April 2024 - April Blessings!
Greetings in the Name of our Risen Lord! This has been an exciting month! We have had so many exciting testimonies; we have had the Resurrection Celebration, and the awesome solar eclipse. The most exciting is the salvation of souls by the living Savior!
We cannot comprehend fully God’s plan, but we surrender to Him, knowing He is in control. The effects of God’s workings are far and beyond what we see. I just returned from a trip to Egypt where I spoke in some churches in Upper Egypt and saw numerous people come to the Lord. The main purpose of the trip was to train 130 young leaders on evangelism and mission work in a challenging world. The spiritual climate is open and very ripe, and Christians must be prepared.
While there I visited a location where the Holy Family travelled and lived when they were warned to flee Judea for Egypt because of Herod the Great. I was surprised to learn that thousands of people make pilgrimage to this place. I was asked by several local people to make a television program about the Holy Family’s time in Egypt and so we will plan for that, and it should be very interesting. All programs are made with the intent of reaching people for Jesus.
It amazes me when I see the results of the ministry first-hand and when I connect with people who have accepted Jesus and they tell me their whole families have been blessed, even many in countries hostile to the Gospel. I recall from a few years ago when a Muslim man, originally from Syria, turned on the TV in Europe and found our program. The Lord touched his heart in a powerful way. He began to read Scripture day and night, until he had the urge to call his wife in Syria. With hesitancy he shared his experience with her, and to his astonishment she said “hallelujah!” She told him many years before she had seen Jesus in a dream but was afraid to say anything about it. Then she told him, “A week ago I turned on the TV and saw a man named Nizar Shaheen talking about this same Jesus and I repeated the prayer after him and now I am a believer in Jesus!” With such joy, he had the courage to call his father who, before he had the chance to say anything, his father told him, “Listen to me my son, your mother and I were in Mecca, when we both had a vision of Jesus. When we got back home, we turned on the TV and we watched a man named Nizar Shaheen and we prayed with him and accepted Jesus!” Can you imagine the surprise and joy!? God is the sovereign Lord! He has asked us to do His work here on earth and we must obey. He will fulfill his purposes through His servants. What is amazing about this story is 33 members of this same family received Jesus!
I could go on and on with wonderful testimonies! Even here in North America we see many people watching our programs on TV and online. I have spoken in many churches. Do you know the fastest growing churches in the nation are the ethnic churches? People who have immigrated are being used of God to reach people in their own languages, and reaching others in the English language too!
Last Wednesday on our live show, “Let There Be Light”, my co-host was a MBB (Muslim Background Believer) and we interviewed two prominent MBBs by telephone, who shared their powerful testimonies. Daily we have people calling in to accept the Lord as we continue to share the Good News.
This month we had a wonderful celebration in Toronto that I spoke at, where we had two famous Gospel singers; one a messianic Jew and one an Arab Christian singing in Hebrew and in Arabic. People from all backgrounds – Jews, Arabs, Armenians, people from India and Asia – all different ethic groups came to the meeting to worship God in unity! It reminded me of what heaven will be like – people from all countries having the same focus – Jesus! Every single soul is important, whether you are a Jew or a Palestinian or from any other nation. God is not partial (Romans 2:11). Many people accepted the Lord!
I want to give you an update of the appeal we made last Fall to raise money to help the innocent and suffering people of Gaza. I did not think this war would last as long as it has, and that Gaza would still be under siege, making it extremely difficult to get any aid to them. This has been the most challenging time in how we can send the money/aid. In the past when we helped in Sudan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and in the West Bank, we had no problems to get the aid to the people, but now with the siege of Gaza, we have met roadblocks. I travelled twice into Bethlehem to meet with various leaders of different organizations; all who are having the same issue. I met with people from Gaza, refugees, who got out before the war, and they all have lost loved ones and for most their homes have been destroyed. It is heart-breaking. Light For All Nations has collected a total of $33,730.36 CAN and $5,150.00 US to help with aid in Gaza. In a new development we now have a way. We will be sending the money in slowly and in smaller amounts via our partners in Bethlehem, as they now have a way to get the funds in through the Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches and through the Baptist hospital. Please pray with me that the Lord will use these funds to help the neediest, which will be in answer to their cries for help. Please pray for peace and salvation for both Jews and Arabs.
God bless you!
Nizar Shaheen
