By One Spirit — Holy Ghost Ministry

Lary and his beloved dog Champ welcomed by Jesus into a radiant garden of flowers, waterfalls, and golden light
Remembering the ministry and teachings of Lary R. Hale

Faith carried forward

By One Spirit is a lasting home for Holy Ghost ministry, preserving the teachings of Lary R. Hale and the memories of the people whose lives he touched.

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Prayer and Faith

Rahab shelters two Israelite spies beneath drying flax as searchers pass below, showing protective faith and moral discernment.
© By One Spirit Ministries

I have just a few words today on the subjects of lying and killing, as these topics came up at a prayer meeting that I held last night. Lying is a heinous sin and in fact is what started the whole ball of destruction rolling in this world to begin with. The serpent lied to Eve in the garden of Eden, she believed that lie and the rest is history (Gen. 3:4-6). And it is not good history either, I might add. No good whatsoever can come from lying, or from believing someone else's lie; but we have a whole lot of documentation that much BAD can and will come from it. The Bible also clearly informs us that anyone who is inclined to doing wrong, and anyone who lies themselves will be a believer of lies: "A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue" (Prov. 17:4). If we need any further confirmation that lying is a seriously bad thing, we have the words of Jesus to those who rejected him: "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it" (Jn. 8:44). So if we are liars, that means we are children of the devil, plain and simple. Okay, now here is my question, and the point that I would like to make on what is lying and what is not: Was Rahab the harlot in the book of Joshua, 'lying' when she hid the men whom Joshua had sent to spy out the land, and told the men of king of Jericho that she did not know who they were, and that they had left her house earlier? (Josh. 2:1-5). According to the thinking of almost all modern day 'Christians,' Rahab was lying because she did not tell it the way it was. But the men of God, along with Joshua, thought differently and rewarded Rahab for doing what she did by sparing her and her family when the men of Israel took the city and killed the inhabitants. Not only so, but Rahab was joined to the children of Israel and continued with them (Josh. 6:22-25). James also in the new testament gave honor to Rahab by calling her 'lying' an act of true faith in God (Jas. 2:25). The truth of the matter is that actual lying is when someone changes something for the sake of evil, as the serpent did in the garden of Eden.

Lying can be more accurately defined as 'deceit,' and it is always something with a morally wrong motivation. In the case of Rahab, she changed the facts of what was going on for the sake of protecting men that were of God. That is NOT a morally wrong motivation, and therefore it is not lying. Of course the wrong person can take this truth and run in the wrong direction with it, but that can and is done by the wicked in all things that pertain to truth and righteousness. Neither God nor righteous people of God reward anyone for doing wrong, but rather for doing what is right. Rahab did what was right and was rewarded accordingly. Hers is not the only example but it is certainly sufficient to the point, and there is no contradiction to it because it is a demonstration of truth, and truth never changes. Then we have the issue of the commandment, "Thou shalt not kill" (Exd. 20:13). The same God, in the same law, issued A BUNCH of instructions TO KILL those who broke his commandments in a severe nature; such as murder, kidnapping, adultery, bestiality, witchery, etc. (Num. 35:17; Deut. 24:7; Lev. 20:10; Lev. 20:16; Exd. 22:18). That's right, God himself said "Don't kill," then he turned right around and said, "DO kill." Does that make God contradictory, or maybe a little bit confused? I rather doubt that. So then what does the commandment mean that says, "Thou shalt not kill?" It simply means not to kill needlessly, or commit murder. Is that not enough scriptural evidence for you? Then try this on for size: When the children of Israel committed whoredom with the Moabites and Midianites at Baal-Peor, God called for the heads of those involved to be hung up against the sun, and he also killed twenty four thousand of his own people with a plague for this mass ungodliness (Num. 25:1,4,9). The number would have been far greater except that Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, ran into the tent of an Israelite man who had taken his Midianite girlfriend inside for some fun; and ran both of them through with a javelin (Num. 25:7,8).

So what did God think about THAT? "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel" (Num. 25:10-13). I would sure like to think that I could have that kind of report and resume with God, wouldn't you? Do I really have to ask if Phinehas was guilty of breaking the commandment of "Thou shalt not kill?" Of course he wasn't, as God does not reward the breakers of his law by establishing with them "[his] covenant of peace.... [and] an everlasting priesthood." What Phinehas did, he did for righteousness sake, even as the penalties of death implemented in the law by God were for the sake of promoting and preserving righteousness. "Thou shalt not kill" means that they could not kill for the sake of evil, such as in the case of murder. Everything with God is a matter of differentiating between good and evil, not between words and technicalities. It's the wicked, or at least the ignorant who get hung up on words and technicalities. When John the Baptist told the soldiers in his day, "Do violence to no man," he meant for them to not do violence needlessly (Lk. 3:14). Does that mean that they would be doing evil if they had to kill someone in battle in order to protect their comrades and preserve their nation? Of course not; God himself commanded his people in the old testament to kill in battle on many occasions. In fact Saul the first king of Israel, lost the kingdom because he DID NOT kill all of the Amalekites whom God had sent him to kill, by the word of Samuel (I Sam. 15:1-3,9,28). So the truth of these matters is that those who love righteousness will be able to see these issues with good spiritual sense and understand that in both cases it is a matter of discerning good from evil, rather than masking a hyper-righteous religious spirit with a nonsensical viewpoint of technicality of words. "As for God, his way is perfect" (II Sam. 22:31). Amen and amen.

From the Preserved Writings of Lary R. Hale

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Jesus Is All

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In loving memory

Lary R. Hale

Lary smiling with his beloved dog Champ
Lary with Champ

A Hero Finally Rests.

Lary Redman Hale of Louisville, KY entered into his greatest joy, the presence of King Jesus himself, welcomed by the cheers of angels and the saints of God on Sunday night, April 21, 2024.

What the outside world would see as the untimely passing of a humble, local minister, heaven saw as the triumphant finale of a valiant warrior's life. He fought the good fight, having kept the faith, and received what Christ himself called "The Champion's Wreath of Victory".

Lary was born November 13, 1954 to Marvin and Norma Hale. Being the youngest of his siblings ensured he had lots of time with his loving mother, from whom he undoubtedly developed his profound sensitivity, heartfelt sentimentality and emotional comfortability - characteristics that were trademarks of his life. He grew up surrounded by cousins and classmates that became his best friends.

At his 50 year class reunion he was overjoyed and excited to catch up with so many of them, smiling and laughing more than he had in a long time. He would often tell stories of how he treasured those times as a young boy riding bikes, shooting B.B guns and playing with his childhood dog Peanuts; all while getting into assorted harmless mischief. He cherished the time he spent living on his parents houseboat and helping his dad, a united states marine veteran, take care of the boat and dock.

His relationship with his dad was only strengthened in their later years as they watched boxing matches almost every weekend for the remainder of his dad's life. He admired his brother Gary for his athleticism and industrious attitude, and thought his sisters Vicki and Mila had hearts of gold just like his mother. In his teen years Lary developed three of his lifelong loves: swimming, cool cars and lifting weights.

Some people said Lary was part fish because of how well he swam, but Lary would correct them, he was actually part dolphin. As a young man he managed a health club where he helped multiple people lose weight and counted that a huge joy. He loved nature and taking photos of it, honing his skills and knowledge in cameras. His vocabulary was second to none and he enjoyed learning new words and using them especially in his writings.

Before he passed he still exercised as much as his body would allow and he longed to return to the ocean and the white sands of Destin, Florida.

Like most disenfranchised teens in the early 70s, Lary indulged in countless vices that left him empty and searching for more. Although his long black curly hair, loud clothes, muscles and muscle cars made him the envy of the boys and the heartthrob of the girls, none of these things satisfied his heart. He pursued a college education briefly, desiring to be a marine biologist or philosopher but found that this was not what he was missing either - he longed for true fulfillment.

Depressed, empty, and feeling hopeless, Lary heard about a particular beautiful girl he had a crush on that was attending a small church where the "Spirit of God" was changing people's lives. After wondering why someone like her would attend a church like that, he began to attend also.

After a few months, he made a simple prayer on his hands and knees, saying "God I can't stop smoking, drinking, raging or any of the other countless vices I have - but if you can set me free from these things, I'll know you're real and that you want me to serve you". The next morning Lary woke up and described the next few hours as "walking on air" realizing he was, in his words "delivered" and never going back to those vices.

This began his life long commitment to glorifying Jesus, the king of glory, for how he transformed Lary's life from darkness to light. Lary would marry that same beautiful girl, the love of his life, Fay Kustes, and they would have two sons together, Benjamin Isaac and Elisha Daniel. Lary's greatest joy in life was being a husband and father.

He was happiest when he was sharing what he was learning in the bible with his family, and teaching them that knowing God was simplistic and yet powerful - that God was not merely a religious concept, but a powerful savior on a day to day basis. As Lary made it his life's goal to find "the lost sheep", he would tap into his multifaceted creativity that went largely underappreciated.

Lary produced well over a thousand episodes of gospel presentations: self-producing, mixing, editing and encoding both a radio and television show. Between the two, he broadcast for over 30 years. All of this in the analog age, where self produced radio and TV shows were nearly unheard of, especially without any budget whatsoever.

Lary was an evangelist in Louisville and southern Indiana, being asked to preach and teach in multicultural and multi-generational churches across the city. The churches he was most loved and welcomed by were the African-American Baptist and Pentecostal churches that loved and welcomed his passionate, excitable and action packed style of preaching.

Once the dawn of the internet came, he immediately worked to have a website published, making his literature and gospel teachings available. Eventually he'd use social media to teach, preach and encourage believers all across the world. He would spend every night praying with and encouraging christians from every nation until the end of his life. Many of which saw him like a second father and all of whom greatly mourn his passing.

Even though he produced over a thousand episodes of media, taught in multiple churches, mentored in multiple countries, and had multiple printed works of literature, he considered his greatest life's work to be his two sons. One of their earliest memories is Lary saying "the most important job in the world is not preaching the gospel, it's raising kids in the gospel". This threaded through his entire life.

In his final week on earth, he reminisced on his life saying "I see my life as the highest success, because my life's work are my two sons, who I am so incredibly proud of - not for their natural achievements but for their love, humility and personal faith in Jesus that is not only evident in their lives but also in their love. Because of them, I know my life is a true success - and I credit Jesus for all of it".

His sons today see him as the most successful man they will ever know. He succeeded in loving them and never hurting them. Leading them and never controlling them. Being there for them and never leaving them. He was a man that would apologize quickly, forgive quickly, and always encouraged his sons to "get up and go from here". He succeeded in teaching them faith, hope and love in a world starving so badly for all three. His ministry lives on in them.

The lives of everyone touched by their lives are forever indebted to this humble, prayerful man of faith.

He is preceded in death by his father Marvin, mother Norma, sister Mila, sister-in-law Marlene, nephew Adam, aunts, uncles, treasured cousins, and his beloved dog of 18 years, Champ.

Until they are reunited in the glory of heaven, he is survived and will be missed by his sons, Benjamin and Elisha (Katrine), his wife of 30 years, Fay, his brother Gary, His sister Vicki (Dan), his cousins, nieces, nephews, his friends, and those that called him their pastor and teacher.

"The righteous perish, and no man lays it to heart: merciful men are taken away and no one considers that the righteous person is being spared from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace: he shall rest in his bed, having walked in uprightness." Isaiah 57:1&2

A life in pictures and film

Watch the tribute video shared with Lary’s obituary. It brings together moments from his life and footage of the man so many loved.

Video hosted by Tribute Slides through Newcomer Kentuckiana.

Original obituary at Newcomer Kentuckiana

Memories of Lary