in reply to Search and replace from one list to another

One Liner (Because it is possible && fun) option: 
perl -MPath::Tiny -pe 'BEGIN{m/_id = (\d+) id = (\S+)/ and $id{$1}=$2 
+ for path("contacts.txt")->lines} s/handle_id = (\d+)/$id{$1}/' messa
+ges.txt

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                Memory fault   --   brain fried

In Section Seekers of Perl Wisdom