"Some Truth from Jelly Roll" - by Rev. Weldon Bares

Jason DeFord goes by the name of Jelly Roll. He is a country singer, rapper, and songwriter. He has won several country music awards in the last couple of years. He was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live last year, and he also played at halftime for the Cowboys-Giants Thanksgiving Day game.

He is forty years old. His life has been difficult in so many ways. He served time in prison in his twenties. But now, he talks about his personal faith in God. Listen to his songs and you will see that they are so honest.

Consider some of the words to his song that came out last year: “I am not okay. I’m barely getting by. I’m losing track of days and losing sleep at night. I am not okay. I’m hanging on the rails. So if I say I’m fine, just know I learned to hide it well.”

And then, these words: “I know I can’t be the only one who’s holding on for dear life.” He finishes with this: “I’m not okay, but it’s all gonna be alright. It’s not okay. But we’re all gonna be alright.”

Wow. That, to me, is so honest. That is so real.

I saw Jelly Roll on a late-night talk show a couple of months ago. In the interview, he talked about his personal faith in God.

Honesty before God is so important. In another song, he sings, “Somebody save me from myself. I’ve spent so long living in hell.”

Maybe his prayer is our prayer: “Somebody save me from myself.” Thank you, Jelly Roll, for getting our attention - and for pointing us to God.