When ALL ISRAEL NEWS interviewed Pastor Saleem Shalash of Home of Jesus the King Church in Nazareth last month, he mentioned that the city of Nazareth had decided to cancel the annual Christmas parade this year.

Because of the war in Gaza, Christmas celebrations in several communities have been canceled, including Jerusalem and Bethlehem. 

“You know, now we are preparing for Christmas. Look how the devil is working. Every year, we have the wonderful parade in Nazareth. 60,000 Muslims and Jews coming to Nazareth,” Shalash said. “So, this year it’s canceled.” 

Pastor Shalash said he decided not to let the cancellation get him down. 

“I went into my war room and I said, ‘God, what do you mean to do?’” 

Shalash decided to decorate the church van with a sign saying, “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” in three languages: English, Hebrew, and Arabic. He also decided that if the people couldn’t come to the parade, the church would go out to the people to distribute gifts. 

He said that God told him: “I want you to travel in Nof HaGalil [the Jewish neighborhood] and Nazareth, to give Jewish children and Arab children these gifts and not stop, even if the parade is canceled.” 

Read the full article at All Israel News.