In the facility where I work there is a Wednesday lunch time fellowship/Bible study. I am not a frequent Visitor, for a variety of reasons, but I’m on the distribution list the study facilitator maintains and I receive the Wednesday morning announcements confirming that it will indeed take place, along with the topic of discussion. Yesterday morning I received this one:
“Today, we’ll continue our new study of Psalm 91: God’s Umbrella of Protection, from the book by Peggy Joyce Ruth. We’ll look at Chapter 2 which looks at verse 2, “I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!’” Peggy says to circle the word ‘say’ in verse 2 in your Bible, “because we must learn to verbalize our trust.” She believes that the more we say verses 1 and 2 out loud, “the more confident we become in His protection.” Do you believe as she does? Bring examples of when speaking Scripture out loud boosted your confidence. Peggy also says that in times of trouble, “Take notice of what flies out of your mouth.” “The worst thing that can happen is for something to come out that brings death. Cursing gives God nothing to work with. This Psalm tells us to do just the opposite – to speak life!” What comes out of your mouth in times of trouble, death or life? I think this will be a great day of discussion. See you at noon! Bring your lunch.”
The first questions that came to mind were 1) Who is Peggy Joyce Ruth? 2) Am I looking at Word of Faith (ala Kenneth Copeland) teaching? And 3) Is Psalm 91 really about our needing to “verbalize our trust”?
1) Peggy Joyce Ruth. Well, at first I couldn’t find out a lot about Peggy Joyce Ruth other than a short bio on her ministry website and a few transcripts of interviews with Sid Roth, of “It’s Supernatural” fame. It seems that she spent about eight years in psychological torment, including electric shock treatments, received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit at a Pepsi Cola meeting in New Orleans, had peace for two years and the spirit of fear came back to torment her again.
Then one night God appeared to her in a prophetic dream/vision one night and spoke to her audibly and said ‘‘in your day of trouble call on Me, and I will answer.’ To make a long story short, she said this was God leading her to Psalm 91, which she has been studying for about thirty years while receiving ‘divine’ insight to its meaning. She now has published a series of books about Psalm 91, with editions for toddlers, youth, teens, mothers, and military members (regular and pocket sized editions), as well as a collection of testimonies of those who come through some really tough stuff and were miraculously delivered thanks to clinging to the promises of Psalm 91 and quoting it a lot.
2) The Kenneth Copeland Connection. A day after looking into her ‘ministry’ and reading Sid Roth Interviews I discovered the August 2015 edition of Kenneth Copeland’s Believer’s Voice of Victory magazine. She was the cover story for that edition and there was a lengthy article about her inside which focused more on all of the ‘taking spiritual authority over demons and dark forces’, as is to be expected from Kenneth Copeland. While Sid Roth was all about the “Supernatural”, Kenneth Copeland was all about “taking authority”.
3) Psalm 91. The other thing I did was read Psalm 91 again to see if it was teaching anywhere that we “must speak/verbalize” Psalm 91 to see miraculous deliverance(s) when we are in a pickle. (Especially verse 2, the crux of Ms Ruth’s ‘divine’ revelation). Turns out from my plain reading in context and ALL of the commentaries I consulted (10 or so); Ms. Ruth’s teaching is nowhere to be found. The Psalm certainly promised divine protection for those who trust in the Lord, in all manner of circumstances, but no way does it teach any “Word/Faith” techniques/practices.
Discernment Troubles?
All this brings us to the crux of this post – discernment. You see, after my initial questions and first round of research, I sent an email to the Wednesday Bible study facilitator with my concerns:
“It might be profitable to actually examine Ps 91:2 to see if it is actually teaching “we must learn to verbalize our trust”, or is it an expression of a heart sentiment, knowing and trusting that God is a refuge and strength. Don’t take my word for it. Here is a link to several commentaries concerning Psalm 91:2.
http://biblehub.com/commentaries/psalms/91-2.htm
This a wonderful Psalm concerning God’s protection in all the circumstances and storms of life, and one in which we can take great solace and comfort, but is it really teaching about personally verbalizing a passage for better confidence. Personally, the more I read and study scripture the more confidence I have in its truth. In this case, reading and studying other passages that speak about God’s protection for his children will go much farther in that regard.”
I received a hearty “Thanks for your input!” reply and sent another short email asking if anyone had looked into Peggy Joyce’s credentials as a Bible teacher. Here is the reply from my friend:
“I did a little bit and nothing jumped out as questionable.”
At that point, and mostly because I had not been attending the Bible study and been part of the process in selecting something new after the previous topic being discussed, I could only wonder why my friend found nothing questionable about this woman’s teaching if he had looked into her. Was it because his ‘little bit’ of investigating was very, very little, or he found the same stuff I had found (since there was little to find anyway) and was clueless concerning bad doctrine? Did he get sucked in by the novelty of new revelation that was pleasing to itching ears? What?
This is not a personal criticism, but rather an observation. After all, my friend might have a LOT of company. While I am sure that there is a certain amount of truth in Ruth’s books and teachings, I am equally sure that lies always ride in on the horseback of truth. I don’t remember when I first heard it or who said it, but someone said that sound discernment isn’t so much knowing the difference between truth and lies, but it’s being able to tell the difference between truth and ‘almost’ truth. Perhaps he was right.
On the other hand, maybe the disease technically termed “itchingearitis” causes the desire for plain Biblical truth (inherent in the new heart of a believer) to fly out the window. If that’s an accurate statement, there is a single and 100% effective solution for that believer. Read the Book for what it says, and be cautious concerning ‘extra’ material. First and foremost, let scripture interpret scripture. When we do that, our ears become sensitive to little clues that something might be amiss, and are less susceptible to being tickled.
Yes, I would say that ‘discernment troubles’ abound in the ranks of professing Christians, given the amount of very questionable ‘teaching’ these days.
And remember. . .lies come prancing in on the horseback of truth.
The Battle Cry 
I like the “lies come prancing on the horseback of truth.” Is that original with you?
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Not sure, but probably not. I can’t imagine that I would be the originator, given all of the wonderful saints that preceded us who recognized the phenomena. 🙂
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Thanks for the article. I too found little on her. I started researching her when I read in chapter 3 where she states “the enemy knows exactly which thought to put in our minds.” Is such a statement Biblical?
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I suppose you might be able to come to that conclusion. He certainly knew what to say to Eve in the garden. At the same time, we sin when we are drawn away by our own sinful passions. James 1:14 Does Satan directly put thoughts into our minds? I tend to think not. He doesn’t need to. 🙂
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Our neighborhood bible study group is studying PS 91 and a member challenged us to remember the Psalms are poems or poetry and not to be taken literally. It bothered me and I know that God is my Fortress (figurative ly not a literal structure) But is Peggy Joyce Ruth’s teachings just tickling our ears? I looked elsewhere for any false teaching because I don’t want to miss lead the women. I thanked the member for her warning but most of our women understand the Ps is about our protection and security in God whom we trust. Deb
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Hello Deb and thanks for asking about Peggy Joyce Ruth’s teachings about Psalm 91, which is a wonderful promise concerning God’s protection in times of trouble.
John MacArthur says in his commentary:
“This psalm describes God’s ongoing sovereign protection of His people from the ever-present dangers and terrors which surround humanity. The original setting may be that of an army about to go to battle. Most of the terrors mentioned in this psalm are left undefined, no doubt intentionally, so that no kind of danger is omitted from application. Believers in every age can read this psalm to learn that nothing can harm a child of God unless the Lord permits it. However, in light of the many references in the Psalms to the future messianic kingdom (cf. especially Pss. 96-100), this psalm must be read as being literally fulfilled then.”
Peggy Joyce Ruth, claiming direct revelation from God, tells us that we must “do” certain things to receive God’s protection, such as physically verbalize/say/speak out loud to God our trust in Him to be delivered from the dangers spoken of in the Psalm. Speaking/verbalizing releases power in the spiritual realm. That is nothing more that Word of Faith heresy ala Kenneth Copeland, Sid Roth and many other false teachers. It is that teaching that “tickles itching ears”. I also must confess that years ago I bought Copeland’s tape series on “The Power of the Tongue”, because it definitely “tickled my itching ears”.
Concerning the Psalms being just poems and poetry – I think that is a bit shortsighted. There are “literal” promises that can apply to all of God’s children. Protection during the many trials of this life is one of those in Psalm 91. It doesn’t mean supernatural miracles of deliverance if we say the right things (v. 2, according to Peggy) however, but that God will protect us and take us through.
There is a good commentary on Psalm 91 here:
https://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/psalm-91-commentary-bible-study-and-summary/
I hope this has been helpful!
When does your neighborhood Bible study meet?
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Thank you for this article. I was looking into bible plans on YouVersion and one of hers came up. Glad I did research too before engaging in twisted teachings.
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Good morning, Ana and it’s nice to meet you! I’m glad that post was profitable for you. While I don’t consider myself a “heresy hunter”, sometimes a teaching surfaces that seems questionable to me, so I do some digging, which at times causes other believers to tell me to not be so “picky”. I hope I’m just being a good Berean. 🙂
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Hi, so I have just recently been listening to some of her talks. I honestly think she’s right on. I had concerns about whether she’s in to some sort of word of Faith or power of words, but I don’t think that’s what she’s doing. I think she’s right that we really have to take every thought captive. so if I see myself as an addict then that’s how I’m going to behave. But if I go immediately to God’s word, and remind myself about how God sees me, it keeps me in a spiritual mindset. My deepest thoughts, absolutely impact how I live how I behave they impact everything. I don’t know that every single thing she says is necessarily exactly right. I don’t know what the deal was with Kenneth Copeland, but I also know there’s a lot false teachers constantly trying to bring other good teachers into closer affiliation as a means to try and either control them or take away or distort what they are trying to teach. I have learned a lot from John MacArthur as well however, John MacArthur definitely has some shady background. That makes me realize I can’t totally trust him either. I don’t think we should necessarily write this woman off but like anybody take what they say and make sure it lines up with the Bible.
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Hi Eric, I’m troubled by the vague statement about John McArthur having a shady background. It casts suspicion without evidence. That can damage his reputation and ministry.
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I will be watching for a reply to your comment. 🙂 I agree with you, but I didn’t bring up my concerns.
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You know what I apologize I should not have been that vague about John MacArthur. I could’ve chosen better language and simply said there’s some things in his past that I am concerned about. Even then probably giving specific evidence. I would like to do that, but it’s hard to fit in this little space – when I get to it (hopefully by the weekend) I can either put it here or if you have an email I could always send it by email to whoever?
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No need to go to all that work. I’ve probably heard/read them all. I like MacArthur, but I don’t agree with everything he teaches. 🙂
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While she does teach some wonderful truths, there is a huge problem with her claiming new direct revelation from God, as well as claiming that we must “verbalize” Psalm 91 to see miraculous results (like the Prayer of Jabez?), classic Word/Faith heresy (Kenneth Copeland/Sid Roth connections).
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I was listening to her teaching about baptism with Holy Spirit and as soon as she said Jesus is our ticket to heaven but we still need baptism I figured she is not the one to listen to her anymore. We don’t get to have Jesus as our ticket to heaven then we need extra work to get a better seat in our voyage (power of Holy Spirit as she articulated) and basically all the glory goes to God not us being baptized to be able to receive something extra special! Be careful with her false teachings!
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I listened to this Peggy Joyce Ruth teaching. Verse 2 of Psalm 91 states, “I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” She is just teaching to do what verse 2 verbatim says… “Say” to the Lord that he is our refuge and our fortress.
We never know how God is using a ministry to get through to his people. I would be careful tearing her down. She seems to be someone who helps a lot of people open their Bible and apply it to their lives. God uses many ministries – don’t limit how the Holy Spirit may be working!
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I would never limit the Holy Spirit. At the same time, when in my ‘travels’ I find something that seems questionable, I’ll do some homework. Claims of new private revelations from God cause my spiritual antenna to rise, as does that which sounds like Word of Faith teachings, ala Ken Copeland. So I urge caution. Thanks for stopping by!
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Hi, Peggy Joyce Ruth refers to a little booklet called “Healing is for You” which she said really helped her in one of her teachings .. found then that Kenneth Copeland produced a booklet by this title. (Noticed also another lady preacher by the name of Sandra Nikirk has a similiar title too.) Then just today found that Peggy Joyce has appeared in a Kenneth Copeland Magazine.
I have not really been completely comfortable listening to her teachings, kept noticing some small and not so small red flags but as you rightly mentioned there is very little background or info to be had to discern precisely “where this lady preacher is at”. I have been particular to only listen to women teachers if they are ministering only to women which Peggy is no longer doing.. and read that she had lead a bible study in her church for a great number of years. She is very practiced at teaching and an able communicator but because Scripture warns us about Eve being deceived first I am always cautious. Now finding two pieces of evidence likely confirming a connection with the Word Faith movement I will be happy now to have a peg to put Peggy Joyce’s teachings on. I’m sharing for the sake of others who are also being drawn by her teachings to be really careful not to go down that or any path of deception.. I don’t want any of God’s children to be robbed of the truth about who God really is.. Jesus told us it is the truth that sets you free.
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Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your personal insights. I Probably would not have heard of her but for a book of hers being used for the Bible study I was attending at work. For me there were several small things that caused me to be cautious, but it was the Kenneth Copeland connection I found most alarming. There was a time in my faith walk that I was a huge KC fan, believe it or not. But that’s another story. That your own sense of uncomfortableness lead to further research is commendable, as is your desire to share your thoughts with others!
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