Faith and Business: Lessons from Lydia

Bible, Women & Bathrobes, Episode 42

Bible Women: Lydia

Summary

Amy, Wendi & Tamara the discuss Lydia, a woman from Acts 16 who exemplifies a soft and open heart to God while being a successful businesswoman. Lydia, a seller of purple, is described as hospitable, influential, and charitable, inviting Paul and his companions into her home and caring for them after their imprisonment. The hosts reflect on Lydia's open heart, her influence on her household, and the importance of attending to spiritual matters. They emphasize the significance of being in the right place at the right time and the blessings that come from being faithful to God.

Main Takeaways

• From Amy, “When we attend unto the things of God, we are then blessed in abundance, whether it's financially, whether it's spiritually, whether it's emotionally, whether it's whatever it is we need, when we attend unto the things of God, he doesn't ever let his people down, never. He always has our back. . . when we attend unto the things of God, not only we will be blessed, but all our households will be blessed too.”
• From Wendi, “This all happened because she was hanging out with her friends, you know, in the right place at the right time. And I think that's a good reminder that, as we are doing the right things in our lives at the right time, look what the Lord can do. I mean, she and her household were completely blessed because of the choices that she made. One person can be such a huge influencer in home, and that happened to be Lydia. She had a huge influence on her household, and you can see that, and she was in the right place at the right time, and was open. Her heart was open to the things of God. And because of that, he blessed her.”
• From Tamara, “I love Lydia's mother heart. We don't know if she was a mother, but it sure seems like she mothered her household and she was able to mother and take care of Paul and those who are with them after they were beaten with stripes in prison. And I think whether we are mothers biologically, you know, or we've given birth or not, that we can have that mother heart to love and serve and be examples and minister to others. And I just, I love that about her, just that she was a pure example of Christ- like love.”

Today’s Podcast Hosts & Guests

Tamara K. Anderson

Tamara, founder of Women Warriors of Light, is a dynamic speaker, award winning author, and a podcaster. She is driven by her Christian faith to inspire faith in Jesus Christ. Alongside her husband, Justin, she navigates the joys and challenges of parenting four children with autism, ADHD, and mental health hurdles. You can find out more about Tamara on her website: https://www.tamarakanderson.com/

Wendi Christensen, LCSW

Wendi is the co-founder of Women Warriors of Light. In addition to being a wife and mother, she is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 28 years of experience. Wendi is an intuitive counselor helping individuals release pain, renew hope, and restore light through forgiveness. You can find out more about Wendi on her website: https://wendichristensencounseling.com/

Amy Johnson

Amy is a member of our Women Warriors of Light Advisory Board. She is a leader of women, a homemaker, and a licensed cosmetologist. Amy enjoys nurturing women through betrayal trauma to becoming a beacon of support and inspiration.

Transcript

If you’d like to read the transcript of today’s episode, you can find it on our Women Warriors of Light website blog. Link in the bio.

Tamara Anderson  0:00 

Can you be a good businesswoman and have a soft and open heart to let God in? Today, we're going to find an A great example of this in the New Testament, in a woman there. So stay tuned.

Tamara Anderson  0:18 

Welcome to Bible, Women & Bathrobes, the podcast where faith meets comfort. Join us Tuesday and Thursday morning as the gals from Women Warriors of Light and their guests Don bathrobes and dive into the inspiring stories of women in the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ, from Esther's bravery to the Sermon on the Mount, we explore it all with warmth, laughter, sisterhood, and maybe even a few sleepy eyed moments. Tune in, live or at your leisure as we learn lessons from scripture which empower women today.

Tamara Anderson  1:00 

Hello and welcome to another episode of Bible, Women and Bathrobes. I'm your host, Tamara K Anderson, and joining me today, have two amazing women from part of our women, warriors of light. Amy Johnson, Amy, thanks for being here today.

Amy Johnson  1:13 

Good morning. Thank you.

Tamara Anderson  1:15 

And also my wonderful co founder, Wendi Christensen, thanks for being here, Wendi,

Wendi Christensen  1:20 

Thanks for having me today.

Tamara Anderson  1:23 

Alright, guys, today we're going to be in Acts chapter 16, and here we're going to have Paul starting his second mission. And we come upon one of those amazing women converts that he found along the way, and she-- we we only have a few verses to learn about her, but there's some amazing characteristics that she has that we get to learn about.

Tamara Anderson  1:53 

And the lame name of this woman is Lydia. Okay, so we picked this story up. Paul was off, and they were looking to teach the gospel. And so in verse 13, we know that they've gone into Macedonia, And here Paul finds out that there are some women who, on the Sabbath, tend to go to the river. And I don't know if that was just a gathering place for the women, where they kind of worshiped. We don't know much about it, but this is what it says.

Tamara Anderson  2:34 

"And on the Sabbath, we went out of the city by a riverside where prayer was want to be made. And we sat down and spake unto the women which resorted thither." And I'm going to just pause right here, because I think these women, I love that they would get together on the Sabbath to kind of pray and worship together. I can totally picture them in my mind, like ministering to each other, catching up. How has your week been? How are you doing? You know, as we women can do, they were perfect examples of this. And so I'm just going to turn some time over to you guys and let you pull out what you will there. Amy, let's start with you.

Amy Johnson  3:23 

I just love women. So to me, I'm just like, I want to go like, I just, I just love, I love women. I love goodness that's in them. I love, I do I love, I love sitting in a group of women and hearing the chatter. I love the chatter. When I would be in charge, sometimes of leading our the women's group in our congregation, I would have a hard time standing up and starting the meeting, because I could just listen to the chatter all day, and I didn't. I. I'm not. I often am just kind of an I'm really talkative one on one with someone, but in a group, I'm just kind of, I'll sit back kind of and observe, and I love to just watch and listen to the chatter. So to me, that just makes my heart happy. That whole verse just makes my heart happy, because I think that's the best place to be.

Tamara Anderson  4:25 

I love it. Wendi, any thoughts on this verse?

Wendi Christensen  4:29 

Yeah, I agree with Amy. It's so fun to sit and observe and listen to women chatting. But not only were they chatting, there was prayer. That had to be such a beautiful experience to come on Sunday. Let's meet by the river. You know, I always love to go out in nature. I feel sometimes it calms you by the river. It's something that can be very calming to sit there and then they're praying. What a beautiful experience and a beautiful setting to be by a river, hearing this wonderful. People, you know, I'm sure, I'm guessing, it was more of a quiet rather than a swift river, but just to have that in the background, and then including prayer, these women were including prayer must have been a beautiful setting, and no wonder these these men, Paul and his followers, wanted to stop by and participate. Let's jump into this, this beautiful experience that these women are having,

Tamara Anderson  5:22 

yeah, yeah. I think it's interesting that that, of course, Paul and those who were with him decided that they would go to those who are looking for God because their hearts are a little more inclined to him, because back then they worship gods of all kinds, right? And so the fact that these women were looking for God, they were praying to God, and God knew them and heard them and sent these missionaries to them, to teach them about Jesus. I think there's no chance. It's not by chance, right? They were guided there.

Tamara Anderson  6:09 

And then we read in verse 14, a little bit it says, "And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped God heard us whose heart the Lord opened that she attended unto the themes which were spoken of Paul." And I think there are several key phrases in this. First, we learn that Lydia is a businesswoman. Back then they would make, they would dye cloth. And the way to get the color purple, which was used for royalty, it was really hard to do. You had to process these mollusk shells, and it took some time. And so time is money, and she was able to do this. And so she was able, we learned later that she had an entire household that she provided for which was unusual back then, you know. So she was obviously very, very successful. And we don't know why. We don't know--there nothing is mentioned of a husband. So we don't know if she was a widow. We don't know if she never married. We don't know any of these things, but we know that she worshiped God, and there's other phrases in there, so I'm going to leave those out, and we'll talk about those phrases. Go ahead. Wendy, any thoughts on verse 14?

Wendi Christensen  7:30 

Oh yeah, just like you were saying, I was looking at it again, and she's in the city, and the city is described as a city that worships God, so I would say that that city has a good vibe to it, you know, and the city that I'm in right now, a big draw for me was it felt good. That was a big reason they moved where I moved to, because it had this beautiful energy to it. This the city that I'm in, and it drew us here. And I'm guessing that that's partly why she was there too, because that city worshiped God, and it says that they heard us.

Wendi Christensen  8:09 

So they recognize something with Paul coming and the followers like they recognize something in them. I think that says a lot about those women. Here are these men coming. I mean, if you've got a group of men approaching a group of women, I would think that there would be a little bit of hesitancy, but they instantly, they're like they hurt us. And her heart is the Lord opens it, and she attended to the things which were spoken of Paul, which means she was probably hanging on his every word, and she was enthralled with what Paul was saying. She recognized truth.

Wendi Christensen  8:46 

And to me, that shows a lot about Lydia's character, that she was able to this, like this business woman that you've just set up, that she was able to quickly recognize truth, and that she heard God, and that she hung on his every word. And I think that, you know, I'm a business owner too. You know many of us are, but sometimes I think we can get so wrapped up into the day to day that we forget to stop and pause each day, like sometimes I get so busy with just the day to day doings of running a business, we forget to pause and to remember to look at what's most important in that.

Wendi Christensen  9:26 

Because part of part of what I'm doing is trying to bring help heal people right, trying to work with people, help them to see things in a different light, in a different way. So for her to be in this place, in this space where she's so open to hearing what's what's good and what's right around her, she had her priorities in order. That's what it tells me. She had her priorities in order. She had those she put those things that were most important most important, and she knew how to put God first and. Helps me to remember, do I put him first in everything that I do? Am I always putting Him first in my life and running my business and doing the things that I need to do? Because I think as we do, things fall into place. I love it.

Tamara Anderson  10:15 

Thank you. Amy,

Amy Johnson  10:18 

I'm a wordy, right?

Tamara Anderson  10:19 

I know, and I figured you'd pull some awesome words out of here.

Amy Johnson  10:23 

Let me just start with her name, which means beautiful one or noble one, like that is awesome. And I love that I have a word. I have a name that means something really important too. And so when I see a woman's name or a person's name, that really means something. I think I'm always really grateful when I see people that are mindful of how they're naming their kids, because your children really do become they follow their name. They really they're hearing it all the time, and what you think about you bring about.

Amy Johnson  11:00 

And so I have a son whose name is Nathaniel. And when we were pregnant with him, we thought his name was going to be Matthew, and shortly into the pregnancy, we knew he wasn't supposed to be net Matthew. We knew he was supposed to be Nathaniel, and we named him. And then when he was 18, he learned that that actually meant of God, the E, the IEL on the end is L, is God, right? And so he then, from then on, we had called him Nathan his whole life. And now he will, he only answers to Nathaniel. But as a result, too, it helps him walk the path right, stay in the narrow way.

Amy Johnson  11:50 

So that's the first thing. I love her name. I love that. It's that she's noble. And then, funny enough, now her name is noble one, and she sells purple, which is the color of royalty and and purple everything was, it was so symbolic in the world of the Hebrews. And so purple represented the divinity of God and majesty of God. And so she's this beautiful, noble one selling something that represents the divinity and the majesty of God to royalty, which is very expensive. It's very expensive, which is why she's so successful, because purple is a very it's, it's, it's like selling Lamborghinis, right? It's, it's expensive, right? So she's, she's selling them. So those, I love that.

Amy Johnson  12:45 

And then I love the word attended to, the phrase attended to, when you think about in today's world, if I say I have to attend to someone or something. That means I have to take care of it. And so I love that she says that it says she attended unto the things which were spoken of by Paul. So Paul, as a prophet, is going to teach faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost. We know that that's what Prophets have been commissioned to teach. So she attended to it, and then the very next sentence, we see the evidence that she attended and when she was baptized and her household. So she's influential. I love that. And then, so that's what we see. So when we we sometimes, and I think it's even Paul, he we talk about it, don't be just a hearer of the word, be a doer of the word. So she attended to the things that were spoken of by Paul, and was baptized. I love Lydia. She's pretty awesome. I think, right,

Tamara Anderson  14:03 

she's so cool. Um, I also like the phrase in there "whose heart the Lord opened." Um, what's interesting When I was a missionary, we would sometimes knock on people's doors and it was always harder to get wealthy people to listen to us. The poor were more likely to listen because they were more humble. Wealthy were happy and where they were. And so I find it so interesting that here she is, she's obviously very wealthy, and yet she was humble and and it says the Lord opened her heart, but she had to be willing to let God open her heart. Do you know what I mean? It was her choice. And so she was soft of heart, and she let her. The words that they were speaking enter her heart and soul, and she felt the truth of it. She felt the truth of their testimonies of Jesus Christ, and wanted to be a follower of Christ.

Tamara Anderson  15:13 

Um, and so I think, I think that's beautiful, that she wasn't prideful as a wealthy woman, but she was humble and and listened. Okay, so let's read that verse 15. It says, "And when she was baptized and her household," I love how you called that out. Amy, "she besought us, saying, if you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide there. And she constrained us." So she was also very hospitable. And here these men were going out without purse or script, as Jesus commanded them. And so she invited them. You can come to my house. I will take care of you. I will feed you. I'll make sure that your needs are met.

Tamara Anderson  16:01 

And then we they had some experiences as they were teaching in the middle of the chapter here. And then in verse 40, it says, "And they went," they were actually also imprisoned, "and they entered into the house of Lydia. And when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them and departed." So they had been in prison, and so they were, Lydia in her household comforted them, fed them. They had been beaten with stripes, and so probably took care of them, helped them get better and and then they went on their way. So she really was kind hearted and charitable and hospitable. And so it's very it's, it's neat to see those qualities in a woman. Thoughts on those verses, Amy, let's start with you this time,

Amy Johnson  16:50 

yeah, our homes need to be sanctuaries. Our homes need to be places of worship, just like they were in this time, the synagogues and the temples weren't always holy. They weren't always safe. They weren't always places where God could come, because we know what happened with the Savior, with him cleansing the temple and and they, they weren't always, they weren't always protecting those dedicated, those structures that had been dedicated to worship the Lord.

Amy Johnson  17:29 

But our our homes, Lydia, I can just see to me when she says, come into my home and constrains them to do that to me, I I can totally see a total conversion there. She wants to be with men of God. She wants to learn from them. She wants to be near them. She wants to be in their space and so and she wants them in her home, and we have that same opportunity to invite the things of God into our homes and keep our homes sanctuaries and safe places and places where we can be taught and where we can worship by the Spirit. And so I think that's really a great thing.

Amy Johnson  18:23 

She starts out at the beginning where she brings them in, and she in 15, it almost feels like she's bringing them in for her, and in 40, she's now bringing them in for them. And it feels like she's kind of come full circle there, she's kind of understood, okay. In 15, I want to be near you. Come into my home if you found me worthy. Come in and in 40, they come in as a refuge from after they've been released from prison. And I think, I believe a home needs to be both those things.

Tamara Anderson  19:01 

I love that. Wow, it's true. And, and we can have that same thing in our in our homes today, you know, a safety and a refuge, place of learning. Wendi?

Wendi Christensen  19:14 

well and, and this all happened because she was hanging out with her friends, you know, in the right place at the right time. And I think that's a good reminder that, as we are doing the right things in our lives at the right time, look what the Lord can do. I mean, she and her household were completely blessed because of the choices that she made. One person can be such a huge influencer in home, and that happened to be Lydia. She she had a huge influence on her household, and you can see that, and she was in the right place at the right time, and was open. Her heart was open to the things of God. And because of that, he blessed her. So much so that she was able to turn around and bless them, what a beautiful way to see how the Lord can use us as instruments in his hands, and that, and that we can be at those instruments in his hands, this and as long as we are doing the things that we need to, you know, being in the right place at the right time, lots of good lots of great things were accomplished because of her example of being in the right place at the right time and and the huge influence that she then had on her household and bringing these great men to teach and to change and transform her life and the lives of all of those in her home. Yeah,

Tamara Anderson  20:43 

One other thought I just had that I hadn't thought of before, but the sometimes God blesses righteous business owners with abundance, and when they have that abundance, they often give and love and serve others. You can see that she blessed the lives of not only her household, but invited people in and ministered to them and served them and took care of them. And I love that example of being a righteous business owner who gives back to the community that they're in, you know, and loves and serves, and that's just so such a powerful example of of how we can be as as women. You know that we can affect the world for good in so many ways. I love this example on Lydia. She is amazing, an amazing, amazing example of all these things. Alright, let's wrap it up, guys, takeaways, Wendi?

Wendi Christensen  21:47 

well, and just as you were saying that the the final thought I had too was, and she got to be put in the Bible. You know, this story gets put into the Bible that it was, it was enough. Her influence was enough that that she was mentioned, she was she was brought up, as, you know, an example in the Bible, whoever, I don't know exactly if it was Paul that was writing this, you know, we assume it was Paul, but enough that she was remembered and she was mentioned her goodness and who she was. He wanted to make sure that she was known and that she was mentioned.

Wendi Christensen  22:26 

And I think that's just so beautiful to know that that her goodness and what she did was enough to stand out and to make sure that she was written about in the Bible, in God's word. And what a beautiful example. Like I want to be like that. I want to be good enough to be mentioned in Scripture, you know, and just that, that beautiful example that inspires me to be like Lydia, to just be in the right place at the right time, to hear the Lord, to have my heart open, to transform and change me, to influence those in my household, and then turn around and serve and bless other people. You can't. You can't find a better example of what do I do today, in my life and in my world, to be that an example like Lydia was

Tamara Anderson  23:16 

perfect. Beautiful, beautiful. Amy,

Amy Johnson  23:19 

yeah, I love that I really do. I love that because so many times I feel like in the Bible, the women are mentioned if they were not always doing what they should have, right but, but I do love that and and I love that you know how you you meet people sometimes, and they're just people you'll never forget. And that's kind of what I picture when she gets written into the story, right? It's like, oh, and then there was Lydia. I'll just never forget Lydia and her kindness.

Amy Johnson  23:53 

Anyway, I think my takeaway, I think my takeaway today, is that when we attend unto the things of God, we are then blessed in abundance, whether it's financially, whether it's spiritually, whether it's emotionally, whether it's whatever it is we need, when we attend unto the things of God, he he doesn't ever let his people down, never. He always has our back. And so I think, I think that's my takeaway, that that when we attend unto the things of God, not only we will be blessed, but all our households will be blessed too. Yeah,

Tamara Anderson  24:47 

One of the things that just popped into my head is, I love Lydia's mother heart. We don't know if she was a mother, but it sure seems like she mothered her household and she was able to mother and take care of Paul and those who are with them after they were beaten with stripes in prison. And I think whether we are mothers biologically, you know, or we've given birth or not, that we can have that mother heart to love and serve and and be examples and minister to others. And I just, I love that about her, just that she was a pure example of of Christ- like love. And perhaps that was part of her nature, before she was converted to Jesus. I'm sure it was, it sounds like it was.

Tamara Anderson  25:44 

But that God took what was already there and probably blessed her with even more of an infusion of charity as she became a believer of Jesus. So God takes who we are and makes us more. You know, it's beautiful, awesome, guys. Well, thanks for joining us today. We hope you found inspiration in the story of Lydia and found something worth emulating from her example today. God bless.

Tamara Anderson  26:18 

Thanks for tuning in to Bible, Women and Bathrobes, hosted by Women Warriors of Light, we've loved exploring the stories of remarkable women or the teachings of the Savior today with you. If today's episode brought someone special to mind, be sure to spread the word and don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss a moment of inspiration and sisterhood, Just a friendly reminder, all opinions we share are entirely personal, as we are trying to decipher and apply Bible teachings just like you are until next time, stay faithful and may your journey be blessed and illuminated by God's love.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai