Esther was asked to risk her life for the Jews in captivity by the Persian Empire. It happened a number of times during the early history of the nation of Israel, that the Jewish people would rebel against God and worship other gods and God, in His anger would turn them over to whatever pagan empire was ruling then, be it Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, or Persia, but during a time of captivity, someone among the Jews would rise to a place of prominence within the pagan empire and become a source of restoration for God’s people — people like Moses, Joseph, Daniel, Nehemiah, and in this case, Esther.

Esther, because of her sheer beauty, had caught the eye of the Persian king who was looking for a new queen. But while she ruled, an evil nobleman in the king’s court, who bore a grudge with the Jewish people convinced the king to issue a decree that all the Jews in the empire should be killed — a massive genocide of the Jewish people. The king, not knowing his queen was one of them, had issued the decree.

When she found out, Esther faced a major dilemma. She could do nothing and hope to save her own skin while watching the rest of her countrymen and women perish, or she could risk death and appeal to the king for herself and her people. The risk with the second option is that no one, including the queen, can approach the king unless invited, upon penalty of death.

Esther’s cousin, Mordecai, confirmed that dilemma when he sent her the message: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14)

These are indeed stirring words for all of us. What were you put on this earth for? What are you alive today for? Is there any fear involved with what you are meant to do? (There usually is.) The only way to overcome that kind of fear is to pray and proceed. Pray and Proceed.

After hearing what Mordecai said she must have realized that she was damned if she did go before the king and damned if she didn’t. But there is one difference between those two choices, and it’s a big one. Only one gave God an opportunity to intervene in her case. To do nothing was to be selfish and hiding. To go before the king was to be transparent, vulnerable and leave her case before the Lord. Which is what she did, and the Lord worked a clever miracle we will see later.

Is the Lord asking you to do something? Is it scary? Be like Esther: Pray and Proceed.

Introducing Our MemberPartner and Community Development Director

We are pleased to announce the appointment of the newest member of the Catch Ministry staff. Terri Main will be assuming the role of MemberPartner and Community Development Director. She will oversee the membership program and develop community events for the ministry. She has been working with us for the past year to develop our new MemberPartner program offering a wide array of benefits to those special people who are the backbone of this ministry.

Terri is a veteran of the Jesus Movement. She helped produce Jesus Music concerts, produced a weekly radio program of contemporary Christian music, and worked with coffee house and street ministries.

Terri  was  professor of communication for 30 years and has established herself as an author with more than 70 published books including Bible studies, novels, and nonfiction books on communication and education. She is currently “retired” but continues to teach online courses, write books, and of course, work with the Catch Ministry. We are thrilled to welcome Terri on board, and you will be hearing from her during this campaign as we explore the mission of our MemberPartners during “such a time as this.”

by Terri Main

Each of us is uniquely placed to do good. It might not be in a palace. It could be in your home town, in your business, at you club, or in your neighborhood.

One of those places where you can do good is to be one of our MemberPartners. We are taking some steps of faith ourselves. The MemberPartner program at the Catch is expanding. Over the next few weeks, we will be rolling out many new benefits for the program. We will be building a vibrant online community offering special events, educational programs, online resources, and opportunities for our MemberPartners to become engaged with each other and the Catch Ministry.

As the director of this upgrade, I admit feeling a bit overwhelmed. But I realize that like Esther, I have been placed here, in this position “for such a time as this.”

We all need to take a step of faith. Faith always conquers fear. It’s not that fear goes away, but faith motivates action in spite of the fear.

I am going to ask you to take a step of faith with us today by becoming a Catch Ministry MemberPartner. As a MemberPartner, you are supporting this ministry which reaches people in more than 140 countries. In addition to the Daily Catch, we sponsor discipleship programs, help establish ministries around the world, provide counseling and prayer support for individuals and families. Future plans include expanding our reach through podcasting, videos, release of books, music, and videos, and the development of professional educational center for all levels of Biblical education from beginner to seminary level courses.

Most importantly, we are building a community of believers. Faith multiplies in community. Fear diminishes as we join together with others.

We invite you to become part of this community. It’s easy. Make a monthly donation of at least $20 a month and you will receive full benefits of being a Catch Ministry MemberPartner.

Click Here to join. You can use PayPal or your debit or credit card. Click on the monthly tab to set up your automatic payment.

That’s it.

As an added incentive, each of our new and existing MemberPartners will receive a digital copy of John’s Album “Johnny’s Café.”