Join Doc and Kate As We Follow The Biblical Life of Jesus In Israel ’26!

Posted on December 9, 2025 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Imagine Walking Where Jesus Walked!

Join us in Israel, departing LAX on November 30, 2025 for 10 days filled with the sights and sounds, the places and peoples of Israel!

We will be at the Mediterranean Sea, Caesar by the Sea, the Galilee, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the Wilderness trekking and tracking the Life of Jesus and more on this specially made itinerary.

In Galilee we will visit Nazareth, Zippori, Cana, Tiberius, Magdala, The Feeding of the 5,000, The Gates of Hell, Capernaum, and ride on the Sea of Galilee. We visit the cursed city of Corozim, Kursi, Yardinet (Jordan River), Beit She’an on our way to Jericho!

Bethlehem (The Birthplace of Jesus) for a whole day. Shepherd’s Field, the Cave Jesus was born in, and the Herodium! We will have lunch with local Christians and then have a Meet and Greet with the Mayor of Bethlehem! (And a possibility of being there for the lighting of the Bethlehem Christmas Tree!

With two days in Jerusalem we will focus on the last week of Jesus’ Earthly life through His resurrection. We will see a model of Jerusalem to get our bearings, then, off to the Mount of Olives so we can take time in the Prayer Garden of Gethsemane. We will tour the Old City of David and the Pool of Siloam, Jewish Quarter (Menorah Square) and end our day at the Western Wall seeing the Western Wall Master Course Stones, the Western Wall Tunnel, and having time for Prayer At Western Wall.

Lord willing, we will tour Temple Mount and the Upper Room. We will visit Pilate’s Palace, before touring Caiaphas’ house (Peter Galicanto). Then on to the most solemn place on Earth, Golgotha. We end our day at the Compound of Joseph of Arimathea and the Garden Tomb located therein.

Then our last day we will Masada, Ein Gedi, Qumran and finally a Float in Dead Sea.

We invite you to join us for this incredible trip!

You can get more details and register for the trip at: Smith-90347

If you have questions, just leave a comment below!

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Disciples freely accept financial support from their disciples!

Posted on December 8, 2025 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Money. It’s amazing what happens when you begin to talk about it in the fellowship. When pastors bring it up, people within the congregation begin to talk about the fact that he’s always after their finances for himself. When you talk amongst the disciples, you can sense a lack of willingness to get involved in the conversation, often because of the miserly nature or the miss spent finances they are trying to cover up.

Yet the reality is simple, practically everything in life requires finances. The church does not receive some special dispensation from the gas company or the electric company so as do not have to pay their bills because they happen to be a ministry of Jesus. The cost of the ministry is to be absorbed by the disciples who benefit from the ministry.

You can even see this in Jesus’ mission on Earth. When we read through His list of donors here, we notice their hearts were soft, and their hearts were female. Every one of us involved in some aspect of full-time Christian service will tell you that the biggest number of or the most hearts that give to the ministry come from the ladies. Jesus ministry was no different.

So this week accept the sacrifice where it comes from. Know that you will give an account for how you spent it. And that account goes to the King of kings and Lord of lords. But do so with graciousness as you accept it, knowing that it was probably given out of great sacrifice and great appreciation.

What are your thoughts on this sensitive matter?

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Disciples call people to repent or perish!

Posted on November 28, 2025 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Everywhere we go, religious people, Church People, seem to think that they are better than other people. It was true in Bible days. The Pharisees really thought they were better than everybody else yet were so judgmental and critical of anyone, even when that person was praying. You remember Jesus telling that story.

But the reality is that everyone, no matter how sanctimonious they may sound or pretend to be, everyone must change their mind and their lifestyle and abhor sin in any form in their lives. If not, they too, will perish just as the overtly sinful do. This is the great conundrum. People seem to not be able to acknowledge or even see their own flaws, their failures, their foolishness. Yet someone else from a distance makes the slightest mistake and they are quick to pounce, condemning that person, even though they don’t know them.

As a disciple of Jesus, I’m calling you to a higher life, which is actually a lower life: A life of humility. We are mindful that apart from Jesus Christ we can do nothing. We also know that without his forgiveness of our sins we would have no hope at all. And for those of you who are a little too self-righteous, remember Jesus forgave your sin, but you still need your sin forgiven when you make new ones. That’s why 1 John 1.9 is still in the Bible.

Today, take some inventory of yourself. And ask yourself, “Am I perfect? “When you come to the right answer, fall on your knees afresh and ask Jesus to cleanse you from all that is wrong in your life. That’s the mark of a true disciple of King Jesus.

What has been your experience?

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Happy Thanksgiving 2025 to All!

Posted on November 27, 2025 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Kate and I and the whole EIL Team are so thankful to God for all He has done in the past year and all we anticipate Him doing in the coming year!

Stay tuned for announcements about:

  • Doc’s newest book: Your Travel Guide to the New Testament!
  • Doc’s first partnership book with two other authors: My Business, God’s Wisdom!
  • Uganda ’26 (Planned for August)
  • Israel ’26 (Planned for the 1st Week of December)
  • And so much more …

2026 is shaping up to be a year of discipleship, reproduction and obstacle destruction!

Thank you for being a part of this Glocal Movement!

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Disciples judge what is right on their own initiative so as to prevent their own serious consequences and/or loss!

Posted on November 26, 2025 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

So many have misinterpreted the Matthew 7 passage about, “Do not judge lest you be judged.” But a careful understanding of that passage and context makes one realize that Jesus is saying that the judgments we use are supposed to be very carefully made. As in the above teaching, you can see that Jesus expects us to make judgments. In fact, the New Testament is filled with statements and commands about His disciples making judgments.

The shallow and immature have even made this wrong interpretation a rallying cry like a three-year-old! “Don’t judge me!” It is there infantile method of having a lifestyle that is nauseating even to King Jesus. It is essential to make hundreds of judgments every single day and Jesus’ point in this teaching is very clear: In order to avoid great personal loss or consequences that could hamper us for the rest of our lives, we must constantly be making “mid-course corrections,” as the airplane pilots call it.

Foolish people move forward without making those changes based on judgments that come from knowledge and understanding and wisdom. Solomon tells us that repeatedly in the book of Proverbs. Today, I’m encouraging you to pause more often, think more critically of yourself and the situation you are in, and choose wisely, so that you do not suffer great loss as our King has worn us here.

Do you have a testimony about this? Would you be willing to share it?

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Disciples are to intelligently interpret this present time better than they determine the weather

Posted on November 24, 2025 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Weather. If we listen very long to meteorologists, we often find out that they are not The Weatherman! They will predict something and then, it seems like, God just says, “I don’t think so!” and changes what happens.

However, many of us have learned that predicting the weather and understanding the times can be equally difficult. Yet those of us who are in the word on a daily basis find we have an advantage over those who are merely religious, are Church People, or are pagans.

And that advantage is very simple: We have the word of God, energized by the Spirit of God to determine the will of God in the timing of God. This advantage, this ability to listen to the Spirit and to know the mind of God on a matter, is absolutely required if we are to navigate these difficult days.

Are you in the Word of God on a daily basis? If not, go to a resources page and download the resource, How to Read the Bible With Fresh Eyes. While you’re there, pick up a reading schedule as well. And then ask God to help you understand the times you’re in, your role in this present time, and your mission will be clear.

Do you understand these things?

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Disciples teach that anxiety as to what one will eat or drink is a mark of a Pagan mindset

Posted on November 17, 2025 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Anxiety. In the United States approximately one out of five people are on some form of anti-depressant prescriptions! People all around us are struggling with worry and fear because they do not know or do not have any security or assurance in this life.

Disciples have a foundation in King Jesus. They know He loves them. They know they are valuable to Him. They know that they will always be heard when they cry out to Him. They have a track record with Him. He will never leave them nor forsake them. That’s His promise to them!

Today, all around us in this world that has rejected God in His son. Jesus, people suffer the consequences of that disconnection. The disconnection creates a dissonance in their soul, a distress in their being, a disconcerting feeling that life is not right and no idea how to bring it back to peace.

But peace is a gift from Jesus: “Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]” (John 14:27, AMP)

Truly, the Bible has foretold the reality of the generation we live in: “The wicked are miserable all day long!” (Job 15:20, Smith Expanded Version) While we ache for those around us and bring them the hope of heaven through the forgiveness of sins by repentance, we must also guard ourselves against the infection of this very communicable emotion. It is so easy to get our eyes off of Jesus and Heaven and become selfish and anxious, for the thing is that our Father promises He will give us because we are more valuable to Him than we could ever imagine.

What are your thoughts?

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Disciples warn against every form of greed!

Posted on November 14, 2025 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Money, money, money! Can you hear the sound of the music in the background? So many people today are driven by their love and their greed for money. And of course, even Solomon agrees that, “Money is the answer to everything!” (Ecclesiastes 10:19, NASB)

For the disciple of King Jesus, though, greed is the root that finds its nourishments in evil. “For the love of money is a root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have been led astray and have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves through with many acute [mental] pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee from all these things; aim at and pursue righteousness (right standing with God and true goodness), godliness (which is the loving fear of God and being Christlike), faith, love, steadfastness (patience), and gentleness of heart.” (1 Timothy 6:10–11, AMP)

As you will notice, Rabbi, Saul of Tarsus equates the love of money (greed) to the opposite of everything that is godly and Christ-like. In other words, disciples realize that this life is temporary. We are not resident. We are camping. We are temporarily here on assignment. This is not our home. We are only passing through. Money is the thing that helps us complete our mission. Our rewards and promotion come in Heaven.

Hence, how we deal with the emotions that surround money are truly a diagnostic of where our heart resides. Greed, and the love of money, are the symptoms of a selfish soul on a journey to the Lake of Fire. Generosity and a love to use it for the poor and needy, and the mission of God, reveal a heart firmly focused on eternity.

What are your thoughts?

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Disciples don’t fear humans who can murder them!

Posted on November 12, 2025 by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Death. bring up the subject and watch how chilly the room becomes. People don’t wanna talk about it. People avoid it. And the reason people avoid it is very simple: They simply do not know what will happen to them after their heart stops.

But for the disciple of King Jesus, death is a doorway to the greater world. Disciples understand that eternal life is much greater than earthly life. And so they boldly proclaim the name and the fame of king Jesus, despite the consequences.

They have already dealt with the insults, they have been publicly attacked, their words have been distorted and used against them, and they know that those in power today want to turn them over to a greater authority who can incarcerate them for the rest of their lives. And they realize that their enemies greatest hope is to kill them.

Yet again, I say, death is a doorway to the greater life, to the abundant life, to the eternal life, the conversational life with king Jesus, for all eternity. As the old song says, “When we’ve been there 10,000 years bright shining as the sun, we have no less days to sing His praise than when we first begun!”

So today, disciple, do not fear for God is near, and your king will hear your cry and come to your rescue when you die. He has prepared a table before you in the presence of your enemies, and there is another one at the Marriage Feast of the Lamb!

What are your thoughts?

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