Drop Your Luggage: Checking Your Baggage at the Foot of the Cross

By T. H. Tieche

In his book, T.H. Tieche dives into all the issues that cripple God’s people—from a watered-down gospel that is presented in churches all over America to personality flaws, hurts, hang-ups, and habits, to ways to appropriate God’s gifts and promises into the lives of His believers. Drop Your Luggage is a tool to break shackles and to deliver people to their true freedom in Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781973663492

T. H. Tieche

T. H. Tieche is a man who has experienced the grace and loving mercy of God. Being delivered from several addictions, depression, and a reckless lifestyle, he now has a passion and fire for helping others receive the same grace, redemption, and the second chance he did. T. H. Tieche is a trophy of God’s grace and mercy, and wants to share his life lessons and insights with you, so you can walk boldly in the destiny God has for you, as His beloved child.

Book preview

Copyright © 2020 T. H. Tieche.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by

any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author

except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher

make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book

and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in

this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views

expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission

of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV

and New International Version are trademarks registered in the

United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6350-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6349-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020907381

WestBow Press rev. date: 06/17/2020

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Intro

Chapter 1 Kingdom Living

Chapter 2 All Roads Lead to Romans

Chapter 3 The Power of Prayer

Chapter 4 God’s Weapons

Chapter 5 Don’t Just Sit on the Sidelines

Chapter 6 The Power of Praise

Chapter 7 Compromise is a Killer

Chapter 8 Put on your Big Boy/Girl Pants

Chapter 9 Fight the Good Fight

Chapter 10 A Little About Me

Chapter 11 Crutches that Cause Wounds

Chapter 12 What’s Grace got to do with it?

Chapter 13 Fierce Faith

Chapter 14 I Believe in Jesus, yes, I Do

Chapter 15 The Crux of Cruciformity

Chapter 16 God Still Loves Us

Chapter 17 Counterfeit Christianity

Chapter 18 Jumping the Hurdles

Chapter 19 Dedicating the Temple of our Lives

Chapter 20 Turn on the Lights

Chapter 21 Walk the Walk

Chapter 22 Tithing-God’s Blessing to Us

Chapter 23 Big I, Big F

Chapter 24 Guard Your Relationships

Chapter 25 Biblical Marriage

Chapter 26 Pain of Pride

Chapter 27 Healing that God can Offer

Epilogue

Salvation Prayer

References

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There were so many people that helped make this book a reality. First and foremost, thank you, God, for loving me, creating me, redeeming me; and placing a calling and destiny in my life. Thank you, Jesus, for the Salvation you have bought for me and the entire world. That work you completed on Calvary two thousand years ago set me free from death, Hell, and the grave. It gave me a new life, a new purpose, and a new future. I love you and appreciate you. I will live the rest of my life worshipping, honoring, and serving you. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for Your encouragement, conviction, and movement in my life. You are the life source, the power, the reason why I can see Heaven come to Earth. It is Your living in me that allows me to see, relate, and experience God the Father. I pray that you continue to convict and highlight sin in my life, and empower me to walk closer with You every day.

To my wife, Sarah. You have walked through these things I talk about in this book with me. This journey, and thus, this book, is just as much yours as it is mine. Thank you for never giving up on me. Thank you for challenging me to do better, be better, and helping me make the commitment to being the man God created me to be. I couldn’t do this walk or this life without you, and I would never want to. I love you more than yesterday, and less than tomorrow.

Pastor Andy, thank you for giving me the chance to deliver my first sermon and giving Sarah and me the opportunity to lead in your beautiful church. The chapter, Jumping the Hurdles, came from this opportunity you gave me, and I am so grateful. You and Donna are wonderful people, and we love you. You were the first spiritual leader that saw potential in us. You believed in us, sacrificed your time and resources to share, minister, counsel, and guide us as new Christians. Thank you for all you do, and your commitment to God and His people.

Pastor Shane, you and Lora have become spiritual parents to me and Sarah. The fire, commitment, and love you two have for God and His people are amazing and inspiring. The way you are always upbeat and positive, and are always willing to lead through serving, is a model example of Christ’s love. There have been many hard times Sarah and I have shared with you and Lora. Each time, you have met us where we were, where our need was, and you prayed with us. Thank you for your obedience to God, your steadfast leadership, and love for us. We appreciate you, and we love you two so much.

And to you, dear reader. I may not know what you are going through. I do not know your struggles, heart ache, pain, your past walk, or life before coming to Christ. But thank you for taking the time to read this book. I hope this plays a small role in helping you move on to bigger and better things, the things God has in store for you. Stay faithful, hold fast to Him and His Word, and He will never steer you wrong.

INTRO

Angels are Awesome

What do you think of when you hear the word, Angel? Maybe you think of a cherub, a chunky baby with a bow and arrow. Or maybe you picture an attractive person in a robe leisurely hanging out on a cloud, strumming a harp. We have the idea that media and Western culture has put in our heads, but the Bible paints a different picture. All through the Bible, we see that angels are fierce, terrifying warriors, God’s soldiers, as well as our greatest allies. It was an angel who fought off the dark forces and defeated a powerful demon in the book of Daniel. It was an angel who wiped out 70,000 men in Jerusalem when David sinned and performed a census of his people in 1 Chronicles. Or how about in Ezekiel, where angels came in a whirlwind of fire, with huge wings and four faces? That does not exactly invoke a vision of what we are used to.

My point is, angels are the unsung heroes of the Bible. We have these beautiful, awesome, terrifying, demon slayers looking after us, and what recognition do they get? A cartoon of a fat baby holding a bow and arrow embossed on cards and cardboard decorations for a cheesy holiday. While you are living your life: Working, raising a family, going out on dates or family functions, and church events, your guardian angels are working overtime, fighting off the forces of Hell. Thinking of that really makes me appreciate angels.

Imagine you’re having an awesome time at the best concert ever (that’s what Heaven is like, one long worship session), and then your parents track you down, walk up to you, and hand you a screaming toddler in the middle of a code red hissy fit-I’m talking snot, ear-piercing screams, tears, bright red face, kicking anything that moves. My guess is that is kind of what happened to the angels when God created Man. I imagine the angels were shocked and confused about humans.

The author of Hebrews tells us how one angel reacted: What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you take care for him? (Hebrews 2:6, NIV). You can almost hear the incredulous tone in this angel’s voice. It’s as if he is saying, What is Man? Why do you even care about something so flawed and fragile? Why is Man so special? For being so weak and flawed, we have much honor and responsibility, You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor and put everything under their feet. (Hebrews 2:7-8, NIV). Think about that: Humans have dominion over the whole world. Everything that God created was made for us. We were given the Earth to do as we see fit.

Or look at 1 Peter, where Peter shows us the point of the preaching of the Prophets of old, "Concerning this Salvation, the Prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the Gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven. Even angels long to look into these things." (1 Peter 1:10-12, NIV, emphasis added).

The point of these Old Testament Prophets was to show the future generations what was to come; to point to a day when Jesus would come, rectify ourselves to Him, and impart the Holy Spirit to His Body. We no longer have to go to a building or a Priest to commune with God. We are that building, we are Kings and Priests. We have the same rights that were once reserved for religious Clergy of the old days. We can look back and see Jesus over and over again, all through the Bible. Do you realize what a blessing it is to be living in this generation, right now? We have access to something people more righteous than us deserved and longed for. We have full, unadulterated, instant, access to God, whenever we want. All we have to do is call on the Holy Spirit, and He intercedes for us, fights for us, protects us. That is a power not even the angles have, they long to know the things we can learn through the Holy Spirit. Wow! Let that sink in. We as believers, through the Blood of Jesus, have access to knowledge not even the angels know. We know from the account of Lucifer that angels have free will, they could choose at any time to stop protecting us. And yet, angels still obey God’s orders. Do you think our guardian angels ever have a face palm moment? I’m pretty sure mine does several a day.

Why do we Need Angels Anyway?

God is smart. He knew what would happen once He put the hot mess that is Humanity on the Earth. Satan would be all over us; trying to steal, kill, and destroy, like he does best. We see this truth in Revelation 12, "Then the Dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring-those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus." (Revelation 12:17, NIV, emphasis added). Satan is furious at Humanity, because we have what he lost. We have the relationship, protection, provision, and blessing of God. Those who believe in Jesus, and hold fast to His truths, teachings, and precepts. We have access to what Satan gave up with his pride and arrogance.

Because of this arrogance and pride, Satan was removed from Heaven (maybe that’s the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs?), from his place on High. And he has been trying to bring us down with him ever since. As the old adage goes, Misery loves company. Satan is miserable in his exile. To see God’s children endowed with gifts, a destiny, given a place in the royal family and role in the family business of saving souls, to see us being loved and adored by God, that makes him furious. He hates you, me, and everyone else that knows and loves God.

Think about this the next time you feel insignificant: Why would one of the most powerful beings on Earth, the, Ruler of the Kingdom of the Air (Ephesians 2:2, NIV), Satan, bother trying to kill you, if you weren’t important? It is because you are loved, special, and adored. You are dangerous to him. You are a prince/princess of God Himself. You are made in His own image, imparted with the same power, spirit, and fire God has Himself. Paul shares this truth with Timothy. 2 Timothy 1 says, "For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands." (2 Timothy 1:6, NIV, emphasis added). Fan into flames. The Divine Spark of God is in every human being, because we are made for, and by, Him. But when the Holy Spirit enters the heart of the believer, it becomes stronger, and allows the new believer a choice they didn’t have before. The believer can then choose to either fan that spark into a blazing fire, or ignore it and let it be quenched. The largest bonfire starts with a single spark, and that spark could go up in smoke and go cold within a few minutes without someone nurturing it and feeding it. That is like our realtionship with God.

You are a threat, Child of God. You have access and right to what Satan had to give up in his fall. He lost his ability to worship and commune with God. He lost his treasures, his role in the Kingdom, his gifting, and then as believers we came along and picked them up. We have right and access to God and His throne room anytime we wish, because of the Blood of Jesus. We can use that Name and witness miracles. Freedom, healing, anointing, deliverance, all come with the authority behind that Name, and that is why Satan wants to kill you. We have already won by claiming what Jesus completed for us.

I wish I could look you right in the eye and tell you that. YOU are victorious. YOU something special. YOU were put here for a purpose, bought and paid for with an expensive sacrifice-the Blood, the life force, of Jesus Christ Himself. There is no one else quite like you, and there is something meant for you that only you can do. To the world, we may not be anything important. We are just another stone in the great wall, one of seven billion, replaceable. But to God, we are the world. We are precious, invaluable, and cherished. Everyone one of us has a plan tailor-made by God especially for us that calls on our own unique gifts and abilities. Our sphere of influence, the people, situations, circumstances, everything that we come across in our life, is for a reason-His reason. Satan is smart, smarter than any of us humans. But God is smarter. That is why we need angels; to foster and protect that fire, calling, and destiny in that special, fragile, heart of yours.

A Call to Battle

I’m saying all of this to make a point: You, me, and every other person on this Earth are in a war. This is not a physical war, but a spiritual one. God and Satan are the Commanders of the opposing Kingdoms, the angels and demons are the generals, and we are the infantry. Whom we serve and where we go after this lifelong war is based on what we do here and now. This is not a Health, Wealth, and Prosperity teaching. This is not a Live your best life, or Be rich and blessed book. If that is what you are searching for, I wish you the best and I pray God and the work of Jesus is made real to you in whatever pursuit you choose.

I am going to challenge you, and hope that God will convict you and convince you, that you are in a war. God is good and wants to bless you, because He is a wonderful Father, the only Father. But the way to worship Him is not to make a cushy life for yourself. God is not a vending machine to be manipulated into getting blessings. Although He provides health, wealth, relationships, and other blessings to those who love and serve Him, these are not the main reason Jesus came. He did give us blessings, abundance, and prosperity, but not so we could be selfish and stockpile wealth. Rather, In all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8, NIV). Jesus did not die for you to have a nice car, a nice home, to be able to take lavish vacations, or retire well. Jesus died to reunite us with God. He died to bring us back to the Father who loves and adores us, to bless us so we could be a blessing, and to worship God in all things. Don’t misunderstand me, God loves you and wants the best for you. He wants you to be healthy, prosperous and happy. But when your relationship with God becomes a chase for those things, worshipping the gifts instead of the giver, that’s idolatry.

What if what was best for you meant God had to take something you hold dear away from you? Would you be ok with that? If that makes you cringe, chances are you are living a prosperity lifestyle. Nowhere in the Bible does God promise to make life easy, but rather, to be there at your side through all things. The Prophets and heroes of the Bible were so committed to God that they were willing to obey through sacrifice and prophetic acts to show God’s messages to the Israelites. God took away Ezekiel’s wife and did not let him grieve for her, so Ezekiel could show what pain looks like to Israel (Ezekiel 24:15-27, NIV). Jeremiah could not stop crying over the future of his people, he had so much love for them. He was beaten, imprisoned, put in stocks, almost killed, several times, and yet, he still loved his people the way God loved them. Hosea was told by God to marry an unfaithful prostitute to show an example of God’s undying love for the Israelites (Hosea 1:2, NIV). Paul suffered again and again, facing all kinds of trials, and called them, light, to what laid ahead for him (2 Corinthians 4:17, NIV). While God does want to bless you, He longs above all for His glory to come through for His Namesake.

God is interested in what is best for His Kingdom, your well-being, and the long haul; not what makes you happy now. I know this is counter-cultural to American Christianity that preaches the cookie and a hug Gospel. Believers in this false Gospel are not soldiers for the Lord, they are spiritual infants. They want to be coddled, instead of trained. This might come as a shock to those who follow this false Gospel, but God cares more about His Name and His glory, than us. This doesn’t mean He loves us any less. He still sent His Son to be our Savior. He still bought our Salvation with His sacrifice, and still wishes to spend eternity with us. But look at Ezekiel 20:9, "But for the sake of My Name, I brought them out of Egypt. I did it to keep My Name from being profaned. (Ezekiel 20:9, NIV, emphasis added). Or, in verse 12, Also I gave them My Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the Lord made them holy. (Ezekiel 20:12, NIV, emphasis added). And in verse 14, But for the sake of My Name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out." (Ezekiel 20:14, NIV, emphasis added).

We see this again in Ezekiel 36, "I had concern for My Holy Name, which the people of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone. ‘Therefore, say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of My Holy Name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of My Great Name, which has been profaned among the nations, the Name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord’, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I proved holy through you before their eyes." (Ezekiel 36: 21-23, NIV, emphasis added). God was more concerned about keeping His promises for the sake of His own glory, not ours, to keep His sacred name pure and holy. That is why He held His Word even after the people didn’t keep theirs.

Time and time again, God responds to appeals to His Name, because He is the only pure, holy, righteous being in the whole Universe. He is the only One who can make the change we need. Joel 2 has a great example of this tapping in and flowing in the power that comes from calling on God’s Holy Name, "Let the Priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, ‘Spare Your people, Lord. Do not make Your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ Then the Lord was jealous for His land and took pity on His people." (Joel 2:17-19, NIV, emphasis added). The Priests were told to call on the Name of the Lord, because Joel knew that He was the answer to their problem. If only we could see this same truth. Many times, God did not cause issues in our life, but our rebellion and callousness towards Him is what caused us to be troubled. If we would just reach out to Him, recall the promises He has given us, He could reach down and rescue us too.

Keep reading, and see what God replied to the Priests, "The Lord replied to them: ‘I am sending you grain, new wine and olive oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations, ‘I will drive the northern horde far from you, pushing it into a parched and barren land; its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea. And its stench will go up; its smell will rise." (Joel 2:19-20, NIV, emphasis added). These prayers were so powerful it elicited a reaction from God to move. He was stirred by their humility and seeking. The priests prayed and pleaded to God based on His Name and holiness, not their own righteousness, and it worked. God responds by saving His people for His Namesake and glory. This is not a power trip on God’s part, but a law of His Creation. Tapping into His glory, the Power in His Name, leads to movement on His part, and change in our lives. Praise God for that. I am grateful that we serve a God of order and structure. I praise God that we serve the One that loves and adores Himself above others. If He didn’t, He would cease to be God. God would lose His own purity and holiness if He put us above Himself, because then He would be committing idol worship.

Sometimes, God has to chasten His children for the interest of their own good. That is why Hebrews tells us that He chastens the ones He loves (Hebrews 12:6, NIV). These trials that we go through are used by God, as opportunities to strengthen our walk and relationship with Him. It is good and commendable to suffer injustice righteously (1 Peter 2:20, NIV). But if there were nothing to suffer, there would be no need for faith. More discipline means more responsibility, and more opportunities for advancing God’s Kingdom.

Any good parent looks into the future. Would you rather let your child have ice cream every day, never eat fruit and vegetables, be a slob, let them freeload and never do chores, so they can be happy? No, you discipline and guide your child, out of love. You make them eat right and give them a sense of responsibility, so one day they can grow up to be a productive, healthy, well-adjusted member of society. Think about what Paul tells the Corinthian church, "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when He comes, those who belong to Him. Then the end will come, when He hands over the Kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all his enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is Death. For He ‘has put everything under his feet.’ Now when it says that everything has been put under Him, it is clear that this does not include God Himself, who put everything under Christ. When He has done this, then the Son Himself will be made subject to Him who put everything under Him, so that God may be all in all." (1 Corin. 15:22-28, NIV, emphasis added). The purpose of the design of the world is for God to be at the front and center of everything-to, be all in all. God, the Church, the world. All of these things were designed to teach about, glorify, and worship God. God’s main objective is not our happiness, but His glory.

Romans 12:1-2 states, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2, NIV, emphasis added). We see something similar in 2 Peter 3, Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy Prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your Apostles." (2 Peter 3:1-2, NIV, emphasis added).

Do you want to know what God wants for you? Do you want to be free from this junk that is entangling you, and experience the freedom Hebrews 12 talks about: Dropping the chains that entangle, so that you can set your eyes on Jesus and run the race set before you (Hebrews 12:1-2, NIV)? Then you must first be willing to renew yourself.