly done in my life, learning, learning, learning, all the while, working business and how to act accordingly in my contract negotiations, orderly business, the seven disciplines, a new creation in Christ, partnering with God to utilize the company as it was originally meant to work, as God meant it to work.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!
..On this path from C2 to C3. Learning, practicing, failing, recovering, discovering your gifts and the frightening reality of temptation and sin to offset a Believer’s mission.
Welcome to your arrival of Checkpoint 3. Here is where the rubber meets the road. Unlike C2, I don’t believe this is owned by the devil, I’m not sure it has the devil in it at all. This one is entirely on me and you.
This is where you or I pick God, Jesus Christ, the one written in the bible, or you, I do not. This is terror for me when I think about it. I call Checkpoint three, “The King Nebuchadnezzar checkpoint.” Why? I’ll tell you. King Nebuchadnezzar decided that he was responsible for all that had been done in his kingdom. Not God, but he himself, King Nebuchadnezzar. For this arrogance, God knocked him down, removed him as King of Babylon for seven years, and during that time, he lived like a wild animal, eating grass, and possessed hair and nails resembling birds’ claws. (found in the book of Daniel)
Checkpoint three, is about pride. Pride overcomes all that has been learned, and all that has been learned is not forgotten, it is rendered irrelevant by choice, your choice or mine, it is a personal option taken.
For all the success that has been achieved on the road of the three checkpoints, this one, allows the traveler to be struck dumb with pride, drunk with arrogance and self importance.
Ephesians 4 says, “They live in the futility of their mind, darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them because of the hardness of their heart.”
Or, the Traveler, realizing all that has been learned, gives the glory and honor to God and thusly walks through checkpoint three and wins this round of “The Three Checkpoints”, allowing a person to move into what I call the sea of opportunity, the next installment of earned information, God’s destiny, the next adventure of the original blueprint of you, off you go to work and work with due diligence.
“To whom much is given, much is required” is a biblical principle found in Luke 12:48, emphasizing accountability for talents, knowledge, and blessings. In short, as stated, time to get back to work, remembering what has been learned and given.
1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it”. This verse assures believers that they will not be tested beyond their ability to withstand, and God will provide a way to overcome
What happens to those who fall at C2 or C3. Just don’t do it, the risk is too great.
Hebrews 6:4-6 For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come — and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame. (NLT)
There will always be more adventures and more opportunity to again walk the gauntlet of “The Three Checkpoints.” Each time you get a little better, but never skip along the road, it is a dangerous road of trials, as it should be for those given a fiduciary calling. All given responsibility by God, must be tested. Be aware that His calling for you, is just for you, nobody else.
Matthew 13:11 “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
Job 23:10-11: “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside”.
Chapter 49 Three Checkpoints, 2026, stay safe, borrow my notes until you have your own. Amen.
