Ezekiel 1-2

Two things:

1. I love how, in his description of heaven, he always says the word "like". They sparkled like topaz. When they moved there was a sound like rushing waters, etc, etc. Imagine if you had never seen a polar bear and you came across one for the first time. You might say, "It's like a dog, but a lot bigger." Ezekiel was looking at something unlike anything he'd ever seen before so he's trying to describe the creatures using things he does know. That's pretty cool.

2. When I first started working with high school students through young life I was pretty scared. I basically had to walk into a high school I'd never seen before, meet and build relationships with students there, and tell them about Jesus. A couple verses in Ezekiel 2 really helped me through that time:

And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.  But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. v. 6-8

After reading this I wasn't concerned anymore with how I was received at Ross High School. Those students could very well think I was the creepiest person they'd ever met and never talk to me again (that never happened by the way) but it didn't matter, because God told me to go and tell them the good news. Whether they listened or not was not my concern, but rather whether I was faithful to what God had asked me to do.