Answers with Ken Ham

Nearly all of the world’s opals are found in my home country of Australia. That’s because in nature opals only form under very specific conditions. And Noah’s flood would’ve produced just the right mix of conditions to allow opals to form.

You see, opals don’t take millions of years to form. In the lab they can be produced in just weeks and the man-made opal is almost indistinguishable from the natural-made one.

Gems like opals remind us that God can make something beautiful out of anything—even his judgment on the world. God can take any sinner and, through his Son, turn them into a thing of great beauty.

Geologists who start with millions of years have a hard time explaining how the right chemicals and unlikely conditions needed to form emeralds came together at just the right time. Well, that’s because they ignore the Bible’s history!

The relatively rare ingredients needed to form emeralds are found in different types of rocks. They find each other as they’re transported and mixed together by hot water, conditions only met during major earth movements and rising waters during mountain building.

The flood of Noah’s day provides the perfect conditions. Emeralds remind us of the truth of the history in God’s Word.

Sapphires and rubies are among Earth’s most valuable gems. They’re both varieties of the same mineral, corundum, which is made from aluminum and oxygen. After diamonds, corundum is the hardest mineral.

During the global flood, continental plates rapidly crashed into one another. The intense pressure and heat transformed flood deposits into super-hard rocks with gems. Magma, rising from the mantle, picked up these gems, bringing them to the surface. Others were brought up by crashing plates.

We only have sapphires and rubies because of the processes of the flood of Noah’s day.

Diamonds are thought to be one of Earth’s oldest substances. And they are! But they aren’t billions of years old. They were formed in creation rocks so they’re only around six thousand years old.

Carbon-14 can only last for tens of thousands of years before it decays away. But researchers have found carbon-14 in diamonds. If they really are billions of years old, there shouldn’t be any carbon-14 left—but there is! And diamonds—the hardest natural material on earth—are too hard to have been contaminated.

Diamonds aren’t just beautiful—they point to the truth of a young earth, which comes from the history in God’s Word.

Diamonds are formed 100 miles below earth’s surface. They can only survive in a narrow zone. Above or below this zone they break down into graphite, the so-called “lead” in pencils. This stable zone is actually found in rocks that were part of the original creation.

Diamonds are brought to the surface by “pipes” formed from molten rock and cracks in earth’s crust. This rough journey can easily destroy the diamond, unless it happens very quickly. The special conditions of the flood provide an excellent model for rapid diamond delivery!

So next time you see a diamond, remember it points to the truth of God’s Word.

Today we’re finish our series on how you can encourage your family to stand on the authority of God’s Word. We’ve discussed reading, memorizing, talking about, and rejoicing in it. Now what do all these things have in common? Well, they keep the Bible as a constant companion in your home.

When the Bible is held in this place, you and your family will welcome its authority in your life, and it will have the final say.

When you are constantly reading, memorizing, discussing, and rejoicing in God’s Word, you’ll know what it says and can apply what you’ve learned. God’s Word becomes the standard—the authority—by which you think.

The Bible is different from any other book. God’s Word is a fountain of wisdom, it details God’s sovereign acts throughout history, lays out the plan of redemption, and even tells how the cosmos will ultimately end. It’s God’s perfect revelation to us. And reading the Word of the sovereign Creator should give us comfort, peace, and hope as we face worrisome circumstances or scary times.

The psalmist writes that he delights in God’s testimonies as much as he delights in riches. Do you rejoice in God’s Word? Does it warm your heart and bring you hope? It should! And you should be sharing that with your family.

How often do you talk about God’s Word in your home? Do you apply it to what your kids heard in school, what’s happening in the news, or what you saw on social media?

Starting with God’s Word as your authority means you’re reading and memorizing it … but we also need to be talking about it!

Psalm 119 says, “with my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth.” We think and talk about what we love. Do you show your family that you love God and his Word by sharing what you’re learning, and encouraging discussion about it? If not, start reading and studying God’s Word and then talk, talk, talk about it with your family.

All this week we’re looking at how we can encourage our families to view God’s Word as the authority. Yesterday we learned the first step is to read God’s Word as a family. Well, we also need to be memorizing it. Like the psalmist said, “I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Knowing God’s Word convicts us of sin and helps us say no to temptation.

But don’t just get your children to memorize verses—do it with them! This shows that Scripture memory should be a lifelong discipline and that it helps shape your thinking and keeps you from sin, just as it does them.

Who decides right and wrong in your family? I hope your response was God’s Word. The Bible is the only truly authoritative word on morality, and parents must emphasize God’s Word when discipling their children. But it’s more than just giving a nod to the Bible. In our time, the authority of God’s Word is constantly under attack so we must teach our children how to stand on the authority of God’s Word in all areas. And this week we’re going to look at how to do that.

The first step is simple—read God’s Word together! Know what it says by setting aside time to read, study, and memorize the Bible together as a family.