Lest We Forget

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
A memorial to concentration camp victims at Stroud’s Jewish Community Center

On this Holocaust Remembrance Day
we contemplate the memory
of those who perished in death camps
eight decades ago
simply because they were
documented descendants of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

We ponder the priceless worth of souls
created in the image of God
as well as the price tag
of silent complicity and complacency
that continues to allow Evil
to rob the innocent of liberty and justice…
and life!

Let us take time today
to view the present
through the lens of the past
all the while focusing
on the sanctity of human life
even as we take time to remember
that those who fail to learn from history
are doomed to repeat it.

In addition to each week’s post on this website, Greg Asimakoupoulos offers daily video devotionals on his YouTube channel. Here is a sample video. If you are interested in receiving these devotionals Monday through Friday, you can subscribe on Greg’s channel.

Lessons from the Lucerne Lion

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
This stone lion is a landmark in Lucerne, Switzerland

A stately stone lion surveys old Lucerne.
He has done so for two-hundred years.
His face (etched in angst)
speaks of pain he has known
as he’s witnessed both heartache and fears.

There’s a spear in his back
that was plunged with the aim
to deny him a good lengthy life.
And his silent repose
calls to mind what we face
in a world of injustice and strife.

All the same this stone lion
reminds me of One
who redeemed Narnia with his death.
Like Aslan, this beast,
bespeaks blessings untold
as he graces our faith with His breath.

In addition to each week’s post on this website, Greg Asimakoupoulos offers daily video devotionals on his YouTube channel. Here is a sample video. If you are interested in receiving these devotionals Monday through Friday, you can subscribe on Greg’s channel.

A Tarnished Crown

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
Note the cross in the background of the tarnished crown

When those we look up to
let us down
and misplaced crowns
lay on the ground
(tarnished and with missing jewels),
we grieve for what’s been lost.

Innocence.
Integrity.
Fidelity.
Trust.

Missing virtues
once embraced
are gone for good
without a trace.
And we are left to wonder why
while looking in a mirror.

At times like this we have a choice:
to voice our disappointment with God (and others)
or to contemplate what’s so amazing about grace.

I choose the latter.

*This poem was written in response to the news that a noted Christian author had admitted to an eight-year extra-marital affair. Two of the author’s books are referenced in the poem: Disappointment with God and What’s So Amazing About Grace.

A New Year’s Prayer

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
It’s a new year and a new opportunity to trust God

While resolutions weary me
I still have one resolve.
To live each day for You alone
as weeks and months evolve.

The challenges this year will bring
will drop me to my knees.
And so I’m asking You, dear Lord,
to give me wisdom. Please!

Direct my steps along a path
that isn’t always clear.
And when I’m forced to make a choice,
don’t let me cave to fear.

I hope this year will prove my trust
in what You’ve planned for me.
So give me grace, dear loving God,
to live expectantly.

A New Year’s Bridge

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
The wooden covered bridge in Luzern Switzerland

A new year is a bridge to spring
where icefloes melt and robins sing.
It is what links darkness to light
and makes God’s presence known.

A new year is a bridge to hope
providing us the means to cope
when life is drab and days are short
and challenges abound.

A new year is a bridge to peace
that models how our conflicts cease
when we admit our neediness
and trust another’s gift.

A new year is a bridge to love
as we take note of One above
who left His home to come to earth
to give us what we lacked.