Neither Give Place To The Devil

Ephesians 4:27, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.”

The inspired Holy Bible commands us not to give place to the Devil. Ephesians 4:27, “Neither give place to the devil.” We all make our own decisions as humans. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968) rightly said: “Behind every tragedy in human character is a slow process of wicked thinking.” It was in the news today that Joseph James DeAngelo [commonly known as 'The Golden State Killer' (warning: this hearing contains graphic details and language by prosecutors)] was merely sentenced to life in prison. The state of California's refusal to sentence this criminal to capital punishment is as horrifying as all the crimes that he committed. THERE IS NO JUSTICE!!!

This monster (a career police officer) murdered 13 people, raped 51 women, and burglarized 100 homes. He very likely committed hundreds more crimes, but these are just the ones police are aware of. This wicked man gave place to the Devil! All we can do is trust that our holy, great, righteous, vengeful and good God will avenge all evil (Romans 12:19-21; Romans 14:10-12). Even if the courts sentenced DeAngelo to 5,000 years in prison for his merciless crimes, he'll likely be dead within 10 years, as he is now old and sickly. I cannot even wrap my brain around the extent of this man's atrocious crimes. It is heartbreaking, horrifying and beyond the grasp of normal caring people. The police guards in the court hearing aren't there for DeAngelo, they're there to keep the victims from tearing him to pieces! Psalms 50:22, “Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.”

The ungodly state of California refuses to execute this monster! Angelo committed these crimes in the 1970's and 1980's, and evaded arrest for 42 years! We need to bring back the death penalty! Albeit, only God can punish this monster for his thousands of heinous crimes! Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) used to rightly say that anyone is capable of committing any sin under the right circumstances. The Golden State Killer is an immoral man, who does not have any regard for God nor man. When he was younger (he was born in 1945), while in his thirties and early forties, he committed hundreds of crimes worthy of the death penalty. Nobody could catch him because as a police officer he knew exactly what to do, and what not to do. DeAngelo knew who, what, where and how to commit his crimes. When a man doesn't care about anybody but himself, he is capable of committing even the worst crimes! 

Carefully consider that Americans have selfishly murdered 60,000,000 babies in the womb since 1973. How heartless and irresponsible! Abortion is first-degree premeditated murder (Exodus 20:13). I really like a new law passed in Tennessee recently, which requires a doctor to show a pregnant woman an ultrasound of her baby, and to let the mother hear her baby's heartbeat. The purpose of the law is to discourage mothers from having abortions. I say amen to that!

My favorite Bible verse is Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” I love this quote by Dr. Hyles:

“If you want to never do anything that is terribly wicked, then you never do anything that is slightly wicked.” —Pastor Jack Hyles, a life-changing quote from the sermon, “Unjust In The Least.”

I have watched about a hundred of 400 episodes of the popular TV series “Forensic Files.” I made a study of the little sins that led to the big crimes! Before people ever committed murder, arson, rape or dismembering someone, going off the deep end, they abused drugs and alcohol, went to strip clubs, commit adultery, lied and allowed lust to exist in their daily life. These horrible sinful bad habits grew from pet sins into monstrous evils (and all sin is awful). I watched the entire court hearing when Joe DeAngelo was sentenced. That heartless monster never flinched or shed a single tear, as prosecutors read the gory details of the hundreds of ungodly rapes, burglaries, torture and murders. DeAngelo offered a cold 10 second apology at the end to the victims, but it is clear to me that he was merely told to say that.

The Golden State Killer's reign of terror didn't begin on a whim, there was a slow process of wicked thinking, which led him to commit atrocious burglaries, rapes, tortures and murders all across the state of California. One couple was bludgeoned to death in their home, with a fire-log which the killer used. Many others were stabbed or shot to death by DeAngelo. One prosecutor rightly said that the corrections department aren't going to feel sorry for him, as some feeble, inept, old man who deserves better. I'm glad she said that. The victims all clapped. He is the same monster he was 42 years ago and he needs to be held accountable for his crimes against humanity. God will judge him in eternity (Hebrews 4:13).

It surprised me at the end of the preceding court hearing, if you watched it (I saw the whole thing), that the woman sitting next to DeAngelo pat him multiple times on the shoulder to comfort him. What an act of compassion! Because so much time has passed, 44 years since the crimes, there has been time for the emotions to settle down. But in God's mind, time does not heal wounds. Sin must be paid for! Jesus Christ died for the ungodly, and that includes Joseph James DeAngelo. ...

Romans 5:6-9, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”

I seriously doubt if DeAngelo will find Jesus Christ in prison, but only God knows what is in the heart of a man. We cannot control what other people do, but we can control our thought life, which determines our actions. That is why I think about the King James Bible all the time (Psalms 1). That is why I listen to lots of Bible preaching by fundamentalist Bible preachers. I need Bible preaching and so do you! I receive many emails from people, whose lives are a mess. One thing I have learned in life is that you can know the Bible very well, and attend church regularly, and still be a mess spiritually. It depends on your own heart. There are three things that I have learned are key factors in one's spirituality—fearing God, letting God love us, and having a thankful heart of humility.

James 4:6-7, “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

The Bible says that a man is what he thinks. Proverbs 23:7, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.” That is why Proverbs 4:23 is my favorite Bible verse, because I want to live right to please God, because I fear Him as my Creator, and how I think determines how I live. Jesus said in Matthew 15:19-20, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.”

Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” We've all seen criminals on TV in the news, who have been proven to be guilty, yet they still deny it. It just confirms what the Bible teaches, that man's heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. If Americans will murder their own children by abortion within the legal bounds of the law, then what are we capable of outside the law? Think about that. The Bible commands believers not to give place to the Devil. Literally, that means don't let the Devil have rent in your mind! Don't give him a place to set up shop in your soul.