filling the cup

We are studying the book  of Galatians in MIniBible college right now.  Chapters 5 and 6 are all about the conflict between flesh and spirit.  Dick Woodward, our teacher, uses the analogy of two competing dogs (one representing flesh and one representing spirit) and how the dog that is fed the most tends to win the fight.  As I read through this section I thought of a cup and how a cup can only be full of one fluid at a time.  It starts as an empty cup and we can choose how it is to be filled.  When we put our trust in Christ initially the Lord hands us a cup full of Himself, and He never takes back the cup...we will share that cup in eternity with Him.  But I can choose, on a daily basis, how I fill that cup.  If I do not fill my cup with the pitcher of Holy Spirit presence then the very atmosphere of this natural life will fill the cup with the ways of the world and of the flesh.  But if I set my mind on Him and drink in His word and His presence then the cup can only be full of Him and there is no room in the cup for anything else.  A cup can only hold one fluid at a time!  If we pour out our cup...filled with Him... for others on His behalf we tend to return to Him for a refill for we have seen the benefits of the cup full of life.

Psalm 116:12 

What shall I render to the Lord
For all His benefits toward me?
¹³ I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the Lord.

Psalm 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
               You anoint my head with oil;
                My cup runs over.