The Spirit of God in a sporting team, and a shout-out to young men.

Playing for the Final Four in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, the Louisville Cardinals were leading the Duke Blue Devils. They were over their arch-rivals, by 3 points at half-time. The Cardinals are led by Peyton Siva, a young man of God.

When he was only 13, he borrowed a car and searched for his missing Dad. Then, he discovered him with a gun in his lap. Since that day, his father has reformed, and credits Peyton for helping him to heal. It’s an impressive story.

Many young college men are flip-flopping through life, sucked in by peer-pressure and the lure of alcohol and drugs, However, Peyton Siva has seen how the dark side affected his family. Peyton has helped to rescue them. He knows about the line in the sand*, and has stepped over it to follow God.

Cardinal players and Rick Pitino ride to the Final Four on emotion.

Siva is a leader of the Louisville team. As I watched the TV, Duke crawled back to tie the game, and even went ahead by 2 points. Then Siva (16 points total) took over after about 7 minutes of the second half. He scored 4 points and had 2 assists, and so contributed to 8 points of a 10-0 run.

The Cardinals never looked back, went ahead by 16 points, and eventually won by over 20 points. A rare crushing defeat for the Blue Devils.

If God lives within us believers, as promised, would not God be able to influence the outcome of this game by using the talents of Peyton Siva? It’s not hard to visualize God wanting to spread the Christian message through the sporting news. Because, a whole lot of young college men (and their dads) follow the NCAA tournament with keen interest. Its not a church event, but I’ve noticed that God often works outside the church! What is your opinion on this topic?

Post-script: Late in the first half, a gruesome injury that left Louisville guard Kevin Ware with a broken leg plunged the stadium into horrified silence. Coach Rick Pitino was wiping away tears and shocked teammates were openly weeping. The injury happened right in front of Pitino and the Louisville bench. Several Cardinals were overcome with emotion. Forward Wayne Blackshear fell to the floor, crying, and Chane Behanan looked as if he was going to be sick on the court. He was kneeling on his hands and feet. Peyton Siva sat a few feet away, a hand covering his mouth.

“The bone is six inches out of his leg and all he’s yelling is, ‘Win the game, win the game,’” Pitino said. “I’ve not seen that in my life. Pretty special young man.”

Louisville guard Kevin Ware talks with teammate Luke Hancock before being lifted onto a stretcher and taken off the court with a broken leg.

The Gray Nomad.
Probing the practice of Christian believers……

*“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. Whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua, chapter 24).

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