Daily Devotional - January 30

Geology

Every day, cliffs are weathering away. Water seeps into tiny crevices and separates the rock by freezing (expanding) and then thawing (contracting). Tree roots make gaps in the rocks, and rainwater can cause chemical changes to weaken rock. Every year at Mt. Rushmore, workers rappel down the cliff face to inject glue into newly formed cracks on the presidents’ faces.

Normal cliffs erode rapidly. Weakened cliffs result in rocks tumbling to the canyon floor. These rocks on the canyon floor are called talus. If you believe in evolution and the earth having been here for billions of years, these talus piles should be enormous - reaching to the top of the cliff. Yet, what we see in places like Monument Valley or the Grand Canyon talus piles are small. To an evolutionist, this is a mystery. Where is all the missing talus that must have formed over millions of years? Why are the world’s talus piles/slopes so skimpy?

If we view these talus slopes from a biblical viewpoint, however, it confirms the Bible. The piles of talus are so skimpy because they are only thousands of years old, having begun at the end of the Flood of Noah’s time (about 4400 years ago). The mystery of the missing talus is not a mystery at all when viewed from a biblical perspective.

The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth.

~ Job 14:19

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

Daily Devotional - January 29

Paleontology

Wisconsin is home to a very important fossil find – the jellyfish. So what’s the big deal about a fossil jellyfish?

In Central Wisconsin, near the town of Mosinee, there is a rock quarry. But this is no ordinary quarry; it contains many thousands of fossilized jellyfish. Why are they there? In the oceans, jellyfish are squishy blobs of clear gel. How could squishy jellyfish fossilize? Generally, hard substances become fossils – not soft substances. Also, if you have ever been to the beach, you have probably noticed seagulls eating things washed up on shore, maybe even a jellyfish. When animals wash up on shore, there are predators around to eat them – they simply do not lie on the shore waiting to be fossilized. Furthermore, when a jellyfish washes up on shore, it pumps its bell, trying to get back to the water. This will leave behind little rings in the sand. In this rock quarry, no evidence exists of fossilized rings around these jellyfish. A jellyfish is 96% water and would dry out and shrink if exposed to air. There is no fossil evidence that these jellyfish have shrunk.

Moreover, these jellyfish were not found in just one layer but were found buried in seven layers of the quarry over a thickness of 12 feet. So, what does all this evidence tell us? These jellyfish had to have been covered and fossilized quickly – and not just once – but repeatedly – to form the many layers. What event in history would have fast, quick coverage with mineral-filled sediment and no oxygen (the recipe for making fossils), so the creatures could be fossilized? The Flood of Noah!

And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die.

~ Genesis 6:17

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