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Selwyn Hughes
Selwyn Hughes (April 27, 1928–January 9, 2006) was a Welsh Christian preacher, evangelist, and author, best known for his daily devotional Every Day with Jesus, which reached nearly a million readers worldwide. Born in Fochriw near Caerphilly, Wales, to a coal-mining family, Hughes worked as a miner during his teenage years, including a stint as a “Bevin Boy” in 1946–1947 during National Service. Converted at 16 in 1944, he felt a divine call to ministry, leading him to study theology in Bristol after leaving the mines. Ordained in the Pentecostal Assemblies of God, he served churches in Cornwall, Wales, Yorkshire, Essex, and London for 18 years, beginning his writing career in the 1960s with Bible-reading notes on postcards for his congregation. In 1965, Hughes founded the Crusade for World Revival (CWR), an international ministry focused on training Christian counselors and producing resources, including Every Day with Jesus, which he wrote for over 40 years. He authored over 50 books, blending pastoral insight with practical faith, such as The 7 Laws of Spiritual Success and his autobiography My Story (2004). Despite personal tragedies—the death of his wife Enid from cancer in 1986 and both sons in 2000 and 2001—his faith remained unshaken, earning him praise from George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, as a “giant in the faith.” Hughes died of cancer in 2006, leaving a legacy of spiritual encouragement and revivalist zeal. He received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Brunel University in 2005.
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Selwyn Hughes emphasizes the unbreakable nature of Scripture in John 10:35, affirming his belief in the supervisal inspiration of the Bible. He explains that God guided the writers of Scripture to ensure accuracy and truth, protecting them from error and deceit. Hughes compares the divine authorship of the Bible to the construction of St. Paul's Cathedral, where various workers contributed but the ultimate masterpiece belonged to Sir Christopher Wren. Ultimately, Hughes asserts that while humans like Moses, David, and Paul physically wrote the Bible, it is truly God's Word.
God's Great Masterpiece
"... and the Scripture cannot be broken ..." (v. 35) For reading & meditation: John 10:1-18 I said yesterday that I subscribe to the supervisal inspiration of the Bible. I believe God led the minds and hearts of the writers of Scripture to go to the right sources for information, to come up with the required data, and in the process protected them from exposure to error, deceit, or imposture. He supervised them in their research, in their reporting, and when He spoke directly to them He was there also to make sure that they received clearly the message He wanted to convey. Ian Macpherson puts this truth most powerfully in his book The Faith Once Delivered when he says: "As in the mystery of the Incarnation, God linked Himself to humanity, so in the mystery of the inspiration of Holy Scripture, God made use of human channels, yet He never surrendered His Divine authorship or permitted the Book to become the word of man rather than the word of God." Another writer, H. O. Mackey, put it like this: "Who built St. Paul's Cathedral? So many masons, carpenters, iron-workers, carvers, painters - and then there was Wren. He was not a mason, or a carpenter ... and never laid a stone. What did he do? He did it all. He planned it, inspired it with his thought." Mackey does not intend to dishonor the workmen who toiled hard and long, but simply to make the point that in the final analysis St. Paul's Cathedral is Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece. Who wrote the Bible? Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John, Peter, Paul, and many others. But whose book is it really? It is God's. O God, it is the entrance of Your Word that brings light and the neglect of Your Word that brings darkness. Help me to expose myself more and more to that light, so that I may walk through life with a sure and steady tread. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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Selwyn Hughes (April 27, 1928–January 9, 2006) was a Welsh Christian preacher, evangelist, and author, best known for his daily devotional Every Day with Jesus, which reached nearly a million readers worldwide. Born in Fochriw near Caerphilly, Wales, to a coal-mining family, Hughes worked as a miner during his teenage years, including a stint as a “Bevin Boy” in 1946–1947 during National Service. Converted at 16 in 1944, he felt a divine call to ministry, leading him to study theology in Bristol after leaving the mines. Ordained in the Pentecostal Assemblies of God, he served churches in Cornwall, Wales, Yorkshire, Essex, and London for 18 years, beginning his writing career in the 1960s with Bible-reading notes on postcards for his congregation. In 1965, Hughes founded the Crusade for World Revival (CWR), an international ministry focused on training Christian counselors and producing resources, including Every Day with Jesus, which he wrote for over 40 years. He authored over 50 books, blending pastoral insight with practical faith, such as The 7 Laws of Spiritual Success and his autobiography My Story (2004). Despite personal tragedies—the death of his wife Enid from cancer in 1986 and both sons in 2000 and 2001—his faith remained unshaken, earning him praise from George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, as a “giant in the faith.” Hughes died of cancer in 2006, leaving a legacy of spiritual encouragement and revivalist zeal. He received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Brunel University in 2005.