Daily Devotional – November 12

Geology

A 2013 study estimated that 345 billion barrels of oil are recoverable from oil-containing-shale rock layers. This is typically done by a common oil-drilling process known as fracking. Shale is a clay-rich sedimentary rock that seals in the oil and gas – preventing movement of the fluids.

Where did all this oil come from? It is possible that some oil was created along with all the other resources of the earth, but most seem to be derived from organic matter. Oil has its own “fingerprint,” and most oils match up with marine algae deposits (type 1 oil) and marine planktonic deposits (type 2 oil). To create oil, these deposits of organic debris needed to be heated; this is done by the Earth’s thermal gradient. In other words, these deposits were buried at a certain depth, 8,000 to 15,000 feet, in order to “cook” at a temperature of 180 degrees – 250 degrees Fahrenheit. This is called the “oil window.” Of course, there are variations; if there is a nearby active volcano, the area does not need to be buried as deeply to produce oil. If, the organic debris passes through the “oil window” and cooks at higher temperatures, the result will be a natural gas deposit.

Do we see oil forming naturally today? NO. Nearly all organic debris is eaten by microorganisms and scavengers prior to becoming trapped in sediment. So, what event in history led to the creation of oil and gas? Noah’s Flood buried huge amounts of marine algae and plankton, trapping them faster than they could naturally decay and covering it with lots of sediment. The Earth’s oil reserves are young, not millions of years old. If the oils were old, they would have been destroyed by bacterial action by now. Even the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico saw surface oil quickly eaten by bacterial action. We also know that bacteria live virtually everywhere, even deep within the Earth. So, we can assume that old oil would not exist after millions of years. The Flood of Noah’s day has provided us with this much needed blessing for our modern world.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

~ James 1:17

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – November 11

Geology

One of the ways to determine whether a canyon or cliff has been recently formed--or is very old--is to look at the pile of rubble at the base of the cliff or canyon. This rubble is the result of wind, rain, and temperature changes wearing away at the cliff face – resulting in material falling away from the vertical face and accumulating as a pile at the bottom of the cliff. This rubble at the base of a steep slope is called “talus.” The older the canyon or cliff, the more talus there should be at the bottom. Eventually, the vertical wall should completely disappear and be replaced by a sloped pile of accumulated talus.

The fact is many, if not most, cliffs and canyons in the Western United States, and many other places around the world, still have vertically-walled valleys and have relatively small piles of talus at the base of cliffs. This is strong evidence for young geological features. If these vertical canyons and cliff walls were millions of years old, they would have eroded away long ago. Vertical canyons and cliff walls with little talus testify to a young Earth. So the next time you see a canyon or cliff, examine how much talus exists at its base.

And surely the mountains falling cometh to nought…

~ Job 14:18

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – November 4

Geology

Have you considered the origin of caves? Most caves are found in nearly pure limestone layers hundreds of feet thick. To explain the origin of caves, one must first explain where the limestone layers came from, then how the caves came into existence with its magnificent cave wonders.

Here are the three stages:

• First, the deposition of limestone in thick layers
• Second, the carving out of the cavity within the limestone layer
• Third, the “decorating” of the caves (stalactites, stalagmites, etc…)

First, the Flood of Noah’s day laid down these nearly pure layers of precipitated limestone as the “fountains of the deep” (Genesis 7:11) spewed forth enormous quantities of hot, mineral-laden water. Second, at the end of the Flood, enormous tectonic activity took place as, “the mountains rose; the valleys sank down” (Psalm 104:8 NAS). These tectonic activities caused many cracks in the limestone which allowed waters to drain through. In unique, localized areas, these waters were rich in acids from volcanic activity, decaying dead animals, and vegetation from the Flood, and this quickly ate away limestone – rapidly forming the enormous cave tunnels.

Cave decorating occurred during stage three. Cave mineral formations, such as stalagmites, developed from calcium-loaded water draining through the cavities. Just after the Flood, the ground was much wetter, due to the Flood waters and the post- Flood Ice Age. Mineral-rich waters dripped from the cave ceilings and evaporated, leaving behind a variety of cave decorations. Since that time, the water supplies have decreased, and the growth of cave decorations has slowed. When we put on our Biblical glasses, we can see where cave formation and decorations fit; limestone cave formations began with the Flood of Noah’s day some 4400 years ago.

The waters stood above the mountains. At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.

~ Psalm 104:6-8

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – November 3

Geology

How do Bible-affirming geologists and evolutionary geologists differ as they interpret the rock layers of the Earth?

Flood geology and evolution have two VERY different ways of looking at the geological column and the fossils. Originally, the geological column explained the Flood of Noah’s time; later, evolutionists changed the meaning.

Scientists routinely find fossilized pollen, spores, and wood from land plants in the Cambrian rock layer (which is at the base of the geological column). Evolutionary geologists are surprised because land plants were not supposed to have evolved until much later in time. Flood geologists are not surprised at finding pollen and spores in the Cambrian layer because the geological column represents the order in which creatures and plants were buried by Noah’s Flood. Spores and pollen can blow from one place to another, but not from one time to another! The Bible’s description of a worldwide flood fits the fossil evidence much better than the evolutionary explanation.

Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.

~ Psalm 124:4-5

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – October 30

Geology

This headline caught my attention: “Gorge Rapidly Carved in Hard Granite Bedrock.” Using archived images and survey data of a Spanish dam built in the 1930s, Plymouth University researchers found that five small floods gouged a deep gorge through solid granite in less than six years.

Five times over a period of six years, water needed to be diverted into an overspill channel, and this spillway water carved out a gorge 880 feet long, 520 feet wide and 330 feet deep. One of the researchers studying the formation of this gorge noted that if someone saw this gorge today, he would say that erosion had taken place over a long period of time due to the effect of flowing water. Yet, the gorge was formed in only six years as a result of relatively small floods. Exceptional amounts of erosion can be caused by unexceptional flooding! Now, imagine the erosion that took place during the final stages of the Flood of Noah’s day; as the continents were being lifted, waters rushed across millions of square miles of recently deposited land sediments - eroding massive areas and carving out canyons and river valleys. It doesn’t take millions of years to form canyons and river valleys; it can happen quickly.

In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.

~ Psalm 95:4

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – October 23

Geology

“Don’t stand that close to the cliff edge!” “Why? I’ll be careful!” “That cliff could give way at any moment.” Perhaps Mom had more wisdom than we realized!

We are programmed with the concept that rocks are “rock solid” - millions of years old and never changing. But around the world, there are recent examples of “unexpected collapses” of famous geological features. In Australia, for example, the famous London Bridge formation collapsed on January 15, 1990, and one of the Twelve Apostles (sea stacks) collapsed dramatically as a tourist watched in 2005. The Cliffs of Moher in Ireland and the North Cliffs in Cornwall were recently caught dramatically falling away as tourists recorded the events on their handheld video devices.

At the Arches National Park in Utah, the famous Wall Arch – (spanning 71 feet wide and 33 feet high) collapsed in a single night on August 4, 2008. Just since 1970, forty-three arches have collapsed at Arches National Park while not a single new arch has formed. What we are seeing is massive rapid-scale erosion, not slow erosion expected by an evolutionary timescale. What we observe are cliffs collapsing at any moment. The evolutionary idea that cliffs erode slowly over time could cause you great harm on your next vacation if you are standing on a cliff that catastrophically collapses. Your understanding of history really does affect where you stand!

…Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice .

~ 1 Kings 19:11-12

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – October 2

Geology

Have you considered how little sediment exists on the seafloor? Every year, wind and water erode dirt off the continents, and it runs off into the oceans. Most of this dirt (sediment) stays near the continents. Scientists know how much dirt comes off the continents each year – about 20 billion tons. What is the average thickness of sediment all over the sea floor? Not even 1,300 feet. When we do the math, the amount of dirt (sediment) that has piled up at the bottom of the world’s oceans can be accounted for in less than 12 million years. Evolutionists say the Earth’s oceans are billions of years old. There should be 250 times more sediment at the bottom of the oceans if this were true. So, then, where’s the dirt? The lack of seafloor sediment shows us that the Earth is not old, but young.

One final thought - “12 million years-worth” of sediment in the oceans does not prove the oceans are 12 million years old. That calculation is based on today’s accumulation rate. During Noah’s Flood, only about 4400 years ago, sediment would have been flowing into the oceans millions of times faster than anything we see happening today.

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.

~ Psalm 107:23-24

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – September 28

Geology

One of the many evidences supporting a worldwide Flood is the frequent finding of oval-shaped petrified trees. Why is this significant?

Almost every museum display on the formation of fossils shows the slow accumulation of sediment around organisms to form the fossils. It seems likely that petrified trees formed in this way would have turned to solid rock long before they were buried under millions of pounds of sediment (dirt). So, if evolutionary processes produced petrified trees - they would almost all be circular in cross section.

On the other hand, if petrified trees exist because enormous mats of vegetation were deeply buried during the worldwide Flood of Noah, millions of pounds of sediment would have pushed down on the trees before they became fossilized. Thus, many would have been flattened by the weight of rapidly accumulating sediment before they became petrified. In other words, because fossilization is a process that has been shown to occur quite rapidly (within decades, not millions of years), the trees could have been flattened into an oval shape before they were fossilized. This is exactly what we find in many locations.

Observational evidence supports the reality of a recent worldwide Flood upon our planet.

Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken….

~ Psalm 18:7

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – September 26

Geology

One of the great mysteries in geology is the inselberg, like Ayers Rock in central Australia. The German word inselberg means a hill jutting up from a plain, like an island in a placid sea or “island mountain.” From a distance, that is exactly how an inselberg looks, like an island rising from a flat sea. They are found on all continents. Some famous inselbergs are Sugarloaf towering 1,300 feet high out of the Rio de Janeiro harbor in Brazil or Stone Mountain in Georgia standing 825 feet above the land.

Inselbergs are said to be millions of years old, but if that were true they should have eroded down to nothing, yet they are still steepsided. From a biblical perspective, the retreating waters of the Flood of Noah’s day explain inselbergs. The retreating floodwaters would have scoured soft sediment away, planing the surrounding land off flat. As the waters decreased, they become channelized in places, cutting away the land but leaving isolated remnants with steep sides, that is, the tall inselberg structures. The Genesis Flood explains this and many other “mysterious” landforms that are found worldwide.

Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

~ Genesis 7:20

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – September 21

Geology

When traveling in the western states, you may come across crossbedding. Cross-bedding is found in sedimentary rock; it is a series of visible layers within the rock that suddenly change direction. Most layers are horizontal; however, cross-bedding has layers that are at a distinct angle to the horizon. Cross-bedding is found most often in sandstone. Cross-beds exist because of Noah’s Flood.

Desert sand dunes have steep faces with sand beds at an angle greater than 25 degrees. If the sand bed angle is less than 25 degrees, most likely it was water-deposited. By measuring the angle of the sand layers in these cross beds, we can determine if the sandstone came from an ancient desert or a flood. You can do an experiment to establish whether a cross-bedded sand dune was created by wind or water. First, establish the horizon, lay a protractor on that, and determine the angle of the crossbed. If the angle of the sand bed is greater than 25 degrees, it formed in a dry environment. If the angle of the sand bed is less than 25 degrees, the sand was most likely laid down in a flood environment. If you do not have a protractor with you, take a picture and do the measurements at home. It is the wide extent of cross-bedding throughout sandstone layers of the western United States that testify to the worldwide nature of the Flood that laid these rock layers down. So, the next time you visit national parks in the West, take along your protractor, and do the protractor test. Sedimentary rock layers with cross-bedding are a testimony to Noah’s Flood!

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

~ Psalm 139:17-18

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.