Cheer UP! Podcast
Cheer UP! Podcast
Journeying With Lydia
Lydia's Purple Dreams: A Tale of Faith and Business.
Who was Lydia, and why is she important to the story of early Christianity? Explore her journey from businesswoman to first European convert! What inspires you about her faith? 🎧
#Faith #inspirational #Hope #Life #PersonalityTraits #FromTheBible #TheColorPurple #Purple #PurpleDreams #Entrepreneuers #BusinessWomen #ChristianPodcasts #CheerUpPodcast #Cheer #CheriSwalwell #KaraRHunt
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Hi and welcome to the Cheer Up Podcast. And welcome to the Cheer Up Podcast. I am your host, kara R Hunt, and with me, as always, is the beautiful and sun-shiny Sherry Swalwell. How are you doing today?
Speaker 2:Sherry, I am doing great.
Speaker 1:Can you believe that it's March already? No, I don't even want to think about it. Each year it feels like I'm like two months short. I mean, I move a month somewhere.
Speaker 1:You know it's like where did February go, when did January go? But we hope everyone listening is having a great and awesome start to your new year. We hope that your holidays were very fun and refreshing and you got to see people you don't normally see, perhaps, but and hug and kiss all those you love, that you had a great time and that your new year is starting off awesome. And yes, so to me March still feels like the beginning of the new year. Right, it's like the first semester of it, I guess I could say.
Speaker 2:Right, Sherry. Yeah, I completely agree with you. When you break it off into like four quarters, we're still in the first quarter. So this is good.
Speaker 1:This is good, it's awesome. And this week our podcast episode is going to be about Lydia Lydia in the New Testament. And for those of you who may not be familiar with Lydia, we're going to talk a little bit more about her in this podcast episode. So again, thank you all for joining us, thank you all for tuning in. Hello to Cheered Nation, those of you who tune in every week and for those who are just now tuning in, welcome, and we appreciate you so much for joining us on your journey to joy. And right now we're going to talk about Lydia, who was a joyful person. I don't know if she was beforehand, before something happened, but you could tell that she was afterwards, you know. So, just quickly, just a little bit about Lydia, really quick. She, on some of the notes I have gathered, she was a prominent figure in the excuse me, I should say she is a prominent figure because she's still in the book Lydia. She's a prominent figure in the New Testament and she's mentioned in the book of Acts as a convert to Christianity and supporter of the early church. We can read all about Lydia in Acts, chapter 16. I think starting I have here 11, but I think it starts earlier than that. I almost want to say eight, but don't quote me on that. Maybe my notes from yesterday is correct, but anyway, she was a businesswoman. The one thing that was different about Lydia women in the New Testament is that she was a businesswoman. The one thing that was different about Lydia women in the New Testament is that she was a businesswoman and she was from Thyatira, which is a city in the Roman province of Asia which is now modern-day Turkey. She was a seller of purple cloth and that's important because it was a luxurious and expensive material in ancient times. She is described in the Book of Acts as a worshiper of God, which according to some means that she was a Gentile who had already embraced some aspects of Judaism before her conversion to Christianity. She did not. It does not really talk about her heritage much as a matter of fact. I don't think it's mentioned at all. So we have no knowledge of, maybe, who her parents were or if she had any children. So it does speak about her household, but it doesn't give any specifics regarding to that. But Paul plays a significant role in this and you'll notice, as we're talking about figures in the New Testament, that Paul seems to be everywhere all the time converting people and doing a whole bunch of awesome stuff, but anyway, lydia and her household were baptized after hearing the apostle Paul preach the gospel in Philippi and, following her conversion, lydia and her household provided hospitality to Paul and his companions. It doesn't even go into Lydia's death at all how she died, how long she lived or what happened to her family or anything like that. Again, the important thing is that she was noted for being a devoted follower of Jesus Christ and a great supporter of the early church.
Speaker 1:And I want to get back to her being a businesswoman back then, because being a businesswoman in New Testament was very, very challenging. It's not like it is today. We have women who are entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, ceos of companies, you know, and everything like that, and run their own businesses, big and small, and it has been a way, at least in America, for quite a while. But in New Testament times that was, it was a rarity for someone to do that and it was challenging because they faced significant social and legal barriers legal barriers and it limited their economic and professional opportunities. So, for instance, in Greece, in Rome, women were generally expected to be subservient to men and focus on their domestic and familial responsibilities, like caring for your children, managing the household, performing the religious duties and doing all of that, but selling goods in a marketplace or managing a small-scale enterprise, they face significant obstacles and limitations. Women were excluded from formal business networks and organizations. It was difficult for them to have anyone loan them money or skills or anything to help them start it. They weren't allowed to negotiate contracts and they weren't allowed to even establish professional relationships because most of the time that would have been with men. So there was various legal restrictions that limited a lot of them. So her being a businesswoman says a lot about her character and how she was able to do it, because sometimes, and especially in Roman law, you couldn't even do that unless you had a male guardian who handled all the financial responsibilities. So it was very difficult.
Speaker 1:It's not like it was these days and what she did was she sold purple cloth, which is highly valued and expensive fabric that was used for a slew of purposes. It was from curtains to clothing, to textiles and robes and the color purple and it was very expensive and it was derived from a type of sea snail from a type of sea snail. So she was, she had. There was a lot to this, so I don't want it to be just like oh, you know, she just had like a little booth on the corner and everything and she was just selling this purple cloth. No, that purple cloth had to be made First. You had to get the purple color or whatnot from the snail and you had to do all of this. And it was a very expensive fabric because and that's why so many people went after it, because it was usually worn by the wealthy and those like that. So she probably had a very successful business, but it took a lot to go in there.
Speaker 1:But the most important thing about Lydia is that when you read in Acts 16, verse 13, you find out, well, you've got to read a little bit before that. So it's probably best when you're in Luke 16 to read the first 12 chapters. But and then you realize she was the first convert Right on European soil, by Paul and the team that was the missionary team that was with him. She was the first convert and then later, like we just talked about, you know, not only was she baptized, but her entire household was baptized. And so here he is, you know, this woman and Paul and them come to town and she hears them and he's speaking to her and again, you can read about all of this in Luke chapter 16. And she accepts you know what they're saying. And she accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior and she gets baptized. She's so excited about it, right, that she goes back, she tells her whole household and whatever they hear from her, she's pretty much evangelizing here. Not only was she the first convert, but now she's evangelizing, she's taking it back to her home and they're like what Tell us more? And next thing, you know, then they're baptized.
Speaker 1:Now, again, it's only a couple of paragraphs adapted to this, excuse me, that talks about Lydia there. But this actually, I think, happened over. As I look into some of my commentaries. It didn't all happen at once. This seems like it happened over a couple of days. And then you get to that part of Luke chapter two excuse me, luke chapter six where all the things happened to Paul and everything else. But then when you get down, you know else. But then when you get down, you know, to the end of Luke chapter 16, when Paul and Silas are, you know, are brought out of prison, you know, and things like that, they entered into the house of Lydia. So a whole bunch of stuff happens between when they meet. When she meets Paul, she's ministered to, she accepts what he has to say, she's baptized. Then she goes back to her family and then they're baptized, and her whole household. Then a whole bunch of stuff happens to Paul. I'm not going to read through it, but a whole bunch of stuff happens to him. But after all of that is said and done, so this could have been a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1:Verse 40 says in 16, chapter 16, and they went out of the prison and entered into the house of Lydia. So they knew where to go back to because she was such a great person and she had awesome hospitality. They knew that they would be welcome. And, by the way, by the time because this is the last verse in Luke 16, verse 40, by the time they go back to her house, because they have been through so much in the middle of Luke, chapter 16, they are worse for the wear. They have been beaten, they have been downtrodden, they have been put in prison, they have been threatened, I mean, and so they're worse for wear. And where do they go? They go to Lydia and her household, where they were comforted and encouraged before they were to depart, before they departed, and these were new converts who did that to them. And so that's some of the amazing things about Lydia.
Speaker 1:And what I really just want to focus on there is I know a lot of people may be, yeah, but I'm new to Christianity and I just don't know what I can do. I don't know the Bible a lot. I don't know what I should say, what I shouldn't say. It doesn't matter. Lydia and her whole household were new converts. Lydia was the first one in European territory to be the first convert. When they went there Again, read the earlier parts of chapter 16. But in her whole household.
Speaker 1:Now, paul, like I said, had been through a whole bunch, but who did he go back to? He didn't go to some of the converts and stuff that he knew were older and stronger and you know, in a faith, he went back to Lydia and her family. So never think that you don't have a purpose because you're new to Jesus Christ. You're new to your relationship there or anything else. If you know how to comfort someone, be a comforter. If you know how to encourage someone, be an encourager. If you know how to bandage someone's wounds physical wounds, because Paul and them were pretty messed up around this time because they had been through a lot Then you know, bandage wounds, physically and or emotionally, you can do that through the strength of the Holy Spirit that is now, that is within you no-transcript that God.
Speaker 2:He just shows through his examples in the Bible of how much he cares for every single person and how everybody is equal in his eyes. We may have barriers when it comes to government.
Speaker 1:We may have barriers when it comes to culture, we may have barriers when it comes to culture.
Speaker 2:We may have barriers when it comes to financial or economic success, but there are no barriers when it comes to God. He uses some. In some cases, you need to have money in order to be able to be used greatly, because you need to have that resource so God can use business people really, really well.
Speaker 1:But then in other cases.
Speaker 2:If God wants to use somebody else who maybe has a financial barrier, he can overcome that with. I think of Elijah and the widow with the oil and the flowers and how she just had a little bit, but God let that stretch for as long as she needed it to and as long as he needed it to. So, um, but I, I truly love how this story shows us that every single person, however he wants to, and in his time, we just have to be willing. So Lydia was a great business person. She knew business, she thrived on business, she was good at business, and so God used that. So if you, like Kara said, if you're good at tending wounds, then tend houses for the best of them, If you're good at whatever it is. God is no respecter of persons and I just I love that. I love how that just comes out so effortlessly. But I also love how she was a new convert and, like Kara said, it doesn't matter how long you've been in the faith, it's the genuineness and it's your heart that matters.
Speaker 2:So the fact that she, that Paul, came to her when she wasn't as learned or as experienced necessarily as some of the others, sometimes those are the best people because they're the most genuine. So just work on your heart because they're the most genuine. So just work on your heart, just make sure that you, every morning, wake up and examine your heart and say God, I want to be a blessing for you and I, I want to do what you want me to do, so make me available.
Speaker 2:Or I should say I am available, do with me what you want done and then just watch and see what God will do. But yeah, that's, that's about all I wanted to add, because you, you taught me so much about Lydia. Like I knew about the purple cloth and stuff, but I didn't know all of those little details. So thank you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and, and there's so much more to that purple cloth was used for and, um, the, the, the, the difficulty in getting it.
Speaker 1:And not to mention again, like you said, she was a business woman, but it wasn't easy for her to become that, right, it just it just wasn't. And I'm like now, if you mentioned to someone and you have a girlfriend came to you and they're like, sure, I'm thinking about starting a business, and you're like, okay, well, what, what man is going to represent you in this? They look at you like you were nuts, right? They're like what, yeah, well, you're going to need a man to do your contracts, you're going to need a man to handle all of your financial things and everything else. And that's the law, it's just the way it is. I mean. So there are lots of obstacles that she had to overcome for that, but she was able to do it and I just didn't want that part to get lost of how difficult it would have been for her to be a businesswoman. At that time, however, you could tell she was successful because it wasn't cheap.
Speaker 2:Right To make.
Speaker 1:That cloth was expensive and people paid who did it? Because it was run by a lot of royal people. She was blessed by her hard work and her perseverance, but again, one of the excuse me, not one of the first the first convert and Paul went and went back to her and her family, right bleeding and bruised and upset and everything after being prisoned. He went there and they comforted him and it says that in, you know, verse 40, depending what translation you read, they're like they comforted them, they encouraged them, they inspired them, you know, and everything else. And sometimes you're like well, paul was seasoned, right, like why would he need encouragement and inspiration? Well, if you've been through what he just went through, it doesn't hurt to have that encouragement and that inspiring. And if you're that type of person and you see someone hurting, sometimes it just takes a kind words.
Speaker 1:Do not let your lack of years of experience in a Christian faith stop you, because it doesn't. God has used them in mighty, mighty ways and it was so mighty and it's so blessed Paul, that Luke edited in his telling of the book of Acts. And Luke was a physician and he edited there at the beginning of Paul difficult journey there in the book of Acts and at the end he talks about Lydia and he ends it with Lydia before you know that difficult situation that he had went into and everything else, and so he saw it as important to put in there. So never think that you're not quote unquote seasoned enough, you haven't walked the faith long enough, you don't know God good enough. Use the skills that God has given you. You'd be surprised at how much comfort and encouragement it could give to someone who's also new to the faith or who has been walking the journey for a very long time. And just two or three words and a little bandaging and a little encouragement before they have to leave can go a very, very long way.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and that fits so well with the verse of the podcast, which is John 16, 33. These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.
Speaker 2:Well, not only does Jesus do it himself with us, but he uses us as his hands and feet to comfort, to encourage and to be there to uplift for other people, and so I think that that's something that all of us can do, whether it's an encouraging word, whether it's an encouraging text. It doesn't take too long to text somebody and just say, hey, I'm thinking about you, how are you doing? Or I'm praying for you. I know that you had that test today, or I know you had, you know, whatever, whatever, whatever. So I think that that's what I want to encourage us with this week is how can we keep ourselves mindful of being the hands and feet of Jesus to those around us and maybe ask him how we can do it in a way that we're not used to doing or in a way that's not comfortable or familiar for us by
Speaker 2:helping us to step out of our comfort zone and do it in a different way. Let God stretch us a little bit and that will look different for all of us, but it's exciting. So that's kind of what I want to encourage people with this morning or today. I should say Thank you, kara, for telling us all about Lydia because, like I said, I knew some about her, but I feel like I know her that much more and I'm excited to know that she was, her and her family were the very first converts of Paul in that area. So that's really exciting. Like now I want to meet her up in heaven too.
Speaker 1:Like not before but now.
Speaker 2:I want to meet her even more. So next week we're going to be talking about the woman with the issue of blood, and if you don't know that story, then definitely come back and stay tuned. And if you do know that story, then come on back and stay tuned. And if you do know that story, then, um, come on, listen to it, and then you can um start a discussion in the um Facebook group. Uh, and we can continue it on. Or you can email us at cheeruppodcasts at gmailcom.
Speaker 2:If you want to talk to us about Lydia, or if you want to talk about what we talk about next week, head over to carrie's website, carrahuntcom, and you will see all of her different books. They are available in paperback, ebook and audiobook. She also has a lot of other great things on her website, so I encourage you to browse around there. You can head over to my website, sherryslawwellcom, and you can look at the different books that I have on there fiction and nonfiction, as well as some of the other things that we that I offer other services. So we are so grateful that you're here every single week. We love our listeners and we love communicating with you and sharing with you what God lays on our heart, and so next week we're going to be talking about the woman with the issue of blood. Until then, enjoy your day, enjoy the beginning of March, and join us next week for another exciting episode of the cheer up podcast.
