A cup starts our day; another one keeps the wheels of commerce greased and rolling. And a warm mug caps the evening off. Coffee is integral to my daily routine. But the coffee bean also holds a life lesson.

I learned it when I visited a coffee plantation on the Kona coast of the island of Hawaii. At the Bay View Farms Kona coffee plantation, local farmers spend the day picking ripe, red coffee cherries from their trees. The farmers dump their day's pickings into a large bin, washing the cherries and removing all the leaves and twigs.

I tasted one of the fresh cherries, chewing thoroughly to evaluate the taste. Nothing! The flesh of the coffee cherry is attractive to the eye and the only part remotely tasty when fresh picked. But if the flesh remains on the bean, the sugar will begin to ferment, spoiling the bean. Attractive and sweet though it appears, that is not where the essence of the coffee bean lies.

This coffee-cherry slurry is pumped through a machine that strips the fleshy, cherry-like fruit from the raw bean. Next the beans go through machines that first remove a paper-like husk called the parchment, and then a membrane called the silver skin. These layers do not harm the bean if left, but they might dilute the quality of the brewed coffee.

Still raw, the pure coffee bean is dried, graded and bagged. The coffee is next roasted. And only then, is it ground, brewed and enjoyed.

Most astonishing, the naked, raw bean is a flavorless little seed. It is not until the bean has been thrust into an oven and subjected to intense heat—the roasting—that the character of the bean begins to emerge. The aroma becomes noticeable and the flavor develops. The heat is necessary if the bean is to fulfill its intended purpose.

How much like God's work in our own lives is the experience of the coffee bean. At times we object to all that needs to be removed from our lives. We plead for relief from the heat of life's difficulties. We cry out against the pain of suffering.

But it is only by passing through these processes that we can gain the flavor and aroma that will make us pleasing to God. And the Bible says that we are not all that different from a good cup of coffee. As Paul wrote to Timothy at the end of his life: "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:6,7; New International Version).

Every coffee drinker knows how wonderful a good cup can be.

How do you eat a cow? One bite at a time.

Same goes, for most of us, with reading the Bible cover to cover. Tackling the whole thing at once seems overwhelming. So here is a practical way to read through the entire Bible in 2005. Read three or four chapters each day in this order:

Jan. - Genesis, Exodus
Feb. - Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy 1-4
Mar. - Deuteronomy 5-34, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel 1-17
Apr. - 1 Samuel 18-31, 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings
May - 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
June - Job, Psalms 1-89
July - Psalms 90-150, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah 1-17
Aug. - Isaiah 18-66, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel 1-8
Sept. - Ezekiel 9-48, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah
Oct. - Malachi, Matthew, Mark, Luke
Nov. - John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians
Dec. - 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephe-sians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thes-salonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude, Revelation

For a more detailed schedule and variety of plans—chronological, historical, blended—visit www.backtothebible.org/devotions/journey/.

In my hometown, my mom's fudge is legendary. When the holidays roll around, dentists' offices, churches and homes throughout town look forward to her fudge. Ensconced between a Christmassy plate and holiday Saran Wrap is fudge of all types: white divinity, chocolate with walnuts, and—my favorite—chocolate peanut-butter fudge.

Fudge tastes divine. Sure, it might be one of the most fattening foods on earth, but it's the fat that makes it so good. The last time I ate my mom's fudge something terrible happened: indigestion. As soon as I swallowed, my stomach was angry. (I had been training for a triathlon, avoiding most sugar.) My taste buds enjoyed the chocolate and peanut-butter flavor, but my tummy did not.

Recently, I noticed something similar to fudge: gossip. After a Thai-food dinner with my brother and a Mexican-food lunch with some friends, I asked myself, "What did we just talk about?" Much of the conversation was beneficial to all of us. But some of our chatter was gossip. Both fudge and gossip feel great at first but disgusting later. Conversations filled with hearsay give me spiritual indigestion: "The words of gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inward parts" (Proverbs 18:8, New International Version).

At meals, I can be the star of the conversation by divulging the latest gossip about a friend, pastor or celebrity. (Isn't this one of the reasons People magazine is so popular?) Over the phone or e-mail, I can be the first person to depart the latest-breaking rumors. In Christian circles, I can camouflage gossip by calling it "prayer requests." "A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much" (Proverbs 20:19, NIV).

What good is served when I talk about others behind their backs? Does it strengthen my church? Does it deepen friendships? Does it honor God? "A gossip separates close friends" (Proverbs 16:28, NIV).

Gossip is spiritual fudge. Though it tastes good on our tongues, it wreaks havoc in our souls.

It happens all around us: an invisible war. You are a fighter in it, and I am too. Spiritual warfare is an authentic war with authentic, invisible enemies. Ephesians 6:12 tells us, "For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms" (New Living Translation).

We must learn to fight spiritually and use the spiritual armor God provides. Paul made use of the Roman military terminology of his day to help us understand that life is a spiritual battle; we cannot afford to go out unprepared. Let's examine the armor of the spiritual warrior.

God commands believers to put on "the sturdy belt of truth" (Ephesians 6:14, NLT). Before a Roman soldier went into battle, he rolled up his long robe waist high and secured it with a sash, otherwise his movements would be hindered. We, too, are to gird ourselves with truth—God's Word. We need to think biblically so that faulty, misguided ideas will not get in the way.

We also wear the "body armor of God's righteousness" (Ephesians 6:14, NLT). The armor of Paul's time was a breastplate covering the chest and abdomen, protecting the wearer from being wounded by his enemy's sword. Our enemy loves to defeat us by reminding us of our unworthiness. But if we have confessed our sin to God, we are completely protected from the blows of the devil's accusations by the armor of Christ's righteousness.

"For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the good news, so that you will be fully prepared" (Ephesians 6:15, NLT). No good soldier wears ordinary shoes or sandals into battle. Roman soldiers wore boots with embedded nails that functioned like today's cleats. When marching through mud, they would not slip. The good news of the gospel provides solid spiritual footing.

The next piece of armor we are to take up is "faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan" (Ephesians 6:16, NLT). Rome's enemies often dipped their arrows in hot tar, set them afire, then fired them on their deadly journeys. The Romans could take shelter behind their shields, which were often as tall as wooden doors. Strong faith in Christ is our hiding place and shelter when the world is shooting flaming arrows at us from every direction.

Then you should "put on salvation as your helmet" (Ephesians 6:17, NLT). Any good soldier needs to keep a level head. In the heat of combat, the helmet was essential for the battlefield, particularly when facing the broadsword. The breastplate and shield protect a soldier from flaming darts, but his head would still be exposed from above. Salvation protects the mind. Our souls are safe, and we can fight victoriously on the battlefield through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Finally, we wield as our only weapon "the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" (Ephesians 6:17, NLT). The Romans used long, heavy broadswords and small, swift daggers. The larger sword was brought down on the head of a foe; the smaller dagger was deadly when driven through a vulnerable spot in the enemy's armor. The Word of God is like the dagger—quick, powerful and sharp. The Scriptures are so penetrating that they can defeat any adversary, immediately plunging through a weak spot to the heart of the matter. Think of how Jesus used the Scriptures to defeat the devil's temptations in the desert. In our trials, God's Word pierces the darkness, pointing accurately to truth when confusion is all around us.

The devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour (1 Peter 5:8). But what will happen when we stand tall against the devil himself? How astonished will the world be to see us stand firm under the attack of the worst temptations he has to offer? You cannot face the lion from hell unless you have the strength of the Lion of Judah. You must fight the hellfire of Satan with the holy fire of the Spirit. God will protect you through the armor of spiritual warfare. He will give you shelter behind the shield of faith and help you strike back, powerfully using the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.

We can triumph over Satan in the coliseum of life only because the victor Himself, Jesus Christ, lives within us through His Spirit.

Adapted from His Intimate Presence, ©2003, by Bill Bright, New Life Publications, Campus Crusade for Christ. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

I got a CD a few months ago with the strangest song. Drums pound and guitars hum as the band Switchfoot sings, "If we're adding to the noise, turn off this song . . . Turn off your stereo, radio." A band that tells you to turn off their music—that's about as common as a winning lottery ticket.

I can listen to music on my work computer, on my home computer, in my truck, in my wife's minivan, in my portable CD player, and in my MP3 player. If I get bored with music, I can listen to talk radio. The radio is passˇ at home, though, with a TV and all. Oh, and there are movies too. Noise served as many ways as potatoes can be cooked.

Recently, I rediscovered a unique button on my radio. This button—the off switch—tunes into an unused station called silence. I like to experiment with silence. Once, in college, I banned all noise—television or stereo—for a month. Occasionally, the radio stays off in my truck. Instead of listening to music or talk radio, I listen to God.

Over the centuries, followers of Christ have found profound spiritual growth in practicing the disciplines of fasting, solitude and silence. Blaise Pascal, the 17th-century French mathematician and theologian, wrote: "I have discovered that all human evil comes from this: man's being unable to sit still in a room."

Silence sometimes frightens me. But I wait. And pray. Eventually, I hear the beauty of the silence.