{"id":344945,"date":"2024-11-21T19:03:14","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T00:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/?p=344945"},"modified":"2024-11-22T17:23:46","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T22:23:46","slug":"i-was-called-a-pastor-but-i-lived-like-a-hypocrite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/post\/i-was-called-a-pastor-but-i-lived-like-a-hypocrite\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI Was Called a Pastor, but I Lived Like a Hypocrite\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Luciano\u2019s testimony begins in the criminal underworld, passes through prison, and reaches the most profound overcoming: complete transformation through God. Alongside Andreia, his wife and partner in faith, he shares how he found redemption and a new life after true repentance.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><strong>He Spent 15 Years in Prison, but He Didn\u2019t Change<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><em>\u201cI once took someone\u2019s life with more than 100 shots. People said they didn\u2019t see me but rather the devil in me,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 he said. Luciano led a life marked by extreme violence and was sentenced to 78 years in prison, of which he served 15 in a closed regime.<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">His life began to change in prison when he discovered the work of <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/universalbeyondbars.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Universal Beyond Bars (UBB)<\/a><\/span> and was baptized. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">However, when he found himself out of prison, he faced a return to drug addiction and a troubled relationship with Andreia, marked by aggression.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>After several relapses, Luciano reached rock bottom: devastated by drugs, and separated from his wife.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">True Repentance<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">It was through a visit by the <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/universalbeyondbars.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UBB<\/a><\/span> that Luciano had a moment of clarity. The servant of God visiting him challenged his faith and prayed earnestly for him.<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This prayer planted the seed of true transformation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI didn\u2019t want to pretend anymore. I no longer wanted to be a leper in my soul. I needed to be clean,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 he said. After genuine repentance, Luciano sought God wholeheartedly, surrendering to Him completely, a difference from his prior attitude while in prison, and he received the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n<p>Today, Luciano and Andreia are living witnesses of the Lord Jesus\u2019 mercy and power and the inner transformation that only the Holy Spirit can bring. Luciano, now a man of God, dedicates his life to helping other people facing similar situations, bringing a message of hope and renewal.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Watch the Full Video and See How Sincere Repentance Can Open the Door to a New Beginning<\/strong><\/h4>\n<div style=\"padding: 56.25% 0 0 0; position: relative;\"><iframe style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\" title=\"\u201cI Was Called a Pastor, but I Lived Like a Hypocrite\u201d\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1032505903?badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/api\/player.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Luciano\u2019s testimony begins in the criminal underworld, passes through prison, and reaches the most profound overcoming: complete transformation through God. Alongside Andreia, his wife and partner in faith, he shares how he found redemption and a new life after true repentance. &nbsp; He Spent 15 Years in Prison, but He Didn\u2019t Change \u201cI once [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":248,"featured_media":344946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6063,20],"tags":[6244],"site":[],"class_list":["post-344945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-transformation","category-real-life-stories","tag-unchurched"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/248"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344945"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":345054,"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344945\/revisions\/345054"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344945"},{"taxonomy":"site","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/universalchurchusa.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/site?post=344945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}