I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I have been reading the book Replicate: How to Create a Culture of Disciple-Making Right Where You Are. I have benefited so much from the content of this book. Many of the disconnected discipleship elements had been sloshing around in my brain are now being connected. One of the practices taught in the book is the practice of keeping a HEAR journal. I have always appreciated the importance of journaling as a spiritual discipline, but struggled to do it consistently. The HEAR strategy makes it doable for anyone. Here’s the approach in a nutshell:

1. Read a short passage of Scripture (ex. 1 chapter). This isn’t a race to read the Bible in a year. It is a slow soaking/simmering. Less is more.
2. H – Highlight a verse or verses that you sense God is using to speak to you.
3. E – Explain the original meaning of those verses. You may need to do a bit of study to identify author, audience, context.
4. A – Apply the verses to your life today.
5. R – Respond. What will you do about it?

Next thing you know, you’re journaling. This method is very similar to the SOAP approach (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer). I (cautiously) think I’m going to do some of this here on the blog. We’ll see how that goes. Nothing like sharing too much personal information on the world wide web. Anyway, if the example and the content are helpful to some, that would be a win.