The heavens declare the glory of God, the sky declares the handiwork of God, and the trembling Aspens applaud their glory. I am regularly reminded of these realities as I step out my front door into the majestic beauty of Western Pennsylvania. I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to delve deeper into this topic for my doctoral studies and to have brought others with me on the adventure.
The trek into the wilderness began with my parents, brother and sister—who were my childhood guides and companions in the Adirondack Mountains. More recently, my wife and children, the people of Summer's Best Two Weeks (SB2W), and the people of St. I am grateful for their support and encouragement - as well as for time in the woods with them.
I am also grateful for the privilege of studying at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with top professors and students. Above all, I am grateful to the Lord Jesus Christ, because through him the whole creation was created and points to him.
INTRODUCTION
First, people simply live in an area where they are constantly exposed to God's natural world. Paul, as a lover of nature, to see more of God's glory involving both general and particular revelation. The first goal was to develop a biblically informed meditation resource to equip and guide people in the practice of meditating on God's creation.
The first goal was to develop a biblically informed meditation resource to equip and guide participants in the practice of meditation on God's creation. God's creation is an inexhaustible subject for biblical meditation and evocation as believers are outdoors and engaged in their favorite leisure activities. The three texts above serve as a reminder of the character and scope of God's speech throughout his creation.
Hoffmeier, “'The Heavens Declare the Glory of God': The Limits of General Revelation,” Trinity Journal 21, no. Romans The first chapter of Romans serves as a New Testament confirmation of the conclusion from Psalm 19 and Job 12 - God's creation speaks.
16 The first chapter of Romans serves as a New Testament confirmation of the conclusion drawn from Psalm 19 and Job 12—God’s creation speaks
In the heavens He provided the sun (v. 4), and the commandments of the LORD give light to the eyes (v. 8). Nevertheless, believers must also be wary of the temptation to neglect God's revelation through creation. Creation meditation restores peace and joy as God's people are able to share rightly in the Lord's provision.
God's purpose for all creation is that it may overshadow the representation of Christ's glory and beauty. This part of the app was an introduction to the app and to the concept of creation meditation.
Developing a Mobile App for Creation Meditation for Creation Meditation
Fourth, although the app had its highest marks in relevance to those inclined to recreate outdoors, many participants criticized the ability to integrate creation meditation with recreational activities and questioned whether the app was applicable to the full spectrum of outdoor recreation activities. It was clear that certain activities were much easier to integrate with meditation than others, and that some activities did not lend themselves well to integrated meditation with the app. One of the most important things, however, was a clarification that integration does not always have to mean simultaneous meditation and recreational activity.
For many high-intensity recreational activities, integration may mean meditation as a spiritual preparation prior to the activity or at a transition point (e.g. rest break) or immediately after the activity has ended. Ultimately, project participants were extremely positive and encouraging about the mobile app as a resource for creation meditation. My own evaluation of the app determined that it was sufficient to run the project with the participants, but could have been better in two areas.
The participants' comments about redundancy focused on the superfluous questions asked in the “Do Your Own”. As far as I know nothing like it exists, which was part of the fun I had developing it.
Meditation Knowledge and Practice Assessment and Practice Assessment
The participants reported that for 70 percent of them, praying was already a discipline that they integrated into their outdoor recreational activities. The participants reported that 83 percent of them had been exposed to education about the spiritual disciplines. By assessing the level of spiritual maturity and discipline of the participants, I was able to distinguish between a group of more disciplined members and less disciplined members.
The Likert-scale portion of the survey consisted of three parts: outdoor experiences, biblical meditation experiences, and creation meditation experiences. Before evaluating the mean scores, I reversed the scores of research statements that were worded negative to accurately represent the data when all mean scores were averaged together.5 The participants. However, Table 1 below shows how the participants' high scores on statements and 17 were the main influencers of the higher exercise mean score.
Participants often thought about God in creation, and some perceived themselves as generally faithful meditators on Scripture, but as seen in statement 30, they were not as confident in their ability to faithfully practice biblical creation meditation. Overall, mean pre-project survey results reflected that creation meditation was a new spiritual discipline for the vast majority of participants. The biblical meditation portion of the pre-project survey revealed a significant need for training among participants.7 While 80 percent of participants affirmed this.
7 The following statistical percentages relating to the participants' knowledge of and practice of biblical meditation are based on a demarcation between those who agreed or strongly agreed in relation to the total number of participants (30). I expected that the creation meditation portion of the pre-project survey would reveal that the participants had even less knowledge and practice in creation. The data suggest that with regard to creation meditation, participants had a higher confidence in their faithfulness to Scripture than was warranted.
9 The average score of knowledge and practice for biblical meditation was 3.57 and for creation meditation was 3.48. The pre-project survey showed that although the participants were already thinking about general revelation to a significant extent, for many, their engagement was not necessarily grounded in biblical theology. I was encouraged by the participants' high level of passion for God's Word and for God's created world as indicated in the survey responses.
Increase of Knowledge and Enrichment of Practice and Enrichment of Practice
In addition, the qualitative data collected from the surveys and from the meditations confirmed a significant positive impact of the project on participants. The results of the analysis of post-project survey data related to the practice of creation meditation revealed less of a change than the data related to knowledge of creation meditation, but there was still a significant change. Because half of the respondents showed some confusion, I concluded that further in-depth teaching on the topics of general revelation and mysticism would be helpful.
A comparison of the pre- and post-project survey mean scores for five key statements from the sections on biblical meditation and creation meditation revealed a similar level of growth in each category. Many others said that their frequency of time spent in the Word increased as a result of the project. This integration was another aspect of the project that was completely new to almost every person.
The app and website gave me the ability to use creativity outside the confines of a book. The greatest strength of the project was the Holy Spirit's eyes and hearts opening to the glory of God revealed in the created world. Moreover, it would have been better if the giving and analysis of the pre-project survey preceded the first class.
The lack of eighteen to twenty-nine year olds was another weakness of the project. This weakness was likely a result of the high demand that the project required. Each of the weaknesses outlined above are examples of areas where I would have approached the project differently.
Paying more attention to prioritizing each part of the project would have saved me time. This project has deepened my relationship with many of the project participants - a benefit I did not expect. Finally, I am filled with joy knowing that God's Word does not return empty - a seed sown in the good soil of people's hearts at St.
Outdoor Recreational (Vocational) Activity Inventory
I believe your love for God, his Word and the outdoors will be greatly rewarded. To faithfully practice creation meditation requires biblical training and learning to use the creation meditation process. After the training, participants will have seven weeks to complete at least seven meditation exercises from the mobile app/website.
By completing this survey, you are giving your informed consent to the use of your responses in this project. Because meditation is deeply personal, it is convenient for you to complete the survey anonymously. Please use the last four digits of your social security number for future reference to match pre and post surveys.
How often do you normally meditate for more than 1 minute per week on some aspect of God's creation?
Creation Meditation Practices Survey (CMPS)
I tend to think about the elements of nature (trees, birds, rivers) in terms of how they teach me something about God. It is important for all believers to hear and learn from God's communication through creation. I can safely open my Bible now to a passage on the subject of general revelation.
I can boldly name two elements and explain from the Bible what God intended to communicate through them. What are two of the most important things you learned about meditation that you didn't know before this project. How has this experience developed in you a deeper appreciation for God and for God's Word.
What is the likelihood that you will continue to engage the creation meditation app. The following is a written reflection on "Stargazing Adventure." The full (color) version can be found at www.thinkingoutdoors.org.
