Author: Mark Davidson

Do yourself a favour and look at this till the end. It will take 9 minutes but it might just change your life.

If you think you are worthless, YOU AREN’T!

If you think your situation is leading to a dead-end, IT DOESN’T NEED TO.

If you think you are too far down the wrong road to turn around, YOU AREN’T.

You are more than the sum of your mistakes.

Have a Great Day!

When you’re feeling weak, there’s Strength if you will only call out. When you’re broken, there is One who will pick up the pieces. When life feels hopeless, know there’s a future waiting for you! When you’ve messed up, understand that there is nothing you could ever do that can take you outside the reach of God’s grace. No mistake is ever too bad and no choice is ever too messed up for God to turn His back on you.

When the prodigal son took his inheritance and walked away from his father without looking back, he deserved to be expelled from ever returning. But that’s not the story I know. That’s not the God I serve. When the son came grovelling back after he showed no concern for his dad, his father told him to get up. He held a party in honour of his son because he returned. His father didn’t focus on how much his son messed up… he focussed on the fact that his son was back where he belonged.

God doesn’t sit around all day, waiting to remind you of all the times you messed up. Quite the contrary. He stands at the door and waits for you to come home.  He chooses to make your mistakes disappear because He doesn’t want anything to spoil the fact that you are home. That’s what’s important to Him.

That’s why, no matter where you are or where you’ve been, Grace always wins when you choose the Author of Life.

We live in a world that wants the best of everything, and wants it NOW. It’s true that we only have one life here on earth and that we need to strive towards our dreams – achieving them as quick as possible. There’s no time to waste.

I was one of those who fell into this “NOW” trap. My desire was (and still is) to encourage those who feel lost and alone. Those who feel unloved. It’s a great and worthwhile passion but it won’t just happen by putting a few nice things on social media. I am unknown to so many people and the only way that anybody would be willing to listen to me, is if they knew my heart. The only way that is going to happen is when others see that I practise what I preach. That the things I tell them are the same things that I apply in my life.

That all takes time and hard work. Whynot IMPACT is something I started to reach out to people who need that little bit of encouragement to get them moving towards their dreams. I am busy writing a book that will be part of the process of encouragement and support in schools. There are big plans for great things but it means a lot of groundwork.

So, when you are unknown like me, don’t allow the mountain that stands between you and your dream to overwhelm you. There’s no better day than today to take that first step. It will be long and tiring but it’s so much better to scale a mountain and see all the promises on the other side, than to sit in comfort, wondering what could have been.

Start as an unknown entity and finish by leaving an unforgettable legacy that will live on long after you are gone. That’s what I’m doing and it’s a great journey!

We can claim to be anything we like, but claiming to be Superman doesn’t make me a superhero with a cape.                                                                                                                                                        Claiming to play for Liverpool won’t fool anyone, even if I’m wearing their kit!

Making all these claims about who we are, and what we’ve done, and how much we have, is something we so often do. And most of the time it’s because we want to impress. And throwing all these claims out into cyberspace is safe. So many of our “friends” on Facebook and Twitter don’t even really know us. So it’s easy to make claims that we don’t need to back up.

But here’s the thing… “Claims need proof to make them valid.”

There are 3 things that I’m pretty sure of:

• I’d like to be Superman, but I’m not, so there’s no need to pretend I am.
• I can only dream of playing for Liverpool, but I’m too old now, so why pretend to be someone I’m not?
• I don’t need to claim to be anyone I’m not, because I don’t need to impress anyone or lie to myself.

Something that I do claim without any shame, is that I am a Child of the One True King! And I can back that up! I was once a huge mess. My life was spinning out of control and I hit rock bottom so hard. But there in the gutters of life, Jesus stretched out His hand and lifted me out of the muck. He died for me, forgave my sins and set me free. I didn’t need to fix myself up before coming to God. I called to Him and He met me where I was. Right there in the filth. Now He is renewing me day after day. Being His Child is more precious than any other claim I can make. Way better than being Superman!

It’s real and it’s mind-blowing to think that God, who created this massive universe, cares about a tiny human being like you and me, but He does and the proof is The Cross!

He loves you more than you can ever imagine. Believe it, accept it and claim it.

Have a blessed day!

…is real and scary. That’s why it needs to be confronted with the stature of a giant! That’s why it needs to be overpowered by the confidence of David! Goliath got the better of an entire army. But he was defeated by a scrawny, teenage boy, because David didn’t allow a giant’s intimidation tactics to get the better of Him. He chose to fight back.

Fight back at whatever is intimidating you, knowing that God has great plans for your life and He is standing right beside you! You already have the victory in Him… all you need to do is take up the challenge.

Have a blessed day!

I believe that there is good in every person. Even those who society has turned its back on, because of terrible things they might have done. We seem to have more time for people who put nice quotes on Facebook or Twitter.  Now I’m not saying that you must stop doing it. I hope that some of the things I share are encouraging and brighten up someone’s day.

What I am saying is that all the nice little articles I share on http://www.whynotimpact.com or anywhere else, doesn’t make me a good person. Our true colours shine through in the things we do – not the nice things we say or the good intentions we have. Good intentions are only good when they lead to action. Our intentions need to be intentional so that they are transformed from ideas to practice.

But that’s not all that is needed. Things need to be done with the right intention. It is so easy to become proud about what we are doing. When we do good things with the wrong intentions, it might fool many people but you can NEVER fool yourself. It’s about keeping your feet on the ground while you reach for the stars. Stay grounded while you go out to change the world.

So, let’s be more than just the nice things we post. Lets live the nice things we post… and let’s do them in humility. That is rewarding, it is a true reflection of who we are and it is pleasing to God.

Have a very blessed day, keeping it REAL!

There we go. Three days into 2018. Remember that excitement in our “souls” about how this year would be different and how we would do great things. I bet most of us have just gone back to our old routines and habits because it’s just so much easier to do.

Doing things that count, and living a life that makes a difference, just takes so much effort. Why even bother? Just go back to what you are used to. Go back to your comfort zone!

Hey! Here are the facts.

• If you keep on doing what you’ve always been doing, the results will never change!
• If you are too afraid to step out of the boat, you will never feel the exhilaration of walking on water.

Life is about exploring. It’s about pushing the boundaries to see what’s on the other side of the wall that surrounds your comfort zone. Life is about being thankful and showing that thankfulness by how we live. It is about being so blown away by the grace that God has shown us, that we show grace to every single person. It’s about being so excited about the love that Jesus showed us on the cross, that we can’t wait to share that love with others.

We need to stop showing everybody what we don’t stand for, and start showing the world what we do stand for – LOVE! And if you and I don’t start, it’s never going to happen. I dare you! Do this with me… be the spark that starts the flame that sets the world ablaze with love.

In the Northern Territory of Australia, where I live, there are frequent boards like these, close to bodies of water. Common sense says, “Don’t go where there’s danger! Stay in the safe zone!” In this case, stay out of the water. If you are anything like me, you have an “adventurous” side. You love to go where you know there is danger. You want to push the boundaries and tempt fate. And you know what… I don’t think that’s a bad thing! I think it’s healthy to go on the path less travelled. I think it’s super important to step out of your comfort zone and to test yourself. But when you do decide to swim with the crocodiles, you need to be aware of the danger and face the consequences.

When you step out of your comfort zone, you step into unknown territory. It’s a place filled with risks, but also a place where you will find great rewards. It’s the only place that really gets the blood pumping and the adrenaline flowing. It’s a place where there will be failure…no doubt! But it’s also a place where there will be successes. And they will only be experienced when we make some life changes. Like getting off that “comfortable couch of life” where I am absorbed in watching how other people are living their lives. Like spending less time on social media and rather becoming more social in “real life”. Like watching less episodes on TV and rather living out the exciting episodes of my life.

Maybe it’s crazy, but I got into the water where that sign was, and I swam to the waterfall on the far side. Only by facing the danger of the unknown in the pool, could I experience the reward of standing under the cold, fresh waterfall.

If you want to experience life and build a bridge that will make a difference to the lives of others, you net to “get into the water”. If you want to be used by God to be a history maker, you need to get out of the boat and get into the water. God doesn’t call us to stay in our comfortable little environment. He calls us into the “danger zone”. Into a place where it would be impossible to do things in our own strength and with our own courage. He calls us into the water teeming with “crocodiles” and the only way we would dare to step in, is because we know He is with us. We do it in His strength and in the courage that He gives us.