Sid: My guest by way of telephone is Peggy Joyce Ruth. I’m speaking to her at her home in Brownwood, Texas. We’re talking about her brand new book “Psalm 91 for Children.” You see Peggy has spent the last 25 years of her life studying Psalm 91 and she has found that every problem that can hit someone the solution is found in Psalm 91. But the thing that excites me so much about this particular book is it’s geared to young people. Now of course it can be read to 4 year olds and a 9 year old could read it for themselves, but teenagers love it, adults love it. And if there’s one word that is a earmark of what is going on in the world today it’s the word fear. And fear should not be in the vocabulary of a true Bible believer. But I know that the next move of God’s Spirit is going to be young people. And I know they’re going to have a bold reckless type of faith that will rival the Book of Acts. It’ll probably be Acts 29 & 30 are about ready to be written. And I want your young people moving in that. And I can picture you getting this book and having a family Bible study. I’m going to ask my guest Peggy Joyce Ruth to teach a little from the book. If you were to walk into someone’s home they could have your book or you could teach. Would you teach a little from Psalm 91 Peggy?
Peggy Joyce: Yes, the way that the Psalm begins is “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide under the shadow of the Almighty, I will say to the Lord my refuge, and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.” And this is so important to teach to a child because they need to know that this is not just some kind of a rule or a regulation if you say it just right then you’re going to have protection. They need to know that this is a love walk with the Lord that’s being developed. When they get into a love walk and understand how much the Lord loves them then all of a sudden it’s easy for them to understand. You know that He wants to give them protection all of a sudden then protection is easy for them to believe. And my favorite illustration in the whole book is on page 81 because it’s a picture of Jesus and He’s telling this little child to come meet Him in their secret place. And so I’ve taught our grandchildren when they come Collin and Mitt they stayed the night with us and the moment they finish breakfast they jump up and they say we’ve got to go to our secret place. And they run to their own little secret place and they spend a little time talking with God. And we taught them that at a real early age. And if a child is taught to find a place that’s just his and the Lord and if he makes that a habit every morning what it does it develops a love walk that causes him not only to love God more but it also helps him to better understand God’s love for him. And a love relationship now is the foundation on which this Psalm 91 covenant protection is based.
Sid: You know there are a lot of people that teach on walking in faith for supernatural healing and the major ingredient that they miss is they have all of the truths, but if it’s just rules and regulations and not based on intimacy with God that’s all it is and it doesn’t even work.
Peggy Joyce: Exactly, exactly. You know it’s the letter of the law kept but it’s the Spirit that giveth life and if we understand that…
Sid: And so many young people they only know the letter of the law, they must learn the love of God!
Peggy Joyce: Exactly, and so I’ve tried so hard to find ways to make God’s caring love come alive. For example, one of the things that the Lord showed me is I feel like…
Sid: Before you even say that I happened to open the book to that illustration that you talked about where Jesus says “Meet Me at the secret place.” And I’m looking at the picture of Jesus and I normally don’t like pictures of Jesus I have to be candid with you but this one I really like and with the young kid… I mean whoever did your artwork did a superb job.
Peggy Joyce: He really did, I thought he just captured it so well and with Jesus putting His finger up to His lips like “Be quiet get to the secret place it’s our secret place alone.” And you know when a child all of a sudden realizes that Jesus wants to meet just with him, you know just with her in their own little secret place well my goodness then all of a sudden you’re not saying “Okay it’s time to say your payers.” All of a sudden they can hardly wait to get to their secret place, they can hardly wait to get there and talk with the Lord.
Sid: And I have to believe that a lot of parents that will read this book to their young children it’s going to revolutionize their life.
Peggy Joyce: Oh, it has I’ve had so many testimonies of when they learn how much God loves them enough to provide this protection. When they realize that then all of a sudden it just comes alive on the inside of them. And all of a sudden a love walk with the Lord is the most important thing in the world and the fringe benefit, the overflow then is the protection. The Lord gave me a good illustration of this in verse 15 one of the promises is “I will be with him in trouble and rescue him.” And that has to be more than just words to a child, you know they read past that and that won’t mean a thing to them if it’s just words. So I illustrated that chapter by telling a story on page 92 about when we had a flood in Brownwood quite a number of years ago. Our son had a herd of goats on the land by the river and when that flood water came up well it just overflowed the banks and of course the goats had no way to get to higher ground. Well, there was some old ranchers who hoisted those goats up into the loft of a barn and when Bill went out to check on them and of course they had road blocks and the water was so heavy and so swift it was like a rushing river. And they wouldn’t let anybody through, well when Bill heard his goats were up in the top of his barn he was so relieved at to realized that they had been saved, but then he knew that they would suffocate so he got a little tin bottom boat and he went across those swift flood waters. God to the barn and you know that boat was rocking in all directions with that water, he had to tie the boat up to the barn and then reach up and open the loft. Now he had bottle fed one of those little goats up and he called him little Willy and he heard little Willy calling to him when he came across those waters. And when he opened the loft little Willy was the first one to jump down and then he got the goats down just a few at a time and road them all back to safety. And we’re talking about a long way across because that river once it had gotten out it had gone several miles in each direction. And he rode them all back to safety boatload by boatload. There was a TV crew there and he was on the 6:00 news and the 10:00 news. But you know what that did the Lord said “Use that story to illustrate how when My children are in trouble that’s how I go to their rescue.” And it’s been amazing how many children every time they think about God rescuing them when they were in trouble they think about that story of this little boy rescuing his goats. And of course he was a teenager but rescuing his goats and if someone loved an animal enough how much more God come to our rescue. That has just really opened up a whole new avenue of thought for so many, not only young people but adults too.
Sid: You know Peggy Joyce I’m reminded of some 25 years ago you didn’t know the word but God spoke to you when you were filled with fears about Psalm 91. Then for the last 25 years you have been studying this with anointing of God and accumulating the stories of all of the people of whose lives have been spared miraculously spared and protected. But I have to believe if you were afraid 25 years ago how much more with what’s going on today I’m wondering what kind of shape you would be in if you had not studied and experienced the reality of Psalm 91 over the last 25 years just reading what’s going on in the world today.
Peggy Joyce: I don’t want to sound traumatic but I really believe that I would have been dead by now. I do not think that I could have handled it. You know this is a different world than our little children are faced with today and it’s not a matter that they just hear about the problems I mean they’re living in those problems. And they see it all around them and they it’s so wonderful then just as wonderful for me 25 years ago so wonderful for them to realize that not only do they hear the problems but now they know that there is a answer. And they literally can be equipped to live a fearless victorious life. You know I’m always telling people “Well, if you like Psalm 91 for Adults” you’re going to love Psalm 91 for Children” because you can see little children being able to face life without having to go through the fears that would obviously be there if they didn’t have an answer.
Sid: You know a thought crosses my mind, you said someone read the book and got so excited they started buying quantities of them and giving them away. I can’t think of a more exciting ministry than to give this book to young people that God has put in your life. But I repeat it’s not just for the young people. I believe that there are many parents that are going to get this book for the young people and it’s going to end up saving their life. There’s such an epidemic of flu and diseases and AIDS and cancer and heart trouble. What does God’s word say in Psalm 91 about these things?
Peggy Joyce: Well the Lord tells us in Psalm 91that if we dwell in His shelter and then verse 2 is very important that we say “Lord, You’re my Lord, You’re my God You’re my source.” There’s just something about that when you start saying it out loud you know you can feel your faith rising. It says “And He’ll deliver you from the snare of the trapper, He’ll deliver you from those traps, He’ll deliver you from this deadly pestilence, that deadly disease.” See I always thought pestilence that something that attacked crops and I had no idea until I started studying it that pestilence is a disease, it’s a deadly disease that attacks a person. And then He goes on to say that He’ll cover you and that His faithfulness to those promises will be a shield. In other words He’s going to be faithful to the promises and that even though a thousand fall at our side and 10 thousand at our right hand it will not approach us. Now we have to appropriate that, it’s not automatic but as we trust Him and as we confess that and as we come…
Sid: Oh Peggy Joyce we’re out of time…
